3 Ways to Choose a Branded Promotional Product People Will Love

There’s a reason branded promotional items are one of the go-to marketing pieces for trade shows, conferences, and other large corporate events. It’s because everyone loves a freebie, right? But just because sought-after promotional products are an easy way to get attention, it doesn’t mean finding the right branded promotional items to market your business is easy. What is the right product that will support your brand well and that people really want to use?

We’ve all seen promotional giveaway items that are uninteresting and are more of a nuisance since “not only do I have to carry this around all day with the rest of my stuff, but then I feel bad about tossing it in the trash when I get home.”

You don’t want to spend all that money on a promotional product just to find out that people throw them away further down the trade show floor. To avoid making any mistakes, here are my top 3 tips for choosing a winning promotional item for your next big event.

Think About Your Audience

Yes, everyone likes free stuff, but in today’s world of marketing, free stuff has become the norm for generating leads. So, because giveaways at trade shows, conferences, and events have become such a mainstay, it takes more creativity to get someone to truly say, “Hey, I want that!”

That means that throwaway, trick-or-treat type of giveaway items just don’t make the cut. You have to think about your audience and what kind of items they find useful, fun, and worthy of holding on to.

Take a deep look in to your ideal customer, and then think of the things they may use while at work and at home. Do they travel a lot? Do many of them work in home offices? What would they keep on their desk? What do they do for fun? Do they have kids?

All of these factors play in to finding a promotional item that your ideal audience will find intriguing instead of unworthy of taking up space in their bag.

Don’t Cheap Out

One thing you might find while searching for a great, useful, and relevant promotional item for your audience is that with quality comes cost.

Yes, more value means more money, but in the long run, these are items you’re using to generate leads, so you need to make sure it’s something that actually…generates a lead.

Don’t be afraid to invest more in a quality product. The ROI will be worth it, because when you spend your marketing budget on cheap and uninteresting promotional items for your audience, you’ve actually thrown money away since those items won’t be bringing you any return. To protect your investment, don't give the promotional product to just anyone who walks in your trade show booth. Make them earn a higher quality item by leaving your their business card, filling out a survey, or winning it in a raffle.

Don’t go for cheap, go for quality, and see the pay off.

Get Your Numbers Right

You might still be concerned about cost, but here’s another thing to keep in mind: don’t overbuy.

Almost every marketing manager or event buyer has experienced the mass surplus of items after wrapping up an event at one point or another, and that just means you didn’t get your numbers right.

When determining how many items to buy, take in to consideration that you may not be coming into contact with every person who will be attending an event. Many people purchase the same number of items as people in-attendance, plus some “just in case” extras, and that’s just a waste of your budget.

Take a close look at past events that were similar in attendance, or start tracking how many people come to your event this year so you have a clearer picture the next time you participate in the event. If you are afraid of underbuying, don't worry about it. If you run out of your promotional item, just collect business cards from the people who are really interested in your product or service and mail it to them later with some product brochures or have your local salesperson hand deliver the item and use it as a chance to tell your brand story.

Keep these three things in mind and I know you’ll have a winning promotional product strategy that gains your audience’s attention, grabs leads, and fits your budget. If you need more help with any of those aspects, please give me a call at 847-398-5500 or shoot me an email at dona.blunt@newportpros.com. I’d be happy to guide you to the perfect items for your audience!

For more trade show marketing ideas, you might like these other posts:

How to Choose the Right Promotional Products to Drive Trade Show Booth Traffic 

Three Ways to Drive More Traffic and Spur More Engagement at Your Trade Show Booth

10 Ideas Using Promotional Products That Will Drive Traffic to Your Trade Show Booth