In the age of Internet advertising and social networking, it may surprise many business leaders to learn that one of the most powerful marketing tools are often perceived as toys. The power hitter in reference: business promotional products!
Promotional products are the pens that feature a company name on the side, the coffee mugs that showcase a firm’s logo or the branded polo shirts at a golf tournament. Statistically speaking, one in every four people is likely to have one of these items on their desk at work or in their kitchen at home.These advertising specialty products are often seen as benign trinkets, viewed as silly toys or maligned as ineffective gimmicks. A closer examination of this $18.1 billion (with a “b”) industry reveals promotional items are in fact highly productive marketing mediums if used properly.
Aside from their perceived image, promotional products are one of the essential “M’s” in the business development equation. Platinum Rainmakers, a leads-matching service for entre-preneurs, notes that if a company has a clear, viable mission and message that resonates with their targeted prospect but lacks the marketing and merchandising effort to connect both with their end user, then the selling effort is destined to fail. Promotional products are the surprising superstar that enables organizations (start-up to Fortune 500) to effectively take their mission and message to the world. And does so in a way that is memorable, affordable, customizable, flexible and amazingly successful.
A 2009 study of the advertising purchasing habits of end buyers, ranked promotional products as their top advertising choice over mainstream media including television, newspaper and internet. (Source: t Louisiana State University and Glenrich Business Studies.)
A second study, “Effectiveness Of Promotional Products As An Advertising Medium” conducted by MarketTools, Inc. evaluated the action, reaction and relationship of products and their recipients. The study found that:
- 94 percent could recall a promotional product they had received in the past two years
- 89 percent could also recall the advertiser
- 83 percent reported that they liked receiving promotional products
- 48 percent would like to receive promotional products more often
- 69 percent generally keep the promotional product
Specifically, the study found that 80 percent of the study participants could clearly identify the type of promotional product; 74 percent could recall the company/brand, the product/service and the message advertised.” “Further,” adds Slagle, “when consumers were asked which particular action they took after viewing and/or receiving the promotional product, the study revealed that consumers made a purchase (20.9 percent) more often than after viewing a print ad (13.4 percent), TV commercial (7.1 percent) or online ad (4.6 percent).”
Just as a superior recipe can be an epicurean flop in the hands of an inept cook, business promotional products can be ineffective in the hands of marketers that lack the knowledge to optimize their value. Working with a seasoned industry professional can ensure the selection of the best product and the best campaign strategy that will produce results that can be substantive and exciting.
A recent campaign conducted by Erich Fischer, national Creative Technology guru, is a perfect example. His client was struggling with the diminishing traffic at their public workshops, down to as few as few as five attendees signed up for the last event. By incorporating PPAI type tactics (a tube mailer with a simple promotional item inside), the same client sold out (filled every seating space) at their next workshop.
Misunderstood and underestimated, business owners and marketers mustn’t be so obsessed with the flash of social networking or the sex appeal of Internet-based advertising that they forget the tremendous power of promotional product-based marketing tools. Promotional products, often perceived as just toys, are in fact power tools loaded with desired advertising clout.
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