The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

Promotional pens are one of those stationery products that are considered a classic when it comes to promotional marketing. They are excellent promotional products that are used regularly and provide great brand visibility within any business, corporate or public sector environment. What we are talking here is repeat advertising, and the more times your brand is seen the lower the cost of the advert! In such an environment, there is also the opportunity for some viral marketing of sorts. If you pick the right promotional pen then there is a good chance that others within the target market environment will want to get hold of one, so expanding your overall distribution. So just how can such promo items be distributed and used? Well we find that many clients within the charity sector use pens as part of their direct mail campaigns and as giveaways. Within a corporate environment pens are used to help build the brand and team identity with employees actively encouraged to use the available promo items both within and outside their office environments. Off course the classic distribution method is as a reward and corporate gift for clients, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. If you have a visitors book why not keep a stock of these promo pens on the same desk and encourage your visitors to help themselves to one?  Also when it comes to promotions using pens and other types of promotional stationery, remember that their giveaway is part of a much wider advertising and marketing campaign.

When it comes to promotional products and their distribution what matters most? Research shows that giving promotional items to clients and potential clients can help to drive up business. However, to be effective the right gifts have to reach the right audience at the right time. This requires targeting, market segmentation, timing and packaging. The items used should also off course be of the right quality, perceived value and relative to the promotion. We find our promo products being used to support a number of marketing initiatives including: free trials, sample evaluations and demonstrations. One aspect from most promotional campaigns we find missing is results evaluation. As a marketing spend you must evaluate whether you achieved what you wanted from the promotion. If you get what you expected all well and good but why stop there? Remember to repeat the promotion and only alter one variable so that you can test whether this generates an improvement or not. Promotional marketing is a science as much as it is an art form and this is why we continue to generate promotional materials and articles to help expand the knowledge base.

Promotional pens are one of the most popular free promotional gifts offered by exhibitors at trade fairs and exhibitions. Why? Because everyone needs a pen and a quick look around any office desktop will show those who just love to collect these types of promo items – normally in a branded mug! Some pens are remembered for their design, others for their feel and touch the way they write. No matter what type of promo items you want in 2009, The Promotional Gifts Store should be on your ‘check-out’ list – for promo pens, mugs, mousemats, coasters, umbrellas, keyrings and many other such promo items. Many have an environmentally-friendly variant so that you can be sure you invest your marketing funds in an ECO friendly way.

In 2009 you have to make sure that all your marketing budget achieves a return on investment. The days of throwing half away in the vain hope that something will stick are gone. In the coming year we need to work on marketing activities with clear measureables and promotional gifts are one such area. So if you invest in promoional items let your clients know and create an environment where this type of gift and reward giving becomes part of the normal business and corporate relationship. Invest in a range of gifts that can be used throughout a campaign, time period or year and always carry a good stock of them ready to roll. For example, keep a stock in your office and meeting room so that you can hand them to a visiting client at the end of a meeting. Pass them out to your sales force and ensure that they are given out to clients on a regular basis. And remember that eighty percent of your turnover comes from twenty percent of your clients so make sure your promotional gifts campaign rewards your whole client base with perhaps a skew of higher value rewards towards your more profitable customers.

Well 2009 is finally here and as I write my first blog entry for the new year I am reflecting on a wonderful Christmas and the gifts we shared and received around our family and friends. The central theme to any gift giving is – it’s the thought that counts. With an interesting year ahead for the UK economy we all need to be getting the maximum return on investment from our promotional marketing and we all know that behind any great campaign or event lies clear objectives, a consistent strategy and well thought out tactics. We actually predict that the market for promotional products will continue to expand in 2009 because businesses need to become more dynamic, strategic and tactical. Promotional items remain one of the clearest marketing tools when it comes to developing new business, building brand loyalty and rewarding clients. Will there be a shift in purchasing patterns? We think not. Firm favourites are somehow now engrained within the world of corporate gifts and business gifts and you can expect to see a flourish of new pens, mugs, mousemats and other favourites appearing in your offices through out the year. Perhaps this year though they may be ‘greener’ as gift ranges expand to encompass environmentally friendly products.