What’s hot in marketing? In a recent research study compiled for PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) direct mail and promotional products ranked amongst the top.

The study found these categories of marketing in the top ten (in order of the amount spent): Direct mail, Television,  Internet Advertising, Point of Purchase, Cable TV, Newspaper (print), Consumer Magazines, Event Marketing, Promotional Products, Radio.

The top category direct mail, had an increase from the prior year of 4.8% and the total spent was $50.1 billion. Radio, at the bottom of the list had a 1% increase to $17.4 billion. Of the top categories, six of the ten categories had growth of more than 2%, and internet continues to grow the fastest, with Cable TV and Promotional Products coming in 2nd and 3rd at a rate of 7.8% and 7% respectively.

Television and newspapers are the only two categories that had declines in revenue in the reporting period.

Is this good news? Yes! Because unlike Cable TV you don’t need thousands of dollars to produce a TV advertisement and hope you are going to make a return on your investment. Using promotional products in a marketing campaign can require as little as $100. For a small business this is a much more palatable level of expenditure and easier to quantify and justify on a risk reward basis.

Remember, there is no one right answer on how to marketing your business or services. In fact, a good marketing plan is going to incorporate a number of marketing mediums that support one another to help reinforce your message.