It's a gift!

So, you’re considering ordering some branded promotional gifts or ‘freebies’. Maybe they’re to complement your presence on a trade show stand, or to give you something to hand out to prospects at seminars or to customers at training events, or to leave with people you’ve met with to discuss your services. But why do it? What purpose are they to serve for you?

Everything you do in marketing has the power to either positively or negatively influence your audience. So start by knowing what positive influence you want to have. Before you place your order decide what you want your freebie to do for you.

Your objectives could include:

• To broadcast your name/logo/strap-line to improve your brand recognition
• To advertise or emphasise some new or upgraded aspect of your service
• To help ensure you are remembered in a positive way by prospects you visit
• To show your appreciation to valued customers, course attendees etc
• To promote some characteristic of your company, its attitudes or values
• To get your phone number or web address on to your customers’ desktops
• To get people to come to your trade show stand
• To drive traffic to your web site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a Matter of Choice

As with every aspect of marketing, your objectives will determine your purchase. Whether you go for prestige or plastic; novelty or utility; whether you find something with plenty of room for branding, or just enough space for a logo; whether your budget is £20 or 20p per unit.

Here are some things to consider:

For long term impact: Whatever its cost, your freebie will have maximum value if it is in front of your customer on a regular basis. Ensure you choose something that is durable and either smart, or fun to have around. Whether it’s a toy novelty or a useful desk or personal accessory, or even that old favourite – a pen – the more visual appeal and quality it has, the greater the long term impact.

For broadcasting your name, logo, or stand number quickly: Use very low cost items that you can afford to distribute with near reckless abandon. There’s no point having a ‘broadcasting’ freebie and then being cautious about handing it out because of the cost!

As a thank-you or token of appreciation: Aim for higher quality or uniqueness, or else your thank-you may look horribly like an insult. A high quality or unusual giveaway, if presented with care and respect, can generate valuable goodwill.

To advertise or promote: There are plenty of items which offer space for full address details, strap-lines and other promotional wording or graphics. Consider choosing something which relates to the service you’re promoting, or phrasing your promotion in a way which links with the gift (eg, on a mug: “don’t be a mug, call … … for the best deals”).

In terms of avoiding any negative influence, here are some thoughts on what you might wish to avoid, depending on your objectives:

Things that go home to the kids: Stress balls, cheap jotter pads, juggling balls, stickers and furry bugs are all very well, but you want your name in front of your customers, not in the nursery.

Things that get used up quickly: For example, mints and chocolates. Whilst they are great for instant recall (eg, at a trade show, conference check-in or in a seasonal mailing promotion), they make little long term impact.

Things that look and are ‘cheap’: This is a dual-edged sword. You may prefer to go for cheaper options in order to get wide coverage (and you can get very wide coverage with pens, for example, costing just a few pence each). However, if yours is the cheapest pen in the pen-pot, or the one that never works, or the one that leaks, be mindful of the impression it may be leaving.

My Top Ten Freebies

To close, and to leave you with a few ideas, here are my Top Ten freebies:

1. Note holder/paperweight – useful, always visible and desktop
2. Coasters – very low-cost and again, they stay on the desktop
3. Pens – ditto coasters, but beware the very cheapest can be counter-productive
4. Paperclips (Adclips) – cute, useful and will travel around the company
5. Memo blocks – low cost, practical, a desktop success; who doesn’t use one?
6. Desktop mobile phone cradles – practical and they stay on the desktop
7. Key-rings – whilst not desktop, they are in use several times a day
8. Tangle (stress toy) – completely useless but irresistable
9. Mini (keyring) Maglite torches – another higher-value item, but still under £10
10. USB Memory sticks – high-value, highly useful and available in almost every design you can imagine.

25th June 2011