Custom Basketballs vs Custom Soccer Balls: Which Sports Ball Is Better for Promotions?

Choose custom basketballs for the greatest year-round indoor use in schools and gyms. Custom soccer balls are best for outdoor, club-level, and international play audiences. The ultimate choice depends on target audience play locations, logo visibility and desired use for the balls, indoor, outdoor, or both.

Buy custom Basketballs:
Buy custom Soccer Balls

Quick comparison table (fast decision)

If you want custom basketballs…

Get custom basketballs when you want to use them over and over again in the gym, schools, and for year-round activities.

Basketballs are the best choice when:

• You want to reach schools, PE classes, gyms, camps, and youth organizations.
• You need weekly visibility (practices, warm-ups, and pick-up games)
• Your logo is best as a simple design that can be read even when the ball is scratched and dirty
• You want sports merchandise that is “useful” for more than one event.

If you want custom soccer balls…

Get custom soccer balls when you want to reach an audience that plays outside, belongs to clubs/leagues, or you want a sport that appeals to many people in different areas and age groups.

Soccer balls are the best choice when:

• You want to reach clubs, leagues, community programs, school teams, camps
• Your activities are mainly outside (parks, fields, tournaments)
• You want merchandise that fits the team identity (club name, program name, sponsor name)
• You want to reach a lot of people (soccer is a very popular sport in most countries)

Choose by campaign goal

If you want your audience to repeatedly use and handle the basketballs, choose the basketballs.

If you want the soccer balls to show the team/club name and want people to be able to use them outside, choose the soccer balls.

Tiebreaker:

• Is your audience mainly indoors? Choose basketballs.
• Engage with schools/communities? Soccer balls
• Engage with schools/communities? Basketballs
• Engage with schools/communities? Soccer balls

Imprint and Branding: What Works and What Doesn’t

Basketballs (high contact and hand friction)

The branding on basketballs should be big. Think billboard instead of brochure.

• Best: big logo, thick outlines, and less text
• Avoid: small and thin outlines, tiny URLs, and large phrases
• Best positioning strategy: logo on one big panel for maximum visibility

Soccer Balls (visibility during play)

Soccer balls are best with the brand logo and a few words, but it still needs good contrast.

• Best: club/program name and logo (a few words)
• Avoid: large phrases that become unreadable due to wrapping text
• Best positioning strategy: large logo with no small text

Simple and Practical: Planning Quantity

Place orders based on whether the balls are to be played with (teams), or distributed (attendees).

• For Teams/Leagues: 2-4 balls per team plus some extras for warmups or backups.
• For School Programs: 1 ball per group/class set plus 10% extra.
• For Community Events: 1 ball per family or group (higher perceived value item, so it works better)
• For Tournament Sponsorships: a small set of “official sponsor balls” plus some prizes.

Want to engage multiple audiences with a single purchase? The sport balls hub can be used as a multi-sport solution

FAQs

Is it better for schools to get basketballs or soccer balls?

Generally, basketballs are better for schools as they can be used indoors and outdoors and fit PE + gym programs for all seasons.

What is better for outdoor community programs?

For outdoor community programs, soccer balls are better as they are aligned with club play and field-based activities.

Which gives more frequent impressions?

More frequent impressions are generally given by basketballs as they are more often touched and during activities like dribbling, warm-ups, and practice.

On either ball, can I put a long slogan?

During play, a long slogan is likely to lose legibility. A better practice is to print and read a bold logo with a shorter name.

Should I choose sport mini balls instead?

Simply put, mini sports balls are better when you need to distribute low-cost giveaways easily and full-size balls are better when you want to create a play value and a higher perceived value.