Every year companies spend thousands of dollars sponsoring sporting events , business award dinners, and contests; without receiving much more than their company name on the literature as the sponsor of the event.

How did your company measure the success of its last promotion? In most cases, the idea of measuring results or collecting business leads for future sales is not considered in the planning of the sponsorship of an event or promotion.

Take golf tournaments, for instance. Gift bags full of promotional goodies, ranging from the latest golf gadgets to Polo shirts are handed out to attendees and participants. Sure, the merchandise may display the logo of the sponsor company, but seldom do these trinkets alone create measurable increase in business.

When committing your marketing dollars for the next event you sponsor, think about ways your time and money can generate business after the event.

For example, a soft drink company launching a new product chose to sponsor a professional golf tournament because they knew their target audience, sports enthusiasts, would be attending the event as spectators. At the event, they set up several taste testing booths and offered attendees a free key-chain bottle opener if they agreed to the taste test. Additionally, they directed the tasters to their web site for a free product coupon.

Not only did they benefit from the sponsorship by building their brand name at the event, the soft drink company was also able to generate and track sales through website visits and coupon redemption after the event.

Another example from the same event came from a national investment firm that wanted to generate leads that their sales teams could follow-up on after the event. Rather than just handing out company literature at the tournament, the company decided to give away a book of golf tips to anyone that filled out a profile. After the event they were able to quantify the success of their marketing dollars by selecting the hottest leads and pursing them.

When purchasing sponsorships for events, develop new creative ways to develop more – and stronger leads.

By Payden.

One of the most commonly used buzzwords in business today is “branding”. When most of us think of branding , we think of our logo, the collateral it’s printed on and the advertising we do to get our company name or brand in front of our customers and prospects. An element that plays a role in conveying our brand, yet is seldom considered when protecting it, is our employees.

Employees, their attitude, actions and personality can positively or negatively impact a company’s brand! Whether you have the best known brand in the world or you’re working to build one, it’s important to train your staff as to how you want your brand represented.

Here is an example. For two years I had been providing promotional products to a large university. This has been a great client, however, I realized that I was only receiving a very small percentage of their budget. So, we began to work diligently to gain a bigger share and finally we received a personal introduction from our contact to the head of event planning for the school. We completed a few small merchandise projects for the contact, which went smoothly. Each time, our contact communicated they were pleased with our performance. Soon thereafter, however, the bottom fell out and we missed the delivery of a product for an annual golf tournament the university sponsors every year. The product was a gift with the schools logo on it. It was to be given to attendees representing major companies from across the country who traveled to Rhode Island to play in the event. Unfortunately, the national shipping company we used incorrectly routed the product to Florida. Our contact, who was new to the position, was sure that she would lose her job because of the problem.

In an attempt to salvage our relationship with this client and the potential for thousands of dollars in future business, we needed to turn this into a “win-win” situation. The plan I presented was to supply another gift at no cost to the client. Although it would not have their school logo on it, the item had a much greater value than the one they originally purchased. This gesture cost my firm over $1000.00 . In addition , I recommended they use this situation to their advantage by suggesting that when the original gift arrived, they send it out after the tournament to all the participants with a thank you for participation. We also offered to pay the cost of this mailing.

The President of the school loved the idea, my contact became a hero for using our ideas and I saved a client, future revenue and my company’s brand-our reputation. Make sure your employees are representing your brand with long-term goals in mind. Brand is much more than the stationary its printed on, it’s what your company stands for.

Written By: Payden

Today, the Dow closed at over 13,000, for the first time since May 19, 2008.  Payden and Company has been fortunate, over this period of time, to have had consistent growth since 2008.  However, that’s not to say that it could not have been better.  In my opinion, the Promotional Products Industry is a excellent barometer of the direction the economy is trending.  The marketing budget is always the easiest and first part of the budget to be cut.  Although, I learned in my marketing classes years ago, the marketing budget shouldn’t be cut in down times, that it was a great time to increase the budget and gain market share in your industry.  I’ve always agreed with that philosophy, but that doesn’t change the fact that as a budget line item, it remains the easiest to cut.  At Payden and Company, we’ve continued to spend with improvements in our web site and various marketing initiatives.  The numbers have told us that the investment we made has paid off.  As a barometer of the economy, the numbers also told us in 2011 that companies are starting to spend again. There is confidence once again.  Our clients are feeling more positive.  Today, the Dow reinforced this fact and consumer confidence in once again, on the upswing.

Payden

1. Excellent customer visibility - Your customer’s message is on a large 2” x 3” print area and will be seen every time your customer opens their wallet.

2. Shift to chip based contactless credit cards - Visa announced the launch of a new program to upgrade US merchants to non-contact readers. Financial institutions are expected to order millions of cards to follow the standard set in Europe and Asia.

