Promotional Products: Learning from Others’ Mistakes

Published by AYN Brand | Filed under Branding, Promotional Products |

If you want to take advantage of the branding, marketing, and relationship building benefits of promotional products, be sure to avoid these some common mistakes that many people frequently make:

• Failure to develop a specific campaign objective.
  Too many campaigns don’t determine their objective in advance. Companies tend to think of promotional products as “giveaways,” rather than as advertisements or investments. Because promotional products are so much less expensive than broadcast advertising (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, etc.), people often don’t see them as the effective, highly-targeted advertisements they are.

Whether your goal is to increase traffic at a trade show, reach new customers or clients, boost sales with current customers or clients, or reinforce product or business loyalty, the first goal of any promotional product campaign is to have a goal, a purpose, and a desired outcome. Promotional products are particularly effective at stimulating action. Do you want to increase the number of leads? Increase the volume of each sale? Build customer loyalty or employee effectiveness? The possibilities are endless.

Whatever your marketing objectives are, they need to be specific and measurable. Generalizations like “making people more aware of our business or business name” are okay, as long as you specify a target market.

If you need help identifying objectives, please contact us at AYN Brand: we’ll be happy to help you determine your goal or purpose before you invest in a promotional product campaign. Our consultation is without obligation. We can help as much or as little as needed.

• Failure to create or implement a practical distribution plan to a specific audience.
  Other forms of advertising have their distribution built in to the medium: Newspaper and magazine ads are delivered to homes and businesses, radio, and TV are broadcast. But buying 1,000 custom imprinted pens does not put the pens in the hands of customers and/or qualified prospects. So what do you do with them?

You should develop a clear, practical distribution plan. Make sure to consider the cost of the distribution when budgeting for your campaign. Mailing products or handing them out at trade shows will add postage or registration fees to your budget. If you’re already going to a trade show, or if you will give items to customers at your store, you won’t have additional costs.

Research shows that having a specific distribution plan significantly increases the effectiveness of promotional products. For instance, a mailing to qualified buyers prior to a trade show increases booth traffic and qualified lead generation more than simply distributing items to passersby at the show. Letting people know that you will be at the show creates the desire to stop by your exhibit. It also provides a topic of initial conversation or ice breakers. “I got your mailing.” Or “Did you get our mailing?”

• Failure to create a compelling graphic or color theme.
  A campaign that doesn’t engage your audience is money down the drain. People should see your product, logo, or color scheme and immediately recognize it as yours. Branding or business identification should be built into your campaign, even when it is not the central purpose of the campaign.

Recognition and repetition are key elements in advertising, and must also be key elements in your promotional product/ad specialties campaign. Tying your logo and color scheme to all aspects of your business, from business cards to billing invoices - as well as promotional products and product packaging - will help establish and build your company brand.

AYN Brand can develop a compelling image, logo and/or color theme for you, or we can import an existing logo or theme into any artwork needed for custom imprinting.

• Failure to develop a message.
  Okay, you have a great logo and color scheme, but you can still do better! A catchy, short message or motto will greatly enhance your success.

How does this work? Think about soda: Coke has “Coke: The Real Thing”; Pepsi has “Pepsi: The Next Generation.” These companies spend millions of dollars fine-tuning this process and put even more into the message’s implementation. They believe it works, and it does! You can do it it, too, for A LOT less that a million dollars (fortunately!).

Names, messages, and mottos are just as important as logos and colors in advertising. When people recognize the visuals of your product or company, your message can motivate them to action: to buy your product or service. For example, a bank used the message: “Are you tired of being treated like a small fish?” and sent fish-related products to potential customers, emphasizing the message in accompanying brochures and materials. Enhancing your campaign’s theme with a message or motto will solidify your company brand, service, or product in the minds of your target audience; so, when they are ready to buy, they automatically think of your business or product - and with a promotional product in hand, they’ll have your address, phone number, or website address in front of them.

• Failure to use a promotional product that has a natural relationship to your business or campaign theme.
  One of the main purposes of advertising is to build bridges from the customer’s need to your company or product. Xerox did such a good job of it that people now say Xerox when they mean copy, as in: “Can you Xerox this?” That’s branding success. One company used a magic theme for its conference held at Disney World. Attendees received magic-related products that were tied to the theme: “Experience the magic.”

You want people to relate your company and offers to the promotional products that will go home with them, so that each time they see the product, they associate it with your business or offer. This mental process produces a familiarity that builds trust.

AYN Brand can help you develop an effective campaign that uses all of these elements - image, logo, colors, message, motto, and products - to powerfully impact your target audience, build relationships with them, and turn them into loyal customers.

• Picking an item based solely on price.
  Too many people approach promotional product advertising by choosing items that are the cheapest, not necessarily the best for reaching their target market. This is probably the most common error, and it can quickly lead to a failed campaign and a poor perception of the effectiveness of promotional products. However, the fault does not lie with the products, but with the campaign plan, or lack thereof.

The promotional products chosen should actually be the last decision you make, not the first. It doesn’t matter what you or I like, or don’t like. What matters is the success of the campaign. That means decisions must be made on the basis of the campaign’s goals and purpose. The likes and desires of the recipients take priority. Therefore, the selection of products should be determined by the plan and the target audience: 10¢ pens does not make them a bargain if they don’t accomplish your objectives. That would just be more money down the drain.

Appropriate promotional product selection is crucial. You need the right product for your audience. AYN Brand can help you make an intelligent product choice that will accomplish your goals.

In sum, a good promotional products distributor can answer your questions and help you plan a successful campaign. AYN Brand fulfills this role by helping you develop targeted strategies and identify unique and cost-effective products that will successfully accomplish your objectives. We offer creative distribution plans and can provide you with valuable insight on what campaigns and products have proven most effective for your industry and market.

Yet, we will not impose our agenda on you. You are in the driver’s seat. We are here to serve you. If you want our help or advice, just ask. We don’t believe in high-pressure sales tactics to load you up with a bunch of stuff that you neither want nor need. We believe that your long range business success is in our best interest. So, we’ll work with you however you want.