• Successful Promotional Product Campaign

5 Easy Ways to Build A Successful Promotional Product Campaign

Promotional products are an incredibly powerful marketing tool for every business, regardless of company size or industry. With a well thought out strategy, you can make the most of their power and get the results you desire. To start you off, Myron has devised five simple steps that can help you formulate a successful plan.

Promotional products can serve multiple purposes. They can be used to increase brand awareness among people who don’t know of your company, they can serve as a reminder of your continued presence in the industry, or they can provide positive reinforcement to your employees. So, before you make your choice, you should consider what it is you need from your promotional gift. Is it wide reach? Multiple impressions? A long lasting impact? Maybe you just need to separate your business from the competition? Knowing what you want to achieve with your promotional products can help you develop a more comprehensive plan and choose a gift that ultimately leads to success.

Here are just some of the goals you can achieve with promotional products:

  • Generating brand awareness
  • Wooing new clients
  • Celebrating esteemed clients
  • Re-engaging former customers
  • Generating leads
  • Recognizing valued employees
  • Onboarding new employees
  • Promoting new products
  • Increasing sales
  • Fueling customer appreciation
  • Promoting an event

Promotional products aren't one-size-fits-all; certain items are simply better equipped for certain tasks. With your goal in mind, you can more thoughtfully consider factors like the size of the item, its price, how you'll distribute it, where it will be used by recipients, how often it will be used, and so on. We can help you make sure you choose the best tool for the task at hand. But once you define your goal, don't stop there.

Knowing your audience can help you anticipate which business gifts will yield the results you desire. For instance, giving custom rain gear to clients in Nevada wouldn't have the same impact as it would with customers in Seattle. When you can give a product that recipients want to use, you can help your brand gain more impressions.

There are many factors you might consider when profiling your recipients to make your gift more impactful. You can start with a high-level overview.

Who will be receiving your gift? Are they:

  • Loyal customers who have a history with your company
  • First-time customers who you want to return
  • Leads, still unfamiliar with your company
  • New employees who still need to feel like part of the team
  • Longtime employees who need to feel valued
  • Vendors with whom you enjoy doing business
  • Attendees at a networking event

Once you get a broad idea of who your recipients are, then you can consider some more specific details. You might want to think about their:

  • Location (region/country/climate)
  • Personal Demographics (age/gender/income/relationship status/stage of life/affiliations)
  • Interests/Buying Habits
  • Motivations
  • Pain points
  • Industries they work in and associate with

With a more detailed idea of who will receive your promotional gift, you can consider what products would ease their daily lives, then look for a custom item to address that.

Know your existing customers well
Chances are you already have customer insights for your day-to-day business. You can use that information to help make your promotions more targeted. Details from customers' orders, their interaction on your social media, or a straight-forward survey, can all prove helpful here.

You might want to complement client purchases or services with a relevant gift item. Or, you may choose to send appreciation gifts to repeat or long-term customers to encourage their continued business. You could also consider thanking first-time customers with a low-cost thoughtful gift; it might just be the thing that keeps your business on their radar.

Additionally, the better you understand who your current customer is, the easier it will be to target similar buyers who are not yet customers with a gift that will draw them in.

Learn what you can about prospective buyers When looking to attract prospects, it's good to consider what promotional gifts would have the greatest impact. Even one simple detail, like their location or age group, might help narrow down your choice of product. You can use whatever insights you have to help create a customer persona of your recipients and better understand their likes and dislikes. You might even research your competitor’s customers as a data pool and start from there.

Once you've decided what you want to achieve and developed a clear idea of who will be receiving your promotional gifts, you are ready to pick a product.

In general, it's good to go for a promotional gift that's long-lasting, practical, and relevant. Promotional products may compete for counter or desk space with countless other items. The more useful the item is, the longer it will stay around the home or office—and the more it will inspire people to think of your brand.

If your goal is to celebrate customers within an audience that skews young, cell phone accessories, such as a wireless charging pad, pop-up phone stand, or wireless earbuds may resonate well.

If you were hosting a company picnic to honor employees, you might consider something like tumblers, t-shirts and lunch bags to make them feel valued. However, if you were looking to generate awareness at an event like a food festival, then a bottle opener key ring could be a good way to connect with the crowd at-large. You could even use a prize giveaway to connect with higher-value attendees or more promising leads - a gourmet gift basket or custom cooler could work well in this instance.

If you wanted to generate leads at a health conference or wellness event—where you know you'll find a health-conscious audience—you might do so with custom stress balls, pill boxes to hold daily vitamins and medication, or popular shaker bottles that makes it easy to blend in protein powders or other drink mixes anytime.

A durable plastic pen, novelty pencil, or custom keychain might be the way to go if you are looking to reach a large general audience to simply maximize awareness. These items are more affordable than branded drinkware or apparel, which may be better when you need to make a stronger impact with individuals.

It can also be effective to choose a promotional gift that relates to your business. For instance, to promote a chain of gyms you might consider handing out towels and water bottles, not flashlights. Where the object will be used is also important; knowing this can help you think about who will be seeing your logo most. A smaller or more personal object, like a pen or journal, can help you get repeat impressions from individual customers. On the other hand, a custom tote bag or apparel item, something likely to be seen in a public space, is a good way to get more widespread exposure.

