Promotional Gifts, Promotional Items, Promotional Products, Business Gifts & Adv

If you wish to grow a referral business using Promotional Gifts and get your customers to market your product or service then read on. How many times in the last few years have you received a little gift or a letter of thanks from a company after you have used their product or service? Once, twice maybe never, if you had received something how would you feel about the company that sent it? Very few businesses employ this strategy and this presents a window of opportunity.

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Custom made promotional ball pen which is the good promotional gift for your company.

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Custom made promotional ball pen which is the good promotional gift for your company.

One of the most effective means of advertising and promoting your Brand is by the use of imprinted Headwear most of us have watched the F1 motor racing and we can see what lengths the sponsors go to with the driver’s garments and headwear. Logos are perfectly placed for maximum exposure.

We actively encourage all our business partners, suppliers, clients and prospective customers to read this Branding article on Promotional Gifts. It has been designed to stimulate creative thinking and help YOU develop a highly successful marketing campaign using Promotional Products, Corporate Gifts and Business Gifts. Promotional Gifts can enhance your Branding but we continue to question why so many companies get it wrong and send out bland uninformative Promotional Gifts. We would like to help you avoid this trap and select promotional products that have the wow Factor

Marketing your business and reinforcing your Brand using Promotional Merchandise is a proven extremely cost effective means of advertising, marketing and promotion. Taking time to select the perfect Promotional Product and distributing it in a timely manner accompanied by effective communication is imperative if YOU want to see exceptional return on your investment.

The Mintel report (1997) suggests that a company’s logo forms the key part of its corporate identity and that corporate gifts can help synchronisation between a company’s image and identity and the report states this; “A gift with the company’s logo ensures that the brand name or corporate image is kept at the forefront of the recipient’s mind.” That definition is erroneous, is does not work like that anymore and in my humble opinion it should read more like this:

Corporate Gifts are an excellent way of rewarding your employees and customers. They should always be expertly chosen with the recipients in mind and convey the appropriate communication message. They must also be an expression of your Brand. There is a plethora of Promotional Gifts available from online stores offering all types of Corporate Gifts. As a leading Corporate Gift and promotional gift supplier we source the globe, to find a suitable corporate gift or promotional product that will suit your marketing campaign.

In an ever competitive business world many companies are turning towards Business Gifts as effective marketing tools to promote their businesses.

- How often do you receive a Promotional Gift that has the WOW! Factor and make you automatically want you to find out more about the company that sent them and ultimately do business with them?

Will my promotional gift surprise and delight the recipient and importantly drive them to action?

-Will a cheap mug or a pen capture the mind share of my targeted customers? Writing instruments are very popular promotional products everyone seems to have a promotional pen, they are useful to people that is why people keep them. I’m not against them at all but if you are choosing pens as your preferred communication vehicle then try and get a pen produced or packaging designed that will differentiate your Branding. I personally like the Pens from Logo-Lites which light up in funky colours. Very likely to capture attention and no one would throw one of these away they have the WOW! Factor.

Now Please Read on:
Any type of promotional product can work if the promotional gifts and the communication you send with them have the Factor. You should always strive to send something that will become part of their memory so when they require a Widget or an Acme Financial Service they will automatically think about your Brand. Seems simple enough doesn’t it? It’s all too easy in this situation to fall back on lazy thinking, go online type in promotional gifts in the search box. Look at what’s on offer (most sites will offer very similar products at very similar price points) order 5,000 pens with your log and hey presto job done! This is the worst thing you can do and could be a complete waste of money. This is not going to enhance your Brand and is more likely to have a negative effect on how people perceive your Brand. Using this strategy you could dilute your Brand Value. You are not sending them anything of intrinsic value so why should they support you? They are hardly likely to view your company as a forward thinking innovative organisation if that’s all you can come up with. A Brand cannot get into the mind unless it stands for something. So ask yourself this question; what does your Brand stand for and how can you use Promotional Products and associated packaging to reinforce this?

