4 Steps to get your promotional items in front of people

Promotional Products are a great way to get your business name in front of people at a relatively low cost. But they are not doing you any favors sitting in your storage closet awaiting an Annual Trade Show or Holiday Party. Your promotional items need to be in front of people on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Here are some helpful ways to make that happen.

1. One of the least expensive marketing tools you can invest in is a pen printed with your logo and website. They can be carried around easily within a pocket or bag, and generally people won’t say no to receiving one. One great way to utilize your branded pens is to leave them everywhere! Keep a pen on you every time you dine out and when you sign the check – switch out the pen they gave you with one of your own. If you dine in the same location often enough, soon all of their pens may have your contact information.

*Tips for pen imprints: Make sure you have a logo that works in a horizontal format. Create a short tag line that says what you do (or what you do differently). Choose one contact method: Website or Phone Number. Don’t overstuff the imprint area with so many details that everything becomes too small to read.

2. Make sure you are spending your money on the right item. For approx. $1.00 - $1.50 per item you can purchase a plastic sport bottle or a microfiber cleaning cloth. In my experience, an inexpensive bike bottle can be perceived as low quality and disposable; whereas the microfiber cloth is seen as practical and can easily wind up in a prospect’s bag, car, desk, etc. Additionally, the large bottles are more expensive to store and ship.

*Tips for microfiber cloth imprints: Invest in a cloth that allows for a full color imprint. Understand that this is a marketing piece; just printing a logo and website is a waste of the space and money. Design this as you would a brochure or other collateral: Use photos, bullet points, testimonials, etc. - anything that stands out at a quick glance.

3. Donate your branded promotional products to local events: races, golf tournaments, non-profits, community days, etc. This has the potential to introduce your organization to an entirely new audience. If you need to clean out your supply closet of old unused products, this donation is better than throwing them out. But, as you move forward, it is best to ensure that the item provided is unique and on theme with the organization and/or event. Contact a representative of the receiving organization and ask them if their target audience looks for particular items and/or if they have already received specific items for give away to avoid providing duplicate products.

*Tips for donated items: Think about co-branding your product with the organization which you are donating the items to. Ask them if you can also print their logo with a “Proud Supporter of” message. This can help your item stand out from other donations and become more meaningful to the organization’s audience.

4. Provide a cohesive branded package by putting your collateral material, samples, or presentation in something branded with your logo. Two great options are a printed presentation folder or a reusable bag. The branded presentation folder is one of the best ways to tie your collateral together and provide an additional look at your messaging on future viewings. The reusable bag can hold marketing materials or presentations and can continue to reinforce your message outside of the board room.

*Tips for presentation items: Make sure you know how many attendees will be in your meeting. Bring a full package for everyone. Be sure that all of your items: printed presentations, leave behind material and promotional items all communicate the same message and can speak for your organization long after you have left the meeting.

A few additional tips for promotional products in general:

· Try as often as possible to think outside the logo to ensure that you are clearly communicating what you do best with every product you order.

· Purchase gifts for specific audiences and events; don’t assume a Stress Ball or Key Chain will get the message across to all audiences 365 days a year.

· If you’ve already purchased promotional products, get them out there in front of people! That’s why you invested in them in the first place!

· If you haven’t purchased promotional items yet (or you want to try something new) reach out to Promotional Guidance for a free consultation on how to properly promote yourself with the right budget, message, and distribution.

Patrick Gallagher