People often ask me “What’s the hot new promotional product?”

While there is no shortage of trendy, innovative products, the ‘hot new item’ for a local fast food restaurant is going to be completely different than the ‘hot new item’ for a business that provides international accounting services.

Many people think promotional advertising involves putting your logo on a cool product that will “get your name out there”. Just like traditional forms of advertising, the promotional products market has changed. With multiple distribution channels, an overabundance of marketing messages and increased pressure to justify ROI, it is no longer feasible to take a blanket approach. We need to be more targeted and strategic with our marketing dollars.

Goals & Objectives – The Effective Use of Promotional Products

So how do you find promotional products that achieve results?

Think of a promotional item as a targeted advertising vehicle – a mini billboard that your customers will carry in their pockets, use in their homes or take with them when they travel. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to be useful and it has to be in the right place at the right time.

If you want to see results from your promotional products, be sure to define your goals and objectives before you choose the product:

• Objectives: What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to acquire new customers? Generate leads/referrals? Build loyalty? Get people to opt in to your email newsletter?

• Customers: Who are they? How and where do they make their buying decisions?

• Company Culture: What kind of company are you? Are you the low cost provider? Does your brand stand for quality? Are you fun? Creative? Eco-friendly?

• Distribution: How will you distribute the item to your target audience? How does this effect your product selection?

• Theme: What messaging are you using in your other marketing efforts? Reinforce this theme with the product you choose.

I love this example used by one of my mentors David Blaise, direct marketing entrepreneur, business consultant and author of Sledgehammer Marketing, Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales, Top Secrets of Multi-Million Dollar Producers and co-author of The Power of Promotional Products.

He says that when choosing a promotional product you need to open your mind to obvious and seemingly ridiculous answers. It doesn’t have to be a fancy demographic/psychographic study.

Simply ask yourself where your customers are when they are most in need of your product or services.

He uses a great example of marketing a local pizza place. Who are their customers? Everyone with a pulse in your demographic area? If you break it down, more specifically it would be people who are hungry, who have money, who like pizza and who don’t like to cook.

It’s so simple! Then ask yourself, where are they (physically) when they are in need of pizza. Might they be staring into an empty fridge? Or in the car after an extra long day at the office?

Now here’s where the product selection comes into play -- how can you advertise to them when their need is greatest? What types of products might they be using at that time?

David Blaise says (and I agree) that the most effective promotional product in this scenario may be a refrigerator magnet or keychain that says “HUNGRY FOR PIZZA? Call Joe’s Pizza for delivery in 30 minutes or less.”

Obviously a refrigerator magnet or keychain is NOT the ‘hot new product’, in fact they’re some of the dinosaurs in the industry. Regardless, for your local pizza establishment these useful items will keep their name and contact information in the hands of their prospects when their need is the greatest.

That is an effective promotion!

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