Wednesday, September 23, 2015

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:






Monday, September 21, 2015

Make People Fall in Love with Your Brand with Pumpkin Promotional Items

Now that we’re past Labor Day, it’s officially fall! With all the candy and fall decorations taking over the shelves, it’s fair to say fall feelings are in the air, which means now’s the time to get cracking on promotional items for your business’ fall festivities.

From fall carnivals, to community trick-or-treat events, or any trade show or corporate event that happens to fall right during the week of Halloween, these pumpkin promotional items are some of our favorites to get in the Autumn spirit.



Pumpkin Carving Scooper

Carving pumpkins is one of the top fall festivities and past times, but unfortunately it’s a huge mess! It doesn’t have to be with our pumpkin carving scooper that’s perfect for getting out all the innards of your jack-o-lantern. With serrated edges to grab all the pumpkin guts, you’ll also get all the seeds too, which are perfect for roasting! Your logo will has some good horizontal space on the handle.



Pumpkin Flashing Glasses

If you’re not in to getting all decked out in a costume, you’ll love these flashing glasses so you can still get in the spirit. Hand these out at a Fall or Halloween community event to "light up" the mood. These flashing pumpkin specs are sure to make a statement and people will hang on to them, giving your brand long-term visibility.



Pumpkin Trick-or-Treat Bag

Hosting a treat-or-treat event or planning to participate in one in the community? These branded jack-o-lantern drawstring bags are fun and useful way to make a brand impression year after year since these bags are so durable. Or fill them with candy to hand out in your October trade show booths.



Halloween Pumpkins Pen

Everyone’s got a use for pens, so get seasonal with our pumpkin themed ballpoint pens! You can put your brand message or logo on the side, and the cute pumpkin design will be sure to bring some flair to your office or trade show booth. They are under $1 so stock up!



Pumpkin and Fall Festivities Stencil

Crafters, DIY-ers, or really, just anyone with kids will love this pumpkin and fall festivities stencil. With images of a witches hat, black cat, ghost, bat and pumpkin, you’ve got a variety of images to get crafty with.


If you need more help with finding the perfect promotional item for your fall event, 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 best items for your budget and needs!


For more promotional ideas for your brand, you might like these other posts:

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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Our Best-Selling Trade Show Giveaways

Choosing items to giveaway at your next trade show event can be overwhelming just with the sheer number of choices available. After all, at Newport Promotions we have over a thousand products to fit every kind of themed event and type of audience. 

Then consider that you have to factor in your budget, what your audience would like or find useful, and how many items you need. This might put you at a complete loss for what giveaway items to select.

Through years of experience, I’ve found that the best-selling and most-popular branded promotional items and trade show giveaways aren’t always the grandest or most expensive, they’re the items attendees will get the most use out of. 

Here are some of our best-selling items to consider for your next trade show or event. You can’t go wrong with any of these great items: 




Between brochures, giveaway items, water bottles and wallets, trade show and event attendees need an easy and non-cumbersome way to haul it all around. Help them out and give them a tote bag.

Our best-selling tote not only provides a huge space for displaying your brand, but it’s also eco-friendly since your attendees are sure to use it time and time again.




Give your trade show booth visitors a way to represent your brand all day long with our double-ended lanyards that have two separate attachments. 

This is the perfect giveaway for any event that requires wearing a badge or holding on to other items such as meal tickets, breakout session tickets, etc. Attendees can keep everything right within reach at an affordable cost for you. 




Hey, everyone’s got to eat, and unfortunately snacks can be hard to find at many trade show and conference venues. Rather than resorting to overpriced snacks at the closest hotel or venue gift shop, give attendees the energy they need right when they need it. 

With our choices of trail mix, salted peanuts, gummy bears, chocolate covered raisins, jelly beans, and more, there are plenty of options for keeping attendees satiated. 




After your attendees eat their snack, make sure they have a quick and easy clean up! 

Our unique, branded refreshing towels are ideal for trade shows and conferences where lots of hands are being shook and people are touching the same door handles, etc. Give your attendees the peace of mind that they can clean their hands, if a washroom isn’t in sight. 




Solve one of the most common problems at trade shows and conferences - providing power! 

It never fails, at every big event you’ll always find attendees sitting on the floor by an outlet looking to boost their battery for another couple hours. And if they’re not sitting by an outlet, they’re looking for one!

Our portable battery charger is budget-friendly and the best way to ensure your attendee’s phones stay charged so they can tweet out praise about your booth or presentation. 


If you’re really looking to wow your conference or trade show attendees, we love the idea of bundling all these best-sellers together for the ultimate welcome and hospitality package. These items are guaranteed to get love from attendees at your booth.

If you would like more help in choosing the best branded promotional items and giveaways for your next trade show or event, 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!