How Promotional Products Can Help You Build Your Brand

When you are starting your own company from scratch, building your brand from day one will help propel your products and services to success and stardom. Using promotional products to achieve those goals are a great way to help begin building your brand and help push word of mouth marketing from the beginning. Your new startup is likely state of the art and the newest and brightest in your industry; but that doesn’t mean that an old school tactic like branded merchandise giveaways can’t work in conjunction with your high tech efforts to help achieve your branding goals. In fact, it has stood the test of time and is a proven method for building your brand and garnering goodwill and trust from customers and prospects.

What’s On Your Desk Promotional Product Survey Results

The British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) recently did a survey to research the effectiveness of promotional products and branded merchandise to find out what happens after it is received. The survey research participants were over 1200 business people in the UK. As you will see from the survey results, promotional products have an overwhelmingly positive effect on branding, customer sentiment, and sales. This particular survey focused on what types of promotional products people keep on their desk, but it also gives us insights into the effectiveness of promotional products as advertising tools. Here are the survey results, stay tuned at the end of this article for takeaways for your business and secrets to finding the right promotional giveaway for your company.

Which Best Describes Your Job Title?

• 39% of respondents were managers
• 24% of respondents were executives
• 20% of respondents were directors
• 17% of respondents were CEO/Chairman/ MD

What Promotional Merchandise Do You Have on Your Desk Right Now?
(Multiple answers were allowed):

• 89% Pen
• 65% Mug
• 54% Post it Notes
• 54% Calendar
• 51% Notebook
• 19% Mousemat
• 39% Pencils
• 38% Calculator
• 35% Desk Pad
• 26% Diary
• 16% paper Clips
• 14% Executive Puzzle Toy
• 14% Clock
• 8% Photo Frame
• 6% Paperweight

If You Could Only Keep One of the Items of Promotional Merchandise on Your Desk Which One Would it Be?

(Only one answer was allowed):

• 18% Pen
• 14% Calendar
• 13% Mug
• 13% Notebook
• 9% Calculator
• 8% Mousemat
• 7% Diary
• 6% Post it Notes
• 5% Desk Pad
• 3% Clock
• 3% Executive Puzzle Toy
• 1% Paperweight
• 1% Pencils
• 1% Photo Frame
• 0% Paper Clips

Can You Name a Brand of Company/Organisation Featured on Promotional Products on Your Desk?

83% of respondents could name a brand, company or organisation featured on the promotional merchandise on their desk.

In General, How Clear is the Call to Action on Promotional Products that You Receive?

• 50% Clear Call to Action
• 19% No Call to Action
• 16% Very Clear Call to Action
• 15% Unclear Call to Action

What is Your Reaction When You Receive a Promotional Product(s)?

• 76% Keep it Yourself
• 45% Pass onto Colleagues
• 16% Pass onto a Family Member
• 10% Throw Away

Have You Purchased Anything from Any of the Companies That Have Supplied You With Promotional Products?

83% of the respondents said they have purchased from companies that gave them promotional products.

How Likely Are You to Integrate Promotional Products in Your Next Campaign?

How likely are you to integrate promotional products in your next campaign?

• 37% were more than likely.
• 34% were undecided.
• 26% were definitely going to use promotional products in their next campaign.
• 4% were definitely not going to use promotional products in their next campaign.

Do You Think That Branded Promotional Products Increase a Company’s Brand Awareness?

Almost all of the respondents (96%) said that they think promotional products helped to increase a company’s brand awareness.

Summary and Takeaways for Your Company

As you can see from this survey, promotional products really do work as effective marketing tools. However, there is still a secret to getting the right promotional product in place for your business. The secret formula for effective promotional products is that it must 1.) Represent your brand well, 2.) Be useful to the recipient, and 3.) Be relevant to your company. In order to make sure a promotional giveaway item represents your brand well, it should be well made and not be faulty or cheap in any way. When a promotional product is useful to the recipient, it will be kept for a longer period of time. Prior survey results from the BPMA’s research shows that average promotional products are kept for one to three years. That is a great deal of branding and possible transference of your brand to others who see the recipient using it. The last key part of the secret formula is to ensure that the product you give away is relevant to your brand. The thing that has changed over the years about promotional products, is the variety now available on sites like ours, GoPromotional.co.uk. Sure, pens and notepads are popular and can be effective, but to get the most bang for your buck, choose something that better represents your brand and says something about your company and what it does. There are promotional products geared toward the green industry, medical industry, or safety. A promotional product that better represents what your company does will have a greater impact on branding and potential future sales from recipients. Of course, this means that the right promotional product varies from one company to another and you should of course, test out different ideas and use the one that works best for you.