Here's a cheap and effective way to achieve name recognition.

by Brock Henderson
Director of Marketing
IgLou Internet Service

ISPs are always looking for cheap and effective ways of establishing brand recognition. ISP Planet has talked about sign-up CDs, direct marketing, radio ads, and other media. But are you ignoring a cheap ad resource because you look down on it? Have you considered Advertising Specialties?

Advertising specialties are items such as pens, coffee mugs, T-shirts, and rulers, with the company name and logo. You can place your corporate name and logo on any one of over 400,000 different products. Surely you can find something that is both appropriate and within your budget. Products range from pulp-board coasters at 1 cent each, to $13.00 radios and $199 web cams, to $9,000.00 18 karat gold fountain pens.

Be visible, be remembered
The goal of Specialty Advertising is to get your name seen regularly, so employ an item that people will use on a regular basis. For example, an expensive necklace will be used only rarely, but a cheap tee-shirt can be worn every week.

Many ignore this advertising option, and think of it as just "junk" or "trinkets." The reason people have such a negative image of ad specialties is that they have one or more drawers full of un-used and un-wanted items. That's not the product's fault — it is the fault of the company that gave out the item! When considering advertising specialties, remember to keep the nature of the promotion in mind.

The item should be:

of perceived value to the recipient
- and -
something the recipient will use

Your logo, your image, your coffee mug
What you give out reflects on your company. If you give out something that is perceived as valueless, then you, your company, and what you are offering could acquire the same low-value image.

Get the price right
What you give out does not have to be expensive, but it does have to be appropriate to either you, or the event; and it must be a good quality product. Anything less is a disservice to your company.

The perceived value of the promotional item should be consistent with the value of your product or service. For example, if a Lexus salesperson gives you a ten cent pen the disproportion between a cheap pen and an expensive car will make you wonder if the company is cutting costs in other, less visible, areas.

By the same token, a used car salesman handing out $200 Mont Blanc pens would make you uneasy because you'd assume that the used car salesman could only afford the pens by overcharging for cars.

The promotional item should have a perceived value that is appropriate to the value of your product/service.

Your options are limited only by your imagination. Here are some specific ideas:

1. A picture calendar, but with pictures of your company or people using the ISP instead of stock photos.
2. A spiral-bound appointment calendar with custom sheets about your products; this makes it a valuable reference item that will be kept into future years.
3. A mug with your logo on it.
4. A tin of breath mints with your company logo on the tin.
5. A ruler with frequently-referenced industry information.
6. A mousepad with a list of high-interest web sites.

For thousands of other ideas simply contact your Ad Specialty salesperson and ask to see a couple of product catalogs. You'll be amazed at the variety of products, and the way companies have used them.

Once you have your 1,000 pens, pads, or coffee mugs, the next step is getting them from you into the hands of others. Obviously, with every sales call you could hand the prospect an item — if the give-away is an item that's small enough to be easily carried.

Trade shows are a good opportunity to put company literature and promotional items into the hands of prospects.

The presentation's the thing, wherein we create the image of a king
To make the gift more memorable, try to think of a unique way of presenting the item.

Here are some thoughts:

1. At Christmas time, one company took coffee mugs and filled them with candy, then hired a Santa to deliver them to their clients. What an impact that made! It was talked about for months!
   
   
2. You may want to avoid Christmas, perhaps to avoid any possible insult to non-Christians. Instead, send customers a Thanksgiving gift. (This works best in countries such as the U.S. and Canada that actually have a Thanksgiving Day celebration.)
   
   
3. Send out Anniversary cards or gifts to your customers in the month that they first started doing business with you. This will make them feel even more special.
   
   
4. Leave a big handful of branded pens every time you go to the bank.
   
   
5. If you do radio advertising, give some of the promotional items to the station to be used as on-air prizes.
   
   
6. To reach out to young people, find out how to provide services to schools.

By giving in a planned way you will:

increase the impact of the gift,
generate word-of-mouth discussion,
and create a goodwill in the recipient.

Advertising Specialties can be effective promotional tools when used effectively. I'd appreciate hearing what you've done and how well it worked for you.

Finally, have fun with your marketing.

—End