What is a promotional product?

A promotional product is any item “used to promote a product, service or company program including advertising specialties, premiums, incentives, business gifts, awards, prizes, commemoratives and other imprinted or decorated items.”*

These promotional items do more than simple advertising, they are used multiple times, not merely viewed and discarded, and are physically handled and regularly viewed by the recipients… all without costing the advertiser to repeat the initial investment.

How big is the marketing impact?

According to research done by the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), a not-for-profit association for the promotional products industry, 58% of those responding to a survey said they kept promotional products from one year to over four years!

Even if the item is only viewed or used once a week, that’s 52-200+ visual impressions of the brand received from a single marketing tool. Compare that to how many times a magazine or newspaper ad is viewed by an individual consumer.

Eighty-three percent of those responding like getting promotional items and 48% wish they received more. Sixty-nine percent keep the promotional product if they have a use for it and 35% will keep it just because they like the advertiser. Eighty-nine percent of consumers surveyed could remember the advertiser on a promotional product they had received in the past two years and over 76% could remember the advertiser, the message and the actual product received!

How positive is the marketing impact?

People who receive promotional products are more likely to remember the name and the message of the advertiser, whereas advertising messages in magazines, television, newspapers are harder to recall for those individuals surveyed.

The reach can spread beyond the initial recipient when the item is used in the company of others, is displayed on a desk, a wall or a refrigerator/file cabinet or is visible in/on a vehicle. Even those who choose not to keep the promotional item are likely to give that item to someone else, further spreading the brand and marketing impact of the provider.

The survey results indicate that recipients have a more positive opinion of the advertiser on a promotional product and are more likely to use and recommend the business or services giving the promotional items. Promotional products not only increase interest in your brand and/or services and help create a good impression of your brand — they are also a cost effective way to promote yourself in an economy that may require you to pick and choose your marketing investments carefully.

• Why wouldn’t you select an item that will have repeated “impressions” of your message with a single investment?
• Why not select something your target market will keep and use?
• Wouldn’t you prefer a vehicle that will deliver your message in a way that’s positive, cost effective, and helps to solidify your brand, your services and your message?

If you haven’t started using promotional products for your business yet, now is the time. Best Print Buy can help you with custom bookmarks, calendars, and magnets designed to get you noticed.

And, if you are considering a real estate promotional calendar, you may want to know that 52% of those individuals surveyed look to a posted calendar when they need to check the date or day of the week, not a digital one. How many views per year will THAT give your business?

If you are ready to find out, Call Best Print Buy at 1-866-763-8720. We are here to help you succeed!

*From the 2010 Promotional Products Association International’s 2010 Fact Sheet.