3. Widespread media exposure - The Today Show, Fox News, NY Times, NCIS episode & nightly news segments in 15 major markets have all highlighted criminal “data skimming” activities.

4. Great Deal - Sleeves retail for $4.00 – $5.00 on the internet and in retail locations.

5. Greater perceived value - Customers perceive a greater value over other items because the sleeves are actively protecting their credit and identity.

Electronic pick pocketing, skimming, or contactless identity theft is a method of obtaining data stored on passports, contactless credit cards and IDs, or any other RFID enabled card in your wallet. Contactless card technology allows for a thief to “skim” the radio frequency information using an inexpensive, handheld, contactless
card reader.

Visa has recently announced that commencing in 2012, their providers will have access to a new non- contact credit card. With tens of millions of these cards poised to go into circulation soon, the timing is perfect to let your customers in the financial industry know about this new lineup of sleeve products.

How the Sleeves Work

Contactless credit card readers send radio frequency signals out to a credit card. The contactless chip built into the credit card receives the signal and returns a response to the reader containing the information on your credit card. The radio frequency shielded sleeves do not allow the initial signal from the credit card reader to reach the chip on the card. When the signal does not reach the chip there isn’t any response sent back from the card. This will protect the data on the credit card from being read and possibly stolen.

Radio Frequency Shielding Sleeve Types

Does the promotional product you’ve selected position your company in a unique, attention-getting matter? The more attention, the more talk, and the more potential for generating business from your effort.

For example, a new radio station gave away a Prime Line radio imprinted with their logo. Each radio dial is set to the new stations number to further reinforce listener-ship. At a small cost of only $3.95 to $5.95 each, this was a clever, direct  method to lure new listeners to the new radio station. Just as effective was the new computer store that gave away the Prime Line modem phone cord.

One of my favorite merchandise-driven promotions was launched by the Rhode Island Medical Society. They sent out Tee Off golf balls in a prescription bottle to their doctors. Costs varied – $5.50 to $11.50 – due to the quality rage of golf balls available to them.

The focus on practical items that your clients will use over and over serves your marketing efforts better and better. Case in point, your company sends out a CD with a Happy Holiday message on it from your staff. The same CD includes an hour of popular Holiday Tunes. The CDs go out with a great gadget called the iSlice. It is a hip looking CD opener with a ceramic blade that rips open CD packaging without effort. It is the type of item your customers will use again and again.

Selecting the appropriate corporate merchandise to represent your brand should be considered an important aspect of your company’s marketing plan and strategic brand building campaign. To that end, work with a qualified promotional product distributor – a brand partner – that understands the dynamics of merchandising and marketing.

Written by: Payden

Consider the following factors when purchasing promotional products that will carry your company logo.

First, does the promotional product reflect the quality of your product or service? If your company promotes a high-end product or service, it isn’t wise to imprint your logo on a low-end inferior promotional product. If you’re promoting a sophisticated event, your product should reinforce that sophisticated message.

For example: A financial firm has an upcoming convention. They purchase and distribute a more expensive Antigua 100% cotton polo shirt, at a cost of $26.75 each with an embroidered logo. A competitor, on the other hand, is preparing for an upcoming company tennis tournament, so they choose a nice but less expensive lower-end product: a Harvard Square 100% cotton, polo shirt for $18.50.

You’re delivering more than a gift with every promotional product, you’re delivering a message too. There is always going to be a more positive attitude among customers that receive a high quality calculator as a gift than by those who receive a less expensive highlighter pen. Every promotional product sends a message, every message translates into a consumer attitude, and every attitude dictates weather or not the consumer conducts more business with your company.

Written by: Payden

Part 2 coming soon…

We have all heard these words before, many like myself, from our mothers. It may be a bit of a stretch, but a correlation can be made with cross branding between a company, its brand, and  merchandise selected to promote both. In other words, your image and your brand are only as good as the quality or the “brand” of the merchandise your services or products are associated with.

Cross promoting with other brands should be a well thought out process before making a purchase. When purchasing golf balls for your executive charity tournament, do you want your brand associated with Titleist, the most recognized brand with the highest perceived value, or brand X golf balls? The corporate merchandising industry offers endless options, just like the advertising industry. Don’t treat them any differently. Your decisions about a corporate merchandise premium, like your advertising decisions, should be based on what will enable you to further achieve your overall brand marketing goals.

