Our philosophy is that ‘logo only’, whilst undoubtedly effective at increasing brand awareness can, sometimes, miss the bigger opportunity.  Why not say 'yes' to both logo and message?

Message Selection
For Agricultural Gain it was important for them to communicate to farmers that their solutions were sustainable and would increase yields of output.  There are two key product/service advantages so why not communicate them?  We also identified a AG’s purpose as being the creation of a brighter future.  We decided that we could promote all three of these things alongside general brand awareness.

Product Selection
AG had selected a wireless phone charger as it’s an on-trend product.  They wanted 500 of these but estimated that they would meet only 2-300 farmers (target buyers) at the show.  

Another solution was offered – create a low cost, quirky giveaway to hand out to visitors to their stand that were just curious about their product and then have a highly functional, high-quality sought-after product to give to their target demographic, creating a feel of exclusivity.  We jointly identified our Soho Vacuum insulated bottle as a good product option.

The end-product can be seen in the image to the right.

Summary
Choosing merchandise can be exciting and we get dazzled by cool looking options.  Following the above formula will increase your success; i/ identify the demographic and chosen objective, ii/ select an appropriate level of messaging, iii/ create that message, iv/ find the product that fits your brand, message and the target demographic.  We are here to help with all of that!

Author Bio
Douglas Gregory is the Managing Director of Promotion Products with over 20 years of Promotional Merchandise experience.  With an Honours Marketing Degree he is trusted by some of Australia's largest brands and is a recognised authority in this area of marketing.