The Dos and Don’ts of Using Promotional Products

A great advertising campaign doesn’t appear out of thin air. Whether you’re shooting a TVC that will air on prime-time television or are printing promotional products, there has to be a thought-out strategy in place. The greater the effort you put in the planning phase, the higher the success rate.

Here are few do’s and don’ts of using promotional products for advertising:

DO understand your target audience.

The purpose behind printing promotional products is to convert the receiver into a paying customer. The message on the promotional product should compel them not just to be curious about your product, but to purchase it. This is why the consumer profile plays a vital role.

Before printing, try and understand the demographics of your consumer. Their age, gender, income bracket, educational background, and geographical location are crucial to your business. If you have those kinds of resources, we also recommend digging deeper into the psychographics to understand their interests, values, and behaviors.

If your target audience is fond of playing golf, you can print the promotional messages on golf accessories and golf shirts. Similarly, if the target audience primarily comprises students, you can print the same on notebooks, stationery items, water bottles, or sports accessories.

DON’T hand out the products without a strategy!

If you’ve got plenty of promotional products lying in the office inventory, you can’t just start giving them away at the subway. Promotional products are not freebies. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the street is not your customer. Make sure your promotional products are reaching the right people.

You must have a goal in mind.

1. If the goal is to establish customer loyalty and retain customers, hand these out to the current customers.
2. If the goal is employee recruitment, distribute the promos at career and job fairs.
3. If the goal is to offer incentives or express gratitude, use the promos as a thankyou gift.
4. If you’re a new business, use the giveaways to establish brand awareness. Make sure the sampling takes place at the right touchpoints.

Ideally, you should give away promos at conferences, workshops, open houses, fundraising events, award shows, sporting events, team matches, and employee appreciation events.

DO focus on the copy!

A promotional product is like a blank canvas. You need to be as creative with it as you can to grab your audience’s attention. Even if it’s a simple mug placed on the table at a career fair, the message should be catchy enough to get the passerby to stop and read. Your audience is busy. Above all, they’re bombarded with all sorts of advertising messages all the time. They’ll never have time to notice something mundane and dull. Adopt a clever approach.

At GoPromote, we help you advertise more purposefully! We’re located in Victoria, and offer promotional products services in Melbourne and Sydney. To learn more about services, give us a call at 1300 77 66 83!