Another way to make an impact is to choose a product that reflects your company values and philosophy. If your company is known to promote safety, then you could have giveaways that support that, such as first aid kits, multi-use flashlights, or roadside emergency kits. Additionally, as people are growing increasingly environmentally conscious, items that encourage sustainability can look good for your company. A reusable grocery tote bag, stainless steel straw kit or custom utensils set not only helps to reduce single-use plastics but also shows that your company is taking action to protect the future.

Your promotional product can also tie into your company’s other marketing endeavors and brand strategy. For instance, you could use your social media pages to offer branded merch to new clients and grow your customer base. You could also use your custom items to encourage enrollment in a loyalty program.

A high-quality product can work as a direct reflection of the quality of service you provide. Plus, the product will last longer giving you more impressions. Products that aren’t durable may imply that your company isn’t serious or worth doing business with.

In most cases, your printed message and artwork will be seen by both the individual recipient and anyone that person encounters while using your custom item. For the best effect, it's good to make sure your promotional product is saying exactly what you need it to say.

Relevant details
Decide what you want to include, such as your company name, location, website, phone number, or other information. Do you want your gift to drive web traffic, calls to your business, traffic in a brick-and-mortar location, or maybe something else altogether?

Similarly, you should think about the effect you want to have on recipients. Maybe you've been in business for decades and want to include that number to show your knowledge and history of success when generating awareness. This could be as simple as calling out your 75th anniversary or including a line that says In business since 1975. Something like this could work to inspire confidence in your company, especially with prospective clients and partners.

If you were promoting an annual event, of course you'd want to include the date and location of that event. You might also choose to promote that event by including the number of years it has been going on, to show a history of connection with the community. Whether it's your 1st or 15th annual wellness fair, it shows care on your part, and these little details can help support the success of your promotional gift.

What can you say to help establish your brand or make your business stand out? Whether it is a simple call-to-action or just your company slogan, this is your chance to send a direct message to your consumer.

Alternatively, if the gift is for a special client or employee, you might consider including their name for a personal touch and greater impact. If applicable, you could even include the number of years the employee has worked with your company, to show that you realize their commitment and are thankful for them.

Messaging included
You'll find that there are a number of products designed with messaging included, to help complement several types of promotions. If you're looking to show appreciation for customers or employees, you might consider a pen or pocket flashlight that has “Thank You” printed along the barrel. You could also choose a tumbler or microfiber screen-cleaning cloth with special “World of Thanks” artwork to go alongside your business imprint. A simple Thank You can go a long way, especially in business.

If you're celebrating a work anniversary or a longstanding client relationship, you might opt for a pen that has “Happy Anniversary” artwork added to the barrel to mark the occasion.

You'll also find a number of pens with seasonal messages such as “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas & Happy New Year” on the barrel, to help support any holiday promotion.

Imprint type and color
Certain imprint methods lend themselves to more permanent printing and some to protecting the integrity of the colors of your artwork. You might want to evaluate what is most important for you and choose an imprint method accordingly.

Also, bear in mind that while brightly colored products do catch the eye, they could clash with a logo that's also colorful. Choosing a product that complements your logo can make all the difference.

Imprint area
Keep in mind the imprint area and don’t overcrowd it. An eye-catching product with a clearly visible logo will make sure your message gets communicated effectively. Certain products will determine what your imprint can look like. For instance, pens are ideal for carrying your business name and location, or even contact information. Tote bags, on the other hand, with their larger imprint area are better for your logo and a tagline or marketing message.

Different companies have different notions of success. It all comes down to the goals you set. Understanding where you succeeded and where you may need to try something different can help you find even more success with future promotions.

The outcome could be quantifiable. For instance, if you included a gift with purchase for a first-time customer, you might look for repeat buys to measure success. You could also include a coupon with your promotional gift to help you measure sales results from that promotion. You might look for increased business inquiries, calls, or more foot traffic at a store to gauge the success of your promotion, or it could entail a spike in website visits or social media engagement. A successful promotional gift could also mean more visitors showing up at your tradeshow booth or a growth in the number of attendees at an annual event. These are things you can measure to help justify your spend.

Alternatively, it may be qualitative, in the form of feedback from customers and employees. You can go as formal as surveys or as informal as measuring initial reactions to see if your gift made the recipient feel special. Did their face light up when they received your gift? Do you hear any chatter around the office about your new employee swag? This can let you know how people feel about your promotional item.

You could even encourage recipients to take to social media with a branded hashtag, so that you can easily search for their reactions and feedback. Not only would that help you measure the success of your promotional gift, but it would help spread the word about your business as well.

ROI marketers should take into account that the benefits of promotional products can't always be measured by a calculator. The primary superpower of promotional products is impressions. They're an excellent way to get regular brand exposure while gently molding your company’s image. Unlike traditional ads, they aren’t switched off or ignored. They're tangible and can help the company form a lasting bond with the consumer.

According to the PPAI, 82% of consumers agreed that their perception of a brand changed positively after receiving a promotional item. So in addition to affordable impressions, you are also gaining a positive perception of your brand—and that’s priceless.