Facts about Promotional Products

Have you used promotional products in the past?  If you work in marketing then it's likely that you will have used promotional merchandise in your campaigns. Many marketing teams choose to use promotional items within their marketing plan, so it's surprising to us when businesses choose not to use them to promote their brand. So, we pulled together some statistics so you can see the benefits using promotional products can have for your business. 

The British Promotional Merchandise Association, whom we are members of, conduct a survey every year to help show how promotional items can benefit your organisation. The survey questions businessmen and women within the UK about their behaviour and preferences when it comes to investing in promotional products. Research from last year showed that the majority of marketers understand how powerful the items can be, whilst they may not use them themselves, with 84% of respondents agreeing that promotional gifts increase brand awareness. 

The BPMA report also highlights that the return on investment from using promotional merchandise is much higher than radio advertising and surprisingly equal to TV and print advertising. This could be due to the fact that the consumer doesn't consider promotional advertising to be intrusive so is, therefore, more likely to consider the advertisement. TV adverts can also be very expensive which means that smaller businesses are likely to consider other options. 

The survey also highlighted that 79% of people are more likely to 'do business' with a brand after receiving a gift from them. This shows that promotional items are great for attracting new customers to a brand and giving an 'edge' over competitors. Promotional products can be used to retain customers showing that you appreciate their loyalty and also value their custom. 

The BPMA survey reported that half of the respondents have a more favourable opinion of a company after receiving a promotional item. This means even if they have no use for your company, they're likely to recommend it to others. 

On average, a promotional product is kept for approximately seven months, depending on the item. However, depending on the actual item, it may also be kept for more than twelve months. For example, if you are giving away a promotional bag or USB flash drive these have a higher perceived value so they're likely to be kept for longer. 

Have you invested in promotional products in the past?  What did you think about the return on investment?