Are promotional products effective? Yes. Yes. YES!

It would be foolish not to ask that question about any type of marketing expense. I have good news for you if you do like using promotional products: the answer to if they are effective is yes, yes, yes!

• Yes, they are remembered.
• Yes, they are cost effective.
• Yes, they impact your business.

But promotional products aren’t just effective, they also have staying power. What do we mean by that? Marketing programs can provide “top of mind awareness,” or, they can have a long-term presence in your customer’s life, which helps build awareness of your brand in the customer’s mind. We encourage our clients to use both short- and long-term presence marketing strategies because they accomplish different things. Items that are seen briefly–such as print, radio, TV, advertisements, and direct mail–are valuable for top of mind awareness. This is important if your product or service is purchased more impulsively or less frequently and you want people to remember your business. Long-term presence marketing keeps your business name visible on a daily basis for weeks or months at a time. Promotional products–such as notepads, calendars, mugs, pens, gifts, etc.–accomplish your long-term marketing goals most effectively.  But let’s look at what the research says.

Do people remember promotional products?

Yes! In 82% of people recall owning 10 promotional products and 88% could recall the advertisers name on the product. That is 17% higher than the recall rate for newspapers and magazines, by the way. Also, 7% of people use promotional products several times a day, 17% at least daily, 29% at least weekly and another 24% report using them at least monthly.

Are promotional products cost effective?

Yes! Studies show that promotional products are one of the most cost effective mediums of advertising on a cost per impression basis. And when you factor in that promotional products are 100% targeted (you control who you give your promotional products) compared to other forms of marketing in which you have much less or no control over who sees your message, the difference between this marketing medium and others starts to become even more clear.

Do they impact your bottom line?

Yes. In this same study, 88% of the people receiving a promotional product had reported they were familiar with the advertiser before they received the item. But 59% reported having a more favorable impression after having received the promotional product. While 45% of the recipients disclosed that they had not done business with the business before receiving the promotional item, 11% reported have done business with the advertising after receiving the item.

So do promotional products work? I think the answer is yes!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about the content of this blog, please feel free to contact us!. We’d love to be of service!

Resource: PPAI Research, The Influence of Promotional Products on Consumer Behavior.