Christmas is a vital trading period for many businesses and for these companies the festive period is in full swing. Those that are in charge of marketing and promoting seasonal businesses will have made and implemented their plans months ago and will already have their attentions switched towards the new year.
With economic woes adding much trepidation to the outlook for 2012, many companies will be rightly concerned about what the next 12 months has to offer. Placing your business in the right position is key to surviving what might be to come, and effective marketing and promotional activity will play an important role in placing your company in the strongest possible position.
With this in mind, getting the most effective promotional products for your money will be more important than ever and with so many to choose from, getting it right first time can be pretty tricky.
With a little help from a study by the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), let’s take a look at some of the most effective promotional items out there so that you can find the best products for your requirements.
Longevity
If you are building your brand or looking to get your company details in front of a new customer then longevity will be a crucial consideration for your campaign.
Different promotional products can be more relevant to specific demands and as such there are some items that lend themselves more to long life promotions than others.
The BPMA surveyed nearly 15,000 people in the summer of 2011 to discover the most successful promotional products and how they impacted on the brands that used them.
In this survey they found that promotional mugs were the item that people held onto the longest, with 18% of people claiming to have held onto branded mugs the longest. Promotional USB drives also scored well, picking up 15% of the vote, followed in third by writing instruments on 12%.
Practicality
Practicality is an important consideration when thinking of which promotional products to use, as this will help to dictate the longevity and visibility of your items. According to the survey, USB drives were by far the most useful promotional product, with 21% of people dubbing them the most practical. Electrical items came second (11%) with writing instruments in third (10%).
So what do these results mean for your forthcoming promotions? It’s always helpful to see what people think are the best promotional products, but the items you choose should be relevant to your company and your audience. Consider what your audience will consider to be the most practical items for their needs and that match the image of your brand or promotion, it is this combination that will enable you to provide the most successful promotional items in the new year.
Posted by Alan Grainger
