Successfully marketing your promotional product

There are several key factors to getting the most success out of our promotional product;

The right time and the right place. Often promotional products are best integrated with a promotional campaign. You have hopefully considered the best time and place before purchasing the merchandise, and have a clear idea in mind e.g. at a company event, or as an ad-on with sales. A key benefit of promotional merchandise is that you determine where you will target and reach clients. If there has been a change in circumstances and you need to reconsider the most appropriate time for distribution, remember that the right circumstances will give a promotional product campaign maximum effect.   Putting the right product in the right place will also increase the likelihood of it being admired and envied by other potential customers. The right product is critical; however it also needs to be implemented successfully. Promotions are being increasingly run online, with consumers registering on websites to attain promotional gifts. This is invaluable for data collection, although the additional step may limit some people’s ability for redemption and participation.  Also consider where the recipient will use that product, ideally somewhere that will remind users of a company’s services at the most beneficial time.  Some organisations give a small branded gift to clients at times when they have had an anniversary with an organisation, to make them feel valued and acknowledge the relationship.

Distribution & Packaging. You also need to consider how you will give the promotional item to your valued customers or employees. This may be as an ad-on with a purchase, at a corporate event, trade show, posting to customers, registering for promotion online and so on. Depending on the situation, some methods will be more effective and have greater cost-benefits than others. If the item is large or heavy, it may end up being far too costly for mass mailing, and recipients at an event may find it inconvenient to carry around for the duration of the event. How you get particular products into people’s possession will impact on the cost and impact of the product. Effective packaging can add an interactive layer to the promotional gift. Some companies present their merchandise in an eco-friendly branded bag that recipients can re-use and help minimise environmental impact.

Results. Promotional items are often best used as part of a campaign, which can complicate measuring the success of the product on its own. It is also impossible to determine the exact number of brand exposures a product will bring in its life cycle. However, if you have approached the campaign with particular goals and objectives in mind you should be able to attain clear and measurable results as to its success. Organisations are also able to use promotional products as incentives to increase consumer response, and then track the results. Consider ways to increase publicity and further engage with the recipients of your promotional merchandise e.g. competitions/promotions where the recipient takes a photo of themselves with your merchandise in an exotic or unusual location and posts it on your website or on social media.