Promotional products are the Rodney Dangerfield of branding. You know, "They get no respect!". Often thought of as the inexpensive items given away at events or trade show booths, they have gotten a bad rep. But when given some thought, they can be valuable in reinforcing your branding efforts.
So how do you use promotional products as part of your company branding? First, you need to select products that support your core message. Here's a real-life example:
An ad agency sent sets of four leather-covered juggling balls to marketing executives. The message: The agency could help the executive keep all the balls (responsibilities) in the air.Effective use of promotional products for branding assumes you have thought through your core brand message. Without the work involved in creating a value proposition and distilling how you want your company to be known, selecting promotional products becomes an exercise in what someone thinks is cute/funny/useful/inexpensive/interesting/flashy/(fill in the adjective). If you start by answering the question "What do we want to be known for?" it will be much easier to focus on promotional products that deliver that message. For example:
If you promise fast delivery, give customers and prospects a stopwatch with your logo and phone number/web site address.
If you provide business solutions, give customers and prospects a jigsaw puzzle of your logo or a custom Rubik's Cubes with your logo.
If you help improve customers health, give away pedometers with your logo.You get the idea. Once you have the core message for your brand, you can
Search Our Website and the ideas will start flowing. If you are stuck, we can help you with product ideas that will communicate your message. (it always helps if you have an idea of volume and your expense budget per peice)
And don't forget your employees. Giving them promotional products reminds them of the core brand message.
While promotional products will probably not be the centerpiece of your branding efforts, they can be an effective addition to communicating your value proposition to prospects and to reinforcing it with your current customers
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