Sarah Penn
Chief Executive Officer, Outstanding Branding
Every day, businesses are looking for unique and innovative ways to market their brand and stand out from the crowd. Investing in promotional products is a great long-term strategy for increasing brand awareness and keeping customers interested.
Exciting and useful products are available for companies to put their stamp on and ensure they鈥檙e never forgotten. But why are promo products so effective?
Everyone loves a freebie
This is so true – absolutely everyone definitely does love a freebie. From inexpensive items like pens to more impressive gifts such as wireless chargers and speakers, a freebie leaves the recipient with a positive impression of you and your company.
Even seasoned professionals in the promotional merchandise industry, who have worked amongst these products for years, still get excited when they get a freebie gift! It鈥檚 one of the reasons our employees always get a goodie bag at our annual company conference.
Trends come and go in promo products
With promotional products, there are some perennials such as pen and paper that never go out and fashion, and I highly doubt ever will. However, in a similar way to fashion and other industries, promo products tend to follow certain trends that are in and out in a flash.
For example, the fidget spinner. Out of nowhere, these little gadgets suddenly become the hottest thing on the market, and getting enough of them to supply demand is a tricky task. Within a matter of months, they fall out of favour soon to be replaced with the next 鈥渕ust-have鈥 item.
However, not all 鈥榯rendy鈥 products necessarily behave in the same way. I remember when portable power banks/wireless chargers all of a sudden entered the market with a bang – but demand for them didn鈥檛 die out. Instead, they continued to go from strength to strength and became hugely important in their own right. I can鈥檛 see them ever being taken off the market – sure, they鈥檒l continue to evolve and develop, but the basic function remains and they will always be in demand.
Important part of the marketing mix
Marketing is a wide spectrum of activity, ranging from online efforts to print media and giveaways. Yes, digital is extremely important in the 21st century, and giveaways are unable to replace what it brings us, but equally, digital can鈥檛 replace giveaways either. Any decent marketing strategy will recognise this and embrace the best of both media types.
Promotional products are particularly strong when it comes to building brand loyalty – receiving a piece of merchandise will always elicit a smile in a way that digital marketing won鈥檛 always be able to do; and certainly on a recurring basis. Everytime you use that branded bag, pen, power bank, or whatever else you got, you鈥檒l remember where it came from, and the feeling you got when you received it. And most importantly, the brand itself will always be right there in front of you, every time you pick up your item – maximum visibility.