Despite how popular internet and TV ads are, branded merchandise has proven time and time again to be just as effective, if not even better, for boosting long-term brand awareness.
According to a study done by ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute), promotional products don’t just come and go, but are instead kept by most recipients for about eight months. And if you match the right products with the right people, they could remain in use for much longer.
Take, for example, branded hats and promo umbrellas. Fashionable accessories like hats are usually kept for seven months, which isn’t bad at all when you consider they generate new impressions each time they’re worn. Umbrellas, however, are a more powerful option due to their universal appeal. They’re kept in use for twice as long as hats, giving you about 14 months worth of promotion!
Still, achieving these kinds of results takes a bit of dedication and effort, especially when choosing your ideal products. Remember that the goal is to leave a positive lasting impression. Fail to do so, and your business could easily suffer!
Luckily, we have a list of dos and don’ts to pay attention to when choosing and giving away branded merchandise. These suggestions may seem logical, but unfortunately, not every business remembers to follow them.
If you do, your chances of achieving great success with your next marketing campaign should surge dramatically. So let’s improve your company’s image the right way and dazzle your clients with some incredible promotional products!
Key Promotional Products Dos and Don’ts
DO…
…Consider Why You Need Branded Merchandise for Your Campaign
One of the most important parts of using promotional products for your campaign is figuring out your end goal. What do you want your merchandise to achieve, and what could help your business thrive further?
Naturally, many goals come to mind here, but it’s wise to focus on a particular one. Consider the following options and check which ones align with your business’ future:
- Thank You or Customer Loyalty Your goal is to thank those who have come to your event and supported your efforts. Alternatively, you may want to thank your loyal customer base for sticking with you for as long as you have been in business (think anniversary gifts and similar).
- New customer giveaways. These products are looking to help you gain more business by impressing potential customers at various events.
- Brand awareness freebies. This sort of branded merchandise is meant to put your company in the spotlight and get your logo in front of as many curious eyes as possible. It’s a way of introducing your business to a whole new audience!
- Giveaways for attracting new employees. Think of trade shows, job fairs and similar events where you could find brand new talent. Branded merchandise could help them choose your business over your competitors and become a part of your story.
- Buying incentives. These are products that aim to motivate potential clients to purchase your other products or services. It’s a bonus (gift, discount, or extra product) that creates a more positive image about your brand (they paint you as generous) and prompts people to give something back (i.e., buy something from you).
…Think of a Good Plan to Achieve Your Crucial Goals
Once you know what your goal is, craft a plan to help you cross the finish line successfully. Apart from planning out how you’ll measure the impact of your merchandise, consider the following guidelines:
- Reduce quantity, boost quality. Quality will always trump quantity if you want to make a fantastic first impression. For some campaigns, it makes sense to order fewer items but opt for more premium options.
- Make your artwork visibly appealing but not distasteful. Yes, you want your logo and business name to be very noticeable whenever the products are in use. But if the artwork is obnoxious, people won’t want to use your products at all!
- Show your company’s personality through your merchandise. Don’t just pick any product that you know will attract attention. Instead, go for products that match what your company stands for (such as minimalism, eco-friendliness, and similar).
- Take into account your audience’s needs and wants. You want to engage the audience, so make sure the products are in line with their interests. In addition, if the gifts are practical, recipients are going to use them on a regular basis, which equals even more exposure.
- Reinforce your brand message. You want your brand message to become a synonym for your business, like Just Do It is for Nike. To achieve that, you have to reinforce its meaning even when creating your branded merchandise. So, match the artwork and even the type of your products to your message to ensure it sticks in everyone’s mind.
- Forge an emotional connection. Consider communicating your brand message and what your business stands for in a personal, human way, be honest and friendly, and keep it real. At the same time, try to show understanding and convey your authenticity through your story.
…Make Your Branded Merchandise (and How You Promote It) Attention-Grabbing
Grabbing attention has become quite a challenge for most businesses. All the noise that surrounds us (ads, billboards, social media, etc.) is threatening to drown out the important message that they wish to convey. So, the only way to go about it is to think big — and loud!
One of the key parts of choosing the right brand merchandise is to study what your target audience wants and needs and then to try to over-deliver on their wishes.
Making a positive impression is vital, so make sure that your artwork pops on your products and that you’re picking items the audience would love to take home and use. Something like a custom mug or even a branded phone charger will do the trick. At the same time, though, consider how you’ll distribute your giveaways.
If you make the delivery part more fun and thrilling for the audience, you’re bound to make a better impression and help them remember your business. With that in mind, we have a few ideas that could prove useful for your next campaign:
Related content:
Custom Mugs – Promote Your Brand at Every Sip
Incentivise Your Merchandise
Promotional products are a top choice for incentives that should inspire your audience to take action. Usually, they motivate them to either spend more on your other products or services or otherwise engage with your business.
You could, for instance, offer additional products like logo badges or custom keyrings when they spend a certain amount of money. Alternatively, give away bonus items to those who refer friends and family to your business.
Another great way of both boosting your reputation and breeding loyalty is to offer products in exchange for testimonials. Even better, there are also different contests you can host on your social media pages. All you have to do is offer products like customised notebooks, printed bags, or logo pens to random people who like or share one of your posts. In the end, you’ll make one person very happy and significantly expand your audience!
Inspire People to Take Action
Similar to those contests, you can also offer your promotional products to those who respond to your clever call-to-actions. Provide them with a chance to win special prizes like printed clothing or branded tech gadgets for following you on social media or visiting your website.
Better still, prompt them to post a photo with your hashtag and promise a prize for the best one. This kind of user-generated content could do wonders for your business; it not only shows that you have some real fans out there, but that you’re also generous and ready to engage your audience and build a stronger relationship with them.
