Advertising specialties (aka promotional items, give-aways, or pejoratively “chotchkies”) are one of the most misunderstood, misused, and ignored components of the promotional mix. Some companies consider them a waste of money and refuse to use them, while others mistakenly see the benefit of the message’s long life as a replacement for other targeted and more descriptive tools like DM or online. The answer is in between.
A customized promo item typically only has enough space for your company’s logo, phone number, URL, and maybe a slogan. If someone has never heard of your product before and they don’t know what you do, it is unlikely they will call you just because they saw your number on a mug, a shirt, or a pen. But if you advertise via other media (TV, online, print, DM, event, etc.) and they see your logo and message reinforced on a promotional product, they will likely remember you (at the least) and possibly contact you to buy (at the most).
Your brand reinforcement can also be achieved at a relatively low CPI (cost per impression). A recent study was conducted on the CPI of specialty advertising and it measures the average number of impressions per month based on various items. For example, custom imprinted tote bags generate an average of 1,083 impressions per month. On average, a recipient keeps an advertising specialty item for about seven months. So a promotional message on an attractive, useful give-away bag would generate 7,581 impressions. If each bag cost you $10, your CPI is $.0013 (about one and a half cents). This is among the lowest CPIs in advertising when compared to magazine/newspaper print ads and TV/radio broadcast ads.
But be careful: Just because specialty advertising has a low CPI, you shouldn’t necessarily invest your entire marketing budget in it. It should be just one component of a balanced marketing mix overall. Promotional products offer a supplementary reinforcement of a message delivered elsewhere (print, broadcast, direct, online).
So while you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket, you should at least remember to include this basket in your campaign. Lots of people will see it.
Take a look at the links below for more info.
http://www.asicentral.com/asp/open/Research/impressionsstudy/Advertising_Specialties_ROI.pdf
http://www.fullpressapparel.com/wp-content/uploads/impressions_study.pdf
