Put your logo here

If you’re like most of corporate America, when you think of promotional products the first thing that comes to mind is a pencil or pen with a company’s logo imprinted on it.

But there are several hundred thousand different promotional products out there, says Ross Salupo, CEO of Cannon Advertising Specialties-a Cleveland promotional products firm-and business owners are just starting to recognize the breadth of what’s available.

“More and more businesses are using promotional products as part of their media mix,” notes Salupo. And they’re using them for three main reasons: to build company morale, thank a customer or complement the introduction of a new product or service.

That’s helped create a change in the corporate mindset toward promotional products, says Salupo. Bean counters no longer view them as extra expenses. “Because of the many creative ways to use this product, it’s not being seen as an investment,” he says.

In fact, the right product can help keep your company’s name in front of a potential client much longer than conventional advertising. And you only pay for it once.

For example, if you give away a travel mug with your company’s logo and phone number on it, every time a potential customer refills it with coffee, he sees the name. When it’s time to make a decision, that could spell the difference in landing the account.

Before deciding what type of promotional product to distribute, Salupo says there are three key issues to address:

• Define your company’s objective. What is the product supposed to do? If it’s supposed to complement existing marketing efforts, make sure it ties in with the overall project. Says Salupo, “If you have a grand opening or you’re inviting someone to the opening, you can use a letter opener.”
• Determine the target audience. Who’s going to receive the promotion and how many will you need? If you send out bottle openers or golf tees to a primarily younger audience, it may not have the same effect as, say, a key chain or flashlight.
• Calculate the promotional budget. If you have $1,000 to spend on 1,000 items, it’s simple mathematics-each item can cost no more than $1. Salupo suggests figuring out a drop-dead budget per item before undertaking the search for exactly which type of promo product to purchase. That helps narrow the choices down to a workable number of potential products.

And, if all else fails, there’s always something simple, like a 35-cent magnet, to fall back on. Either that or a pencil.