Cost-Effective Branding Using Custom Promotional Products

A successful business is 20 percent hard work and 80 percent promotion. Businesses that are advertised have more chances of being noticed than brands with less consumer exposure. In order for products or services to come across to the public, the end-user must be convinced that the brand is the answer to their marketing needs.

Gone are the days when people hear about a product via word-by-mouth. In this day and age, businesses thrive through sheer resilience and never-ending jostle to reach and stay on top. The business brand with a demographically focused marketing strategy earns the eye-level shelf display and instant memory recall; which in turn, translates into sales and top notch marketing. With the vast multi-media amplifiers literally at the businesses fingertips, it is now a matter of choosing which among the hundreds of custom promotional products on the market can give the business a boost.

Advertising in any form has only one objective – profit. A business enterprise cannot do away with this costly expense. Entrepreneurs vie for a share in the competitive market to stand out and be profitable. When advertisements translate into increased sales of the product or drive traffic into the business, then, the marketing strategy is working. A dynamically interactive advertisement is a multi-pronged tool that will give any business the visibility it needs to capture its targeted market. However, results may vary depending on the strategies applied and the frequency and consistency of the exposure.

Five years ago, businesses in the US spent approximately $143 billion on advertisements. Ad placements were not limited to only print and radio/TV exposure. Sales skyrocketed at the appearance of huge billboards on every highway. This type of product promotion is very expensive and only larger companies can afford to put it up. Small to medium companies could have taken this avenue but in turn find that it takes often the entire marketing budget on just the one billboard. This is not cost effective or smart.

Among the small premium items used for merchandising are articles that are useful in the consumer’s daily life, an item that will eventually remind the user that its usefulness is synonymous with a particular brand. Take for example at a barbeque party, the host lights the charcoal grill using the matchbooks given at a business seminar he attended at a hotel. The hotel logo immediately comes to mind when the host thinks of matches and barbeque. It is called “recall by association”. Other promotional items proven to carry the brand from obscurity to fame are the following:

• Wearing apparel – Although wearable items such as t-shirts and caps take about 30 % of the total merchandising products for its functionality, it can be quite expensive if the company is running on a tight budget or the business is at a fledgling stage.
• Matchbooks- Matchbooks are very popular corporate give-away that is not overly expensive yet optimum distribution is reached.About 18 of every 100 American adult smoke cigarettes, that is approximately 42 million smokers³. Think about the modest 30% of this number light their cigarettes using the matchbook with the company logo on the flip cover.
• Writing pad – Notepads with watermark or pens with company logo is usually given by hotels and pharmaceutical companies. Its functionality is limited to the writing populace and the stationery collectors.
• Table accessories – Coasters and table napkins are popular collectibles that people would love to keep. Some would even slip one if the waiter is not watching. These items often elicit fond memories of romantic dinner dates and fine dining experience. Toothpicks are also a favorite.
• Tissue Holders – A wad of Kleenex in a tissue holder would come in handy at the office or in a car’s dashboard. A branded tissue holder can be seen conspicuously on tables at restaurants, diners and bars or even at that wedding you just attended.
• Dangling logos – dangling give-away items such as cellphone accessories, dongles and flash drives are becoming fancy branding products that are replacing the traditional keychain.

Choosing a good promotional product manufacturer that can give the best value for your money is a marketing budget well-spent. It is imperative to pick a name that specializes in high quality production at a reasonable rate.

Remember, “When business is good, it pays to advertise. But when business is bad, you have got to advertise”.