The Pros & Cons of Promotional Products for Marketing Your Brand

We can’t say enough how transformative and powerful promotional products are for brands. We’re not just saying that because we’re a promotional products provider. We don’t want to just close a sale; we want to be partners with our clients and help them achieve their goals and success.

Promotional products are not magic, they do have their limitations. But when they are planned and implemented strategically and effectively, brands can get immensely better results than if they use digital or traditional marketing.

If it’s your first time using promotional products in your business, here are the pros and cons.

Pros of Promotional Products

1. Promotional products are more affordable and cost-effective

Compared to other advertising media (radio, print, TV, and digital), branded merchandise is a lot more inexpensive and cost-effective. Why is that? Promotional products have a lower cost-per-impression (CPI) (6 cents).

As for the price, ad placement for traditional advertising mediums such as print, radio, and TV run hundreds to thousands of dollars. On the other hand, digital ads are affordable but ineffective. Branded merchandise hits the sweet spot between affordability and effectiveness.

2. Promotional products offer better brand recall and retention

People tend to easily forget the ads that they see online. Called “Banner Blindness,” it is a marketing occurrence where digital ads fail to make an impression on people due to so many things popping up on the Internet.

Meanwhile, 88% of users remember the brand printed on promotional products. They are also more likely to generate more impressions as they wear or use them out and about. Nine out of 10 people also say that promotional products make events more memorable, according to PPAI Research 2021

3. Promotional products are a well-liked advertising medium

Advertisements are usually seen as invasive annoyances. More people are becoming cautious of their online footprints as cookies and trackers tend to use their activity and behaviour for advertising research, making people more likely to block online ads.

Unlike other advertising formats, promotional products are well-liked and even loved by people. According to PPAI 2021, 94% of consumers enjoy receiving promotional products. Meanwhile, 85% also prefer it to sales emails.

4. Promotional products generate long-term impressions

Promotional products last for a very long time. On average, people tend to keep them for over a year, according to ASI research. Therefore, they provide longer brand exposure and generate more impressions due to their longer shelf-life. They also generate more impressions the more that other people see them.

5. Promotional products can be used for different business goals

Branded merchandise is versatile. It can be used for any business goal, such as advertising campaigns, employee engagement programmes, trade shows, event promotions, corporate gifts, recruitment initiatives, and more. There are hardly any business initiatives where promotional products wouldn’t serve a good purpose.

6. Promotional products complement other advertising mediums

Many companies use promotional products to boost other promotional campaigns, like improving the following on social media or email signups to newsletters, increasing foot traffic at trade shows, encouraging purchases, and more.

7. Promotional products increase donations and brand awareness for not-for-profit organisations

While promotional products require some outlay, they can engage supporters and donors to a not-for-profit’s cause. In fact, people are more likely to use a promotional product when it promotes a cause or not-for-profit organisation that they like (PPAI 2021).

Cons of Promotional Products

1. Promotional products require a considerable lead time

Promo items take time to be created, especially now that there’s global shipping congestion. If your company is planning a promotional products campaign, allot at least a month or two for production, delivery, and distribution.

2. Distribution is key to a successful promotional product campaign

Aside from planning and designing the promotional products, companies also need to consider the distribution channel they will use to give away the items. Here are guide questions that can help you with your distribution strategy:

• What’s the best method to reach your target audience?
• What are the benefits of this distribution method? What are the disadvantages?
• What are the logistics of your preferred distribution strategy?
• Will your promotional products provider be able to accommodate your distribution strategy?

When you order from Brandconnect, we will help you with your promotional products plan from inception to distribution. We have several delivery methods to meet your needs, from express and same-day delivery to multi-location delivery.

3. Not all promotional products are good

Not choosing the best promotional products for your business goals and company can harm your brand. As with any promotional initiative, you have to do your research to learn what your target audience likes and what they will use. Giving cheap plastic pens to an audience full of executives may not be received well but using them as giveaways for supermarkets and hospitals will make them more successful.

Get the full benefits of promotional products for your brand!

Planning is key to get your first promotional products campaign a success! Contact our account managers to get free, no-obligation expert consultation.