CPI Success With Promotional Products!

When selecting a promotional item, select one that is actually going to work! What does that mean?

In general, if the promotional item or swag will not be used or not be used often enough, then it might be appreciated when given but as far as cost per impression, it may have little value to you and your brand or message.

What is your marketing goal with the promotional item you selected? Will it it accomplish the desired effect? Who is your audience? How big is your audience? Are you trying to just get return customers or attract new ones too?

And then there are all the technical details of custom printing. Most people do not realize that there is so much more to promotional product than just selecting a promotional item to print on. Will the print be big enough? Will the print hold up long enough? Should it be a print, an embroidery, a decal…?

If you are trying to just get return customers, then the size of the item may not matter as much as its usefulness. Trying to get return customers and attract new one, then, most time, the larger the item (such as a bag) the better.

Getting a good deal on an order is fine, but ultimately, cost is so much more important than price. What is cost you might ask? Here is an example: Hotel Malibu’s General Manager needs 500 of something for an outdoor event. After a short conversation with the salesperson at the promotional company company, this GM decides that since 500 pens will fit the budget, then its got to be good.

So, yes the pens will likely do their job at the moment they are given but then that’s it! People will put the pen in their pocket, loose it, throw it out or at best give the pen to someone else (who, by the way, will not read what is imprinted on the barrel). Cost per impression is not likely to be very high which means that this GM’s final cost per pen will be very high!!!

What might be a better choice for this outdoor event could simply have been 500 basic bags. These bags would not have only been as appreciated as the pen but as people walked around with the bag, this hotel would have received so many more impressions from many more visitors of this outdoor event. Of course, this is also assuming the GM (or the salesperson at the bag supplier) knew enough about proper printing protocols, bag texture, bag size and so on!

We are here to help you avoid costly mistakes and get better results with promotional products or swag. It wont cost you dime to ask and will likely save you many $$$$! Ask here!

Be well!