What Promo Products Suit Your Company Best?
promotional products - photo by Leora Wenger
Have you given much thought to the branded promotional items you hand out at trade shows, town fairs, and other outreach events?
A recent article in Fast Company magazine extols the value of giveaway items to the companies that use them, asserting that they are more ‘accessible’ than higher-cost advertising ventures and that free gifts appeal to most people. The article suggests that the best promotional products have the intended recipients’ lifestyle/habits in mind, are durable but not too expensive, and carry a meaningful imprint.
Based on my experiences, there are two other criteria that companies should also consider to get the most out of their promotional products.
Ask yourself – will this particular item encourage people to think of our company, at/near the point of need, or is there likely to be a yawning gap between the reminder and the opportunity?
For example – as a communications director for a university library system, I don’t think that frisbees are a great giveaway for us because when students are playing, they’re probably not thinking about schoolwork. A much better bet would be pens, highlighters, or a flashdrive.
2) Pre-test your products
A savvy marketer should yield to the fact that there is likely to be some distance between his/her sense of customers’ preferences and their actual desires/perspective. So it makes a lot of sense to pre-test your hunches before ordering.
This past summer I ran around the flagship library in our system and asked a number of students about their opinion on possible new Libraries pens. I was surprised to learn that the funky pen with the stress ball top, that I and other administrators thought was lots of fun and sure to be popular, was shunned by most students who instead favored a design that was easier to use and put in their pockets. I’m really glad I asked first!
Parting thoughts: Have you considered your audience (and, if possible, polled a sample) before choosing a giveaway? Will this product reflect well on your company and will it do so at the right time?
About Harry Glazer – Harry Glazer is Communications Director at Rutgers University Libraries. He can be reached at hglazer@rulmail.rutgers.edu.
Recent Comments