Written by Payden

One area that promotional products have been effective in, is the generation of booth traffic and quality leads at trade shows. Rather than just hand out an inexpensive promotional product to every show attendee as they passed their booth, one company qualified their target audience by sending invitations to both their current and potential customers. These were the people that the company wanted their sales force to spend time with during the show. Included in the invitation box were a set of batteries with a note saying ” Let us help you see the future”, with instructions for the recipient to visit their booth and receive the gift the batteries operated. Over 90% of the recipients were curious enough to visit the company’s booth during the show, resulting in substantive one-on-one time with viable prospects.

Written by Payden

Corporate branding through promotional products and corporate merchandise, once a cottage industry, has grown to over an $18 billion a year industry with numerous applications.

When I first entered the industry in 1977 with a sportswear screen-printing and embroidery business, my future mother-in-law questioned the longevity of my chosen career, stating “tee shirts are just a fad.” At the time few people realized that the tee shirt, and related sportswear items, would become such a powerful branding tool, with individuals of every age sometimes paying to wear your company’s corporate logo and brand on their chest.

According to a study commissioned by the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) in 1998, 95% of the 839 businesses surveyed used promotional products. Today, companies in every industry and of every size use promotional products to launch and promote new products, reward employees for their accomplishments and build customer loyalty.

The use of promotional products as a brand building tool has become a staple for many companies and organizations. It has become as important to their advertising budgets as their print, radio and television campaigns. The key to their success is the creativeness of the product and how it ties into their long-term goals and what the measurable return on their investment is. Just think of how many impressions your corporate logo on a tee shirt receives over the course of its life.

There are hundreds of applications for corporate merchandise and promotional products in today’s business world. The key is to come up with a product that fits your company’s image in a creative and effective manner. Your promotional products distributor should offer suggestions that reflect the image of the company, perpetuate your firm’s brand and contribute to annual marketing goals.

Written by Payden

The rising costs of cotton and oil will result in price increases in our industry this year.  Cotton prices have doubled over the last year and oil prices are also up.  We are anticipating an increase of around 10% in garment costs, more than likely during the second half of this year.  In addition, promotional products will also increase do to oil increases and the economic situation in China.

Payden

Everyone loves receiving promotional products.  Visit an office at any company and I guarantee that you will see a coffee mug, writing instrument, calendar, desk accessory or some type of promotional product with a corporate logo.  Is that your company or your competitors?  Bob Lederer, former President of a leading promotional product manufacturer states that, “promotional product advertising is the only type of advertising that elicits a thank you from the recipient.”  In traditional advertising, the number of impressions an advertisement receives measures an advertising campaign’s success.  Just think about how many times and how many different people see a corporate logo on that coffee mug. A more important advantage of promotional products, when used properly to increase sales, is the return on investment can be measured more accurately than any other advertising medium.

Maybe you’ve been using promotional products to advertise your business? However, have you used them as a tool to increase leads, sales and cash flow or only as a toy to elicit a laugh from fellow workers?  Can you measure the success of your promotional product advertising campaigns?  Or, is it just a line item in your marketing budget that increases when you have profits and is eliminated entirely when you don’t?  If you answer is no to the first question and yes to the last, it’s time take another look at the manner in which your company uses these unique marketing items.

It is imperative to increase sales in a sluggish marketplace. Ironically, it is often easier to win over new clients and expand market share in poor economic times than it is in good times because many purchasing agents , desperate to improve performance, are willing to work with new vendors presenting something conceivably more effective.

To increase lead and sales, considering including a promotional product in your next mailing to your prospects and clients.  A study by Silver Marketing Group, published by the Promotional Products Association, found that the use of promotional products, in conjunction a sales letter, can make a significant difference in direct mail response rates and improve the effectiveness of converting leads into appointments. In terms of appointments secured, a sales letter only received a 1.8% response.  A letter with a promotional product enclosed received a 2.7% response and a letter with an offer of a promotional product incentive received a 7.3% response.

Whether your a CEO of a large or small company, a promotional products campaign can be tailored to both your needs and budget.  Promotional products should not be the line item in your marketing budget that is deleted first.  Instead, they should be the creative marketing tool that puts your sales efforts in gear and contributes to making your company first in your market.

Payden

In a study done by PPAI/Promotional Products Association International, of advertising habits of marketing executives conducted in 2008, it was learned that promotional products ranked as their advertising medium of choice, over TV, newspapers and the internet. 1049 end buyers cited promotional products tops in these attributes:

* Ability to achieve long-term memorability at the cost of paying only for a single exposure.

* Flexibility to fit the cost of the medium to the budget

*Ability to bond with the audience in a way that promotes repeat business

* Audience-friendly (people actually want to receive promotional products)

* Proven to generate traffic in stores, trade shows, etc.

78% of those declared the medium (promotional products) as somewhat or very effective in achieving the advertising objectives.

What type of product did you use for your last promotion?  Please explain the details of how you used this item.