With tens of thousands of promotional product options available, it can be easy to fall into analysis paralysis when searching for the best fit for your brand.
This step by step guide will make choosing the right product a breeze and ensure you are choosing something that works, every time.
Alternatively, we recommend you speak with a promotional specialist who has experience in recommending tailored solutions for brands of all sizes.
These are the steps you should take when choosing promotional merchandise:
Step 1. Define The Recipient
Like any marketing or gifting it’s critical to put yourselves in your target audiences shoes. Understanding their desires, fears and values is going to light the path for product selection.
Staff, event attendees, existing customers or potential clients are some examples of common recipients of promotional merchandise.
Ask yourself, who are you giving these products to?
Now also consider characteristics of this group of people. What is their age, what do they do as a hobby, what do they value?
Age
Baby Boomers: Many people of this age group are now retired and spend a lot of time around the home, travelling or working on their hobbies.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Gen X: Closer to retirement Gen X users want products that can save them time and money. They grew up learning the value of independence and appreciate informality.
Possible Ideas 💡:
- Rubiks cubes and other retro products
- Picnic blankets
- Apparel and wearables
Millennials: Digital junkies who grew as the internet did. Wanting a good work-life balance millennials love new things tech and environmentally friendly options.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Gen Z: They grew up with social media in a world that is now more connected than ever. They value diversity and choose brands that display the same ethical values they support.
Possible Ideas 💡:
- Products that look good on social media
- Eco friendly merchandise
- Phone related productions
- Headphones
Gen Alpha (born 2010 or after): Currently the youngest demographic and the most materially endowed and technical savvy generation ever.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Interests/Hobbies
Outdoor lovers: They love the outdoors and want products that can keep up with their lifestyle. Quality is usually a very important factor when choosing for these people.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Fitness Fanatics: Gym junkies who love working out and getting fit. They want products that match their lifestyle and naturally get used at the gym or for consuming supplements.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Corporate professionals: They want products that will help them with their job or save them time. It’s important that these products are practical and relevant to the recipient.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Students: Speaking from experience, students love freebies. So pretty much anything that’s useful and free is going to be appreciated.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Pet parents: They love to spoil their pets and will adore you if you can give them a product their furry friend will love.
Possible Ideas 💡:
Step 2. Define Your Goals
It’s important to know what you’re actually wanting to achieve with these products. The goal of your campaign will greatly influence which product you should be selecting.
For example, if you’re holding a trade show packets of mints with your logo could be a great option for attracting attendees to your stand and generating leads.
But if you were to be giving those same packets of mints to your biggest clients or staff as an end of year gift it probably wouldn’t go down so well.
Here are some of the most popular reasons why people use promotional merchandise:
- Have a succesful event
- Show appreciation
- Launch a new product
- Generate leads/referalls
- Employee onboarding (promote company culture)
- Increase brand awareness and reall
So now that you’ve got a goal in mind it’s time to set a budget that matches this.
Step 3. Set A Budget
There are a few ways to go about setting your budget for promotional products.
You can calculate how much you are willing to spend on each recipient and then multiply that by the total number of recipients. For example, if you’re willing to spend $5 per recipient and have 2500 recipients your total budget will be $12,500.
Alternatively, if you’ve already been given a marketing budget promotional products will usually be included in this. The proportion of the budget will differ on a company to company basis. Most large organisations usually spend 2-5% of their marketing budget on branded merchandise.
Step 4. Narrow The Scope Of Products
Now it’s getting close to crunch time.
With your target audience and budget in mind narrow down your search to just a few product categories. For example, a company presenting at a trade show may narrow it down to “pens”, “confectionery” and “tote bags”.
Promo Tip: Listen to your target recipient for products they might like to receive. You can even do a poll on social media or directly ask them.
Step 5. Decide On A Colour And Decoration
Now’s the best part, finalising the colours and deciding how your logo is going to be shown on the finished product.
When choosing a colour it’s generally best practice to match your brand’s colours. If your logo or brand has multiple colours you can include both by alternating the print colours and product colour. When in doubt a black or white product is always a smart choice.
Although your first thought may be to print your logo there are many eye-catching options available now. We highly recommend you speak with an account manager who can provide you with decoration suggestions.
Off the list here are some popular options:
- Laser engraving
- Screen printing or pad printing
- Digital printing (maxiCOLOUR Print)
- Sublimation printing
- Debossing/Embossing
- Embroidery
- Supasub/Supaetch/Supaflex
- Resin coated finish
- Digital label
- Wrap/Rotary print
Summing Up
“There is only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”
The same mindset applies to choosing fantastic promotional merchandise. Breaking things down makes into steps makes the process less daunting and ensures you’re choosing a product that will excite your recipients.
We’d love to partner up and help you create something special. Speak with one of our team today or request a quote online to get started.