Take a second and look around.  You are probably at your desk reading this blog post or you are reading this on your phone. My bet is you have a few promotional items around that you may not realize are there anymore, but for one reason or another you kept it nearby.  Me?  Just at my office, I have an acrylic cup from one of my favorite vacation spots, a cup from the World Championship Goat Cook-Off, a couple of coasters, one representing my Longhorns, koozies from numerous clients, a client’s calendar and too many pens to count! At home, I have so many chip clips that I am never hurting for one when in need! Do I use them all?  Yes!  That’s what makes them effective.  Even the notepad that I love so much I use it daily has the company’s logo on it.

Promotional items are often no different than the everyday items you buy, but often they are unique items you didn’t realize you needed (or wanted) until you got them. But what makes promotional items so special is that every time you see them, the company’s name and brand are further solidified in your mind.

Promotional items are walking billboards for your company.  They have a number of benefits, which we will get to momentarily, and they have an unlimited amount of uses.  They don’t even have to be given away for free to see a real return.

Take for example one of our favorite clients, Happy Hollow Frio River Outfitters. They order promotional items each year for the summer season. This year, they opted for a double wall tumblers one of the choice items. These awesome tumblers are perfect for their clientele who are enjoying a day or a weekend on the river.  The tumblers have lids that screw on for a secure fit, a straw for easy drinking that won’t fall out, and they are naturally insulated making these a perfect vessel for holding (and keeping in) cold beverages while tubing down the river.  In just three days of putting it on their shelves, they blew through almost 10% of their inventory equating to a 15% return on their investment.  And the best part is that each cup has their name and contact info on it.  So whoever sees these awesome cups, will remember the name and will want one as well.  Remember, promo items are walking billboards for your business!

When working with a client, we help them decide what items would most speak to their client. We want to make sure they get something that their clients need and build on their brand recognition as well.  A lot of companies sell their promotional items, but most promotional items don’t have to be products you resell.  They can be effective giveaways that reap higher returns in sales and have a high ROI.  We can help you decide if a giveaway or an item for sale is right for your company.  Promotional items can be a silent salesperson for your products or services.

Here are some important things to remember when deciding on your next promotional item.

1.  Like anything else in your marketing strategy, take the time to think about your audience, event (season, a trade show, a sales event, etc) and result you want to accomplish.  Is it brand recognition, sales, awareness?  Promotional items can be used by all types of organizations.  Your strategy will depend on your company’s goals, so be sure to set clear goals for what you want to accomplish.

2. The item you give away is a direct representation of your company.  Make it count. Be creative! There are thousands of items available.

3. Give people what they want.  Don’t give away pens at sporting event.  No one is going to be signing contracts, they are there to have fun. Find items that fit your niche.

4. Make sure your logo, your website, phone number, or some other way to contact you is included on the item. Even on the smallest products, people need to be able to reach you. People who receive promotional items recall the names of the companies that they received them from by about 25% more than those they read about in an ad.

5. If your budget is small, limit your giveaway, don’t skimp on quality.  You can supplement with light marketing material (brochures, postcards, etc.) and keep the promotional items for your target audience.  Another option is to seek out partnership opportunities to defray some of the costs.

6. Don’t buy more than you need and don’t buy items that can’t be used again.  Some items have a shelf life so be aware because you don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of items that you can’t use.

7. Use items as giveaways in contests and drawings. This is an excellent way to get people to sign up, it helps with limited budgets, and it increases the perceived value of the items being given away. Additionally, you can use it as an incentive for customers to buy more.  Bundle the giveaway with a sales unit.  Buy 2 and get x for free!

8. Rewards – Promotional items are an inexpensive and effective way to thank your best customers and reward  affiliates with whom you do business.

Full Moon Design Group can help you with your promotional strategy and help you find the perfect item to reach your target audience. Did you like those Tumblers?  Check out the info sheet for your business: Tumbler

As a side note, I want to send a special thanks to Jerry & Melissa for another fantastic Frio River Funcation!!

Frio River Fanatic,

Katie O.

Branding is more important to a non-profit than most any other type of business; mainly because non-profits don’t have the budget to advertise or spend on snazzy marketing campaigns.  Non-profits’ brands’ play a major role in their marketing efforts.

Non-Profits that Stand Out

To really understand the importance of great branding to a non-profit; think of all the well known non-profit brands out there and then think how when you see them you feel safe donating or know that you can feel good about whatever event you are attending, book you are reading, or race you are running because you know that you are giving back to your community.

Some of the most well known brands are The American Red Cross, The United Way,World Wildlife Fund, Susan G. Komen, The Salvation Army, and Amnesty International.

Non-Profits make Great Clients

Branding for non-profits is one way that Full Moon Design Group gives back to the community.  We have helped several non-profits throughout the Austin area create their brands and marketing materials at no cost.  Full Moon Design believes that non-profits deserve the absolute best branding – just like every other company out there – and we believe that helping the non-profits is the least we can do.  We have worked with non-profits like Smile Never Fades in their fight against breast cancer; the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens in their fight to preserve the importance of the arts; the Waterloo Counseling Center as they work toward their vision of Austin being an all-inclusive community; and the Texas Rural Communities as they serve rural communities in Texas through economic development and loan and grant programs.

