If you’re trying to get creative with your promotional strategies, crazy ideas don’t tend to help your brand as much as you might think. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking outside the box, however. When it comes to promotional items, you need to include things that are useful, appropriate and most importantly, memorable.
Businesses spend upwards of $18 billion on promotional items. Do they all work? Of course not. Too many of them end up in the trash, or the kids’ toy bin. Make your promotional items count, with a dose of unconventional thinking.
Take your business cards, for example. They are really a type of promotional item, so consider more creative uses to really bring branding to the forefront. Think about some of the more bizarre business cards you’ve received. Perhaps the locksmith whose business card turns into a lock-pick, or the local greeting card manufacturer whose business card is seed-based and plantable.
Approaches like this not only put a promotional item in the hands of customers and potential customers, they’re also saying, “Hey, we’re creative, and we don’t want to waste your time.” If your budget is small, even going so far as to print your business card onto a magnet will likely put your name on a fridge or file cabinet, where it can get one hundred times the exposure as a conventional card that is simply filed, trashed or lost.
More Unconventional Approaches
If you’re still wondering what you can do with a business card, there are all sorts of creative ways to go. Depending on your business and potential customer base, consider the possibilities inherent in seasonal promotional items. If baseball season is just around the corner, consider a drink koozie or inflatable thunder stick.
If you want to hop on the environmental bandwagon, consider reusable grocery shopping totes, or biodegradable bags for garden use. Going environmental is not just a plus for you, but it reminds your customers that your business is ethical and forward-thinking. Another creative idea is the branded stress ball–perfect around tax time or the holidays when life gets a little tense. Or how about handing out a reusable water bottle–branded with your message–in the midst of a summer heat wave?
For techies, there’s the ever-popular small adhesive screen cleaner emblazoned with your logo. These are small enough to stick to tthe side or back of computer screen, so it’s always handy when computer screens start looking a little dusty.
Cater to Your Customer Base
As you can see, the possibilities are endless. You just have to be creative and know your brand and your audience. For example, your older customers might prefer classic promotional items like pens, calendars and coasters; whereas, your younger clientele might be drawn to t-shirts, travel coffee mugs, or branded USB drives. If your customers are mostly moms, consider promotional items that will make their lives a little easier. Want to reach athletes? Brand some wrist sweatbands or other useful technical clothing!
Creative Distribution Can Help
Once you’ve decided on the promotional item, why not think outside the box for distribution? One idea would be to take your promotional items to the web. On Twitter and Facebook, people love giveaways and contests, and it might be as simple as running a promo that says, “Our 100th follower on Twitter will receive a free coffee mug at the store!” Or having your Facebook fans compete to come up with a creative one-line slogan about your business for the chance to land a 2 GB USB drive (with your logo, of course).
Whatever you do, make sure you stay consistent with what your brand stands for. Don’t be so promotionally creative that your customers lose site of your product or service. So take your brand — and your customers — to a creative and quirky level and watch your business grow!
This guest post was written by Richard Larson, who is Brand Manager at the UK’s leading online supplier of promotional clothing and printed clothing, GoPromotional.com
