9 Facts Behind the Power of Promotional Products

Promotional items in and around box including customized tote, personalized mug, cap stylus pens, and more.

You know that one bin? The one you dip into before every trade show, job fair, and convention to take out your best branded giveaways? There’s a good reason (9, actually!) why companies and recipients alike love giveaways. Below we dig into promotional product facts that explain the power that customized gifts have in connecting small businesses with their target audience. Below is a round-up of the most compelling characteristics and facts about promotional products to help you feel confident about the return on your investment with every giveaway you share.

1. Consumers Prefer Giveaways to Other Advertising

A 2019 study done by Advertising Specialty Institute comparing promotional products with other popular marketing channels, shows that consumers under age 55 prefer promo products over all other mediums, including newspapers, radio, magazines, television, internet and mobile.²Most forms of advertising are disruptive, and promotional products are no different. The difference with giveaways is that the disruption is attached to an immediate reward, like a trendy jute tote or an engraved pen and pencil set. Imagine if each time you read a billboard you’d find a new tumbler in your cupholder. Or for each radio spot you listened to a box of chocolates would appear within reach. This unique fact about promotional products helps explain their appeal.

2. Promotional Gifts Allow Tailored Marketing

Research supports the advantage of promotional products over other forms of advertising, and your giveaways can be even stronger when you match the gift to the occasion. Plastic double-walled tumblers with straws at a pool party: Big win. Unsharpened pencils at the golf tournament: Not the move. (For the pre-sharpened variety, we’ve got your back: Hexagon Golf Pencils.) With promotional products you can attach your message to a gift that is uniquely suited to your event.

3. Custom Gifts Can Leverage “Made in USA” Loyalty

Promotional products allow small businesses to appeal to values of their target audience, and USA-made products is just one example. Is your recipient over 65? Two out of three 65-year-olds prefer a promotional gift made in the USA.¹ (This USA-made Engraved 11 oz. Stainless Steel Gia Wine Glass fits the bill for concerts in the park and old school wine connoisseurs.)

4. Giveaways Celebrate Eco-Friendly Advertising

Key additions to our collective vernacular and values include reducing, reusing, and recycling. In fact, 45% of consumers feel more favorable about your company if your promotional product is recycled, sustainable, or responsibly sourced.¹ And with so many awesome options ranging from jute and cotton tote bags to backpacks made of recycled plastic bottles, there’s no reason not to get your green on, and enhance your branding at the same time.

5. Personalized Products Have Staying Power

Unlike other forms of advertising such as online, billboards, and TV, giveaways are ads that keep on delivering impressions. An interesting fact about marketing with promotional products is that when you pick the right product, your name gets noticed for weeks, months and even years. The best bang for your marketing buck in terms of gifts they’ll hang onto? Drinkware, bags and totes, desk accessories, tech accessories, writing instruments, apparel, umbrellas, and calendars of course!¹ Most consumers will hang onto a customized product in one of these categories for one to two years, or longer!¹

6. Promotional Products Deliver Outstanding Cost Per Impression

The cost per impression delivered by promotional products makes giveaways one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising. Items like metal pens and nonwoven tote bags have a cost per impression of less than a cent.¹

7. From Form to Function, Giveaways Check Multiple Boxes

Giveaways have the chance to thrill recipients on many levels, with all the credit going to your brand. According to a 2020 research report by Advertising Specialty Institue (ASI) into promotional products facts, consumers keep top promo items like pens, bags, drinkware, and umbrellas because of quality (69%), usefulness (41%), and style (16%).³ Tip: maximize your giveaway impact by shopping new products and best sellers.

8. Custom Gifts Lead to Conversions

No matter what category of promotional product you pick, facts about promotional products of sorts support the end-result: Twenty to 41% of recipients are more likely to do business with a company from whom they have received customized merch.¹

9. Promotional Products Are Up Close and Personal

All facts about marketing point to the same end-goal: Get noticed by your target audience to inspire conversion and retention. But try as we might, other marketing channels do not allow the personal connection that promotional products do. This is because of the person-to-person distribution of customized merchandise, ensuring your recipient is close enough to your business or your sales person to make a lasting impression. Promotional products are a key tool to connect with customers, prospects, employees, and donors. A personalized gift shows that you care and that they matter—well beyond a single transaction, meeting, or event.

Put these facts about promotional products to work for your small business. Shop customized gifts that pleasantly surprise your recipients, put your brand in every hand, and keep your name top of mind.

Tip: For more promotional products facts and stats, check out our blog, 25 Top Statistics on Promotional Products for Better Marketing.

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