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. 

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