| You
probably personally use at least one every day - maybe that mug you drink your coffee from
or the calendar you use to schedule meetings or the sweatshirt you wore this
weekend. Everyone has at some time been given something with a logo on it.
That's because promotional products are powerful tools that can solve your marketing,
public relations and internal problems and motivate your targets, be they consumers,
businesses, volunteers, benefactors, employees, communities, etc., toward your objectives
and enable you to achieve your goals. What "promotional products" means
Different terms you'll hear for promotional
products
What's in the future?
What Promotional
Products Means
In its simplest form, the term promotional product is a
catch-all phrase for products that are used to affect a behavior or convey a message.
But they are really a sophisticated tool. Some examples of the different ways
to use promotional products are to motivate your salespeople, thank your board of
trustees, introduce a new product, get your dealers to load up on more product, reduce
on-the-job accidents.
Promotional products usually, but not always bear an
appropriate logo, slogan or saying, known as the imprint. There are many different
ways a product can be imprinted, depending on the material from which it is made.
Some common methods of imprinting include printing, screenprinting, embossing, embroidery,
hot stamping, pad printing, etching, engraving, die-casting, etc. The message itself
can be as simple as a company logo or as complex as a mission statement. By their
nature, promotional products are usually sold in quantity and imprinting is rarely done on
a single item. And because promotional products are generally purchased in
quantities, they usually cost less than the recipient thinks they do, giving them a higher
perceived value. How a promotional product is packaged can enhance its perceived
value even more.
Certain products have traditionally been used for
promotional purposes, and are the products most typically associated with this market.
Some of these products include calendars, mugs, pens, t-shirts, bumperstickers,
keytags, etc. But there is really no limit to the type of product that can be used
to communicate a message. Today, there are literally hundreds of thousands of
promotional products, including many high-value items like clocks, crystal, china and
watches. Additionally, automotive accessories and desktop products are very popular.
Different Terms You'll
Hear for Promotional Products
The four major groups of promotional products include:
Advertising
Specialties are useful or interesting articles of merchandise, usually
carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message, given with no obligation.
Ad specialties are also referred to as promotional products, giveaways and
adcentives. They're usually distributed in large quantities for an advertising-type
purpose such as creating awareness of a company, encouraging goodwill between a company
and its clients or calling attention to a special benfit of a company or its products;
usually without obligation.
Virtually every type of business, from financial
institutions and Fortune 500 companies to gas stations and lumber yards, use advertising
specialties from time to time. Specialties are also used a great deal by nonprofit
organizations like scholls, churches, clubs and amateur sports leagues. We can provide
creative guidance for choosing just the right item for your organization.
Business Gifts
are a product given by a business to its customers, employees, friends or other
influentials for goodwill and without obligation.
The imprint on such products is frequently the giver's
company name or logo and sometimes they are personalized with the recipients name as well.
However, the imprint on a business gift is usually smaller and placed in an inconspicuous
spot, known as a subtle imprint. Sometimes there is no imprint at all on the product
itself, but it is part of the accompanying card or tag. Some common reasons for
gift-giving include thanking customers for their patronage, developing contacts,
recognizing employee performance and celebrating special occasions and holidays.
Incentives and
Awards are recognition merchandise, often personalized, used to acknowledge
performances and milestones and motivate people toward a specific behavior or objective,
be it more sales, fewer accidents, etc. It is the fastest growing segment of the
promotional products industry, mostly attributable to corporate America's increasing focus
on motivation, workplace safety and goalsetting.
The most typical products associated with this category
have been plaques, service pins, trophies and award jewelry. But today, many other types
of products are used as incentives and awards. Products are often selected to
reinforce the theme of a special incentive program, like an automotive accessory for a
driver's safety program or Elvis-themed products for a sales trip to "Blue"
Hawaii. More and more companies are using catalog programs in which points are earned and
redeemed for merchandise chosen out of a catalog.
Premiums are
often the same product as an ad specialty, but unlike an ad specialty, the recipient must
do something to receive that product. Also, a premium is not always imprinted.
When you buy a box of cereal with a toy inside, you have received a premium.
The same is true of the t-shirt you receive by mailing in a proof-of-purchase coupon to a
manufacturer or the sleeve of golf balls you received for recommending someone who joined
your golf club.
In both cases, an action was required before you
obtained your gift. There are several different kinds of premiums, each with different
requirements regarding how the premium is received. Some common types include sweepstakes,
trading stamps, contests and mail-ins.
New Product Growth Estimated
At 10 Percent Per Year
New products are continually being developed.
Many industry suppliers literally search the globe for new an innovative products that can
be used in the promotional products industry and constantly monitor trends in business and
society in order to develop products that will appeal to different groups based on
demographic, psychographic and geographic data.
Also, new suppliers continually enter this market,
adapting their products to the requirements of the industry, particularly in terms of
imprinting and quantity pricing. It's estimated that there is a 10% growth each year
in the number of products offered through the promotional products industry. |
