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Promotional Products Set Brands Apart
December 05, 2008
By Stan Breckenridge
In a "supermarket" economy where consumers are offered a plethora of choices at every turn, savvy advertisers are always looking for ways to cut through the clutter and push their products to the front of the shelves. Striving for increased brand impact, exposure and influence, marketers are going beyond traditional advertising media and exploring new ways to market their products.
In fact, marketing professionals are increasingly turning toward promotional products to set their brand apart. As the only advertising medium capable of engaging all five senses, promotional products have the unique ability to turn an ordinary message into a marketing experience your audience can see, touch, hear, smell and taste. Moreover, this reliable marketing tool is also proven effective when used alone or in synergy with mainstream media.
However, the real defining measure of a medium is its reach, recall and low cost. From television commercials to brochures, the value in any advertising method is found in how many people you touch, how well they remember you and how much you spent to make those things happen.
To test the reach, recall and cost of promotional products, L.J. Market Research conducted a study for Promotional Products Association International at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Using an intercept method, an audience consisting mainly of business travelers was asked to complete a 22-question survey aimed at finding how promotional products fared in those categories.
Reach:
The survey results showed that more than 70 percent reported having received a promotional product in the last 12 months, and 33 percent of that group had the item in their possession—a coveted location for advertising. Also, when asked what they do with items when they’re done with them, 30 percent of participants reported giving the items away to someone else, resulting in pass-along exposure. This is a desirable outcome for advertising, as it ensures that your brand reaches more than just the target recipients.
Recall:
More than 76 percent of respondents could recall the advertiser's name on the item they received in the last 12 months. In comparison, when participants were asked if they read a newspaper or magazine in the past week, 80 percent said yes but only 53.5 percent could recall the name of a single advertiser. Results also showed that 52 percent of those surveyed reported doing business with the company after receiving the item and another 52 percent said their impression of the company became more favorable after receiving the item.
Cost:
The frequency of promotional products use is equal to that of traditional advertising media exposure, and in measuring the cost effectiveness of media, the greater the frequency of exposure, the lower the cost per impression. For example, a $5 item, if seen by 500 people, equates to a cost of $0.01 per person.
Of the participants who reported using promotional items, 73 percent stated they used the item at least once a week, and 45.2 percent used it at least once a day. Additionally, 55 percent of participants generally kept their promotional products for more than a year, ensuring repeated exposure over a long period of time.
In a nutshell, promotional products furnish advertisers with advantages that may not be available through traditional media alone. The ability to touch the masses, have them remember your name, and keep them coming back for more can put you in the express lane to success—that's just the power of promotional products. So the next time you set out to make your brand top shelf, keep promotional products top-of-mind.
Click here to download the study results. For more details about this study, contact Anne Lardner at 972-258-3041 or AnneL@ppai.org.
Stan Breckenridge, MAS is the PPAI Chairman of the Board. For more information about Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) or to find a promotional consultant in your area, visit www.promoideas.org.
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