Investing in promotional merchandise is a great tactic for a variety of marketing initiatives. When used strategically, merchandise has the ability to create lasting impressions and boost brand exposure and awareness. Below we have outlined 4 highly effective promotional merchandising strategies to keep your investments successful and efficient.
1. Communicate Your Brand Voice
Whether you are choosing promotional materials for a tradeshow as an exhibitor, hosting an event, or creating an on-boarding kit, making sure your brand voice is woven into each merchandise element. Your brand voice represents who you are and how you communicate with your audience. Below are a few examples of types of brand voices and items in our online promo store that coordinate well with each.
BRAND VOICE |
MERCH IDEAS |
Inspirational |
candle, oil diffuser, plush blanket, journal |
Playful |
beach towel temporary tattoo, fanny pack, pop socket |
Professional |
luxury pen, padfolio, Yeti tumbler, power bank |
Edgy |
luxury sunglasses, Apple AirTag, noise canceling headphones |
2. Tune to Your Industry
Your promotional merchandise doesn’t have to be just generic note pads, pens and magnets, you can tailor yours directly to your industry! Each industry has its own characteristics and value sets. Education, construction, agriculture, sports, hospitality, and healthcare are just a handful of industries that can all benefit from having a great lineup of merchandise options.
For example:
one industry we at Think3 work with frequently, is the agricultural industry. The ag industry encourages sustainability, stewardship and thrives in innovation. Merchandise that is often appreciated and is valuable to them, is high-quality, rugged apparel, knives, seed depth tools, multi-tools, on-the-go tech gear and sustainable items.
Things to think about:
Is it relatable to this industry?
Does it reflect the industry’s values?
Would it help members of this industry’s work environment?
Is it a trending item for this industry?
3. Coordinate Your Marketing Campaigns
Promotional merchandise is an effective component to elevate a variety of marketing campaigns such as product launches, brand awareness or recruitment. An effective and successful marketing campaign hinges on the coordinated efforts woven into each component. Your promotional merchandise should match the look and feel of the campaign artwork, design, messaging and tone.
Tip:
Take your product launch to a new level by creating branded launch kits. Design a custom box and kit all your coordinated promo items. You can use these to send to customers, sales reps and influencers.
4. Enhance Your Event Marketing
Whether your business is exhibiting at an event, hosting an event or sponsoring an event, promotional merchandise makes an excellent tool to increase awareness both in your brand and products. If you are an exhibitor or sponsor, make sure your merchandise is unique yet useful. Be mindful of airfare restrictions if your audience will be traveling by plane (i.e., avoid pocket knives). Common functional items are the most coveted. For example: We sourced these stress relievers that are also cell phone holders at a conference we exhibited at. They were a huge hit and we couldn’t keep the table stocked fast enough.
If you are hosting an event, promotional merchandise gives you the opportunity to add a tangible element to your theme. You can customize your merchandise with event colors, shapes, and logos. These items can be used for welcome bags, table décor/giveaways, team apparel, games prizes and more. The possibilities are endless with event merchandise.
Finding the right promotional items for your business doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. Shop our promo site www.think3promos.com. We also offer our services to research and source customized products tailored to your company and marketing initiatives.
Feel free to give us a call anytime to get started!