Promotional products or branded swag have been around for decades, so we often hear from clients keen to make their campaigns stand out and achieve real success from their bulk product purchases. It might seem that everything has been done before in the world of marketing, but you might be pleasantly surprised that we've got some high-value tips for getting the results you want from your promotional merchandise.

Know Your Organisation

What do you do? If you're a smash repairer, then it's likely that a promotional auto accessories that will represent what you do better than a scented candle. If you're running a large-scale event, you're going to be seeking a large number of cheap products to distribute rather than an expensive item you can only buy 10 of with your budget. First and foremost be familiar with what you do and what message you want to send to your recipients and allow this to guide you in your product selection.

But also, don't forget that you need to...

Know Your Recipients

Who are you distributing your promotional products to? If you're distributing to walk-in clients, then you're going to want to give them a product that is easy to carry, like promotional bags, rather than a giant beach umbrella. You also want to consider how your custom swag will appear to your clients -- you should be seen to be adding value to their lives, rather than burdening them with an object that is not relevant to their needs.

Know Your Desired Results

What do you want to achieve through your use of promotional products? Are you simply looking to raise brand awareness by getting your message out into the wild, or are you actively targeting a specific demographic of clients or peers? If you want to reach a broad audience of hundreds of individuals, then you need a simple product that will appeal to many (that's why classics like logo-branded keyrings never seem to go out of fashion).

If you want to target 25 high-achieving business people at a conference then you might be in the market for a more specialised item that they're likely to reuse at future events, such as a personalised compendium.

Other factors worth considering when you're looking at outcomes are;

• The logo you use (does it clearly convey your message)
• The timeframe (do you need something urgently, or can you plan for longer)
• Whether this is a one-off campaign or part of an ongoing series of campaigns
• How do you measure success (financial, awareness, value, etc.)

And If You're Still Struggling

Don't be afraid to ask for help from your marketing specialists or the experienced team here at Cubic Promote. Chances are we'll have come across comparable campaigns and be able to offer suggestions to help boost your branding and value for money. We're always happy to assist, so drop us a line today!