There’s a Big Return In Promotional Products

A lot of newcomers are making noise in the marketing industry, leaving small and large businesses alike to wonder – Is there is still a place for promotional products in my campaign? If you knew the kind return promotional products get, you’d never ask this question. Here are just some of the ways promotional products get a big return.

Cost Per Impression

Promotional products leave a cost per impression (CPI) that is unparalleled. Depending on the cost of the item you choose, you’ll pay, at the low end of the scale, $0.002 (or one fifth of a cent), or for higher-priced items, $0.005 (or half of a cent). Compare this cost to the CPI of a TV ad, which is between $0.007 and $0.019, a newspaper ad at $0.019, and national magazine ad at $0.033. It becomes clear that promo products are a surprising forerunner.^[i]

Brand Awareness and Sales

They are a great tool to use to promote brand recognition and awareness, and to increase sales.

According to studies, promotional products like a custom USB drive yield a high return on investment (ROI)^[ii] because:

• 66 percent of recipients can recall the brand of the free promotional item they received.
• 79 percent of the recipients would do business with the brand.
• 87 percent of recipients held on to the product for more than one year.
• 56 percent of recipients said they thought more favorably of the brand after receiving the item.

High-impact Consumers

If you’re a brand going after high-dollar customers, a one-of-a-kind USB drive is the way to go with promotional products. A consumer group that earns six figures or more per year is more likely to own a custom flash drive with a logo than those who earn less than 100K.^[iii]

It’s Interactive Branding

Unlike almost every other marketing channel, a promotional product puts a physical item in the hands of consumers. It gives them a tangible product to hold and interact with, which gives promo products a leg up on passive forms of advertising, such as TV, magazine or internet.

Small Business

For small businesses, promotional products offer a high ROI. They deliver similar exposure that the big brands can pay for and get, but for a modest investment.

Residual Benefits

With a promotional item, you never know how far your brand impression is going to go. That’s because giving a product to one person can often mean that product gets passed along to a family member or friend. So, for the cost of “impressing” one person, you can often get a double or even triple bonus impression.

Promotional products offer businesses a proven, high-return value for their marketing dollars. While marketing channels like SEO and social media are gaining traction and should be a part of any reputable brand’s arsenal, don’t assume that promo products aren’t performing or have gone by the wayside.