Most of us have used the term “giveaway” to describe promotional products at one time or other. This isn’t necessarily strange since that’s how marketers typically use them. What do marketers hope to gain by giving away this merchandise at conventions and events? The first and most common answer is “to raise awareness.” The desired scenario goes like this – prospects place said gift on their desks and are reminded of your company/organization the next time they need your product or service. I would argue from personal experience, it doesn’t work this way. When most people get typical promotional products, they usually ends up in file drawers or they never even make it out of the plastic trade show bag.
What constitutes a smart and effective promotional product?
1) It aligns with, and is an extension of your brand
2) It helps you reach your marketing goal(s)
3) It has staying power
A misconception about promotional products is that they need to be stand-alone items. The best promotional products are part of a bigger idea. A recent recommendation I made to a client included a game using color-coded organic canvas trade show bags. When three conventioneers with the same color bags connect with each other and return to the booth, they each get a gift. This game ties into my client’s brand, which is about creating connectivity between organizations. Conventioneers are able to connect with each other and with my client’s brand through this game. The connectivity message is reinforced on the bags and at the booth. And after the event, the tradeshow bag does double duty as a reusable grocery bag, saving resources. If used this way (or any of the many other ways a canvas bag can be used), they’ll see my client’s logo again and again.
The next logical question is, “why aren’t there more smart and effective options out there?” The answer to this question has less to do with supply and demand than with connecting brands with promotions to make them more useful, powerful and effective. Marketers go to the “we have over 10,000 promotional items to choose from” websites and are overwhelmed by all the options. Eventually marketers loose interest and choose one that most closely aligns with what they have in mind. Promotional products merchants believe that the more options they offer, the more choice they’re giving their customers. Since promotional products are usually a small piece of a marketer’s overall strategy or budget, there is no will (or time) to demand something better. So year after year marketers spend their promotional products budgets on the same giveaway items with little return on investment.
Enter the need for promotional products companies to partner and consult with their customers. This new model of partnering with marketers solves the time constraint issue because merchants know their clients’ needs and recommend a few options that closely align with their brands and goals. I admit, this new model won’t work for all consumers of promotional products or promotional product merchants, but it is something to think about. A good way to start is by asking one’s self, “with every dollar of my budget being scrutinized, can I really afford to write off part of it without any expectation of a return?
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