Promotional Products hold one of the more interesting positions in the “marking arsenal” in the endless battle to gain “top of the mind” awareness within the targeted prospect. The industry trade association PPIA has estimated Promotional Products purchases by business have approached $16 billion annually. This money has been used to emblazon the official corporate logo or corporate message on anyone of over 600,000 products. Generally, the goal of this marketing expenditure for most organizations is fairly straightforward: to create excitement, or, reinforce brand awareness, or maybe to create customer goodwill. Hopefully, this marketing expenditure will translate into an increase in sales or at the least an increase in sales activities for the sponsoring organization.

Unfortunately, promotional products are one of the more misunderstood marking tools available. Often times, a prospective client will call our office seeking a quote for a particular item for a trade show giveaway. Frequently, the would-be client is focused on obtaining something “cool” to “handout” at the “booth” with little regard to as to the marketing or commutation goal of the organization.
When shopping and developing an idea for a promotional product there are a few questions to keep in mind: What is the “response” that we are looking for with our target prospect when they receive the promotional item? Is the goal to giveaway something “cool” or an alternative use a product that is effective in communicating the message to the end user? There is a reason that the largest selling categories for the last several years are Drink ware, Writing Instruments, and Apparel.