Take a Look When your marketing department gathers to evaluate where your marketing money is going to go you know you will have to keep the promotional products portion in the budget.  Handing out free merchandise can be beneficial.  So definitely order more of the promotional pens but it’s good to consider items which cost a bit more because it can make a bigger bang for the buck. Add Some Smiles Some of your customers and possibly a few of your employees may need something a bit more impressive than the usual promotional item.  You may need a good prize for an internal incentive program.  Either way you are going to make a hit if you bump it up a bit. These Are Good! A …

Try a New Thing Using promotional products giveaways as part of your marketing plan will never let you down.  Even the smallest of businesses can use them as they are very popular and an efficient use of your limited marketing budget.  They are especially useful in a rocky economy when no one wants to lay out a lot of money on marketing but still need to build brand recognition. An Ideal Product A super popular product which has just been upgraded and has always been a customer favorite anyway is the promotional fleece blanket.  A warm and fuzzy favorite, this product is super durable and easy to take care of.  Take it on some outings: Take it to the park for jazz concerts Perfect for …

In the best of all worlds, marketers are representing wonderful products to a receptive audience that will award their diligence with positive stories across a variety of communications platforms (print, digital, TV, social media). Were it only that simple. A major problem for marketers is when all their hard work goes up in smoke due to something beyond their control. What can go wrong? Virtually everything. The product isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. That’s not hard to overcome, improve the product. The audience is indifferent. We’ll just have to work harder, and be more creative, so someone will pay attention to us. Integrity Scare The sure-fire, french-fried horror story, however, is when the company has done something wrong that beings into question its …

On days when the job of a marketer is frustrating, take heart–somebody, often a major New York, top drawer marketing firm–is doing a far worse job than you. Here are some recent marketing blunders that can only leave heads shaking, but yes they happen. No One Wants to Play with BofA It’s not bad enough the banking industry is reeling financially and image wise from the market crash of 2008. Someone who didn’t consult marketing first came up with the idea of charging consumers $5 a month to play with their own money. Consumers rarely agree on anything, but this was one instance where Bank of America managed to unite the whole country against them. And the poor marketing department had to defend the fee, …

Let’s say it’s the end of the first day of the trade show, and The Booth Gang has put in an eight to ten hour day, coming off jet lag from the night before. It’s about six and the hall is clearing out. What to do now? Most likely, The Gang will head over to the bar and unwind with a few drinks, and then someone will suggest dinner, and you’re all off in a cab to someplace, and that’s OK. Dinner can be a debrief of the day, and a good day in the booth might be worthy of a celebration and a genuine bonding experience among the staff. But it might not be the optimal use of The Gang’s time. After all, you’re …

What to Do There are many different and varied angles to consider when your marketing group is looking for promotional opportunities.  A tried and true method is to give away promotional products.  Generally there are many different items which are proven to help boost brand name recognition, but there are some that are more popular than others. Get Their Attention For those who are working at desks it’s a good idea to try to get something on that desk which will be seen many times during the day.  Something that has good function so they are reaching for it to put to use over and over.  This “something” would be a promotional calculator. Constant presence in front of the customer Many different designs available including …

Moving Forward If your company has been using promotional products within their marketing plan for a while then consider yourself a success.  But you may run into a wall or reach a plateau where giving away the promotional items doesn’t see to work like it did in the beginning.  This can happen if you typically are handing out the smaller items such as pens and magnets.  Your business may need to take a look around and see if there are some other items which might have a new impact. Something Different One promotional product that might be successful for you as a new giveaway is the promotional chill bucket.  These are new on the scene and have a good potential to be influential with your …

Whether you’re a newbie or a trade show veteran, it’s hard to think of everything when preparing to go to a major trade show. At times like these, it’s best to have a master list of things to be checked off and hopefully no longer worried about. Whether you’re the supervisor, a solo, or a marketing department manager, you’re likely to run up against some form of trade show management. Here are some tips to make the task easier:   1. Make a complete to-do list–your “battle plan.” Break it down into distinct categories such as booth, staff, or demo.   2. Become buddies with the event organizer. A no brainer. The organizer knows everything about the show from the number of participants to the size …

Marketing Plus To use promotional products in your marketing plans means you are increasing your name recognition every day.  Having promotional giveaways available for your clients is a popular and highly effective method of making your business name better known.  So by participating in this aspect of marketing your company is probably always on the lookout for new products. What Else? While you take a look remember that the most effective products are those which are useful to the recipient and also have space to print logos and business names.  A product that meets this standard and is becoming increasingly popular is the promotional notebook sleeve.  In this day and age is appears everyone is moving towards using tablets as a secondary or even a …

Focus groups can provide us marketers with an up close and personal view of consumers that is second only to being with them in their homes. Focus groups generally gather a groups of consumers–12 is a good number–to talk about a product or a company’s marketing program. The group should, from invite to debrief, be as “objective” as possible, so that it does not look like the focus group is a “set up” for the marketing of the product. The reason for this is not that you don’t want to sell, but that you want “honest reactions”–or as honest as possible–from the consumers gathered. Focus groups can be risky. Marketers might gather a focus group only to hear their product being slammed in the meeting …