Promotional Products a better Solution than Most Media
 | Promotional items hold their own against major advertising media in an across-the-board comparison study Advertising legend Steuart Henderson Britt once said, “Doing business without advertising is much like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody does.” This is business 101. However, the way in which an advertiser chooses to promote his or her message is where strategy, innovation as well as an in-depth knowledge of the audience is necessary. wholesale promotional items So, which of the top advertising vehicles-TV, print, online or promotional products-is a front runner with regards to overall effectiveness based on consumers? A 2009 two-part study designed by PPAI and fielded through independent research company MarketTools, Inc. evaluated a cross-section from the American consumer population regarding these top advertising mediums. (Part one of the study was reported in the January 2010 issue of PPB.) Looking to uncover which vehicle ranked highest when it comes to reach, recall and reaction in the consumer’s perspective, promotional products most often received top nods. The Reach Reach is really a numbers game. The more times an advertiser exposes a note to the masses, the higher chance consumers might find it, which increases the propensity for a positive response. Or, therefore the theory goes. Nearly 1 / 2 of the panel had received a lot more than three promotional products in the last 12 months, while 56.20 percent reported having seen 11 or even more TV commercials, 50 % had seen three or more print ads and 53.05 percent saw one online ad all inside a two-week timeframe. The Recall Of greater importance than an advertiser’s reach is the recall. After all, widespread exposure is only effective if the audience connects and remembers the content. As such, participants were inspired to identify the following with regards to the ads they’d seen: 1. Advertised company or brand 2. Advertised product/service/message 3. Kind of promotional product received Additionally, an evaluation was conducted to determine how many respondents could remember both advertiser/company and the product/service/message advertised as well as in the case of promotional products, the product received, too. Television Ads: • Six from 10 respondents remembered both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the first commercial. • More than half (56 percent) recalled both company/brand and the product/service/message advertised within the second commercial. Print Ads: • Fifty-five percent of respondents remembered both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the first print ad. • Over fifty percent (51.2 percent) recalled both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised within the second print ad Online Ads: • Nearly 3 from 10 respondents remembered both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised within the first online ad. • Two out of 10 recalled both company/brand and the product/service/message advertised within the second online ad. Promotional Products: • Nearly 70 percent of respondents remembered the brand/company and product/service advertised, as well as the type of promotional product for the first advertising message • Over fifty percent recalled all three aspects for the second advertising message Putting It all up In terms of maximizing one’s ROI, advertisers are primarily centered on consumers’ ability to recall the advertised company/brand, the advertised product/service/message, or, within an optimal setting, both. Below is a quick, side-by-side comparison of how the four advertising mediums performed when it comes to recalling key characteristics: Reaction: While an advertiser’s reach is essential and the recall much more so, it is the result of and action through the consumer after she or he has seen the message that translates directly into ROI. This section asked consumers which particular action she or he took after viewing and/or receiving (in the case of promotional products) the first and second ads. REACTION TO FIRST AD • Consumers made a purchase after getting a promotional product (20.9 percent) more often than after viewing a print ad (13.4 percent), TV commercial (7.1 %) or online ad (4.6 percent). • More than half of promotional products recipients had a favorable impression from the advertiser, as opposed to 33.2 percent who’d seen a print ad, 27.7 percent who’d watched a TV commercial and 11.9 percent who’d seen an online ad. • Nearly 60 percent of consumers reported using the promotional product many times, while 7.6 % let someone else make use of the item and 4.4 percent passed the product onto someone else. • 14.7 percent of participants reported contacting the promotional items advertiser-a reaction rate nearly 3 times greater than other media, which generated a 3-5 percent response. • When respondents were asked if they’d not taken action after seeing the ad, TV viewers topped the list with nearly half (46.4%) saying they weren’t moved to action, followed closely by 41.1 % for print media and 33.2 percent to have an online ad. Only 23.1 percent of promotional products recipients reported not taking any action. REACTION TO SECOND AD • Like the reactions for ad one, consumers, once again, made a purchase in greater numbers after getting a promotional product (18.1 percent) versus just 13.9 percent who did so after seeing a print ad, 10.8 percent who’d watched a TV commercial and three.5 percent who’d seen an online ad. • 48.2 percent of promotional items recipients had a favorable impression from the advertiser, as opposed to just 28.6 percent of those who’d seen a print ad, 24.Five percent who’d watched a TV commercial and 10 % who’d seen an online ad. • More than half (56.4 percent) of consumers used their promotional product several times, while 8.6 percent also let another person use the item and 3.5 percent passed the merchandise onto someone else. • Nearly 20 percent of participants reported contacting the promotional product advertiser-a reaction rate four to 10 times higher than other media, which generated a 2-5 percent response. • When respondents were asked if they’d not taken action having seen the ad, TV viewers, again, topped their email list with 41.8 percent saying they weren’t moved to action, followed closely by 38.4 percent for print media and 30.2 percent for an online ad. Only 17.9 percent of promotional products recipients reported not implementing any action. The Annoyance Factor: Low For Promotional Products The mean score represents the annoyance factor for each medium. From an advertiser’s perspective, this information is critical as the way to succeed is to balance a media buy that reaches the target audience and generates a favorable reaction. However, if advertisers, whatever the CPM, invest their dollars in a medium that actually turns consumers away, they may be doing more harm than good, not just to their bottom line, but to their brand, as well. This table reveals the mean annoyance scores, as determined by 1,005 participants, for those media included in this portion of the study. The higher the mean score, the greater the rating, meaning respondents found the medium to become less of an annoyance. Summary As Steuart Henderson Britt so imaginatively stated, advertising is vital. However, of equal importance is the greater understanding of how consumers actually receive and perceive the vehicles that are to carry these advertising messages. Investing dollars without first doing the homework continues to be very much like winking at the girl-if the message doesn’t reach consumers, if they’re not able to recall it, if they’re not gone to live in action, if they become annoyed-the end result is still the same: everyone’s left at nighttime. This in-depth study sheds light on four of the very widely used advertising mediums, providing advertisers with much-needed insight and information when it comes to spending dollars and, more importantly, getting them back. Promotional Products Of course, TV commercials proved to be one of the top contenders when it comes to successful advertising, as did print media in specific categories. However, it’s the medium using the smallest, yet possibly the most profound foothold within the advertising arena which has shown the greatest gains: promotional items. An often overlooked, under-utilized medium, promotional products-according to consumers-prove once again that bigger isn't necessarily best when it comes to leaving a lasting impression. www.GallantGifts.com |
