At
the
annual
tradeshow
of
the
Promotional
Products
Association,
almost
every
business
executive
that
participated
in
our
survey
said
they
gave
away
free
items
at
the
shows
and
events
they
attended.
Approximately
72
percent
of
respondents
described
promotional
items
as
being
either
"effective"
or
"extremely
effective"
in
achieving
their
purpose.
Attracting
new
customers,
fomenting
interest
in
your
product,
promoting
your
company
name,
improved
traffic
flow
in
your
booth
and
just
plain
old
increased
goodwill
are
all
great
reasons
to
using
branded
merchandise
and
promotional
product
marketing.
In
a
2006
study,
Incentive
Performance
Central
determined
that
custom
promotional
products
can
serve
as
a
stand-alone
medium
for
advertising,
second
only
to
television
ads
in
terms
of
perceived
"information
value."
They
went
on
to
say
that
items
with
a
company
logo
were
a
very
effective
advertising
tool
to
reinforce
positive
brand
image
and
augment
tv
and
print
mediums.
The
promotional
products
helped
create
at-home
reminders,
improved
impressions
and
insights
into
the
brand
or
product,
and
helped
fuel
the
consumer's
desire
to
purchase.
When
asked
"What's
your
favorite
source
of
information?",
television
was
the
only
thing
that
topped
a
custom
promotional
product,
surveyors
said.
Businesses
utilizing
corporate
gift
programs
were
successfully
contacted
by
customers
twice
as
many
times
compared
to
those
without
a
gift
program
according
to
Promotional
Products
Associaiton
International.
The
question
remains
which
promotional
merchandise
you
will
opt
for
not
whether
you
will
take
any.
The
most
successful
promotional
products
are
articles
of
clothing
or
other
things
potential
customers
can
wear.
(a
t-shirt
or
backpack
will
work).
My
second
favorite
things
to
buy
are
writing
instruments.
(Ten
percent),
largely
embedded
writing
utensils.
There's
no
better
gift
than
something
that
ca
be
used
every
single
day.
Remember
all
those
times
a
co-worker
walked
over
to
your
desk
and
you
ended
up
with
a
missing
pen?
The
gift
that
keeps
on
giving
in
utility
and
sales
is
promo
pens.
Additional
popular
promotional
marketing
products
also
include:
calendars,magnets,pens
or
pencils,key
rings,
stress
relievers,t-shirts,
branded
water
and
promotional
food.
A
sound
implementation
plan
is
essential,
regardless
of
the
exact
imprinted
item
that
you
pick.
It
is
essential
to
have
your
marketing
managers
find
and
train
brand
ambassadors
to
fit
your
company's
image
and
determine
where
individuals
in
the
market
you
are
targeting
hang
out.
In
the
end,
they
are
the
first
chance
you
have
to
influence
your
customers
towards
your
company
and
product.
Competition
is
fierce
in
the
marketing
field,
so
always
be
prepared
to
work
at
120%
of
capacity
and
don't
wait
for
a
few
cheap
promotional
gizmos
to
do
your
job
for
you!
To
gain
the
most,
you
must
give
the
most.
That
axiom
remains
true.