Top of mind for almost every marketer is "return on investment", and with good cause. Advertising and marketing budgets are being scrutinized more than ever. Allocating funds designated for advertising and marketing to the proper media and method of distribution is crucial to the success of your business or organization.
It has been found that promotional products yield a higher return on investment along with a very low cost-per-impressions compared to any other advertising media. And, the use of promotional products can uniquely be targeted directly to a business or organization's prospect without dilution across the general population. Moreover, promotional products have been found to generate a high recall rate among recipients, and can be purchased with modest investments in comparison to other advertising media.
A recent industry survey found promotional products to be one of the least costly methods of advertising per impression, and were surpassed only by billboard marketing.
Cost-per-impression of advertising media.
Cost-per-impression of popular promotional products.
In addition to illustrating the low cost-per-impression of promotional products, key findings from this same survey illuminate the strong case for their overall effectiveness and ability to influence decisions in a favorable manner.
- 84% remember the advertiser of the promotional product they received
- 94% remember the advertising logo and company of a garment they received
- 42% had a more favorable impression of the advertiser after receiving the item
- 24% are more likely to do business with the advertiser of the item they received
- 38% are more likely to do business after receiving a jewelry item
- 36% are more likely to do business after receiving a calendar
- 62% have done business with the advertiser after receiving an item
- 54% own pens given to them by an advertiser, followed by shirts, caps and bags
- More than 75% have done business with the advertisers after receiving recognition items such as awards
- 81% of promotional products are kept because they were considered useful
- 75% or more have kept promotional items for an about 7 months
- End users tend to keep useful items, and more than 70% felt that bags, pens, tee shirts, desk accessories, glassware, caps and calendars were useful to them.
- Bags were the most frequently used apparel item at 9 times per month, followed by caps used 6 times per month, and tee shirts used 4 times per month.
- 20% used pens provided by an advertiser more than 5 times per day
This data shows that recipients remember and feel favorable toward an advertiser that has given them a useful promotional product, but the story gets even better if you think of all of times other potential prospects see the recipient using your product.
Number of Impressions per month
The preceding statistics were compiled from an Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) study conducted in two parts with adult participants who were mostly business professionals over the age of 21. In June and July 2008 interviewers met with 465 consumers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. In October 2008, an on-line panel conducted 213 web-based interviews. The purpose of the study was to understand how promotional products influence buying decisions, to determine the number of impressions of various promotional products produced, and then to compare the cost-per-impression of promotional products with other popular advertising media. TheMarketPro hopes that the time you have spent reading this article helps you the next time you are deciding how best to spend your advertising and marketing dollars, and welcomes the opportunity to work with you to identify the best promotional product that fits your campaign and your budget.
Sources:
Andy Cohen, "Broadcast News", Counselor, January 2009, pages 166-170. Elaine Wong, "Promotional Swag More Effective Than Ads, Study Says", Brandweek and Adweek.com, November 11, 2008. Dave Vagnoni, "Hard Evidence for a Soft Economy", Counselor Magazine, December 2008, pages 120-123.
Author: Connie King
Publication Date: February 2009