So, what’s the deal with this whole branding thing anyway?

Why Promotional Products Are Such an Important Component of a Successful Branding Strategy

By Daniel Namm

Most people know this as the Reebok Logo.

When mapping out your creative strategy to market your brand, the factors you must consider are endless. Any business owner or marketing strategist needs to know right off the bat what their target market is, which medium they want to advertise in (i.e. print, television, internet, etc.), and how their advertising angle is going to be relevant to both their products and customers. This can sometimes be a tricky business for anyone, as companies continually attempt to market their brand in an innovative and compelling way that separates them from their competitors. What these business owners need to know is the fact that promotional products can help solve their marketing issues in many of these instances.

The purpose of promotional products is to engage both existing and potential customers on a direct and personal level that many other forms of advertising cannot achieve. Take for instance the comparison of a 30-second television spot and the distribution of some promotional pens. In the television ad, you are going to spend a tremendous sum of money in order to reach a very large group of people. If you do your research and buy the ad in the right time slot, you have a relatively decent chance of reaching your demographic and getting them to remember your brand name. However, television ads are lacking in several important areas that promotional products make up for in droves.

Compared to a television ad, using promotional pens enables the distributor to target each and every customer individually. These promotional items are usually given out at a designated event like a trade show, where the company's team can put a pen in everyone's hand, shake their hands, and introduce themselves as a representative of the company. While this takes much more time to do, the use of promotional products allows you to actually see who your customers are and develop a personal relationship with them (with TV ads, you have no idea who is watching). Of course, television is just one example of a medium through which companies choose to advertise. The point is that any other form of branding besides promotional items will not give a company such personalization and control.

Consider another point: when someone receives a promotional pen with your imprinted logo on it, they are probably going to incorporate it into the use of their daily life. 

Even if it sits on their desk or table, people are going to continually see it and use it, as everyone needs to write (the best promotional products are the ones that have a basic function which appeals to a universal demographic). The imprinted pens might even be traded or fall into the hands of someone who you never thought would get it. That means unlimited exposure for your brand at an infinite amount of time.

While a primetime advertisement on television or a magazine might reach a larger potential audience, it will be over in literally 30-60 seconds, with nothing left to remind the customer of what they just saw. When you put the right promotional products in someone's hand, they have a constant tangible reminder of what the name of your company is and what it is about, so that the possibility of doing business with you is always an option in the back of their mind.

The versatility and cost of incorporating promotional products into your branding campaign are two more benefits for your company. There are tens of thousands of items for you to choose from, so you can isolate the exact type of products which you think will be most appealing to your customers. You can make your criteria as loose or strict as you prefer, and your deciding factors may include relevance, appeal, and price. Companies even offer on sale promotional items for new and small businesses that have a limited budget to work with.

Remember to consider the advantages of promotional products the next time you are ready to launch a branding operation. You will quickly see how customers respond much more effectively to these giveaways, and appreciate the fact that they are being treated with some personal attention.