Before selecting Promotional Gifts and Corporate Gifts you should ask yourself the following questions and consider these points in your marketing strategy:

They make unique gifts ideas for weddings, birthdays and many other occasions. These are special gifts that convey love and affection. A personalised gift is more likely to be cherished and treasured than a shop bought gift that is devoid of personalisation. This trend for gifts that are personalised have engulfed the business world as companies try and capture the mind share of their targeted audience .

Traditionally Promotional Gifts were sent out at Christmas time as a way of thanking customers for their support during the past year. This practice of sending promotional products and corporate gifts is common practice and they are now used widely at exhibitions and events as an ideal way of getting Brand recognition. When thinking about when you should send out your corporate gifts why not think about occasions like Easter or Valentine’s Day or even Halloween when your Promotional Gift will be unexpected and therefore have maximum impact. This is a great way to show your customers and prospective customers you think differently from other companies in your industry. Timing is important and choosing the right time to send your corporate gifts will ensure your company’s message will be fresh in the mind of your prospects. Sent out Promotional Umbrellas in autumn with a printed Umbrella container and construct the relevant communication to the lady in reception. Before you send your package find out her name, so you can get personal with her, follow it up with a thank you card personalised for her. Discover exactly who your target market is and get personal with them you will see a far better return on your promotion.

You can use the power of referrals and personalisation when sending out Advertising Gifts.The campaign and communication can be structured in such a way that the recipient of the corporate gifts is encouraged to suggest another member of their organisation who they think would like to receive a promotional gift from you. When sending your promotion product use similar communication to this: We hope you love the gift we sent you and we are sure there are many of your work colleagues that would like one as well. All you need to do is email us the names of any colleagues in your organisation that would like to receive a corporate gifts from us and we will do the rest. When sending out the promotional gifts ensure you include both the name of the person receiving the gift and the person who has referred them; Hi John, Tony in your office said you would love one of these widgets. If there is anything information you require about our products and the services we offer do not hesitate to contact me and if you know anyone that would like to receive one of our widgets just email mail me any I will personally ensure one is sent to them, regards Paul. You can easily see how this can foster goodwill as John is likely to thank Tony for thinking of him. You are getting your customers to talk and think about you and your company, you are getting personal with your customers and building a database for future promotions. As long as the Promotional Merchandise you send has the WOW! Factor, you have made it useful, and then you have a promotional product that is desirable. This is an excellent proven strategy. If there is any way you can get the promotional gift or product personalised for the recipient then do it, this will always add strength to your promotion. Never underestimate the power of personalisation, getting personal with your customers goes a long way in assuring customer retention and positioning your Brand in the minds of your targets.

I f you are like me and follow current trends then you may be able to pinpoint a trend that will give your promotion efforts far more value. Everyone these days has mobile phones and an inexpensive mobile phone or IPod cover could be produced with your company logo and a communication message. What about getting a snood produced? These are scarf like articles of clothing worn by professional footballers and you could have these produced in the colours of Football Teams. Imagine thousands of Blackpool supporters, The Tangerine Army, wearing orange snoods with your logo tastefully embroidered on them. Take a look at some of the trend spotting sites on the internet, looks at your wife’s Vogue or Red magazine, trawl through the Sunday papers look at the Style section in the Sunday Times, visit high fashion outlets. You can get inspiration from almost anywhere. If you are targeting the camping market why not product a Spork, an all-in-one cutlery combination, it will make an ideal promotional gift for campers. They would gladly be given out on your behalf by delicatessens and food outlets. Strike up partnerships with other businesses; if you save them money by producing a promotional gift then they will help you with your marketing efforts. Look for opportunities and occasions when Promotional Gifts will be warmly received by your targeted customers. If you sell car cleaning products you could attend car rallies to distribute your Promotional Gift items. Look for venues and events where your targeted customers are hanging out.

