Promotional products often underrated as advertising media

In some cases, horrific amounts of money are spent on marketing every year. This part of the advertising budget is divided among the individual advertising media. Classical advertising such as print advertisements and TV spots are still the top-selling elements of the marketing mix. However, the downright inflationary development of daily advertising messages inevitably leads to a loss of impact. The advertising breaks in movies, for example, are now perceived as real breaks and used accordingly for channel-hopping. Quotation from Johann Lindenberg, former head of Unilever: “These days, 70 percent of TV spots sink without trace.” The promotional product is still underrated as a marketing instrument. It can contribute positively to the marketing mix in various ways, thus influencing the customer’s perception. Hans-Joachim Evers, first chairman of the Gesamtverband der Werbeartikel-Wirtschaft (GWW, German promotional product business association), agrees with this: “As a multisensory advertising medium, the promotional product can make valuable contributions to the marketing mix.”

Advantages of promotional products
One form of advertising which still has great potential and shows possible ways out of the “advertising inflation crisis” is the promotional product. This kind of advertising, understood rather to be a gift, has numerous advantages over the classical media. Direct value added for the customer – normally a publicity deployment will offer the addressee no immediate value added, though promo items are quite different. While TV spots steal valuable time, items add lingering value. Users like to be emotionally spoken to. This is much more difficult to accomplish through print advertising or television spots, than it is with promo items which can have effects on touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight.  The effect of a multi-sensory advertisement should be ranked potentially higher.