Prompt Interactions With Brand Ambassadors
Brand ambassadors could help you boost brand awareness by charming your audience and providing insight into your business. Dress them up in your branded T-shirts and other custom clothing accessories, and let them give away promotional products at various events, like expos.
Remember, though, that they shouldn’t just be living mannequins. To make a positive impression, your brand ambassadors should answer common questions and cleverly engage people in a conversation. They are the bridge that takes your audience right to your business, so show them how to present themselves as an extension of your company.
Invest in Interactive Promotions
Finally, consider making the whole promotion a bit more interactive than simply handing out products left and right. A great way of making it more fun for all participants is to boost engagement through multi-day or even multi-week giveaways. Alternatively, consider what other brands are doing (like Coca-Cola with its caps and prizes). Perhaps their example can inspire you to create sensational interactive campaigns.
…Research Your Audience Thoroughly
One of the biggest regrets a business may have when using promotional products is not spending enough time getting to know its audience. This detail alone can make or break your campaign. After all, it’s directly linked to how often, and if at all, your products will be used.
Before investing in any of your favourite products, consider what you know about your audience and determine what you should find out about them. Ask yourself:
- How old is my audience?
- Where do they live?
- How much money do they earn?
- What are their interests?
- What habits do they nurture?
- Where do their values lie?
- What behaviours do they exhibit?
You have to adjust your products to your audience’s wants and needs if you want your branded merchandise to have any impact. Your audience will want to use products that fit their lifestyles, interests and habits on top of being handy on a daily basis.
Better still, these products can show that you, as a business, have taken the time to get to know them and inquire about what makes them who they are. Such a powerful insight could help you breed incredible brand loyalty, not to mention that it could even help you stay on track with your budget.
With proper research, any money you spend on your branded merchandise will generate new impressions, leads, and even profit that surpasses the initial investment. More importantly, the merchandise will make your audience happy — so they will be more likely to keep using your services or buying your other products.
DON’T
…Go For the Same Items Every Other Business Is Offering
Though classic giveaway items like keychains and mugs are incredible gifts overall, your competitors are probably using them as well. To help your business stand out, you have to go a step further and either play around with the colours and designs or go for more original options.
Always keep in mind that your promotional products should be high-quality, practical, and creative. Stick to those three “rules”, and you should be able to find the ideal products that your audience won’t throw away but will actually keep using for months or even years. Some good examples are branded sweatshirts and logo printed backpacks.
…Make Your Audience Uncomfortable
This is probably the last thing on your mind, but know that it’s possible to make your audience downright uncomfortable with your giveaways, even if that wasn’t your intention. Usually, businesses may make these mistakes by focusing on topics that are too personal or sensitive, like religion or politics. At the same time, they may put off their audience by giving away random items that have no business being a part of their marketing plan (like sports brands offering custom toothbrushes).
Ideally, you want to create a sense of exclusivity or urgency by offering a limited number of items for a limited time only at specific locations or events. However, make sure you’re being non-invasive and subtle with your promotions.
Always keep in mind that the recipient should feel appreciated and special as you’ve chosen them to be the recipients of your promotional products. Make them feel uncomfortable, unpleasant or annoyed, and you’re probably not going to see or hear from them again!
…Cut Corners When Deciding on the Quality
It’s tempting to choose price over quality, especially if you’re handling a limited budget. However, this tactic may harm your business in the long run as it gives your company a bad reputation.
If you only invest in cheap promotional products, you will be seen as cheap and careless overall. Besides that, some cheaper items aren’t that great at withstanding daily wear and tear and may get destroyed fast. In that case, your investment would be in vain. There wouldn’t be anything left from your branded merchandise to advertise your business!
In the end, you should consider your campaign as a whole, including your audience, message and goals. If the price seems too high, know that lowering the quality isn’t the only option.
It’s better to offer fewer products that have real value than to invest in hundreds or thousands of cheap items that barely anyone will use (or be able to use for a while). The impression your merchandise makes counts the most — and you want it to be a fantastic one, don’t you?
…Postpone Ordering Your Products
You may want to get your promotional items fast, but that’s not how this industry works. Since these are custom orders, you have to plan ahead to give yourself enough time to decide on every aspect of the design and then wait for the manufacturers to create the products for you.
Ordering your branded merchandise doesn’t come down to only browsing a website and picking out an item. Ideally, you should:
- Match the product with your plan and budget.
- Allow your team some time to decide on the best options and test them beforehand if needed.
- Order samples and dedicate some time to tweaking the design to your exact preferences.
- Avoid expensive mistakes, like incurring rush charges, by collaborating with the sales consultant and giving clear information on your budget, quantity and schedule.
Just the design part can take a while, and if you are working with a large team of people who need to be on the same page regarding the campaign, you have to account for some potential unavoidable delays.
Why stress about it, though, when you don’t have to? Start planning months in advance and you’ll have your products in time for your promotion without suffering through extreme pressure or costly mistakes!
…Make Your Audience Jump Through Hoops to Get Your Branded Merchandise
Finally, don’t overdo it with your distribution tactics. Though creativity is admired, you don’t want to overwhelm the audience and make your giveaways seem like a whole lot of work. Instead, make the process easy through fun contests, simple CTAs (exchanging their email address for an item, for example), and similar activities.
Remember — if getting your merchandise is too difficult, it’s likely most people will give up and begin harbouring some negative feelings about your business. The challenge isn’t to make the objective impossible to attain, after all; it’s to impress your audience with the creativity, care, and effort you’ve invested in your merchandise!
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Contact GoPromotional at 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today, and let’s start your newest marketing journey in style!
