The UK is not just full of history but also the home of many lovely attractions. From the Tower of London and Yorkshire’s Flamingo Land Resort to the London and Chester Zoos and a host of exquisite museums — exploring the UK certainly allows one to have a whale of a time.
Luckily, we aren’t the only ones who love these attractions. Every year, they attract thousands of visitors, who are ready not just to have fun but take certain mementoes with them back home. Now that the world is opening up again, we’ll soon see visitor figures rise once more.
A wonderful keepsake many of those visitors would love to have is a collectable branded pin badge. If you own an attraction and are looking for ways to engage visitors and build more loyalty, this promotional product could very well help your marketing strategy be a roaring success.
Collectable Pin Badges 101: Are They Truly So Appealing?
Pin badges are just some of the things people love to collect — some old fan-favourites include coins, stamps and comic books. A great thing about pin badges is that every collection can be totally unique and based on a single interesting theme. There’s almost no limit to how many collections one can start or complete until the rest of their life!
What makes pin badges so alluring to collectors is that they can come in various styles, shapes, and sizes — and of course, at a range of price points. The more exclusive versions may also come with special backing cards that complement the badges perfectly and commemorate the events or ideas further. Businesses, for instance, love using those cards to fuel more interest. They can print social media hashtags on them or use them to push marketing messages.
The key question is — how vast is the market for collectable pin badges? As surprising as it may seem, it’s pretty extensive!
If we’re talking about attractions, in particular, collectable pin badges wouldn’t only mark a start of a new collection but also help keep memories alive later on. Gift shops are absolutely brimming with tourists who’d love to take a piece of the experience home.
Better still, the whole “business” is scalable to a global level. With online gift shops, your collectable pin badges could be sent to all parts of the world!
But don’t be fooled by us using tourists to explain the appeal of pin badges. Collectors from all over the world have already come together to form various groups and associations.
The Badge Collectors Circle and The British Badge Collectors Association are just a few fine examples. Specific pin badges, such as the ones based on Disney stories, sports, and similar, also unite people around the globe.
Using Collectable Badges to Boost Engagement
You are the one who knows which parts of your attraction visitors are most keen on. Whether it’s a special exhibition at your museum or a favourite ride in your theme park, you can use those as inspiration for your line of collectable pin badges.
In case you aren’t sure what kind of badge you want, you can always explore what other institutions are doing. Seek out museums, galleries, and other places with gift shops and find out which badges they offer. Then, you can use those as examples of how your pin badges should look and feel.
Once you have your badges ready, here are two ways to use them to drive more engagement — and more visitors to your attraction.
Host Competitions or Sweepstakes
Almost everyone in this world loves to compete, and they’d be especially keen if the prize was a beautiful pin badge to add to their collection. To help them with their hobby, you can organise competitions or sweepstakes. The main benefit for visitors would be the prizes. You, however, would gain even more — a larger influx of visitors and more engagement.
Some ideas to explore include creating a brand new badge to celebrate another chapter in your business’ history. If you have a museum, you could honour a new exhibition with an inspired pin badge. The same goes for attractions like theme parks; if you have a new ride, why not mark it with a limited-edition souvenir?
The competition itself boils down to how creative you are. A good idea is to perhaps try to boost your social media engagement at the same time. For instance, you can offer a badge to the first 100 people who like, share, and/or comment on your celebratory post.
Competitions also let you create more urgency before selling the badges online or in gift shops. Use the power of social media in this case, too, by offering a free limited-edition badge before anyone else can get it!
You can, for example, create a separate post about the badge to announce it to the world. Then, alongside other competition rules, say that you will give a free one to the first few lucky ones who comment on the post with your hashtag.
Alternatively, you can use the competition to not only win more fans but also sell more tickets. For instance, the first 100 people who buy tickets for your new show, exhibition, and similar events get a free badge!
Sell the Badges at Stands and in Gift Shops
Naturally, you can always sell your collectable pin badges at as many locations as possible. Those who have had a fantastic time at your attraction would deem themselves lucky if they got one.
However, even here, you can take it all to a whole new level by offering some special badges from time to time. These can be tied to specific holidays (e.g. Christmas) or events (e.g. Fundraisers, Halloween) — that should boost the exclusivity factor.
Plus, since they are limited edition, their scarcity drives the demand higher. More importantly, it makes visitors see them as more valuable than other badges.
Bonus Idea: Invite Collectors to Swap Badges at Your Attraction
Finally, it’s a fantastic idea to actually use the fact there are so many collectors out there. You and your attraction could unite them during a special swap event. There, they could not only engage with other collectors but finally obtain various in-demand badges.
This move would attract people who may not have thought about visiting your attraction before. If they leave this event with a satisfied smile, they’re bound to talk about it and perhaps come again too!
As you can see, even tiny products such as pin badges are able to make a grand impact. With some clever marketing techniques and events organised for driving interest, they could help you win over lifelong patrons. Some may discover a new hobby through your events, so your badges might bring more joy to their lives too!
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As always, we are here to answer any questions you may have. Contact us to talk through your ideas. Together, we’ll make sure your chosen pin badges fit any event or giveaway you have in mind! You may give a member of our experienced team a call on 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today. If you’re looking for something different, check out our full collection of corporate printed badges which includes custom button badges and logo branded enamel badges. We are sure that you will find what you’re looking for!
