An Eye Opening Experience

By Malcom Gilvar, VP of Sales with The Trade Group

My position on promotional products and giveaways has been pretty staunchly conservative over the years. In fact I have probably turned more people away from these products than I’ve sold. It is not that The Trade Group didn’t have access to these products, but rather my belief that giving random products away to prospects provided little benefit.

It is entirely possible I was wrong. This is hard for me to admit (ask my wife), but my position does have some flaws. I will endeavor to state my old thoughts while establishing my new position based on my experience at a recent show in Chicago.

I went to Chicago to refocus The Trade Group’s efforts on incentive items. We were committed to providing our customers anything they needed, including a new tab on our website, as well as a dedicated Sales team that could provide greater knowledge and service to our clients.

I also went with some preconceived ideas about promotional products that had clearly stood in my way. I have always believed these products had a place. I just had a problem with giving away a pen (ball, Frisbee, or mug) to someone not in your audience, and let’s face it, for most of us our target audience is made up of only 20 to 40 percent of the folks walking the trade show hall. That means that 60 to 80 percent of these items are a complete waste right?

Yes and no is the rather cheeky answer. I still believe that a more strategic approach will yield better results from a show. Research what resonates within your target audience and try to provide an item that, due to its usefulness, simply can’t be discarded. You will then achieve what we are all looking for, “impressions”.

In attending eight seminars over two days I learned that the bang for the buck from promotional products is huge. Industry folks measure CPI or cost per impression from these items and what they have found is that promotional products have the lowest cost per impression when compared to TV, magazines, and radio. The average CPI for ad specialties is only a half a penny! More importantly 83% of people surveyed can tell you the name of the company on the item.

I am now convinced that promotional products have an important role in the trade show marketing mix. By combining a strategic approach that ties a useful product to your company, either symbolically or thematically, you can achieve extraordinary results.

We will share this approach in much more detail in our webinar titled “Give and You Shall Receive: The inside scoop on Trade Show giveaways” on August 31st. Click here for more details.