Product Spotlight: Custom Magnets

When it comes to promotional tools, there are plenty of products out there to choose from. Some are classics – pens, mugs, T-shirts and the like. Some (cough*Fidget Spinners*cough) are somewhat less so.

Magnetic items – calendars, signs, and the timeless fridge magnet – have earned their keep in the pantheon of marketing greats. But where did they come from? When did that fridge magnet come along? What made them popular?

Let’s take a look at the history of promo magnets, where they came from and what the future might hold for them.

The First Magnets

It won’t surprise you to learn that magnets have been known for millennia. Ancient people discovered lodestones (also known as magnetite), which are naturally magnetized pieces of iron ore.

The earliest written descriptions of magnets and magnetic properties come from China, India, and parts of what are now Turkey, and were written some 2,500 years ago. Navigators soon learned that lodestones, when suspended in a way that allowed them to turn freely, could be the basis of the first magnetic compasses. That revolutionized navigation and allowed the greater exploration of the world.

The 17th Century and Beyond

In 1600, English physician William Gilbert determined that the Earth itself is magnetic. He also coined the term “electricity,” but didn’t consider magnetism and electricity to be the same thing. Other scientists later discovered links between magnetism and electricity.

In the 1800s, British scientist Michael Faraday took Gilbert’s work even further, exploring the link between electricity and magnetism, creating electromagnets that eventually led to the creation of both electric generators and the motors we use in so many powered machines today.

Meanwhile…

As scientists experimented with and learned about magnetism, England and France were introducing signs to businesses. Specifically, the nations’ governments required identifying signs outside establishments that brewed and sold ale. This helped inspectors identify such places and maintain quality control.

Both signs and magnets were commonplace by the end of the 19th century, but it took a little bit of ingenuity in the 20th century to bring them together in a usable way.

Which Came First, the Refrigerator or the Fridge Magnet?

Actually, the refrigerator. It took more than 50 years before magnets and the common household appliance met.

An engineer named Fred Wolf invented the first practical refrigerator in 1913. It was a self-contained unit that mounted atop the (usually) wooden icebox found in most homes of the day.

Before refrigeration became feasible, virtually every home had a wooden icebox to keep food cold. It required frequent, often daily, refilling with ice purchased from vendor to keep it cold, and there was no way to regulate the temperature.

Wolf’s invention changed all that. Once installed, it kept the icebox contents cold in a thermostatically controlled manner. It was a significant leap forward, with several thousand units sold over the next decade.

The next innovation came in 1927, when the General Electric company introduced its “Monitor Top” refrigerator. This was the classic design all-in-one unit that was practical and affordable for many more people.

Magnetic Memo Holders

As refrigerators quickly moved from expensive luxury to home necessity, they remained pretty much the same in terms of style – a big, (usually) white box that sat in the kitchen. No one really did much to give it any kind of adornment or secondary purpose until the 1950s.

That’s when magnetic memo holders appeared. The first such magnets for home use were hard plastic with a magnet in the back. They were fruit-shaped and brightly colored to add a touch of whimsy to the kitchen.

The Modern Fridge Magnet

It took another decade for the fridge magnet as we know it today to appear. In the late 1960s, engineer Sam Hardcastle created magnets for NASA by combining iron oxide with a vinyl material to create a flexible magnet with a fully magnetic back. This gave the magnets both added holding power and a soft, lightweight structure. Th at was the key to magnetic signs and fridge magnets as well.

Hardcastle, seeing a market, introduced small magnets with advertising messages printed on them, and the market took off. Soon, refrigerators began sporting magnets as travel souvenirs, calendars, advertising for both service and manufacturing businesses, and witty slogans. The era of promotional magnets had begun!

Magnets as Travel Souvenirs

Soon, Hardcastle introduced the real game-changer for fridge magnets – state shaped magnets, one for each state and the District of Columbia, complete with the name of the state’s capital printed on it. They even included icons representative of each state.  

The state magnets quickly proved immensely popular as travel souvenirs. From beach towns to metro areas to country villages, they now adorn refrigerators across the nation.

Today, you’d be hard-pressed in the United States to find a home refrigerator without at least one magnet on it, especially in homes with children. The humble fridge magnet has become a universal tool for mounting kids’ artwork, exam papers and more. They help keep active families on track by providing an easily visible spot of calendars, permission slips and other reminders. And they do it while offering a funny or motivational message at the same time.

Of course, what we call “refrigerator magnets” aren’t limited to the fridge. They’ll stick to any magnetic object, including filing cabinets, desks and machinery. And magnetic signs are made the same way, just on a larger scale.

The Value of Promotional Magnets

By the 1990s, promotional magnets really took off. It’s easy to understand why. They’re small, portable, attractive, useful, and inexpensive. That’s a particularly powerful combination for promotional products.

Those factors make custom promo magnets an ideal giveaway product for conventions, conferences, trade shows, schools and more. At a trade show, for example, you can give prospective customers your contact information on a magnet with your logo imprinted on it. They can take it back home or to the office and put it to good use. That helps keep your logo front and center when they need your product and service, and makes it easy to contact you.

Promotional magnets also make great merch for bands and clubs. They’re small enough, and economical enough that they make terrific fundraisers. They also help get your group’s name out in public and help boost brand awareness.

If you’d like to find out more about custom promotional magnets and what they can do to promote your brand, give us a call at the number above, or fill out our fast, easy contact form. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have about these handy little promo tools.