The Reach of Promotional Items - Superior Business Solutions

Will Promotional Items Put Success Within “Reach”: Part 2 of 6

In Tuesday’s post I asked and answered the question, “Does advertising with promotional items work?” and introduced the results of a survey by Promotional Product Association International (PPAI). The results identified the “Five R’s” of promotional items. The “Five R’s” are the performance metrics by which promotional items can be measured for effectiveness in connecting with a target audience. Today, I’d like to focus on the first “R”—REACH.

Almost any advertising program has one primary goal: reach. Reach is the degree to which the brand is exposed to the target audience. That can be evaluated using some simple criteria, including frequency of exposure, length of exposure, and the range of exposure. Just how far can promotional items reach? Let’s find out.

With Promotional Items, Consumers See Your Brand Frequently

People encounter advertising throughout each day of their lives. The goal is to connect with your target audience in a way that builds recall, relationships and sales. Promotional items such a custom imprinted coffee cup or insulated tumblers with a company logo or custom embroidered hats will grab and hold the attention of your target audience that uses the item, while expanding your company brand to those around them in a fun and passive way. Promotional products have the highest advertising reach above any other form of advertising providing exposure each day.

When asked how many times they were exposed to promotional items each day, here are the answers respondents checked:

At All Times 22%
Most of the Time 28%
6-10 Times 15%
2-5 Times 18%
At Least Once 17%

Total that up, and it shows that virtually 100% saw a promotional item at least once. Further, 50% of them felt that they encountered promotional items all or most of the time. It’s worth noting that a third of millennials felt that way, too, so it’s not an “age” thing.

With Promotional Items, Your Targets See Your Brand for Years

How much visibility do you think a TV commercial or online pop-up ad from last Thursday night is getting today? Not much. The answer isn’t much better for newspaper and magazine ads once the publication they appear in gives way to the next edition.

For promotional items, the story is very different. The valuable exposures to your company’s messaging keeps on building for weeks, months─even years as the product is used and seen over again by the recipient and anyone else nearby. Consider these results from the survey:

81% of consumers keep promotional products for more than one year.
More than a third of women (35%) and nearly half of men (45%) keep promotional products for six years or longer.

You’ve heard that cliché “the gift that keeps on giving.” Well, promotional items are clearly “the advertising vehicles that keep on generating impressions.”

Promotional Items Spread Your Brand Around (Pass It On!)

Anyone ever call you and say, “Hey, there’s an ad for breakfast cereal on channel 6 right now. I’m not interested, but I thought you ought to know.” I didn’t think so. Because when you run an ad or commercial, your target either pays attention or not. End of story.

For promotional items, the story almost never ends. Consumers appreciate the value of promotional products they receive. Therefore, they are quick to share them with others, either right away or after they are done using them. That’s a great range of exposure. Per the survey:

80% of consumers will pass along a promotional product if they don’t keep it for themselves
More than half will give it to someone else or donate it after using it.

Bottom line, recipients don’t throw your promotional items away. They keep them, they use them, they pass them on. This only furthers the brand’s reach.

REACH Your Sales Goals with Promotional Items

Reach is just one of the “five R’s” of promotional products. But it’s a very important one, because your goal is to connect with your target audience. And promotional items connect with more of them, more times each day, and for a far longer period than any other advertising channel.

With a promotional item plan in place, you’ll maximize your reach. Don’t waste anymore time. Contact Superior today (link atop this page) or one of our award winning promotional item sales reps to ask for a free promotional products audit.