Wristbands and Lanyards South Africa

The Many Uses for Wristbands and Lanyards in South Africa

Wristbands and lanyards have become quite a common sight in South Africa in recent years and, indeed, this same trend is equally evident in most countries of the world today. Like the red noses and ribbons that preceded them by several years, the former first drew public attention in the role of an awareness device. In 2004, the organisation then known as the Lance Armstrong Foundation and later re-named as Livestrong, sold a yellow silicone bracelet to raise funds needed to care for young cancer victims and to finance research into the disease. Total sales of this simple item eventually climbed to an incredible 80 million units.

Since then, both wristbands and lanyards have been used extensively in South Africa and globally in order to promote a variety of charitable causes and goals, such as racial equality, world peace and the “Make Poverty History” campaign. Seen as inexpensive yet highly effective, they are now being used in a similar fashion for strictly commercial activities, such as improving brand awareness and product promotions.

While the necklace design is generally no less effective than a bracelet when worn for promotional purposes, their design has also seen them gain widespread favour as a convenient security accessory. In practice, both the wristbands and lanyards are now widely used both in security and promotional roles in South Africa and worldwide.

Although not always worn around the neck, lanyards predate bracelets in the security role by a couple of centuries. They were first used by military and naval personnel to secure, bugles, whistles, guns, knives and other items of weaponry to their uniforms and, though now largely ceremonial, they remain an integral part of many service uniforms today.

In the modern world, the security role of these items is generally less associated with warfare and today, wristbands are widely used to secure patient details and lanyards to attach access control and ID cards in South Africa. At the same time, these items are very often printed with a company logo or some other information relating to the establishment and so also provide a secondary function by promoting its image.

The range of designs and colours in which these items are now available is extensive and, in addition, they are manufactured from a variety of materials with differing properties. To a large extent, it is the combination of design and composition that determines their suitability for a given task. Wristbands, for instance, have become a common alternative to admission tickets at many sporting events, and lanyards are one of the most popular freebies at expos in South Africa because they are practical, versatile and long-lasting.

Used as an alternative to an admission ticket, bracelets must be inexpensive yet tamper-proof and these properties are amply provided for by Tyvek. By contrast, the soft silicone bands offered are easily removed but, instead, serve as much as a fashion statement as a promotional item and in doing so will tend to guarantee longer exposure for a given campaign.

The choices are manifold, not only regarding the type of device and its suitability for security, promotions or both, but also in terms of colours and design. IDCBand offers the widest range of high quality yet competitively-priced wristbands and lanyards in South Africa.