Promotional products are one of the most effective advertising mediums for a variety of reasons.
One on One
One of the major reasons is that they are firstly a one-on-one advertisement. Just about every other advertising medium is a broadcast with no personal appeal. With promotional products the recipient takes ownership of the product – it is theirs alone.
With the promotional product in hand, all other competitive advertisements take a back seat.
Get Physical
That’s right, promotional products are a physical item that you can feel, maybe smell, hear and taste. Not many other advertising mediums can evoke all the senses. With other mediums, millions of dollars are spent on jingles and evoking images to try to capture the same result you can obtain with a promo item with a cost of from a few cents to a few dollars.
Being a real physical item as opposed to a print or digital product means that they have longevity. Some promotional items (eg ceramic mug) can last not only years but decades – imagine the cost of a prime-time TV commercial over that period!
Promo products allow Active participants rather than passive consumers. By touching and feeling the item they are more likely to read and absorb the message.
Multiple Objectives
Promotional Products have the ability to achieve multiple objectives with one item. Effective advertisers know that you should only promote one message at a time or risk complicating the message and missing out on the main selling point. While this is true, additional messages can be promoted if we leave it to the recipient’s subconscious.
Selection of the right promotional item can achieve multiple objectives. Say for example you are launching a new product and that product has health benefits. The main message is the new product, but by selecting a health-related promo item then a secondary message is then underlined. If the item is a new promo product then a 3rd message is sent to the recipient, that being of new innovation.
Promo products allow for multiple messages as you have had the client’s attention for a longer time.
Engage Don’t be Selfish
We are in an age where we looking at engagement in marketing yet most advertising efforts are really quite selfish.
If you’re going to “interrupt” potential customers, be entertaining or give them something in return – don’t be selfish in the interaction. You’re taking their precious, limited time – reward them. By being engaged your message it is more likely to be noticed and retained.
Own the Marketing Space
Do you want your advertisement lined up next to your competitors or do you want to own the space? Obviously, you want your message on its own, and it is not just the competition we want to avoid – we live in a world where a consumer sees some 3,000 + advertisements a day.
By marketing directly to your clients/prospects generally without your competitors knowing, your competitors don’t see it, they can’t counteract or beat it.
Repetition
“Never underestimate the glacier-like power of familiarity” – Leo Burnett.
Repetition is often noted as the master of all skill, the same can be said of advertising. No matter how great the creative may be, we need it repeated time after time for the message to be absorbed.
Post-it Notes are a great example of this, on a 50-sheet pad your message is seen by the client 50 times at a minimum (that’s for one-off uses, not when they have stuck around as reminders for days, weeks, or even months).
Word of caution – repetition must be done without interrupting or annoying the client (eg spammers on email, LinkedIn, Facebook – not just spammers but those that fill up your newsfeed – they don’t realise that people switch off at the sight of their name).
By continuously being in front of the client – your Unique Selling Proposition or brand is repeated over and over allowing a greater chance of being remembered. By getting the customer to have your brand/tag line repeated over and over they are more likely to have a sense of recognition of your message.
Timing
“Analyses of eye tracking studies show that a typical consumer viewing a full page print ad is estimated to 1.7 seconds; of this; consumers spend 0.6 seconds viewing the picture” (Pieters Wedel 2004).
That is not a long time for your prospect to absorb and assimilate your message. Promotional Products have a long tail – the advantage over traditional above-the-line advertising is that they may still be there when the customer is ready. In this, you a less reliant on exact timing placement.
Promo products are a memory aid, they can help visualise the ad and therefore the message better than text. A great example is the Duracell Bunny, by placing a memory aid in-store displays and on product packaging, the brand comes to life in the consumer’s mind.
Another example was an anti-drink driving campaign, using branded red and blue LED ice cubes for drinks it subconsciously reminds people of police lights.
Endorsement
Those who engage in Joint Venture marketing know that one of the huge benefits is in leveraging the trust built up of your partner marketer.
Much in the same way someone carrying a branded shopping tote, wearing a branded jacket, or using a promotional product is inadvertently endorsing that brand. Retail brands have used this very idea to get the consumer to build their brands for them for decades.
Transference of your Message
Promo Products have the ability of Re-Gifting – this can be a good thing – a person receives a gift and then passes it on – this allows the original recipient to gift of giving (you have already had the gratitude from the original recipient), also it further spreads your marketing message.
Promotional items are used in business and social settings. This means the branding is exposed to more people than just the recipient. Think of where your potential clients are and this will drive the type of promotional products you select.
Remember if we are chasing our ideal clients, then our best customers will have friends just like them.
Matthew Bywater
