"A question often asked when speaking to business owners about promotional merchandise is ‘How effective is it?’. In this post I hope to answer that question by presenting some independent research commissioned by the British Promotional Merchandise Association (bpma).

Promotional merchandise has the power to make your brand memorable. Long after a magazine advert has been read or a brochure flicked through and put in a drawer never to be seen again, a targeted promotional gift has the potential to be seen and used everyday by your customers or prospects. The fact that 87% of us have a kept an item of promotional merchandise for longer than 12 months drives home the message that if you get it right, promotional merchandise plays a key part in your marketing mix.

Increasing Brand Awareness

The ultimate marketing goal is to make sure your target market thinks of your brand when they are ready to purchase your product or service. Increasing brand awareness is key and promotional merchandise provides unique opportunities to keep your name to the forefront during the decision making process. 79% of those surveyed said they’d likely do business after receiving a branded product and you want to be there when they have made the decision to buy whether at their desk, at home or maybe in the car, a strategically placed promotional gift can be the difference in being in the right place at the right time or being overlooked in favour of a competitor.

Reinforcing Your Brand

Look around your workspace or home, how many promotional products do you see? Without counting Fylde Promotional Merchandise branded items or ones we have supplied to customers, I have to hand on my desk and around the office a branded mug from a design company, a pen from a hotel, a notepad from a recent training course and a trolley keyring from my gym. I’ve received much more promotional merchandise, but it is the useful ones that I keep close, use most days and am exposed to those brands on a daily basis without even realising it. And although we see it everyday it is subtle at the same time, it isn’t intrusive like direct mail, nor as forgettable as a magazine advert; it just gets on with reinforcing the brand every time you use it.

Maximise The Potential Of Promotional Merchandise

Promotional merchandise is highly effective when delivered correctly. If you are thinking of using promotional merchandise for the first time as part of your marketing mix then consider the following points to maximise its potential.

• Consider your target market, what promotional product will they find useful and potentially use everyday.
• Does the branded item you’re giving away reflect your brand? A cheap plastic pen may impact your brand in a negative way if you offer a premium product or service. The promotional gift should represent your brand in terms of quality, design capabilities and budget.
• Measure the impact. ROI is key to all your marketing, and promotional merchandise is no exception. It isn’t always easy, but there are ways to know that a lead has come directly from promotional merchandise, for example, use an alternative email address such as info@ instead of sales@ or use a web landing page that only appears on your promotional merchandise.
• Design. A mousemat with just your logo and web address is likely to have less impact than a mousemat that utilises your corporate photography and strengthens your brand awareness.

Finally...

Have you found this post useful? Have you had any success or failures with promotional merchandise? We’d love to hear your comments. Read more inspiring promotional product blogs. Put us to work on your brand. Call Fylde Promotional Merchandise on 0330 043 18 08 or visit our website which as thousands of fantastic promotional products readily available for you to choose from at www.fyldepm.co.uk"