Why is Promotional Merchandise A Crucial Part Of Marketing?

In a world of digital marketing and social media campaigns, other long-standing forms of marketing are sometimes forgotten about. Whilst trends in the marketing world come and go, some are here to stay. Promotional marketing is one of them. What is clear is that today’s customers are looking to create a relationship with a brand. This can be done in a multitude of ways, but one way is through promotional merchandise.

What’s more, these relationships are long-term, with Jansen Manfredini from Sage World writing that “consumers hang on to promotional products for an average of 6.6 months” and “89% of consumers can recall the advertiser of a promotional product they’d received in the last two years”. The incredible thing about promotional marketing is that you can create an uninterrupted link between your promotional merchandise and your brand.

According to a survey by Brandwatch, the most popular promotional products are USB drives, pens, electrical items, and mugs; all relatively low-cost and easy to add to your marketing plan. There are many ways you can hand out promotional merchandise to your customers. Firstly, you can give them away at trade shows, festivals, and events to individuals who walk by or come to your stall.

You could also offer your merchandise as a free gift with a purchase from your company, either in-store or online. You could send promotional merchandise as a welcome gift for signing up to an e-newsletter. Furthermore, you can use promotional merchandise as a prize for social media competitions. For instance, we have given out Total Merchandise themed goody bags in the past from our Facebook competitions including merchandise such as beach balls, pens and advent calendars!

A final way that you can use promotional merchandise is to sell it- if your brand is on-trend, people will happily pay for some merchandise, in particular, t-shirts. For example, Leeds University Union has a popular hummus and pitta stall, and they sold t-shirts with a witty slogan and their brand name which have been spotted around campus and on the gym.

Promotional merchandise can be one of the best ways to increase brand recognition. As we mentioned earlier, people will often link your brand with the product you gave them. By gifting merchandise that is branded with your logo and is useful for everyday use, you will provide the opportunity for your customers to see your brand every day. For instance, mugs have been reported to be kept longer than other promotional merchandise, so these could be something you invest in for your next marketing campaign.

If you have any promotional merchandise you have kept, tag us in your pictures of them on Instagram!