Promotional difficulty or promotional products refers to articles of merchandise that are used in marketing and communication programs. These items are usually imprinted with a company's name, logo or slogan, and given away at trade shows, conferences, and as constituent of guerilla marketing campaigns. These items are also referred to by the slang terms Promotional Items swag (probably from the British usage of the word meaning "stolen goods" or "loot"), or tchotchke (derived from a Yiddish tete-a-tete meaning "trinket").

The first acknowledged promotional products in the United States are commemorative buttons dating back to the election of George Washington in 1789. During the antediluvian 1800s there were some advertising calendars, rulers and wooden specialties, but there wasn’t an organized industry for the annihilation and circulation of promotional items until later in the 19th century.