The Most Memorable Advertising

According to Incomm Center for Trade Show Research and Sales Training, event attendees are 52% more likely to stop by your exhibit if you have appealing promotional items to give them. In addition to this, a 2009 Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) study concluded the following:

• 94 percent of participants could successfully recall a promotional product they had received in the past two years
• 89 percent could recall the advertiser of the promotional product
• 83 percent reported that they liked receiving promotional products
• 48 percent would like to receive promotional products more often
• 69 percent typically keep the promotional product

Consistently, promotional products delivered higher recall rates on company/brand and/or product/service than TV, print, and online advertising.

The study found that the top five items that lead to a more favorable impression of the advertiser included food baskets, MP3 players, clocks/watches, digital picture frames, and luggage. I would think it’s pretty obvious these expensive items would make one think favorably of a company, but what companies have a big enough budget to hand out such costly items?

There is a never-ending list of much more affordable items you can give away at a trade show. We all know (and probably still have some lying around) the common ones: tote bags, mugs, water bottles, pens, key chains, magnets, etc. But if your promotional item of choice is not effective, you might as well not invest in it at all. Be sure your item reflects your company image. It’s great to have contact info right on the object along with your logo. The item must target your message repeatedly. The purpose of the item is to create new customers, encourage repeat business, build brand recognition, and expand your presence by getting into customers’ homes and offices. Make it visually attractive, ask yourself what is in it for the person receiving it, and make it worthwhile so it doesn’t just end up in the trash.

Lists of the most effective items all seem to differ, but the items that seem to be on top most lists are writing utensils/other office items that will be used daily, apparel, and coffee mugs. Try to be unique and different while still having a relevant, good quality, and memorable item. No one wants to go home with 10 different tote bags. Think of an item you still use from ten years ago…

Need more reason to market using promotional items?

Promotional Products Revealed to be Most Affordable Effective Way to Advertise

eHow.com: How to Customize Promotional Items for your Target Audience

Free Marketing to Grow Your Business

It’s a common perception that in order to make money you must first spend money. And even though often times this is true, we have found a few ways around it. Here are some tips that will help you market your company for no cost at all!

Network– you’ve heard it before, networking is essential to business growth. Everywhere you go is a potential networking opportunity, which means free marketing for yourself as well as your business. Think outside the box and try new places. Look on eventful.com under conferences, learning, organizations, or any other categories for upcoming events in your area.

A great place to start is by volunteering. Not only will you be giving back to the community (which should, of course, be the number one reason for doing it) but you will also be meeting new people, which could lead to valuable business connections. Check out volunteermatch.org for local volunteer opportunities.

Use Social Media Sites– there are so many free social networking sites full of people looking to build business connections, just like you. Facebook and Twitter are good, but LinkedIn is a business networking website that declares its “mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” Check out these sites to get the most out of LinkedIn for your business:

Top 5 Ways to Market Your Business with LinkedIn
33 Way to Use LinkedIn for Business

Be an Expert– write a blog on your topic of expertise, comment on other blogs, and volunteer to be a speaker to get you and your business out there. A really great way to generate publicity is to become a media source for reporters. There is a very useful website that will match you up with a reporter helpareporter.com.

Other free/low-cost opportunities–

• press releases (check out this site for tips)
• donating your services to a good cause
• client testimonials on website
• YouTube video
• respectable, accurate presence on Google Maps and other free reference sites

Do you have any free marketing tips?

It’s Good to be Different

Seth Godin is considered by many to be “America’s Greatest Marketer.” He has the most popular marketing blog in the world, has written the top marketing books in the last decade, and he’s not even close to being done. If you haven’t already, take a few minutes to read Godin’s blog, and I doubt you will have any trouble understanding why he has earned such an impressive reputation. Here is just one of his blog posts that makes you stop and think:

“Can’t top this

Getting someone to switch is really difficult.

Getting someone to switch because you offer more of what they were looking for when they choose the one they have now is essentially impossible. For starters, they’re probably not looking for more. And beyond that, they’d need to admit that they were wrong for not choosing you in the first place.

So, you don’t get someone to switch because you’re cheaper than Walmart. You don’t get someone to switch because you serve bigger portions than the big-portion steakhouse down the street. You don’t get someone to switch because your hospital is more famous than the Mayo Clinic.

The chances that you can top a trusted provider on the very thing the provider is trusted for are slim indeed.

Instead, you gain converts by winning at something the existing provider didn’t think was so important.”

Original source: Seth Godin’s blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/.

There it is—can it be any more obvious how important voicing your competitive advantage is? It is the most essential ingredient in your company’s image, and though there are those companies out there who effortlessly develop and establish why they are different (in a good way), the majority of us are not so lucky. So make your customers aware of why you are the best. Convince them of why they should do business with you and not the other guys. You know what makes you so great, now let everyone else know! Do your own thing in your own way and do it well! Make your company and product stand out, and your image will thrive.

Once you have successfully developed a strategic competitive advantage then work everything else around that—logo, customer relations, marketing, website—to build an unforgettable company image.