by Michele Swetesich-Leon | Marketing Links

Marketing gimmicks may come and go, but promotional products have truly stood the test of time. If you have ever been to a trade show, you know what we are talking about. It’s the mugs, pens, shirt, and more branded with the logo of a company. While many marketing techniques are now digitally based, promotional products have remained almost totally unchanged. There are three essential keys to using these products for marketing purposes, and we will get to those later. It’s worth noting now, though, that these little gifts don’t need to be saved for trade shows and conventions, as they can, in fact, be employed anytime at all.

Studies Have Proven That Promotional Products for Businesses Create a Positive Impact

Huge organizations have been created that do nothing but supply businesses with promotional products. These organizations will often survey gift recipients to get an idea of which products create the most positive impact. Those surveys are then published to help businesses understand which products might work best for their specific marketing needs. What these surveys have shown is that there are five solid reasons why your company should consider using promotional products for marketing, and they are:

  1. The products themselves are affordable, and also tend to deliver better brand recollection that you get with traditional advertising mediums such as TV, radio, and print.
  2. 79% of people who receive a promotional product will end up doing business with that company.
  3. 66% of people who receive a promotional product are able to recollect the brand name of the gift giver.
  4. 60.1% of people who receive a promotional product leave with a positive feeling, which is almost double the number from all other forms of marketing combined.
  5. 34.3% of recipients end up having a favorable impression of the advertiser who gave the promotional product.

Effective Promotional Products: The 3 Keys

While everyone loves to get something for free, there are certain branded promotional gifts that are more effective than others. The branded products that deliver the biggest bang for your buck are those that have a long shelf life. Things like pens, notepads, USB drives, and reusable bags fall into that category. While these types of promotional gifts are always in style, it’s a good idea to think outside the box a little to come up with promotional products that might make a big positive impact. There are three keys to remember here, which are:

  1. The product needs to be useful to the recipient
  2. It should be relevant to your brand
  3. It is a product that positively represents your company

Let’s dig a little deeper into how to use those three keys to select great promotional products.

Useful Promotional Products

In order for a promotional product to be truly effective in building a positive feeling about your brand, it needs to be something that the recipient finds useful. Basically, that means a product that they will use more than once. The British Promotional Merchandise Association delivered research that showed the most useful promotional products were useful for between 1 and 3 years. The benefit here is that the product is being regularly used, sometimes on a daily basis, which means that your business name stays fresh in the mind of the recipient. Not only that, with repeated use, your brand is also going to be seen by that person’s friend, family, and co-workers, all of whom will end up, almost subliminally, having your business name in their mind. That said, products don’t need to have a long life to be effective.

Brand Relevance with Promotional Products

The cost of the promotional product usually has little to do with its marketing effectiveness. Going all out with flashy promotional gifts does not guarantee success. The same is true on the flipside, as a product like a pen is relatively inexpensive, but is it going to be something that resonates with the recipient? This is why the products that you give away should somehow be relevant to your brand. It’s easier for people to remember you if they can connect the product with the brand. More often than not, they will turn to your company when it comes times to buy the product or service in your industry. Listed below are six examples of relevant products:

  1. Branded hand sanitizer from a company in the health and wellness industry.
  2. Branded sunscreen from a skin care specialist.
  3. Recycled products from an eco-friendly organization.
  4. Emergency roadside kits from a car insurance company.
  5. Branded cooking utensils from a food service company.
  6. Branded pet toys and products from a vet.

Promotional Products Which Positively Represent Your Business

This key seems obvious, but it is one that is commonly ignored. There are some companies that will take the least expensive path possible when choosing promotional products, which often leads to said items simply not working or not lasting as long as they should. If a recipient believes that they have received something cheap and useless, they will transfer their negative feelings onto the brand. Your company may be one of the best in the industry, but that cheap item will leave you branded as a failure in the eyes of the public. Relevance and usefulness are important, but you also need to deliver promotional products that work and shine a positive light on your business.


Promotional products are always a great way to advertise your business, as long as you follow the three key elements discussed in this piece. To recap, the product should be useful to the recipient, should be relevant to your company, and be something that gives a positive representation of your brand. When you choose promotional products that fall into each of these three categories, you’re on to a winner. The reaction from the recipient will be positive, which will paint your business in a very bright light.