How many promotional products do people own? According to ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute), the average American owns 9.8 promotional products. Great question, but if you want your specialty product to be one of the 9.8 products kept by consumers you need to ask one more question — what products do they keep?

Americans get a lot of SWAG (Stuff We All Get) we get it at open houses, trade shows, and product presentations. We’re offered specialty items at events and fairs. And we receive promotional products from employee recognition, safety, and wellness programs — people get a lot of swag. So, if the average American consumer can collect 100’s of specialty items how can an organization maximize its promotional exposure? The short answer is by increasing the probability of being one of the 9.8.

How to be one of the 9.8

When considering promotional products for any occasion, whether it’s a customer appreciation gift bag or a golf outing give-away, forget about what you like. It’s not about you. And, to some extent, forget about cost. Does it matter how cheap the item was if it sits on the trade show table with no takers? Therefore the question becomes — what do consumers want? The process to determine what promotional items your customer will keep begins by answering the following questions.

Who is your target audience?

Once while walking the floor of a Fireman’s Safety trade show, I saw a booth offering antennae balls branded with the companies name and logo. They had a lot of them. Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with antennae balls, just maybe, not for fire trucks.

What problems might be solved with a promotional product?

While attending a conference my wife observed other attendees searching for office supplies such as paper clips, post-it notes, and pens. So, at her next conference she gave away a branded desk organizer. It was easy to store and carry. It was appreciated. And it was kept. It was a 9.8er.

What are they likely to keep?

77% of American consumers said they kept promotional products that were useful. What will your audience find useful? From a marketing and advertising perspective the question isn’t how many promotional products do people own, but which ones will they keep? Specialty products that match a target audience, solve problems, and fill needs, become part of the 9.8. If you’d like to brainstorm about the best products for your target audience we’d be happy to help you hit a bullseye, Contact Us.