When it comes to swag, the options are endless making it difficult to choose which promotional products will deliver the desired impact. We recommend “Quality Swag” no matter what the budget.
To shout it from the rooftops, you have to be clear and on-point with what’s being promoted. Promotional marketing is the reflection of a brand and its characteristics. So whether promoting your company or a specific product, the delivery of the message is just as key as the message itself. You may wonder, ‘how important is quality when it comes to swag? After all it is a giveaway…
Creativity
Just like you, your customers and prospects are inundated with promotional gimmicks. Direct mail, email blasts, and cold calls can be the fastest way to have a door slam in your face. So what’s the best way to break the ice with a new lead (or stay top of mind with an existing customer)?
A unique and useful promotional product often means the difference between someone keeping your swag or tossing it in the trash bin. Working with a marketing professional can help you to leverage promotional products to actually market your company. For example, we help our clients by thoroughly researching target audiences and trends before planning the not-so-simple aspects of sourcing and producing high-quality marketing assets. Having a timely sense of what’s trending (and what’s cheesy) helps to ensure that the swag you choose is memorable instead of meaningless.
Cheap vs. Cost Effective (Hence) Quality Swag
There is a difference between cheap and cost effective. Budgets are a reality for every company and manager, and there are cost effective solutions for every price point. It is never good value if the price is at the expense of quality.
Promotional products are a reflection of a brand, and distributing low-quality materials threatens that brand’s reputation. Imagine a coffee tumbler that leaks and burns a prospect? Or a pen that breaks thus leaking all over an expensive suit. You may succeed in staying top of mind – but not for the right reason. The resulting impressions are that your brand is low quality or ineffective: if you can’t get a coffee tumbler right, then how will you be able to manage my: banking/insurance/child care/transportation/mortgage…
Instead, working with a marketing professional can help to ensure that all aspects of branding are covered off at the highest level possible. From matching colour swatches to logo resolution, the details involved in producing good quality promotional swag can result in a long term billboard effect if consumers tote around your promo marketing! Consider the number of impressions and reach for your brand if each of the recipients proudly dons the T-shirt or back-pack every chance they get for months or even years.
Quality over Quantity
Quality is key not just in terms of the product itself, but also in the type of product that you choose to stamp your logo on. Cheap products tend to get thrown away quickly, while higher quality production goods like apparel stay the course with consumers. Aligning with tested, tried and trusted brands will send the message that you understand quality and reputation.
So while it may be tempting to buy more of something “cheap” to blast it into the hands of more people, it may make more sense to produce less quantity with the highest quality. This will be more meaningful and have your targets hang on to it for longer. After all, a prospect or customer sporting a t-shirt or ball cap stands to increase brand exposure and recognition. Choosing the right brand to align with can also provide extra brand value to you by piggybacking off of name brands like Under Armour for example.
Learn more about our promotional marketing offerings and get inspired to shout your story form the rooftops.
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