Promotional products were always a popular choice for building brand recognition during marketing campaigns and increasing business awareness, but with online marketing often being favoured, promotional items tend to be forgotten about. However, it’s important that they’re not undervalued, it’s vital to recognise how merchandise can really help with your company’s branding and also goes hand in hand with your marketing strategy.

Brand Recognition

Promotional products have longevity, unlike other forms of marketing material, so whilst the focus tends to be on digital channels, promotional merchandise can take your brand into the real world. Research has shown that people tend to keep their promotional products for one year or longer, this results in increased brand awareness for both the person using the product and those who are around the recipient.

Customer Loyalty

The effects of receiving a free gift will never fail, receiving something unexpected from a business means that the associate will feel an unexpected positive emotion with your brand. Research has demonstrated that promotional merchandise makes almost six times as many recipients feel appreciated as other mediums of marketing like print and web. Promotional merchandise tends to be quite useful, for example, desk-based items like pens and notepads, stationery can be very useful in the office and also necessary for day to day life.

The options are endless

The most obvious choices for promotional merchandise tends to be items such as mugs, pens and stationery, they’re traditionally given out at conferences and exhibitions. Nowadays, with the industry advancing, there’s so much more to offer in terms of promotional merchandise. Whilst a pen and a mug are still great and will no doubt be used, it’s an idea to consider other products which could make your business stand out from the crowd. For example, have you thought about t-shirts? Promotional t-shirts give you the opportunity to be a bit more creative whilst knowing it’s something that will get used, from dress down days to in the gym, you’ll be surprised at the places where you’ll spot promotional t-shirts.

Creating relationships with promotional merchandise

Providing your customers with products that look great will also increase the positive association they have with your brand, when choosing promotional merchandise it’s important to be creative and consider your client’s brand values and how this can be translated to meaningful and powerful promotional merchandise.

 

It’s worth including promo items into your marketing mix, great products can be a conversation starter and create that needed ‘buzz’ around your brand, especially if a product is innovative and well thought out. Promotional marketing can also compliment other forms of marketing such as experimental campaigns or TV advertisements to create a greater impact and raise your brand’s profile in a competitive marketplace.