A New Leaf

I've not written as frequently as promised or as frequently as I would like because I get writers block sometimes. Really, how interesting is it for you to read about promotional products all the time? Right. So, my goal is to write more frequently and I will write about promotional products but also about life and the joy of it - and whatever else strikes my fancy. Hope you will continue to tune in.

A History Lesson

As I was doing research and development, I came across an article I hadn't seen for some time. It was about the history of promotional products and advertising specialties. It seems that the first promotional products were commemorative buttons when George Washington was inaugurated.

Skip ahead a few years and travel to Ohio. Jasper Freemont Meek owned a small newspaper in Coshocton Ohio and was looking for ways to supplement his income. He saw a girl drop her schoolbooks in the dirt. Mr. Meek approached one of his newspaper advertisers, a Mr. Cantwell, who owned a shoe store. Mr. Meeks sold him on the idea of buying imprinted burlap bags with the message "Buy Cantwell Shoes" and to give one to each child that came into his store. He would build store traffic with his message being seen all over town. Both entrepreneurs reaped the rewards. Mr. Meek officially started his own promotional products business by then selling imprinted horse covers which were seen on almost every horse in town.

Other early pioneers in this industry were other newspapermen looking to supplement their income, including Mssrs. Murphy and Osborne of Red Oak, Iowa. They printed a watercolor on cardboard and attached a calendar pad to come up with the first art calendars. Current statistics show that calendars are still one of the most successful and effective promotional products even now.

The Power of Promotional Products

I received a mass e-mail yesterday from The Advertising Specialty Institute which announced that promotional products beat out all other forms of advertising as the most cost-effective advertising medium available. More than 600 travelers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia were surveyed to reveal the following findings:

• 84% of people remember the advertiser on a product they received.
• 42% have a more favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving an advertising specialty.
• Nearly one quarter indicate that they are more likely to do business with an advertiser on items they receive.
• 62% have done business with the advertiser on a product after receiving it.
• Writing instruments are the most commonly owned advertising specialty, with 54% of respondents owning them.
• 81% of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.
• More than 75% of respondents have had their items for about seven months.
• Bags deliver the most impressions with 1,038 impressions per month on average.
• The average cost per impression of an ad specialty item is $0.004 compared to $0.033 for a national magazine ad, $0.0129 for a newspaper ad, $0.019 for a prime time TV ad, $0.007 for a cable TV ad, $0.006 for a syndicated TV ad and $0.005 for a spot radio ad (Nielson Media data).

During these economic conditions, we all need to ramp up our marketing and advertising efforts. What more effective way to improve sales than to put your logo on a strategically chosen product whose recipient is going to keep it for seven months on average?

Making promotional products and corporate gifts a part of your marketing culture will help you grow your business even in times like these.