Branding was a large topic of discussion at the 2008 HOW Design Conference that was held in Boston a few weeks back. (Just a side F.Y.I., next year’s conference is going to be held here in Austin, how cool is that?) At the conference, Dragon Rouge Chief Creative Office Marcus Hewitt discussed the importance of branding. He basically stated that branding is not only the way you engage the customer, but it is also how you keep them coming back again and again. Your branding needs to inspire and constantly wow – kind of like dating.

Branding: The Relationship

Branding requires honesty, attractiveness and change with the times. In other words, it needs to constantly evolve but stay true to what intrigued you in the first place. Hewitt mentioned seven steps for proper branding, but they definitely would work in any dating relationship. The seven steps are as follows:

1. Love Yourself: The brand should be confident in itself and stand proud.
2. Dare to be Different: Let your personality shine through. Be unique. Don’t try to be like everyone else.
3. Get to Know People: Take the time to know your audience, their aspiration and desires. Be it your client or your consumer – find out what makes them tick.
4. Don’t Overwhelm: Everyone needs a little space. There is such as thing as too much information.
5. Keep them Engaged: Don’t let the relationship get stale. Keep them on their toes with new products or visuals.
6. Stay in Shape: Brand relationships are hard work. They require discipline. Don’t get out of shape or lazy when your relationship is going well. Your consumer is in high-demand and can always leave you for a more attractive, more responsive brand.
7. Think About Tomorrow: Consumers will grow and evolve. Anticipate their needs and have a solution before they even realize they have a problem. This requires an active effort to follow and utilize macro trends. The most prevalent example lately is global consciousness.

Branding: Get into the Dating Game

Thank you, Marcus Hewitt, for that very clear and simple way of understanding the importance of branding and how to use it to keep your customers interested.

Consider Full Moon Design Group your brand dating service. We will work with you to make sure that you are market ready and we promise to make it as pain free as possible. To begin your journey to seeking brand dating bliss, contact one of our dating counselors today.

Marketing Myths

Some say that a down economy is the time to cut the marketing and advertising budget and use the funds in other divisons of the company.  However, if history tells us anything; once a budget gets cut and the money is allocated somewhere else, it will more than likely stay in that other department.  They are going to prove that they need the money and the marketing department is going to have to re-prove ROI, etc to get back to the original amount.

Marketing your Brand

Another myth that some companies have is that they are strong enough and their brand is strong enough to survive the downturn in the economy without doing any marketing or advertising.  This is simply not true.  There is not one single company that could survive without advertising or promotion of some sort.  One should always remember the old adage “Out of Sight, Out of Mind.”

These companies will really feel the effects of this when the economy starts to improve and their marketing departments are scrambling to play catch-up.

More Marketing

The final point we will give, and one that companies need to keep in the forefront of their thoughts, is that just because nobody is buying anything right now, doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to in the future.  You have to put into your mind that during this time, the sales process is just a little bit longer than it used to be; therefore, companies need to stay in front of the consumer at all times.  Those companies that are not afraid to keep marketing during this time, will find that they will swallow their competition and dominate their market in the long run.

Freshen Up Your Brand

However, once you have been around for a while, your logo and brand start to become outdated looking.  Thus, in the consumer’s mind, so does your company.  So to get a fresh start, you need to freshen up your brand.  Think of it as putting on a nice dress shirt at the beginning of the day, by noon the dress shirt is all wrinkled and you and your shirt are starting to look a little worn out.  All it takes to look fresh and alive again, is to go home and put on a fresh, clean, ironed shirt.  Not a big change, but a significant one.

Fresh Brands Bring Fresh Noise

Think about how many times Coke and Pepsi have re-designed their look, and each time they gain media exposure and attention because of their fresh appeal to the masses.  If updating your look and getting a fresh start wasn’t important, I assure you that Betty Crocker’s face would still look like it did back in my grandmother’s day.

Very recently, it might have been Monday; there was a very slight change to the Google Website.  In fact, some of you may not have even noticed it.  The “favorite” icon on the Google page changed from  to .  Not a big change at all, however the internet world went crazy with buzz on Google’s new look.  They went from something that everyone was used to and probably ho-hum about to something that everyone wanted to talk about.  How’s that for fresh?

Armed with powerpoint slides designed by a friend, Carrie walked into a room of high school seniors and asked them to identify several plans and trees in their Brooklyn neighborhood … Silence.

Carrie then pus on a slide comprised almost entirely of corporate logos, and without fail, the group of students named them all.

I’d be willing to bet you can name each brand, too!

Branding:  Still Think It Doesn’t Affect You?

Crazy as it sounds, we are a branded culture. Not unlike the seared hides of cattle, our psyches have been indelibly marked by corporations and businesses salivating over our dollars. Even the youngest among us has no problem identifying those golden arches.

You’d think the sheer variety of brands would do us in, that the average consumer would have no way to keep this all straight. Our brains only have so much room!  But no, once branded, always branded. That’s why they call it branding.

So, what’s your brand? How are you leaving an indelible mark on your clients and prospects?