Of all the advertising channels available promotional products are the most cost effective way to reach targeted audiences. Seriously, it’s a fact. And, no it’s not one of those alternative facts our President likes to bring up. On average promotional products generate more impressions per product than other advertising mediums. Take branded tote bags for example, a branded tote bag generates nearly 1000 impressions per $1 spent. In other words, for every advertising dollar spent on branded tote bags the product generates 1000 impressions. That’s a lot of impressions associated with your brand! As the promotional industry continues to grow into the nearly 21 billion dollar global industry, companies are increasingly integrating promotional advertising into their brand strategies. So, are you ready to start your project? Let’s go!
5. Have a clear project goal in mind. Before diving into your promotional project, it’s important to have a clear project goal in mind. What are you working towards? Is your company looking for merchandise for a marketing push or wanting logo’d company gear for employees? Will the marketing team be attending Coachella or attending the Adobe Summit, a corporate B2B event? Will you be using your items seasonally or will they be used year-round? Knowing how, why, and when your items will be used will give us (and you!) a clear picture of your project and how to best proceed. If you have specific product categories you’d like to explore we can show you a range of possibilities; from new 2017 variations to popular staple items. If you aren’t sure where to begin our team can help you brainstorm product ideas to create the most impact. And, if you want to create something entirely unique, innovative, and never been done before, we can create a completely custom promo item for you.
4. Know your budget. What’s your project budget? Having a clear budget in mind means narrowing product solutions down to viable options will be a smooth process. Come to the table with a clear budget in mind and/or knowing how much the company wants to spend per item. Remember promotional products are part of your advertising budget. How much is allocated to this project? One key piece of advice we always tell clients is this: the product you choose represents your brand. It has your logo on it after all. So choosing to align your brand with a low-cost, low-quality item might not be the best choice. Think about choosing products you’ll be proud to share with consumers and that your customers will want to keep, wear, and use over and over. For us, quality is always paramount!
3. Have the specs ready! Ready to make your project a reality? Let’s do it! Before we get started we’ll need a few things from you like project specs; information related specifically to your order like exact quantity, shipping location, and project deadline. We’ll also need your artwork files, ideally in high resolution format. Why? Because the higher resolution the artwork the more crisp the print will come out. Low resolution files can result in pixelated logos — not good, subpar work doesn’t fly with you or us. We’ll need to know how many colors you’d like your logo to be in: 1-color, 2-color, full-color? Some products have limitations on the number of printable colors due to type of material or the printable area. We can share the different types of decoration available too! Below we’ve outlined a checklist to reference:
Project Specs
☐ High resolution artwork (logo files in vector format please!)
☐ How many colors in the print?
☐ What type of decoration (screen print, heat transfer, laser-engraved, etc.)
☐ Size of the imprint (height x width in inches)
☐ Location of the imprint
2. Promo projects take time. Promotional product projects (try saying that three times in a row) are customizable by nature. Meaning the items we use are produced in our manufacturing department and they’re designed to be specialized to fit your brand. Make sure to allocate enough time for the production of your products before you’ll need them for your event. We work with our manufacturing team to produce your products as quickly as possible. The manufacturing process has many moving parts so while we do everything we can to work with rush orders, sometimes it’s just not possible to produce the project in a tight time frame. A good rule of thumb is to allow 7-10 business days for production and 3-5 business days for shipping.
1. Track the Return On Investment (ROI). You’ve decided on project goals, defined your budget, and set your project specs. Now, it’s time to measure the return on investment of your project. Studies show promotional products used as primary marketing pieces gain 85% increase in positive brand image with consumers. Adding a promotional product to the media mix increases the effectiveness of other media by up to 44%. And, promotional products draw as many as 500% more referrals from satisfied customers than an appeal letter alone. What does this data mean to you? It means your project is likely generating thousands of brand impressions. Tracking that data can provide invaluable information into consumer insights. To start tracking your ROI use these three steps:
- Define what you’re measuring. Perhaps you’re using your promotional products to track how user engagement translates to increased website visits. Maybe you’re using the promo product to entice users to sign up for your e-newsletter or to stop by your booth at a trade show. To track your ROI you need to first know what you’re measuring and how it will be measured.
- Create a call to action. Next, create a clear call to action. Using the first example from above, if you want to track the number of consumers who visit your website, print a custom URL landing page on the product and encourage consumers to visit that link. Track unique visitors to the URL to begin collecting data on the effectiveness of your event.
- Track data, test and retest. Now that you’re receiving data from the events, start tracking how each of your promotional campaigns are stacking up against each other. Which projects are most successful? What products resonate best with your target consumer? Understanding this info will help you make better informed business decisions.
Brand+Aid is a promotional marketing agency based in Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California. We turn ideas into tangible, fun experiences through experiential advertising. Have an idea you’d like to make happen? Contact our rescue team for a free consultation today at 323-800-2241 or shoot us an email at happy@brandaiding.com. For more information, check out our website: www.brandaiding.com.
