Looking for a tool to increase your brand recognition and keep your company name in front of current and prospective buyers? If you haven’t considered promotional products, maybe it’s time you did.
Promotional items are highly effective tools proven to increase brand awareness business name and/or an advertising message on them. Usually, they have a low cost per unit, are given away for free, but they pack a punch in terms of delivering marketing results for the advertiser. Promotional products are items imprinted with an organisation’s logo, and promote positive feelings about the advertiser, as they are keenly sought after by customers and prospects.
Statistics Supporting Promotional Products as Advertising Giveaways
Statistics from the U.K. show that almost 83% of consumers are attracted to promotional products and reach out to the brand again, increasing the demand for the product. The most popular promotional items in the U.K. include: pens, bags, clothing, USB memory sticks, mugs, conference folders, and umbrellas.
In the U.S., the promotional products industry continues to grow on average at 2.5% per annum and is expected to reach US$16.4billion in 2020. This is despite a projected decline of 8.4% in 2020 due to COVID, showing continued strong demand that is supported by cost-effectiveness and high Return on Investment (ROI) of the products. The most commonly sought after giveaways in the U.S. include: Apparel, technology accessories, bags, keychains, brochures, bookmarks, and notepads.
Research by the Australian Product Promotional Association APPA reveal that 52% of the customers show a positive response towards the company after having a promotional product, 76% recalled the advertising company and 50% customers used the items daily and the same percent keep the product for more than a year. This depicts how important and useful the promotional products are to build brand awareness and relationship between the advertiser and the recipient of the promotional items.
Promotional Products Are Effective Due to High Staying Power
One of the biggest reasons to give away promotional products is because the cost per impression is staggering low. How low? Based on a Global Ad Impression Study from the Advertising Specialties Institute (ASI), every promotional pen you give away will on average generate 3,000 impressions throughout its lifetime of use. That results in a cost per impression (CPI) of $0.001. Even better, 51% of the people surveyed said that they would be more likely to do business with the advertiser that gave them one.
Other items cost more but can have an even higher level of effectiveness. For example, promotional bags are kept an average of 11 months and generate 3,300 impressions throughout their lifetimes. If that bag costs $5, that’s a CPI of below $0.002. That’s higher than for a promotional pen, but higher valued gifts do produce a higher purchase intent due to reciprocity.
Benefits of Promotional Product Advertising Giveaways
At the core of every business is finding high Return on Investment (ROI) strategies that support profitable growth. Promotional Products, used as part of a firm’s overall marketing strategy, are fantastic ways to achieve this. They are also invaluable when it comes to maintaining existing clients and acquiring new customers. Some of the benefits associated with using promotional merchandise include:
- Promotional Products are low cost and cost-effective. With a low cost per unit, high impression count and a feel-good reciprocity effect as a free gift, research has shown that promotional products bring in more business for the advertiser at a low cost. Small and medium companies or sole traders cannot afford TV or billboard campaigns, but promotional products can start from below $1 per unit.
- Advertising Giveaways have a long useful life. Most promotional gifts are likely to last for at least months and some may sit around in the home or office for years, seen or used again and again.
- Promotional Gifts promote brand loyalty. A client who has enjoyed advertising giveaways from you is likely to choose your business over your competitors. Advertising gifts are a great way of showing appreciation to your customers and thus inspiring loyalty from them. This makes proper branding of your company as well as including a compelling message on your advertising giveaway imperative
- Marketing Gifts increase brand recognition and retention. The use of marketing gifts is a low effort technique to widely market your products and services. The more people see your promo items, the more they can recognize your brand once they see your logo. Promotional products offer brands the opportunity to market their products and services with minimal effort. This can make it easier for customers to recognize your brand instantly once they see your logo.
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- Promotional Products can be targeted. You can choose a demographic and focus your marketing campaign on them using advertising gifts. Power banks and promotional hoodies, for instance, are suitable promo items for a millennial. We will expand on this below.
- Advertising Gifts complements marketing strategies and campaigns used by a company. The use of marketing gifts works well with other forms of advertisements to reach potential consumers and convert them into paying customers.
- Personalised Gifts fosters better relationship with customers. Businesses thrive on a robust network and meaningful relationships. Your target customers are bound to refer your brand to others if you take time to develop strong bonds with them. This can help you to establish credibility and position your brand as an authority in your niche. Get to know your target customers’ needs and preferences via research.
- Custom Printed Promotional Products Increases brand loyalty. Customer loyalty goes beyond providing awesome products and services. Promoting products to customers can increase the chances of choosing your brand over your competitors. They will likely see a genuine reason to keep doing business with you. It doesn’t even matter whether you are a start-up or running an established business. Encourage your marketing team to come up with creative ideas to boost customer retention. You can also offer personalized products to reward loyal customers from time to time.
Segment Targeting With Promotional Products
What’s better than giving out generic promotional products to your customer? Giving out promotional products that either match you or your prospect’s industry niche or interest to create a more tailored and memorable marketing gift.
For example, bags are great for companies that do trade shows and exhibitions. Think about all of the brochures, samples, and other items people collect at trade shows. They need a way to carry them. You may be one company among many attending the show, but if you’re the one with the branded bags, you will get noticed.
If a company sponsors a number of outdoor activities, especially in the summer, hats, sunscreen and umbrella are good choices. Stress toys come in a variety of shapes covering most industry segments, and they are usually a great choice as gifts.
You can also match different promotional items to different demographics. For example, men are more likely to wear promotional headgear, while women are more likely to use promotional calendars. Want to reach Millennials? You might want to go with a promotional desk accessory or a technology product. If you are targeting parents of primary school-aged kids, following trends such as when fidget spinners were the rage and gifting them while they are hot makes a lot of sense.
The above are but just a few examples on how to target your customers with careful selection of promotional products.
At Adept Promotions, we have more than 10,000 promotional products are available at any one time across XX different major and XX different subcategories. We are an Australia based company supplying promotional products to the local market since 1985. We know what the market wants, needs and can help you get the right products with the right artwork designs on them, to help you grow your business.
