Using Promotional Gifts in Conjunction with an Ad Campaign

Promotional gifts might have been designed to go hand in hand with advertising campaigns and there are great reasons why this combined approach are a sure success for your business. Here are ten reasons why promotional gifts and items make great additions to any business advertising campaign.

1. Everyone loves a freebie. No two ways about it – everyone loves to get something for nothing. When you give away a promotional gift, you're increasing your stock of good will. After all, you're giving something away. This automatically gives out a positive signal that you must be good people!




2. Promotional gifts are the perfect way to increase your brand awareness. The purpose of an advertising campaign is to get your name and your product out there. Choosing promotional gifts that are meant to be used makes your product name more noticeable.




3. The right match between your product and promotional gifts can create an indelible link. Want to equate your product with fun? Brand the logo on a yo-yo or Frisbee and see how much fun it builds.




4. Two-part promotional gifts encourage people to try your product. Launching a new business? Use a two part promotional gift to bring people to your grand opening. Send out part of the gift in a targeted mailing with an invitation to pick up the rest of the gift at your grand opening.




5. Use promotional gifts to build your company's image. Lend your company name (and some financing help) to public service promotions that you support. When you involve your company in public awareness advertising campaigns, you garner the best publicity available. Donate items branded with your company's name to campaigns to educate the public about causes that are important, and you'll be putting your company in an excellent light.




6. Useful promotional gifts keep your name in front of your customers. By sending out gifts that will be used every day, you make sure that your brand name is right there in front of your customers' eyes and on their minds when they're ready to buy.




7. The clever use of promotional gifts can create a buzz about your product. Be cute and clever, or work with a creative consultant who is both. A professional in the promotional items fields can suggest ways that promotional gifts can get your company noticed.




8. The gift adds longevity to your advertising campaign. Imprint your message on a mouse pad, a set of coasters or a key chain, and your campaign slogan will be remembered long after the adverts have stopped airing.




9. Customers who get free promotional gifts are more likely to buy and return to buy again.




10. Promotional gifts extend your advertising campaign's legs. When you use promotional gifts imprinted with your ad slogan or your company's logo, you increase the number of people who see it by the number of times that the recipient uses your gift.

Keying the promotional gifts you choose to your advertising campaigns makes sense. If you're looking for creative ways to use promotional items in your advertising campaigns, check out the leading suppliers on the internet and talk to one of their skilled professionals for ideas.

Promotional Products + Direct Mail = Responses

We receive so much advertising today, through the mail, e-mail, the Internet, television, radio, and billboards. We learn to tune certain messages out and choose carefully what we open out of our mailboxes. Many pieces of mail are sent straight to the garbage without a second look. As a marketing professional whose job is to grasp customer attention and generate responses from direct mail strategies, this can be a challenging task. However, there are some possibilities that should not be overlooked. Promotional products can make the difference. It's true. It has been proven- by leading experts in the field of market research. When a company includes promotional items along with direct mail sales letters, response rates increase dramatically. Consider the following:

1. Mailed promotional gifts solidify your business' name in the minds of prospective clients. They remember you. When children need back-to-school clothing, recipients are more likely to remember you based on the inflatable ball that you mailed. Similarly, when the heating and air conditioning needs repair, that customized refrigerator magnet you sent serves as a reminder of your company. The need to search the yellow pages or ask around the neighborhood for names is eliminated when the public already has some exposure to your name. Direct mail paired with promotional products enhances the memory of customers.

2. The combination of pieces creates feelings of gratitude in the customer. The studies indicate that when individuals receive an item of value, it fosters a sense of obligation. When customers open your packages to find gifts that they appreciate, they lean toward choosing you over the competitors based on the initial contact and favor.

3. Promotional products create curiosity. When recipients check their mailboxes and discover odd-shaped packaging or envelopes that obviously contain something of mystery, the wheels in their minds begin turning. In the beginning they may have few intentions of responding to your offer. Nevertheless, the mystery contained in the packaging can be too much for people to resist. Upon discovering your item, the chances that they will connect with your company increase magically.

4. Moreover, free gift items contribute to an element of suspense. One effective technique involves sending a series of packages at various intervals each containing a unique and thoughtful item corresponding to the time sensitive opportunity. After the first one has been opened and examined, it can be hard to resist subsequent arrivals. People want to know what is coming next. They begin to anticipate and look forward to the following direct mail pieces. Of course, this greatly affects their relationship to your business and its image.

While so many benefits exist, consider that there are ways to assist the ease of the intended outcome. Safeguard your efforts by checking in with some of the following ideas. You obviously want to see the fruits of your labor, and taking time to review the following suggestions can work to your advantage.

- Contact the local post office. Certain promotional gifts, though small, have the potential to puncture thin packaging. Ask about the appropriate methods of sending such items.

- Know the consequences of using oddly shaped containers. While tubes and oversized boxes are eye catching and can inspire curiosity, they can be an inconvenience if they force the recipient to travel to pick them up. If a package fails to fit into a mailbox and the mail carrier leaves the notice indicating failure of delivery, the customer could become dismayed. They may be disappointed after traveling to pick the mail and finding the direct mail piece. This could be detrimental to your wishes of facilitating customer goodwill.

- Create professional packaging. Use computerized labels, standard envelopes, and avoid handwritten addresses or sloppy appearances. If you want your mail to be taken seriously, it must be presented with care. In addition to looking respectable, it should not stir any feelings of uneasiness or discomfort among recipients.

- Doing some basic demographic research could be beneficial. If you are taking the time to customize an item and pay for the shipping, make it worth your while. Include something of quality to impress the prospective clients. It need not be expensive or large. However, a creative or thematic approach works well. Be sure that your graphic work appears professionally done.

Becoming aware of what does and doesn't work saves you trouble, time, and resources. These basic principles and gentle warnings should be of assistance to your direct mail campaign. Competitive businesses know that including promotional items seriously influences the response rates of sales letters.

What is Promotional Marketing?

Promotional marketing is the term used to describe the various means of communicating with customers and prospective customers. It is a key element of the marketing mix, designed to raise awareness of a company and its products or services and, ultimately, to increase sales.

The aim of promotional marketing is to inform, persuade and influence. It is hoped that by delivering the right kind of information in a persuasive manner a decision to make a purchase will be made. This is commonly referred to as AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

Before being able to arrive at the correct promotional marketing mix, agreement has to be reached as to the message and the audience. Only then can the most cost-effective media be selected to convey that particular message. Usually a range of methods are used but in order to be most productive it is essential that they form part of an integrated campaign.

If this is not the case there is a risk that the consumer becomes confused by receiving mixed messages. If, however, all the individual elements work in harmony within a well constructed strategy, a synergistic benefit can be achieved with the total effect far outweighing the sum of the various individual ones.

One of the key elements of promotional marketing is the use of promotional products. These have been proven to be highly effective as a stand-alone advertising medium, yet significantly better results are achieved when they are used in conjunction with above-the-line advertising media such as television and print.