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HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT

05.14.2013 / Posted in ArticlesBranding

Promotional products. Most companies buy them for prospects, clients, event attendees—they’re a fact of corporate life.

And they do work: Compared to other items when it comes to the cost per number of impressions, promotional items often win. For example, the Advertising Specialty Institute found that the average cost-per-impression for a shirt is 0.005 cents. A prime-time television ad? Per impression, it runs 0.019 cents. 

But not all promotional products are created equal. Some are hits—and others are misses. How can you ensure that your next promotional item nails the target?

WHAT’S YOUR POINT?

What do you hope to achieve? How will you distribute the item? How does the activity for which you’re purchasing promotional products fit into your marketing strategy and message? How will you measure its success? 

Without a clear plan and an understanding of how these products integrate into your marketing program, you risk wasting a sizable chunk of your marketing budget

And the dumpster behind your building is not a prospect or customer.

SUIT THE PRODUCT TO THE PERSON

Who does the promotional item target? 

Don’t select a product you’d like—select something your audience would want. Ensure it fits your purpose as well: You may want to give something different to customers than to prospects. After all, you should have a different message for customers than you do for people who haven’t purchased from you.

DON’T FALL INTO A PROMO-ITEM RUT

Some companies have “signature” promotional items. They should reconsider. Customers likely already have one from a previous encounter with you. Many prospects may as well—at least, if they’re in the pipeline, they will. Something new and different will make a fresh impact each time.

FOCUS

Don’t give a promotional product to everyone you meet—even if they fit your audience parameters. Target carefully for the biggest impact. For example, handing a gift to everyone who walks past your booth at a trade show—even if its attendees are your target audience—cheapens the item’s value.

GIVE—AND GET

Ensure that you have contact information for anyone who receives a promotional item. With current or past customers, you’re all set. But if you’re trying to attract new prospects, giving something without getting something in return is doing it wrong.

FIND SOMETHING USEFUL

Choose something that your audience will use as often as possible for as long as possible. A study showed that promotional product use achieved a 69 percent boost in brand interest and an 84 percent increase in positive brand impression—mainly because of repeated exposure to the company’s brand though using the item. Also, you gain fresh brand impressions from the people who see someone use the product—an added bonus.

INCLUDE A CALL TO ACTION

The item may be usable, targeted, and fit your strategy—but it fails if you don’t give the customer a way to take action.

Include your company’s contact information: logo, URL, tagline, phone number, QR code—whatever makes sense for your initiative. And with a finite space in which to work, make every line count.


QUALITY MATTERS

Promotional items leave a lasting brand impression. Handing out cheap, useless products is worse than handing out nothing at all. 

Detail orientation ties to quality, too. Check every proof that you receive from the vender. Is everything clear and easy to read? Is the phone number correct? The URL? Are there any misspellings? Send the proofs through multiple pairs of eyes to be extra certain.

Need help making sure your promotional product is a good fit for your strategy? Call us today!



Promotional Products Were Everywhere At Wizard World Comic Con

From free swag to swanky branded merchandise, Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia abounded with promotional products. There was everything from official logoed event gear for purchase, to giveaways from a variety of vendors and exhibitors, including household name brands like Xfinity and 5-hour Energy.

Held Thursday through Sunday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, the pop culture event featured talented comic book artists, unique toys and comics for sale, in-person autograph signings from celebrities such as Sebastian Stan, Elijah Wood, Jason Momoa, Sean Astin, and Henry Winkler, and much more. I swung by to check out the merch on offer (tough gig, I know). Here's what I found…and a saber fight…keep scrolling...

First up, official Wizard World Comic Con branded merchandise! As you can see in these first four photos, wearables, totes, drawstring backpacks and lanyards were part of the mix.

DKMS is a nonprofit that helps blood cancer patients find matching donors. To get Comic Con attendees engaged with its mission, the group came up with what the best giveaway I spotted from an exhibitor: This branded cape. It's a perfect product to connect with the superhero-loving Comic Con crowd. DKMS was also giving out the below earbuds in a branded clear plastic slide-open pouch.

Xfinity was promoting HBO GO with the above hat, which attendees were snapping up. Xfinity, which offers cable, internet, telephone and wireless services, also co-branded with Wizard World on the below freebie tote. Neat aside: Xfinity had screenprinters creating totes on the spot.

You could get these 5-hour Energy sunglasses by participating in a basketball shootout game at 5-hour's tent booth, which had a real-world game set similar to this for the hoops fun.

A super friendly woman at The Lasik Vision Institute table asked me if I was interested in Lasik surgery. I felt bad telling her not really, but she was still nice enough to give me this credit card holder to slap on the back of my phone.

Lots of parents attend Wizard World Comic Con with their kids. It makes sense then for a charter school like Commonwealth Charter Academy to promote at the event. As part of the effort, Commonwealth was handing out free pens, drawstring totes, dog-shaped stress toys, and info cards with a friendly dog mascot.

Army recruiters had a table at the event, too. The guys were very friendly and insisted I take this water bottle and keychain. I was happy to oblige.

A fair share of movie promoting was going on, and there were various types of swag to support the hype-push. I scored these Teen Titans buttons at a booth after playing a little game. To get the buttons – or potentially other movie-themed freebies – you spun a game wheel. You got whatever swag item the wheel fell still upon.

TV station PHL17 was promoting itself. By liking the station on Facebook, you were entered for a chance to win one of these fun show shirts, I was told.

Well, T-Mobile wasn't about to let itself be missed, was it?

Dudes from The Saber Legion, an international saber combat organization as it were, had quite the duel. I didn't record to the end because it went on a bit (sorry), but the fellow in all black emerged victorious (I'm pretty sure).