In its most basic description, branding is nonverbal communication. A brand is a unique, quickly and easily recognizable combination of shapes, colors and symbols that instantly creates a positive idea in the mind of a potential consumer. In days gone by in he Old West, a cowboy proudly rode for the brand. A successful cattleman’s brand on his livestock was a mark of distinction that meant integrity, permanence and stability and encouraged trust in the owner. Today branding is important as companies face increased competition from markets they had never faced before on a global scale. The consumers are presented with multiple choices for similar products so the most effective brand recognition and awareness gives an advantage to those who have the most effective and in-depth campaigns.

Using promotional items with the business brand, logo or website is an extremely effective way to develop brand awareness through circulating appropriate items into audiences who the move them into visible situations in a passive advertising mode. The brand attracts attention and more audiences become aware of it. Carefully selected promotional items, distributed as part of a campaign will extend the public relations campaign beyond the internet by putting a desirable premium in the hands of persons who will share the brand with others. Traffic to the website will increase with each new gift. Traffic results in purchases and profits.

There are several things to consider when planning a campaign with promotional items carrying the brand. First, depending on budget, select an item that will please and attract the main target audience. This item should be something this group will use daily, is identifiable with their lifestyle, and will be large enough to display the logo/brand/website clearly and noticeably. Second, a quality printing that will take daily use and retain its legibility is essential. Pens see hard usage and need to be the best print possible. Be ready for a new target group to appear, a general purpose item that everyone uses, like a personalized coffee mug, key fobs, pencils, etc. are good investments and will change hands often and result in additional traffic from sources that might not have been anticipated.

Promotional items, be they as simple as pens and pencils, or clothing items with band/logo/website combinations, are visibly effective methods to build and expand brand awareness. High visibility items with color, graphic and quality printing will develop markets from being seen by target audiences and peripheral audiences. The purpose is to make the brand visible, invite inquiries, move traffic and customers to the website and sell products and services. Promotional items are given away free, but the ROI is significant and worth the investment.

Tags: promotional items, custom item

The world of marketing is a world that not only allows for, but also encourages innovation. If someone is going to market a product, then they need to implement creative methods for increasing the product’s visibility. So, it is safe to say that while there are marketing basics–a set of rules to properly and effectively market a product–there is also a great deal of room for innovation that encourages a sort of guerrilla approach. In other words, think outside the box. In this case, think outside the lunch box.

While a lunch box may not readily present itself as a means of marketing a product, it is one of the most effective promotional items that can be employed everyday. However, before discussing the potential of a lunch box to act as a promotional item, it is important to identify why one might decide to use a lunch box to promote an item. If there is an item that a person wants to promote, then that person must first identify the situational context of that item. Specifically, the promotional item must be aligned with a specific consumer base and purpose. In the case of a lunch box, there are a few major factors concerning the situational context that can be highlighted before deciding which product to market.

First, a lunch box is used chiefly by youth, specifically young children that are still in primary school. So, the consumer base for lunch boxes will be young children. Even though parents will be responsible for purchasing the lunch boxes, the lunch boxes will function best as promotional items in the proximity of children. Second, lunch boxes will be used at a specific time–lunch. Therefore, a person could count on the approximation that a lunch box would be used everyday, at lunch, by a young child. After identifying these influential factors about lunch boxes, one can better decide on which products could be promoted most effectively with lunch boxes.

So, it is probably safe to say that lunch boxes would not be an effective means of marketing or promoting men’s razors. This would not work because children have no need to shave. Therefore, one should ask what children do. What do children like? What might children discuss over lunch? Well, answering these questions will be the most important task in determining how best to use a lunch box as a promotional item. After a person has found the answers to these questions, then it is time to promote the product.

Tags: , promotional items