Why Promotional Products Work Better than Digital Marketing

Promotional Products vs. Digital Advertising: Which Is Better?

promotional products

We are living in a digital world. Since the disruption of the pandemic on businesses, digital media have been the leading media consumed by individuals. So does that mean digital advertising is extremely effective right now? No – not quite. Here are reasons why digital advertising isn’t always the way to go and promotional products are.

1. Digital advertising doesn’t guarantee conversions

When people see ads on the Internet, it’s not an automatic conversion. The consumer goes through several stages before going through with the sale or what marketers call a sales funnel. Upon clicking the ad, they will be taken to the website or product page. What if the website or page isn’t well-designed? The consumer can and will easily leave your website.

The goal of every marketing campaign is you want the consumers to take action, right? An easy way to do this is by incentivising or rewarding them with promotional products. This can work alongside with sales, email registrations, social media following and more. The consumer gets a branded item and you get results almost immediately. In fact, consumers will do just about anything to get free branded merchandise that 10 out of 10 are willing to go out of their way to get one (Source: 2019 Consumer Study, PPAI Research).

2. It is hard to gain awareness with digital advertising

With so many things going on online, it can be a struggle to stand out. There is a marketing occurrence called “Banner Blindness” where digital banners go unnoticed by people due to so many elements in a digital space. In short, digital ads tend to be unmemorable.

On the other hand, brands can easily stand out with promotional products as they are effective tools in attaining brand recall and visibility for consumers. According to PPAI, 88% of consumers recall the brand printed on promotional items. To break it down further, the people who can recall the three key pieces on the branded merchandise: specific product, brand, and even the messaging come up to a whopping 76.2% of recipients. Promotional items are also usually kept for over a year. Every time they use it, they remember your brand. Bonus points if they use it outside of the home as they also expose other people to your brand.

3. Consumers don’t like digital advertisements

Digital advertisements are the best tools for marketers. They’re cheap and easy to track and implement. However, this does not automatically make consumers like them. To them, online ads are pesky little things that obstruct their view while on social media or interrupt their media on media streaming apps or sites. They would do anything to get rid of them, even installing ad blockers or paying for premium app memberships to banish the ads altogether.

It is no surprise that out of all the advertising media, digital advertisements are ranked the least liked by consumers aged 18-55 (Source: Global Ad Impressions Study 2019 by ASI). Meanwhile, promo products rank the highest out of all age groups. Seven in ten consumers surveyed even wish they receive promo items more often (Source: 2019 Consumer Study, PPAI Research).

Better-liked advertising tools are more effective as they resonate well with consumers. It would be hard to get your brand’s messaging across if your targeted audience is doing their best to avoid your ads.

Digital advertisements work best when used with promo items

Digital advertising isn’t a wonder drug for brand visibility, recall, or conversions. Just like with any marketing tool, it has its shortcomings. It needs to be implemented well and integrated with other marketing tools such as promotional products in order to make your marketing strategy a success. Since EOFY is coming up, there is no better way to spend your extra budget than to invest in promotional items for the upcoming quarters. Check out Brandconnect’s EOFY sale today to score 20% off on our hottest promo items!