Promotional Products & Items

Marketing is no longer restricted to advertising in print and digital media. Marketing firms are constantly working to find newer ways of advertising products; marketing professionals too are encouraged to think ‘out of the box’. Promotional items like pens, t-shirts and CDs are fast becoming a cost effective way to increase market penetration of products without using conspicuous advertising techniques. Compared to traditional advertising media, promotional items are more effective and also leave a lasting impression on the target audience. People have a tendency of ‘switching off’ when they encounter advertising on the television, and print media is fast loosing its appeal.

The demand for alternate advertising media has fuelled the popularity of promotional items. Promotional items have a subtle way of making an impression on the target audience. For example, a promotional pen might not attract the audience’s attention at first, but there is a high probability that the pen will be pocketed and taken home. Unlike pamphlets and brochures, a pen will not be dumped in the nearest dustbin. Chances are, a promotional pen will make its way to the homes of many people and will thus effectively advertise the services or products printed on it. 

Promotional items are also far more cost effective when compared to traditional marketing methods. A 30 second primetime television commercial can cost close to $3 million (including cost of marketing and direction), in $3 million a company can create nearly 1 million pens that will promote their products. The chances, of 1 million pens achieving a higher market penetration is greater than a single advertisement that runs for just 30 seconds, on a single television channel. Similarly, clothing items like t-shirts and caps are usually taken home by people; promotional clothing items are also a great means of indirect marketing. For example, a t-shirt with an advertisement will be visible to not just the person who wears the t-shirt, but friends and family members will also notice the advertisement. In essence, a t-shirt can be a banner and advertisement medium rolled into one.

Memory keys have also become popular corporate promotional gifts. Memory keys make for great corporate gifts as senior executives usually have to synchronize their data between more than one computer. Memory keys are useful and relatively inexpensive when compared to other forms of promotional marketing like full page advertisements in business magazines. Memory keys can also be used to target a specific audience. Similarly, branded shirts and expensive pens are also a popular way to advertise to a corporate audience. Unlike television advertisements that cannot be used to target a niche audience, promotional gifts can be used to target a niche audience and are ideal hand outs in conventions and meeting. 

Marketing is no longer confined to using traditional marketing sources; marketing is much more than advertising in conventional media. Compared to the other advertising methods, promotional items like caps, shirts, pens and CDs are cheaper, have a larger audience, and can be used to target a niche audience.

Promotional clothing may not be the cheapest of all promotional items, but promotional clothing is fast becoming one of the most popular ways of advertising products and services. Promotional clothing is attractive for two reasons. The first is that promotional clothing offers the audience utility as they can be worn just like any other clothing item; quality promotional clothing can be worn just like any other brand of clothing. Shirts that are used for corporate promotion are usually made from high quality materials and are more often than not branded apparel. Corporate promotional items like shirts are high quality clothing with the advertiser’s logo embroidered on the front (usually on the pocket), the logos are inconspicuously placed thus making it possible to using promotional shirts as everyday wear.

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