The case for promotional products in a digital world
I’ve spoken a lot about the value and importance of promotional products in your marketing strategy. But what is the true value, the return on investment on your marketing budget?
To get a better idea about how promotional products affect your marketing campaign, first let’s look at some of the statistics:
- 76% of people can recall the brand on a promotional product they received in the last 12 months.
- 55% of promotional products are kept for more than a year.
- 50% of recipients use their promotional product daily.
- 52% of people do business with a company after receiving a promotional product.
Interpreting these numbers in real life terms – 6 months after handing out your branded swag, a very high percentage can not only recall the brand on the product but they are still using it. And one of my favourite statistics, branded promotional products can change buyer habits. Many consumers are willing to switch their brand in order to receive a free promotional gift.
On average promotional products can offer better ROI over the long term than almost any other type of marketing – including TV. Here are some fun ROI data on the more popular promotional product choices:
- Promotional baseball cap $0.002. That’s one-fifth of a cent per impression!
- Customised $3.00 pens $0.002
- T-Shirts $0.005, or half a cent
So where does this fit with digital and social marketing? At the cost per impression and seeing the longevity of the engagement it’s easy to see why pairing your digital and promotional product campaigns is a strong marketing strategy. Promotional products can be the reason your campaign goes viral, l or they can be merchandise for your your viral campaign that can increase revenue and create a cult following for your brand.
I firmly believe digital marketing and social media are an imperative part of a business’ marketing in the challenging environment of connected consumers. But while digital opens the door and creates connectivity, it is the promotional products that retain the connection and turn it into a long term relationship.