Why Use Promotional Products In Your Business?
Despite living in a digital age, we can’t deny that the way we process information goes by so fast that we barely have time to digest the ads we see on our screens before we scroll away from it. Advertisers are in a constant battle to shove as much information as they can about their businesses in a 5-second Youtube ad on a 6-inch phone screen.
The digital age paved the way for people to market their own businesses, bringing inclusivity to small and medium enterprises to those who otherwise could not afford the TV and print ads that large corporations can. However, in the case of promotional products, sometimes real-life items are the way to go to create a brand identity.
Promotional items, for the sake of marketing strategy, are tools that are used to market businesses and subliminally ingrain the brand’s logo and name into the subconscious of the target audience of a brand or event.
This type of marketing strategy has been around for decades and has proven to be effective in driving up brand recognition, as 76.2% of consumers say they can remember the brand, logo, and message of where they got promotional items from. Brand recognition is a steady step towards establishing the market position of a company, and can increase brand awareness.
WHAT ARE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS?
Ever walked through a mall and a sales representative offered you free items with every purchase of their product? These free items typically have the logo, name, and contact information of the brand that gives them out, even if the freebie has nothing to do with the nature of the business.
These freebies are called promotional products or giveaways, and they are part of a brand’s marketing strategy to increase awareness, and eventually sales, for the business. As per research done by the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), a whopping 500% return on referrals is the average for any marketing campaign with promotional items.
7 REASONS TO INCLUDE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS IN YOUR BUSINESS
1. PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS ARE GOOD FOR BRAND AWARENESS AND REPEAT MARKETING STRATEGY
The most obvious reason to have promotional products in your marketing plans is for brand awareness. All businesses, regardless of how large or small the operations are, constantly need to increase their brand awareness as the market becomes more and more competitive.
Promotional items help get the message across to more people, and 94% of shoppers say they can remember brands where they received freebies from. Physical items are more likely to be mentally digested in an accurate manner, as the physical aspect of these promotional items stimulate human senses to absorb the information on it.
2. PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS ARE COST-EFFECTIVE
Promotional products only look expensive, but are actually relatively inexpensive to produce. Even small business owners can benefit from the usage of promotional items in their company to increase sales, as promotional products aren’t just freebies for potential customers, they are effective marketing tools as well.
For instance, Starbucks has two kinds of promotional products: their used coffee grounds and their annual planner. The coffee grounds have a specific Starbucks quality and smell to them, and you remember the brand each time you use the grounds in your garden. The annual planner, too, is covered in aesthetic brand logos, subliminally bringing you back to the store.
These items, though the planner seems expensive for the average consumer, are bought in bulk and are relatively inexpensive for the company to produce and give away. Even with excess planners left over after the promotional period, the company has already achieved their ROI on these promotional products.
3. A GOOD PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT BUILDS CONSUMER RELATIONSHIPS
As a consumer, you’re probably delighted at all the free stuff that you were able to snag! And that’s exactly what these brands were aiming for - for consumers to gain positive impressions and experiences with their company, and associate the brand with positive vibes.
Positivity is always good for a brand, as no brand aims to ruin their reputation. Free items emit a sense of accomplishment for the consumers, and not in vain of the brand! 84% of consumers who have received a promotional product say they have availed of the products and services of the brand they received their gifts from.
4. A PRACTICAL PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT IS USEFUL AND KEPT
A practical and useful promotional product is more likely to be kept and used by the consumer long after the promotional period has ended, driving the marketing effectiveness of the promotional item into overtime.
Products like umbrellas, pens, notepads, t-shirts, and more are common promotional items that serve both as a practical giveaway, and an efficient marketing promotional product. 52.1% of consumers say they keep and regularly use promotional products that are practical and applicable to their daily lives.
5. PORTABLE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS ARE LIKE WALKING BILLBOARDS
When your promotional products are portable you gain the advantage that more people will see, remember, and associate with your brand as they see other people holding your promotional items. Small, handheld promotional giveaways are usually in a visible location, such as hanging from a keychain or a bag.
Take a bottle of water, for example. Bottled water is allowed in nearly any venue and is often carried around on hand, or in the visible bottle holder compartment of a backpack or handbag. The bottled water then has high visibility, acting like a walking billboard of a promotional product.
6. PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS CREATE SOCIAL BRAND IDENTITY FOR THE BUSINESS
Both consumers and employees can get hyped with promotional items. In job fairs, you may often notice that companies give out free items to reel in more, and presumably better, applicants. These promotional products, in the HR aspect of the business, hype up the company for potential employees, making them excited and passionate about working in the office.
7. PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS BUILD ASSOCIATIONS WITH CERTAIN COLORS, USAGE, AND DEMOGRAPHICS
Pocky, the Japanese snack by Glico, has been known to hand out inflatable balloon sticks shaped just like their iconic snack. The balloon giveaway may not be practical, but they are a marketing tool to associate people with Pocky. People see the balloon, and subconsciously keep reference to the Pocky sticks and their iconic shape.
Promotional items like these build associations to the brand with specific attributes, like colors, shapes, and even demographics. Promotional items given out to certain demographics of people more often than not attract similar demographics to purchase goods and services from the brand.
WATER YOU WAITING FOR?
My Own Water provides one of the best promotional items out there - water! Water is practical, portable, and necessary for all living beings. Available in plastic bottles and aluminum bottles, we can source water from natural springs, and provide you with top-quality promotional items with your brand’s logo, design, and information printed on the label.
Check out our website for a full list of our products and services, and send us an email to know what we can do to increase the brand awareness for your business!
