Giveaways That Give Back: 3 Reasons To Invest In Promotional Products
In 2020, US firms spent more than $17 billion on promotional products, signifying their strategic importance for driving sales and building brand awareness (Kovacheva et al., 2021).
Based on these expenditures, it seems undeniable that giveaways give back, but what are the actual benefits of handing out promotional products at your store or trade show booth?
To answer this question, today’s post reviews results from 5 separate studies detailing the effectiveness of promotional products.
Read on to learn more, or call The Custom Sign & Graphics Haus at (936)-539-4200 to discuss adding these tools to your advertising arsenal.
Marketing Research Review: The Power Of Promotional Products
1. Promotional Products Boost Trade Show Performance
Giving away quality promotional products at your booth can greatly increase traffic, brand recognition, and sales.
One study by Georgia Southern University found that:
- Nearly three-quarters (71.6%) of trade show attendees who received promotional products recalled the name of the gifting company.
- More than three-quarters (76.3%) of trade show attendees had favorable attitudes towards the company that gifted them promotional products.
- Exhibitors who display promotional products in their booths experience significantly higher levels of traffic than those who do not.
If you are already working with us to build a trade show booth, developing a custom line of promotional products is as easy as asking. We can use the same logo and artwork you submitted for your trade show signage, or you can collaborate with our in-house design team to create something unique.
2. Promotional Products Leverage Reciprocity Theory To Boost Sales
In social psychology, the term reciprocity theory describes our desire to pay back what we receive from others. When somebody does us a favor or gives us a gift in social situations, we feel obliged to reciprocate, and this carries over to the business world, too.
As reported by the Journal of Advertising, “business gift-giving builds on the foundation of reciprocity theory,” with even low priced gifts “generating a positive and sustained increase in customer intent to repurchase and actual sales” (Beltramin, 2000; Zimmerman & Blythe, 2017).
But not all promotional products are created equal. Real reciprocity isn’t earned with cheap plastic pens or forgettable fridge magnets—as Beltramin (2000) noted, post-gift measures of customer satisfaction and intention to buy increased significantly when the promotional products were of high value, either due to their retail price or usefulness to the customer.
This doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on your promotional products, but they cannot be “junk” items, either. Promotional products like the Power Disco 5W Wireless Charger and the SENSO stainless steel tumbler provide real value that your customers will truly appreciate, yet they are quite inexpensive to design and produce.
3. Promotional Products Influence Brand Recall And Preference
In one study by the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers looked at how medical students’ treatment preferences could be influenced by small gifts, such as branded clipboards, pens, and coffee mugs.
Although only 8% of physicians believe they would be susceptible to these influences, the majority of participants who were exposed to branded promotional items for Lipitor products showed a strong preference for these treatments in subsequent survey tests (Grande et al., 2009).
At the end of their report, Grande et al. (2009) concluded that “aside from the intrinsic value of promotional items, branded materials strengthen brand awareness and build brand equity through a variety of largely unconscious but powerful mechanisms.”
If you want to leverage these benefits for your business, we can help!
Create Custom Promotional Products In Conroe, TX: Get A Free Quote
The Custom Sign & Graphics Haus is your one-stop shop for high quality promotional products that draw crowds, boost brand recall, and generate sales.
Our catalog of promotional products includes:
- Folding Chairs
- Blankets
- Polo Shirts
- Headwear
- Branded travel tumblers
- Grocery tote bags
- Backpacks
- Aluminum water bottles
- Stress balls
- Ceramic camping mugs
- Hi-Tech pens
- Mouse pads
- Wireless chargers, and more
Click here to explore our full catalog of high quality promotional products.
Whatever you choose, we guarantee high-quality prints, timely turnaround, and full support with every step of your order.
To schedule a free consultation and get a quote on any custom promotional products, you can:
- Call (936)-539-4200
- Email Hello@CustomSignHaus.com
- Fill out our online contact form
References
Beltramin, R. F. (2000). Exploring the effectiveness of business gifts: Replication and extension. Journal of Advertising, 29(2), 75-78.
Grande, D., Frosch, D. L., Perkins, A. W., & Kahn, B. E. (2009). Effect of exposure to small pharmaceutical promotional items on treatment preferences. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(9), 887-893.
Kovacheva, A., Nikolova, H., & Lamberton, C. (2021). Consumers’ response to promotional gifts: The role of gender, transactional value, and reciprocity. Psychology & Marketing, 38(1), 196-211.
Stäbler, S. (2021). Why cheap, low-quality giveaways are bad for brands: Quality of freebies drives consumer attitudes, but personalization can help. Journal of Advertising Research, 61(2), 164-177.
Zimmerman, A., & Blythe, J. (2017). Business to business marketing management: A global perspective. Routledge.
Back
