6 Ways Promotional Products Work to Build Your Brand & Grow Your Business

At Warwick Publishing, it’s our mission to create top quality promotional products that build your brand and grow your business. When you reach your customers with a promotional gift, they’re more likely to remember your name and do business with you in the future.

To celebrate Promotional Products Work! Week, we’re dishing out some creative ways to leverage promotional products, as well as the supporting research that shows the positive impact of promotional items on consumers.

We hope you’ll share these stats and facts to highlight why promo products work as a powerful advertising medium!

So, Why Promo Products?

1. Promo products are tangible. Consumers can touch, feel and engage with branded promotional merchandise in ways that they can’t with a TV, print, radio, or online ad. A physical product creates a multi-sensory connection between the consumer and your message. Getting consumers to experience your brand with a product that can activate two or more senses (touch, sight, sound, taste, smell) increases the tie to memory.
2. Promo products are kept. Of the 80% of consumers who own promotional products, 47% of them will keep a promo item for a year or longer, according to PPAI.  But how long a product is kept generally depends on what it is, and how it is used. It’s important to evaluate your audience and determine what kinds of giveaways will be most relevant to them. Also consider where they might keep the promo item and the setting it could be used. 91% of people keep promo items in their kitchen, while 1 in 4 consumers keep a promo item on their person.
3. Promo products are useful. Useful items that can be incorporated organically into everyday life have the best staying power. The top reason that promo products are kept is for their usefulness. Just over half of consumers surveyed by PPAI use a promo item at least once a week. When it comes to frequency of use, Calendars/Planners (85%), Computer Products (85%) and Electronic Devices & Accessories (82%), take the top 3 spots for the most frequently used items.
4. Promo products inspire reciprocity. Reciprocity in sales and marketing is a great way to earn business and loyalty. Promotional items provide a value to consumers up front, without explicitly asking for a direct sale in return. When they receive a valuable promotion, consumers develop a sense of gratitude and obligation to your brand, and are more likely to reciprocate by engaging with your business. This may mean giving you their contact information, visiting your website, or making a purchase or donation. A recent PPAI case study found that before receiving promotional products, about half of consumers had done business with the advertiser (55%). After receiving the promotional products from that advertiser, 85% did business with them.
5. Promo products motivate. Don’t forget that employees are important brand advocates, too. Give out company swag to employees on a regular basis. This shows your staff that they are valued, and reinforces their connection with your branding. Promotional gift items and incentives are a great way to reward employees for outstanding achievements too. Even small items like framed certificates, and branded apparel can motivate employees, build team connection, and boost morale in the office.
6. Promo products are remembered.  Consumers have better recall of the company or brand that gave them a promotional product than they do with other forms of advertising media they are exposed to. PPAI found that 88% recalled the advertiser from a promotional product they received in the past 12 months, compared to 71% recalling advertisers on a newspaper or magazine read a week before. Financial services, retailers, apparel brands and electronics manufacturers are the most commonly recalled advertisers of promotional products. The most often recalled promotional product categories include:  Wearables (41%),Writing Instruments (35%), and Drinkware (19%).

Advertisers + Consumers Both Love Promo Products!

These are just a few of the reasons that promotional products are effective way for companies and organizations to increase brand recognition and boost sales. Check out the full write up from PPAI on The Influence of Promotional Products on Consumer Behavior here.

Have another reason why promo products work? We’d love to hear it! Share with us in the comments below, or leave us a note on the Warwick Publishing Facebook page.

If you’re looking for a custom promotion that lasts all year, we’d love you to consider calendars from Warwick! Order 2017 calendars by June 1st to take advantage of our special early order pricing.