Tips on Promotional Item marketing

Some thoughts we have on marketing with custom branded merchandise as well as some observations we have noticed that we like to share with everyone.

Corporate gifting and promotional products are effective marketing tools to re-inforce an image or to create a new perception amongst your constituents.  

Used effectively promotional merchandise is a cost effective way for companies to achieve their goals, whether it be to boost sales, increase brand awareness or to convey a message.  If you are a multi-national company or a small local business the basics to a successful promotion campaign is the same.  Here are ideas which we believe will help your marketing dollar go further.

Be Clear in What to Achieve
Attract more interest into your exhibition?
Increase client loyalty?
Re-inforce a brand image?
Capture brand new customers?

Have a Simple Message
What message do you want the receipient to takeaway?  A simple message will be understood and remembered.  A mixed message will not.   Sounds simple but is the most difficult part to get right.

Develop a Theme!
Stick to it! The selected items must reflect this theme.  Otherwise constituents will see a mixed message.

Choose the Right Promotional Item
The item must support the theme.  Thought give to aesthetics, metaphors, season and company culture is critical.  Why? well it goes back to sending out a clear message.  An item which is functional and looks and feel terrific will be valued by a client.  The perceived quality is the trick here to drive home your brand and your marketing message.


Planning Your Distribution
Identify your audience.  With the promotional objective in mind plan towards how and when to distribute.  A qualified promotional marketing distributor would be able to assist.

Other Thoughts On Marketing with Promotional Products
In tougher economic conditions there are both good things and bad things to consider when contemplating using promotional merchandise marketing.

Firstly The Good Things

As budgets for marketing or promotion of products and services get tighter by clients we have found that Aussie businesses are finding more creative ways to make their budget stretch further.  Marketing by companies are using customised merchandise as an important part of their promotional strategy because merchandise emblazoned with a logo retains the marketing message much longer than other mediums of advertising.  From a cost perspective using customised products is much cheaper and more effective.

Now The Bad Things

If a business in unaware of the effectivness of having merchandise customised with a logo or message then then a lot of the budget may be spent on other mediums which are only short term marketing methds by their nature (eg. radio, TV, print)

There are also a lot more companies which now claim to sell promotional products however many are fly by the night companies so the chances of dealing with an unethical company is high.  Pitfalls include:

-  Faulty Products.  We hear horror stories from chatting with clients every week (especially promotional flashdrives)

-  Dangerous Products.  Confectionary which come from overseas, thermal mugs which use toxic plastics, stress ball colouring which is toxic, promotional USB's which heat up to a dangerous level the list goes on and on.

-  The supplier which is not contactable once money has been paid.  Internet sites which have a mobile number only and / or have no business street addresses are especially ones to stay away from.

Some Trends We have Noticed over the Past 6 Months

A huge increase in enquiries for personalized merchandise which are made from recycled or sustainable materials.  In fact even merchandise which has an eco environmental educational component to them have also been very popular. 

Another observation we have noticed is that clients tend to know what they are looking for and are very particular with A)  the type of product and B)  branding of the product.  For product choices there is an increased emphasis on high perceived value product.