Overall, 2012 was a busy year for printed merchandise, as marketers have started to use more cost-effective options to advertise their business.
Over the past three years, and during the recession savvy marketers started to think about more creative ways to market their business. The main benefit of using printed merchandise is that you can target a mass audience for a very low price. Whilst newspaper advertising may reach more people, it is likely they won't actually read your advert. However, with promotional products, you are actually putting an item in your customers' hands, which means they will find it difficult to ignore.
The return on investment is much higher on promotional products than traditional marketing methods. In fact, a recent report by the BPMA showed that the ROI on promotional products is higher than, or equal to other forms of media. This survey was conducted on business people across the UK. It examined their attitudes and behaviour towards an organisation after receiving a promotional gift. The report showed that over half of the respondents were more favourable towards the company. It also showed that a large number of respondents actually keep the promotional item for a significant amount of time after receiving it.
We believe this shows how much more beneficial promotional products are when advertising your business, as it gives customers a reason to like your business. Many people believe that advertising on television and radio is the best type of advertising as it reaches a wide audience. However, not all businesses have a large advertising budget to be able to afford advertisements on television. It has to be considered as well, that many people may not want to be advertised too.
If you are giving promotional items away, then people are likely to want to receive these items. However, if you are advertising through flyers, then it may be that your customers feel they have been forced to look at your advertisement. Think about this, how often do you actually look at an advertisement on a tube, or in a newspaper? It is likely to not be very often, as many people find advertising a nuisance. But promotional items are considered to be a gift rather than an advertising method, so it means your customers have a different mindset.
Printed Merchandise has been popular for many years, as businesses start to stray away from traditional methods, it is likely to become even more popular.