7 Staggering Facts About Promotional Products

The world of marketing can be confusing and expensive. For example, which advertising methods are most effective for your business? Which options don't work for your business? These are two very important questions you must answer to best promote your business. In order to make sure you are spending your hard-earned money on the right marketing efforts, you must have a plan in place. According to research, promotional products should certainly be an integral part of your marketing strategy. If you don't believe it, check out these statistics below and decide for yourself.

1. 2014 Promotional Product Industry Sales were over $20 billion, and that number has been growing every year since 2009. I expect it will grow again once the numbers are in for 2015. There's a reason the industry continues to grow. It's because promotional products are the only marketing options that provide tangible goods to consumers. Billboards, newspaper ads, television commercials, radio ads, and online advertising don't offer a product that consumers can hold in their hands and actually use. While these can be beneficial forms of advertising, they aren't lasting like promotional products, which stay with the recipients for years.

2. In a survey among advertising agencies, 96% purchased promotional products in the past 12 months, and 75% have purchased promotional products 3 or more times in that same time period. When it comes to advertising expertise, those with advertising agencies are considered to experts. Knowing that 96% of them have bought promotional products in the past month shows that these useful products are a powerful way of advertising. If a marketing method works well for advertisers, you can expect they will continue to utilize that method, which is why the industry continues to grow (shown in the graph above).

3. Wearables are the biggest sellers in the industry, followed by writing instruments, drinkware, bags, and computer products. Wearables include screen-printed t-shirts, golf shirts, aprons, jackets, hats, and uniforms. These items are decorated in many different ways to promote your branding and are often worn for many years, giving your brand great exposure to all who come in contact with the ones wearing those garments.

4. 59% of those who receive a promotional product from an advertiser have a more favorable impression of the company that gave the product to them. No other advertising medium has this much of a favorable impact. Think about what you do with radio or TV commercials...you start changing stations or channels. With promotional products, most people are excited to receive the "advertisement." Don't you want to be liked by your potential customers?

5. Eight in 10 consumers own at least one promotional product, and as many as 10, with half (53%) of those actually using those products at least once per week. Wouldn't you want your customers or potential customers to use a product with your logo on it once per week? That's money well-spent to market your company on an ongoing basis.

6. According to PPAI Research, 60% of people use a pen five to ten times per day.

Don't you want them to be using pens with your company logo? Check out the other statistics about promotional pens in the video below.

7. Promotional products are kept for more than a year by 47% of those who receive them. Do you record radio ads to listen to later? Do you cut out newspaper ads to use to decorate your desk area? Of course not, those forms of advertising are one and done and if you want to do again, it costs money. Promotional products, on the other hand, are items that, once paid for, the end-users continue to use, which continually provides marketing exposure for your business.

Knowing these hard facts about promotional products, does your marketing plan need to be revamped? If you are not using promotional products effectively to promote your business and increase goodwill and loyalty with your clients, you need to rethink your marketing strategies. All research, charts, and graphs courtesy of Promotional Products Association International (PPAI).