17 January 2022

12 Things Promotional Products Do Better Than Other Media

Let's be honest; you don't buy swag (promotional products) to spend money. Like any other marketing or advertising, you want it to DO something for you.

Promotional products offer your audience a unique opportunity to interact with your brand physically. That is something no other advertising media can do. Promotional items can be your secret weapon in any marketing campaign. I mean, who doesn't love receiving a promotional product?

Promotional products are a powerful marketing tool, yet they are the most misused of media forms by many businesses.

12 Things Promotional Products Do Better:

With the average person being bombarded by thousands of marketing messages daily, cutting through all the noise and clutter has become increasingly challenging.

Based on our experience, promotional items such as water bottles, mugs, t-shirts, pens, tote bags, umbrellas, and more can be an effective way to convey your message to key decision-makers or valuable prospects.

When combined with persuasive copywriting, we refer to this method as Dimensional Advertising™.

We have witnessed action rates as high as 58%, and one of our campaigns even generated a 6000% return within six months of launching. The lifetime value of the new clients acquired due to this campaign was well into the seven figures. Such is the power of promotional products as a form of advertising. They can be utilized for high-value account acquisition, recruitment, fundraising, and more.

#1 Break Through the Marketing Noise and Clutter

Custom promotional products can be a great way to gather qualified leads at trade shows, engage strangers in your brand story at golf tournaments, or motivate employees internally. To get the best results, make receiving a giveaway conditional. Add an action funnel and critical metrics to your marketing program, and you'll have access to invaluable data to optimize engagement and actions per dollar. This can help you gain new customers or recruits. Consider using this strategy for trade shows, job fairs, and events.

#2 Promotional Products Can Be a Great Incentive to Take Action

Recognizing progress is essential to everyone, and branded merchandise can be a powerful motivator for employees and clients. To increase engagement, try breaking down big organizational goals into smaller, more manageable steps and reward progress at predetermined milestones. This approach is similar to project management and program implementation techniques.

#3 Branded Merch is Great For Rewarding Action

Promotional items can be handy when trying to alter behaviour patterns. When part of a well-designed program, they can be practical tools to help people establish new positive habits. These products can serve as reminders to individuals, encouraging them to differentiate between their current behaviour and the desired behaviour. When it comes to promoting safety messages, such products can be beneficial.

#4 A Powerful Marketing Tool to Trigger Behavior

When choosing promotional products for your brand, it's essential to consider how they relate to your brand story. These products should help reinforce your narrative and draw people in at a lower cost per impression than other forms of media.

You can use them as a prop in your marketing campaigns to create a powerful memory trigger. Even years later, people may remember your campaign based on the promotional product or, at the very least, your brand name. What's important is that they remember how you made them feel when interacting with your story. This makes promotional products great for product launches and onboarding experiences.

#5 Increase Brand Awareness and Brand Recognition

Numerous studies have shown that branded products are a better incentive than cash. Offering a well-designed premium (a unique product made exclusively for your brand) is an excellent way to show gratitude and keep your customers happy. Thanks to recent technological advancements, creating a premium has never been easier. Contact us to learn how we can help you with sales-level gifts, speaker gifts, and client recognition.

#6 Branded Promotional Gifts Are Great For Recognition, Reward & Thank-You

Promotional products can serve as excellent educational tools. Their inherent nature entices people to engage with your message, and if utilized appropriately, they can transform abstract ideas into tangible concepts. Choosing the appropriate medium can make all the difference in conveying your message effectively.

For instance, we used a frisbee to demonstrate ways to conserve water. Merely asking people to stop watering their lawns after one and a half centimetres of water had been applied was too abstract. Instead, we had them flip the frisbee and turn off the water once it became full. It was a simple yet highly effective method, and the ad space on the frisbee was much larger than that of a rain gauge, making it more fun and effective.

Therefore, when considering promotional products, consider using them for social action, instruction, and product education.

#7 Promotional Products Can Make an Abstract Message Concrete

Branded merchandise can be a highly effective way to promote your brand, engage your audience, and minimize advertising costs.

Souvenirs, such as concert t-shirts and festival memorabilia, are often highly sought after by fans and can help to tell your brand story. By encouraging your fans to wear your branded merchandise, you can turn them into walking billboards and generate more love for your brand. Consider using branded merchandise at festivals, concerts, attractions, and company stores to help spread your message and build your brand.

#8 Promotional Swag Can Be Great as Coop Advertising

"When a happy employee or advocate wears your branded shirt in their personal life, they become the best advertising possible. They act as an interactive billboard that people trust because they trust that person. You can tell your brand story by creating compelling graphics that provoke questions from people. You can also point them to a video for more information. Remember to keep your brand stories tasteful and engaging!"

#9 Branded Apparel and Branded Merch as Interactive Billboards

"A premium is a unique product created exclusively for your brand. It can be a great tool for fundraising and motivation as it cannot be bought but earned by individuals who engage in a predetermined action or series of actions. PBS is an excellent example of this with their concert DVDs.

You can follow the same strategy by creating your premium. Consider utilizing it for non-profit fundraising, employee incentives, or customer loyalty programs."

#10 Good Promotional Choices Can Raise Funds or Inspire Sustained Action

Building a brand requires consistency, and promotional products are one of your best tools. Consider employee uniforms and apparel for customer-facing interactions. Think drink-ware, writing instruments, and desk accessories for internal branding and team building.

But don't just stop at your logo. Get creative, or let us get creative for you. You want to engage people in your vision and your story. You want them to write your story with their actions.

Think continuity when you aim to maintain the positive movie that plays in your audience's minds when promotional products remind them of your brand.

#11 Building Brand Consistency and Continuity

We've saved the best for last! Promotional products can be excellent lead generators when combined with effective copywriting and a streamlined process. Our process ensures that you attract and measure sales or recruitment leads every time you donate a promotional product to a silent auction, golf tournament, or event.

Our revolutionary SimpleLeads™ automated funnels can help you generate more leads, keep them engaged, and identify which channels and events generate your highest quality leads. With our approach, you can focus on lead generation, converting leads into prospects, turning prospects into customers, and helping customers become sources of endless referrals.

Why choose us? We make promotional products work!