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THIS is a test…this is a test of an advertising medium…this is only a test. You will need five items to complete this test: a calendar, the keys from your pocket or purse, a mug, a printed t-shirt, and a pen. Ready? Here we go…
- While browsing online, what was the last pop up ad you saw?
- In the last newspaper you read…what business(es) advertised on page 3?
- When you were listening to the radio yesterday, what merchandise was ”on sale?”
- What business(es) advertised during the last news program you watched?
- What product did you buy when you last redeemed a coupon?
- During your last road trip what billboard signs did you see?
I almost forgot the last question…of the five things I said you needed to complete this test, who gave you any of the items you didn’t purchase yourself and is there a company logo on it?
Ok, maybe it was a silly test…but consider the following…
In an intercept method survey conducted at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, 71% of the respondents (primarily business people) reported receiving a promotional product within the past 12 months and 76.1% recalled the advertisers name of the product they received. What’s more…33.7% had the product on their person.* This is indeed an enviable position for advertisers interested in top of mind advertising. Contrast this with 80% of respondents who had read a newspaper or magazine within the past week…and only 53.5% who could recall the name of even one advertiser.
We are all targets of marketing messages all day, every day. Newspapers, magazines, television, direct mail, point-of-purchase advertising, radio, yellow pages, coupons, and Internet marketing all vie for attention (and marketing budgets) daily. There’s another advertising medium out there that has had your attention for years and chances are you don’t know what it’s called…or how it integrates with other media to drive marketing messages home. The medium is called promotional products, and the industry is comprised of functional products, bearing marketing messages from businesses and other organizations.
Promotional products accomplish a number of advertising objectives better than other marketing mediums. According to the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), the main strengths of promotional products are: targetability, exposure longevity, creative impact, good-will, and applications flexibility. Promotional products work best when the target audience is well defined. Through direct marketing, trade show promotions and other face-to-face events, promotional products can be given directly to members of an identified target market, thus avoiding the waste often associated with other advertising methods. Said differently, as an advertiser you can choose a shotgun (other mediums)…or a sniper rifle (promotional products) to reach your target audience.
Unlike most other media, promotional products tend to stay around and be viewed again and again, making promotional products arguably the least expensive advertising medium on cost-per-exposure basis. In addition, promotional products are the only advertising medium that has appreciation built in. The word “free” is one of the most powerful words in advertising and everyone likes receiving free gifts.
PPAI developed a list of typical marketing and motivational opportunities which can be enhanced by using promotional products; these include: promoting branch openings, introducing products, motivating consumers to action or salespeople and other employees to higher performance levels, opening new accounts, stimulating sales meetings, developing trade show traffic, activating inactive accounts, changing names of products/companies, using sales aids as door openers, moving products at dealer level, improving client or customer relations, introducing new salespeople, promoting new facilities, and building an image.
If you’d like more information about the promotional products industry or the range of products oferred…we invite you to visit us at www.PurpleElephant.com. You may also want to visit the web site of PPAI at: www.PPA.org.
Darrell Marriott, MAS (Master Advertising Specialist) is available at Darrell@PurpleElephant.com. In his 35+ years of promotional products industry experience he has created award winning promotional campaigns, written for industry publications, and conducted seminars on a variety of topics.