You see them everywhere, those innocuous little items with someone’s name or logo them. But is this really a good way to market your business? Does anyone really get any additional business from a pen, or a notepad, or a key chain with their name on it?

The answer is an unqualified yes. There’s historical data which suggests what items consumers will use the most, according to Don Logan of Silhouette Ad Specialty Products in Silverdale.

Fundamental to any particular commodity, is the question “Why would someone use imprinted promotional merchandise?”

The answer is simple — to communicate and improve their brand identity. All other uses are secondary, including the main task the product is meant to do. This means your name on the writing implement is more important than using it to write with.

Branding is of particular importance in today’s marketplace and larger firms seem to understand the value of it much better than smaller ones. Large companies advertise their brand in numerous ways and budget specifically for it. Smaller ones advertise themselves — their brand — as an afterthought, or because they have competitors who do and they feel compelled to match them.

Logan says the two things that matter most are theme and audience — who will use the product and what’s the reason for giving it away? This depends upon your audience. What communicates your brand identity best to the specific audience you want to target? For example, you don’t give coffee cups to children.

Logan also advises that when ordering a promotional item don’t go “cheap.” It’s all right to order the least expensive quality item, but don’t buy the least expensive item if quality is even remotely a concern. A leaky writing implement, or one that doesn’t work, leaves a negative impression.

The mission is to keep your name in front of your client — if you have something broken, leaky, or poor quality, you’ve lost that opportunity. Promotional items shouldn’t be just a budgetary concern, they must also reflect your image, so if you want to convey a quality image, use quality items.

There is also a distinction between who buys promotional items. It’s two different kinds of people — a customer and a client. A customer needs 100 pens next week. A client is someone is someone who allows you to understand their business and asks for suggestions for promotional items that will enhance their image.

A client often has an idea counselor working with them, who understands budget constraints, but also understands the dynamics of advertising and marketing a business in a successful promotion.

The primary reason people order promotional items is for trade show booths. A good promotional item will build traffic at the booth. The function of a promotional item is:
1) Get people to the booth
2) Provide an opportunity for the client to present their product or service.
3) Assist in the follow-up strategy

One effective strategy with trade show booths is to laminate the visitor’s business card into a luggage tag with your promotional item or card on the opposite side. This gives the visitor something useful to take away from the booth, but more importantly, while the laminating process was taking place, you have a chance to talk to a captive audience about your product.
So, what exactly are the best promotional items to use?

According to Logan, the number one specialty item, above all others, are wearables — hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. Think about it. When was the last time you saw someone wearing a ball cap or t-shirt that didn’t have some sort of advertising on it? In the case of ball caps, advertising front and back since wearing them backwards has become so stylish.

The other top three effective items:
• Coffee cups and glassware
• Writing implements
• Emblematic jewelry (tie tacks, stick pins, lapel pins, etc.)

Do businesses budget for marketing or promotion? No, they usually use leftover money. This is a mistake. Large businesses know to promote their brand. You should learn from them.

Engaging a consultant for promotional items is a win-win for both you and the consultant — and it’s the least expensive way to promote your brand without a large budget.