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By Many Names

You probably personally use at least one every day - maybe that mug you drink your coffee from or the calendar you use to schedule meetings or the sweatshirt you wore this weekend. Everyone has at some time been given something with a logo on it. That's because promotional products are powerful tools that can solve your marketing, public relations and internal problems and motivate your targets, be they consumers, businesses, volunteers, benefactors, employees, communities, etc., toward your objectives and enable you to achieve your goals.

What "promotional products" means
Different terms you'll hear for promotional products
How promotional products are purchased
What's in the future?

What Promotional Products Means

In its simplest form, the term promotional product is a catch-all phrase for products that are used to affect a behavior or convey a message. But they are really a sophisticated tool. Some examples of the different ways to use promotional products are to motivate your salespeople, thank your board of trustees, introduce a new product, get your dealers to load up on more product, reduce on-the-job accidents....

Promotional products usually, but not always bear an appropriate logo, slogan or saying, known as the imprint. There are many different ways a product can be imprinted, depending on the material from which it is made. Some common methods of imprinting include printing, screenprinting, embossing, embroidery, hot stamping, pad printing, etching, engraving, die-casting, etc. The message itself can be as simple as a company logo or as complex as a mission statement. By their nature, promotional products are usually sold in quantity and imprinting is rarely done on a single item. And because promotional products are generally purchased in quantities, they usually cost less than the recipient thinks they do, giving them a higher perceived value. How a promotional product is packaged can enhance its perceived value even more.

Certain products have traditionally been used for promotional purposes, and are the products most typically associated with this market. Some of these products include calendars, mugs, pens, T-shirts, bumperstickers, keytags, etc. But there is really no limit to the type of product that can be used to communicate a message. Today, there are literally hundreds of thousands of promotional products, including many high-value items like clocks, crystal, china and watches. Additionally, automotive accessories and desktop products are very popular.

Different Terms You'll Hear For Promotional Products

The four major groups of promotional products include:

Advertising Specialties
Business Gifts
Incentive and Awards
Premiums

Advertising Specialties are useful or interesting articles of merchandise, usually carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message, given with no obligation. Ad specialties are also referred to as promotional products, giveaways and adcentives. They're usually distributed in large quantities for an advertising-type purpose such as creating awareness/remembrance of a company, encouraging goodwill between a company and its clients or calling attention to a special benefit of a company or its products; usually without obligation.

Virtually every type of business, from financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies to gas stations and lumber yards, use advertising specialties from time to time. Specialties are also used a great deal by nonprofit organizations like schools, churches, clubs and amateur sports leagues. Your ad specialty consultant can provide creative guidance for choosing just the right item for your organization.

Business Gifts are a product given by a business to its customers, employees, friends or other influentials for goodwill and without obligation.

The imprint on such products is frequently the giver's company name or logo and sometimes they are personalized with the recipient's name as well. However, the imprint on a business gift is usually smaller and placed in an inconspicuous spot, known as a subtle imprint. Sometimes there is no imprint at all on the product itself, but it is part of the accompanying card or tag. Some common reasons for gift-giving include thanking customers for their patronage, developing business contacts, recognizing employee performance/longevity and celebrating special occasions and holidays.

Incentives and Awards are recognition merchandise, often personalized, used to acknowledge performance and milestones and motivate people toward a specific behavior or objective, be it more sales, fewer accidents, etc. It is the fastest-growing segment of the promotional products industry, mostly attributable to corporate America's increasing focus on motivation, workplace safety and goal-setting.

The most typical products associated with this category have been plaques, service pins, trophies and award jewelry. But today, many other types of products are used as incentives and awards. Products are often selected to reinforce the theme of a special incentive program, like an automotive accessory for a driver's safety program or Elvis-themed products for a sales incentive trip to "Blue" Hawaii. More and more companies are using catalog programs in which points are earned and redeemed for merchandise chosen out of a catalog.

Premiums are often the same product as an ad specialty, but unlike an ad specialty, the recipient must do something to receive that product. Also, a premium is not always imprinted. When you buy a box of cereal with a toy inside, you have received a premium. The same is true of the T-shirt you receive by mailing in a proof-of-purchase coupon to a manufacturer or the sleeve of golf balls you received for recommending someone who joined your golf club.

In both cases, an action was required before you obtained your gift. There are several different kinds of premiums, each with different requirements regarding how the premium is received. Some common types include sweepstakes; self- or semi-liquidators; on-pack, in-pack or near-pack; dealer loaders; trading stamps; contests and mail-ins.

How Promotional Products Are Purchased

The products offered in this industry are made available through promotional products consultants. When you contact a consultant you may either know exactly what product you are seeking or you may need the consultant's suggestions. Industry consultants usually have access to vast resources regarding the kinds of products available. The industry's most well-used reference source currently contains information on nearly 400,000 promotional products from 3,000 promotional products suppliers.

New Product Growth Estimated At 10 Percent Per Year

New products are continually being developed. Many industry suppliers literally search the globe for new and innovative products that can be used in the promotional products industry and constantly monitor trends in business and society in order to develop products that will appeal to different groups based on demographic, psychographic and geographic data.

Also, new suppliers continually enter this market, adapting their products to the requirements of the industry, particularly in terms of imprinting and quantity pricing. It's estimated that there is a 10-percent growth each year in the number of products offered through the promotional products industry.

Suppliers go to great lengths to apprise consultants of the new and different products they are offering. The most popular way of introducing new products is through the industry's many tradeshows held on local, regional and national levels. Here consultants not only see the new products displayed, but also receive literature they take back to their offices for future reference.Because consultants have this vast product knowledge, promotional product buyers are encouraged to rely on their expertise in selecting products for the programs they develop.

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