Monday, June 23, 2014

Branded Corporate Merchandise: Why You Should Be Buying From a Problem Solver & Not a Product Pusher.

When it comes to purchasing branded merchandise (promotional products, branded apparel, swag, etc.), you won’t have any trouble finding a company that will sell you a pen, mug, & polo shirt. Unfortunately the hard part is actually finding someone who is more interested in selling you a solution rather than a product.



The true identifier of a solutions provider in this business is someone who cares about your brand just as much as you do. With literally millions of different product options to choose from, they should be your catalog (and I don't mean sending you a link to an online web store). They should be the one taking as much off your plate as possible so you can actually work and not worry about which color to choose, staying under budget & ensuring company brand standards are followed.

Sure, you could just chop this up as great customer service but it's so much more than that. The process of communicating a company/organization's brand and cultivating an image is incredibly important. We know this because businesses spend billions of dollars each year on marketing strategies, advertising campaigns, and hiring PR firms that "position" their brand with great premeditation to the public.

Solving problems shouldn't be avoided, they should be embraced. Instead of looking at us like product peddlers you really should be looking to us as your brand ambassadors.




                                         
(216) 574-9009


Friday, March 28, 2014

Promotional Products: Trinkets & Trash or Powerful Advertising Medium?






In today’s world of mass communication, it’s rare for almost anyone to go just a few minutes without being exposed to some form of advertising. People have become so inundated with advertisements in their day to day lives that many have developed their own natural filter; simply passing around them as if the message was road kill.

What if there was an advertising medium that consumers actually wanted to consume? What if we could develop a way to connect brands and consumers on a personal level where the message is actually welcomed and appreciated?

Call them what you want but promotional products have proven to be one of the most powerful advertising mediums in existence and their history can be traced back to the first American President. 

1789 George Washington Inaugural Button
According to the Promotional Products Awareness-Usage Study, 47% of respondents keep a promotional product they receive for more than a year. While 88% recalled the advertiser from a promotional product received in the last 12 months, 71% recalled advertisers on a newspaper or magazine read a week before, which speaks to the power of promotional products to support brand recall. 

While other advertising mediums more often do more to interrupt, promotional products work to engage the consumer and begin a relationship. 

Paul Bellantone, President and CEO of PPAI, said it best in an article he wrote in November of 2013:

"To savvy advertisers and marketers, promotional products are the secret weapon in the marketing arsenal because they are the only tangible advertising medium with the ability to deliver a touchable, tasteable, seeable, hearable and smell-able sensory engagement—the total brand experience. More importantly, promotional products are the only advertising for which consumers say, “Thank you!”  When professionally designed and produced, and used as part of strategic plan, promotional products generate interest, action, sales, referrals and loyalty—in short results. These results distinguish them as one of the most effective and arguably the longest-lasting and best-loved advertising media in the world."   

Although we can't take credit for President Washington's inaugural buttons, JMA Promotions has been specializing in the introduction, reinforcement, and enhancement of our customers' corporate brand image for both their customers & staff since 1978. 

(216) 574-9009