Yes, it pains me to write this but we’re just about to tuck early 2019 in the record books. Some of you have even ended your second quarter by the time you read this, and if not, you’re probably pretty close.
It’s hard to believe. 2019 just started, right?
So that means it’s time to take a look at how things have gone for your business up until this point. I’m sure you’re tracking revenue and could easily tell me how that went but what about your marketing campaigns? Did they meet your goals? Did you achieve a good return on investment? What would you do differently?
After you’ve had your Q2 wrap-up and debrief, it’s time to focus on the latter half of 2019 and how you can continue your success or do better in the future.
Part of that is breaking down your different marketing campaigns and taking a look at each.
How did your direct mail go? What about your email marketing campaigns? What kind of traffic is your website getting? How about your promotional marketing? You are using promotional pieces, right?
Whether you are or whether you aren’t, promotional items should be on your to-do list for latter 2019. Here’s why:
4 Reasons You Need Promotional Swag for Your Business
We talk about this a lot but promotional items really do work when deep thought goes into selecting them. You should consider using them for your business because:
- Consumers are being conditioned to expect free things: free books, free food samples, free trials, free bonus buys, etc. and there are a lot of businesses out there promoting that. Free is the new norm.
- You stay top of mind when your business isn’t physically in front of the buyer. If they have a branded item of yours, they’ll think about you more at the point of decision. That will enable more sales. In today’s noisy world, it’s hard to maintain that competitive edge. Having a branded item in front of your potential customer when they are thinking about what you sell is critical.
- It reaches multiple people. Unless it’s shared, an email or a postcard reaches only your intended recipient. Swag can reach several people at a time. Consider a t-shirt and everyone who reads it or a pen that might have five owners over a course of a year. You pay for the object once but its branding has a ripple effect.
- Unboxing videos are a thing. A person comes home from a conference and they create a video that shows all of the swag they got; one item at a time. Viewers love it. It’s like Christmas. If you want to be one of the stars of the unboxing video, make sure that your swag is creative.
Okay, so now that you know promotional marketing materials are more essential than ever, let’s go over the trends we see shaping promotional pieces through the end of this year. These trends cover not only the type of swag you use but how you give it away as well.
Promotional Marketing Trends in Latter 2019
In our last promotional marketing trends article, we talked about:
- Bluetooth items
- Fitness swag
- Sets (bunches of giveaways)
- Retro pieces
- Made in the USA
Those items are still really hot but let’s dig a little deeper to swag concepts.
Monthly Subscription Boxes
This is soooo hot right now. There are all sorts of types of monthly subscription boxes from things for your pets to beauty, fragrances to coffee. Companies are giving their teeth to get into them. You can contact the companies who put them together and beg to be included or you can create your own with your swag and that from complementary businesses.
Also, it’s important to note that not all swag needs to be promotional items. Some companies can use their products as their swag. Consider your product can be a swag sample as well for you. People try it in one of those sampling boxes and they’re hooked. It’s promotional marketing with a twist.
Instagrammable Swag
Everyone’s life is captured on “film” these days. Well, not literally. It’s all digital now. But yes, people are taking pictures and videos of themselves doing everything. Be creative and let’s put together an Insta-worthy promotional item.
Personalization
We’re seeing more and more companies ordering smaller amounts of multiple items instead of one large “one-item-fits-all” mentality. They’re getting creative and catering to the needs and desires of different demographics.
Not sold on this idea? Try another trend that is becoming a common practice and that’s A/B testing. Try two different promos at the same event and see which ones go faster and which convert at a higher rate (you can test this by giving each promo a special discount code. Even if the discount is only nominal, issuing one will make it easier to track conversion rates from that event or campaign).
Humor
Businesses are opening up and becoming more approachable. A good way of doing this is by laughing at yourself. Humor is key to social media shares and word of mouth. People talk about what entertains them. Funny giveaways are always popular (and Instagrammable!).
Anti-clutter
Thanks to all those professional organizers and TV shows about getting organized, people are shunning junk that doesn’t bring them “joy.” While it may be a little lofty to think your swag might bring someone joy (hey, it could!), what you’re really shooting for is utility to avoid the giveaway or trash piles. If they use what you’ve given them, they’ll keep it. If there’s also an air of fun or humor about it, bonus.
Experiences
Experiential marketing has been growing over the past decade but with the increase in video consumption and production, those experiences are able to be enjoyed by people who aren’t even at the event or in your business. Brainstorm creative ways to make your giveaway part of the experience. Aim to make it a souvenir of the experience for even greater value and reach.
Influencer Interactions
You’ve likely approached influencers to push your product or service. Maybe you’ve even worked with influencers to get more traffic for your blog or to review your product or service. But have you considered giving your industry influencers some of your swag?
There are a few ways to make the most of swag and the influencer relationship. You can give it to them as a surprise “thought you might like this gift” or give them several so that they can enjoy it as well as pass it along to their tribe as giveaways or proof that they have a “friend” in the business and have access to things the average person doesn’t.
Unlocking Bonuses
Whether it originated from video games or Easter eggs in code, audiences are becoming conditioned to unlocking bonuses by doing something that only a few people know about. As more companies embrace gamification and game theory to get people to desired actions, you can believe they will be conditioned to expect the unexpected.
Think of a way that you can incorporate this into your swag giveaway. For instance, everyone who stops by your booth gets a company magnet, except for those people who have a special codeword from your Facebook group. They receive a higher-level, exclusive gift for being part of the community. You can then use this to drive the desired action like joining your group or sharing a post.
Well, we’re half-way through 2019. While you take this time to better understand what’s working and what needs to be reworked, consider incorporating some of these trends into your promotional marketing.
Keep in mind, today’s trends are tomorrow’s must-dos.
Contact ThinkQuik today and we’ll help you come up with some cool ways to incorporate these trends in your promotional marketing.
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