Customized Promotional Items Are A Sure Bet For Success!

What's the first word that comes to mind when I mention pop-up internet ads & TV commercials? If you're like most of us, it would be "annoying", "frustrating" or "interruption" or something along those lines.  Promotional custom products can advertise for you & reach a vast audience without being so annoying & so expensive.

What's more--promotional products stay with the consumer much longer than a TV ad; therefore, your company will be remembered for a longer period of time.  And they're not nearly as expensive as an advertisement on television or any other media.

How effective are promotional imprinted products? In a word: VERY. They are a proven, cost-effective way to attract new customers, increase sales, heighten brand awareness & inform current clients.

National & international companies continually use customized promotional items: airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, banks, escrow companies, realtors, colleges & universities, retail & grocery stores, trucking companies, construction, the medical & health field, television networks, auto makers & dealerships--you see them in all walks of life.

How about politicians & political parties during campaign seasons? How many times have you gotten a hot pad holder in the mail with a politician's name on it? While campaigning, swag is constantly being handed out......political candidates run the gamut from pens & buttons to bags & t-shirts, leaving nothing out in between.

So the proof should be in the pudding if Fortune 500 companies & political campaigns use promotional imprinted products.  If it wasn't a successful way of advertising, they wouldn't be doing it. This is the one time you can do the same as these huge conglomerates--maybe not on the same scale, but there is something for every budget.

Advertising Specialties Institute (ASI) interviewed professionals in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago & Philadelphia regarding promotional products they have received.  The purpose of this study was to understand how promotional items influence the consumer.

Summary of Conclusions:

• INSTANT RECALL: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) respondents remembered the advertisers of the  promotional products they received.
• VERY IMPRESSIONABLE: 42% of the respondents had a more favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving the item. And 24% said they are more likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they received.
• IT'S ALL BUSINESS:  Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the item.
• PENS ARE IN: Writing instruments are the most recalled advertising specialty item (54% of the respondents recalled owning them), followed by shirts, caps & bags.
• USER-FRIENDLY: The majority (81%) of the promotional products were kept they considered useful.
• STAYING POWER: More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for an average of 7 months.
• BAG IT!: Among wearables, bags were reported to be used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month.  They also delivered the most impressions: each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month.
• MOST IMPRESSIVE: The average CPI of an advertising specialty item is $0.004. As a result, marketers get a more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media.

This last one, the CPI or cost per impression, is the most important because that determines how effective your advertising is & if you're getting a good return on it. The greater the frequency of exposure, the lower the cost per impression.

Just what is an impression? An impression is created when a person sees or hears your brand image/message in some sort of advertisement. Impressions are crucial in creating brand awareness. The more a person sees your brand message, the higher the chance that they will one day do business with you.

This study also proves customized promotional items aren't the "cheap give-aways" they were once considered to be & they don't go straight into the trash.  Think again......over 80% of the promotional products are kept because they are useful & they are kept for an average of 7 month.

What if there were no promotional products?

• The budgets assigned for advertising would be significantly higher even for a small business.
• The chief traffic driver to exhibitions, trade shows & seminars is the "free gift". This would not be available then. The result, less people attending the function & lesser visibility.
• All this accumulates into into lower sales, lower chances at brand building & in turn less business development.

So the next time you & your staff are discussing how to divide up your advertising budget & what works the best for you, don't forget to include promotional products.  Without using these marketing tools, your advertising campaign will be like a puzzle with some pieces missing.

IT'S YOUR COMPANY........SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman