Promotional items as a marketing tool

Without advertising, there is no modern startup. The right marketing strategy paves the way for awareness and economic success. Advertising articles are a popular and cost-effective entry into the very personal marketing plan. However, the selection is based on a good sense for the respective target group.

If you want to establish your startup on the market in the long term, you cannot miss out on some of the key preliminary work. This includes the analysis of the market and target groups and the development of an optimally coordinated marketing mix. But advertising is expensive. Especially for start-ups in the initial phase, it can become difficult to provide an advertising package that can exploit all marketing tools. Above all, advertising in radio and television is associated with high costs and is often simply not possible in the start-up phase.

However, the high costs that some marketing strategy entails is not yet a reason for young entrepreneurs to forego advertising. It can even turn out to be a big mistake not to actively promote its own business idea in the market. In the first months, a limited budget can reach much. Promotional items are a cost-effective alternative and still bring great potential for success.

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Promotional items as customer magnet

They may seem inconspicuous, but they can prove to be a true magnet for potential customers: the talk is of promotional items, the so-called giveaways. Advertising through giveaways is as old as the marketing idea itself and has always achieved great success. Already the GWW Gesamtverband der Werbeartikel-Wirtschaft eV conducted a comprehensive study on the impact of advertising articles. The results were impressive. the association commissioned the market research institute DIMA to carry out a current survey in order to extend and validate the findings gained.

The current “advertising impact study for promotional products” has shown that the impact of promotional items has increased slightly in recent years. While 94 percent of all interviewees still had an advertising article in 2011, they are already 95 percent in 2013. A calculation of the total population aged 14 and over as a representative circle of potential customers showed that around 65.77 million people in Germany have an advertising article in their household. The advertising materials used for the survey included typical giveaways like

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Food (mainly sweets)

The current study also confirmed the sustainability of advertising articles. About half of the received giveaways was kept and used for more than 12 months in the household. About a quarter was even in use for two years and longer. The value of reminders of promotional items is, therefore, enormous and is relatively low.

Especially for startups with scarce advertising budgets advertising articles is thus the perfect start into their own marketing campaign. When choosing the right products, entrepreneurs should, however, put their fingertips on their target groups and high market knowledge into the balance.

Select promotional items according to your needs

Promotional items convince by a high reminder value and manageable costs. The cost-benefit factor can be optimized by means of a targeted selection and a compilation of the products aimed at target groups and their needs.

But how do advertising articles have to be designed so that they do not disappear in the big collection of give-always, but actually develop a lasting reminder value at the customer? The advertising agent manufacturer Buxmann has devoted him to a major editorial on the question of how a successful advertising article should be designed:

Thus, entrepreneurs have already been given the most important criteria for compiling the appropriate advertising articles for their marketing strategy. But it will still not be easy. There are numerous possibilities to consider and aspects to be included in the selection. These factors should be taken into account when selecting and assembling advertising articles:

1. Promotion of promotional items

It seems quite logical: up-to-the-minute advertising makes it interesting and useful, and at the same time shows that the company is moving with the times and is always trying to find new customers. And in fact, promotional items that are oriented towards modern trends show a high success rate. Originality and innovation have always been a true magnet, especially for young people.

A good starting point for new ideas in the field of advertising media is the PSI, the leading trade fair for advertising products. Here the latest trends from the field of advertising articles are presented. Entrepreneurs can already get a taste for the advertising media of tomorrow and plan their own marketing strategy directly at the pulse of the times.

However, promotional items with a trend factor are not only an advantage. Such products can trigger a real hype or join an already established one. However, in most cases, the success is only short-lived. Current advertising media are by no means as durable as old-fashioned ones, and that is precisely the risk of swimming along the trend wave. Particularly innovative products are usually only a short time of interest and are rarely used after the euphoria has subsided.

If you still want to do without current promotional items, you should carefully weigh the bet and place a small number on a selected clientele. It is thus possible to profit from new trends in advertising without having a negative cost-benefit balance after a short time.

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2. Accurately weigh the bulk goods and Exclusives

Bulk material is ideal for reaching a large number of customers at major events or seasonal occasions, for example. Ballpoint pens, lighters, flashlights or baseball caps are among the most popular promotional items that can be mass produced and distributed. Because of their usefulness in everyday life, such products often remain with the owner for a very long time and thus strengthen the connection to the company.

Exclusives are excellently suited to appreciate special opportunities or promising business relationships. For example, companies should be able to afford something for their holidays, anniversaries or other major occasions, but rather for a selected clientele. In this case, an expensive present can certainly convey an appreciation and thus leave a positive impression in the long term.

3. Use promotional items seasonally

It has often been confirmed in practice: Companies, who spend their promotional items on a seasonal basis, often accompany their customers and those who are still to do so throughout the year. Market experts know that the purchasing decision of consumers is also determined by situational factors such as the season. Companies should take advantage of this fact and give their giveaways a seasonal note.

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In the spring, small sachets of plant seeds are a pleasure. In summer, beach games or sun protection are guaranteed to be a hit. In the autumn, an umbrella is a practical companion through the everyday life and in the winter, back-utensils and recipes can arouse anticipation for Christmas. The possibilities of seasonal advertising are just as varied as promising. When the customer feels understood and picked up in his or her current life situation, a lasting connection is created.