If you haven’t added promotional products to your marketing mix, you are missing an opportunity. Promotional products like branded pens and refrigerator magnets, or even more unusual items such as branded toys or back scratchers, reinforce your brand every time the recipient sees or uses them. Branded promotional products also tend to be kept for more extended periods than traditional marketing pieces, giving you a very low cost per impression.
Branded
products are powerful tools to have in the marketing arsenal. However, ordering
these items isn’t like ordering print. Here is a quick checklist to make the
most of your investment.
1. Stick with simple designs.
Don’t
try to overload the product with copy or images. Often, a logo and phone number
are all you need.
2. Build in lead time.
You
may be used to being able to place rush orders for brochures and direct mail,
but promotional items require more lead time. Plan at least several weeks in
advance.
3. Think in a single color.
There
may not be a significant difference in cost between single-color and multicolor
printing in the commercial print world. In the promotional products world,
there is. Use single-color versions of graphics and logos to keep the cost down.
4. Plan for the price break.
In
the world of commercial print, you don’t want to over-order products simply to
get a price break, especially when considering the cost of obsolescence.
Promotional items will go out of date less quickly, however, and the price
breaks with volume can be substantial.
5. Consider the final
mailing size.
If
you are going to be mailing your promotional items, remember to consider
mailing cost, too. A more expensive promotional item that ships flat may have a
lower overall cost than a lower-priced but bulky item that needs to be mailed
in a dimensional package.
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