Imagine this: You spend £1000 on 200 Promotional Products. They have your logo on and proudly promote your business. You then sell these Promotional Products for £2000 making £1000 profit. Impossible you might say, people cannot be expected to pay to pay for a promotional product that blatantly advertises my business. Wrong. Every day we send out hundreds of Teddy Bear Gifts to Hotels, Schools and Charities throughout the UK and Europe. These business and organisations sell these teddy bears at a profit. Their customers are happy to buy them as gifts for loved ones. Why, because they see a cuddly teddy bear sitting there and know how well it will be received. I call this the Holy Grail of Promotion and encourage creative thinking. If you can design a promotional product that people will seek out and pay money for then you have cracked it. Your advertising budget will be self supporting you will never need to pester the finance department for funds, your MD will love you, and everyone will be amazed. We work closely with all our clients to achieve this. For some companies and organisations this may not work but Teddy Bears are an excellent Promotional Gift and you should consider using them in your marketing mix.

You should use Personalised Promotional Products to Thank Your Staff if they do something that makes a difference, if they are unwell send them a Personalised Get Well Gift and ensure you show you care for them. Do a deal with one of the leading Teddy Bear companies like FunkyBears. They have produce Personalised Teddy Bear Gifts for The Hilton Hotel Group, Kendals, David Beckham’s children and thousands of Businesses in the UK. Staff members don’t want to receive a promotional gift with your logo imprinted on it; they look at your logo all day long. Personalise the Product so it is unique to them.

Creativity in its broadest sense is simply doing something new that creates benefit. When you are thinking about sending corporate gifts and promotional items you should always have this in mind. Kick starting your creativity will open yourself and your marketing efforts to all sorts of possibilities.A half hearted approach just won’t do put the same energy into your creative approach as you would to any process in your business. You need to lighten up, we are not saying that you shouldn’t be professional but in order to get creative you must relax and be stress free. Ask yourself and your staff these questions.

What are the opportunities are there to get really creative with our Promotional Merchandise?
What can we do with Promotional Products that will ensure our marketing efforts give us an excellent return on our investment?
Can we make our Advertising Gifts news worthy and create a buzz around them?
Can we make our Promotional Gifts so desirable that people will look forward to receiving them and actively seek them out?
Can we design our Business Gifts so they have the WOW! Factor?
Could we turn our Marketing Gifts into coveted collectable items?
Could we Personalise our Promotional Gifts, or Corporate Gifts to make them unique to the recipient?

Great marketing is not just about awareness, the Promotional Gift with your logo on falls short of the mark. You want to alter your targeted customers’ behaviour and get them to do business with you.
Dont just strive to make your campaign memorable, make it both memorable and motivational.
Liking your promotional product and your communication does not necessarily mean people will want to do business with you.
If YOUR Promotional Gifts Marketing Campaign works then do more of it, one of the major allies of Marketing is repetition.
Beware of using Humour in your communication; Marketing improves with repetition humour does not.
If you feature low prices in your communication the recipients may regard you as ‘Cheap’ Your aim is to attract long term loyal customers not those looking to save a few quid.

Promotional Products Association International carried out a survey which came up with some outstanding facts;

Over 75% of those interviewed could recall the companies name on a promotional gift that had been sent to them in the last year yet only 50% could recall the name of a single advertiser from a magazine they had read in the last week!
A staggering 52% did business with the supplier of the promotional product.

Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI said:

I have always wanted to grow sunflowers and totally enjoyed the experience, so did thousands of others, there were sunflowers in every garden! This was a fantastic promotion that brightened up people lives and had a noticeable impact on the environment. The picture was from an anonymous Guernsey Grower. Could you use this strategy in your promotional marketing mix?

My wife never visits the supermarket without it. Really usefully Promotional Product for all types of Bottles and Milk Tetra Packs.

The perfect example of a Promotional Gift to foster Brand Loyalty. Takes a 160 pack of PG Tips perfectly, looks attractive and keeps the Tea Bags Fresh. Since getting the Tin free in a promotion three years ago we have never bought another Brand of Tea. 05-12-2010 Update: My wife came back from the supermarket today with a free PG Tips Monkey wearing a red reindeer top. Take a Tip from PG!