The 5 Most Important Promotional Materials for Your Campaign
By Dan Radak
When starting your own marketing campaign, you’ll have to make a list of all the promotional materials that you need to start using. Here, you’ll want to cover as much ground as possible, which is why you will have to work with diverse materials and approaches. With that in mind, here are the top five most important promotional materials for your campaign.
1. Business cards
In some cultures, business cards are treated almost ritualistically. There is an acceptable and recommended way for you to give and receive it. An entrepreneur is supposed to have a specialized business card holder and many other similar customs and rules of etiquette. Therefore, failing to think of business cards while printing your promotional materials may be a major lapse. Furthermore, by presenting your partners, clients or investors with a business card, you’ll portray yourself in a much better light.
2. Brochures
The next item on the list are brochures, which are still an effective mean of B2C communication. Think about it, a brochure contains all the contacts and information that your audience needs in order to get fully acquainted with your business and industry. Moreover, when printed in bulk, they’re incredibly cost-effective. Needless to say, any unused or undistributed materials can be safely deposed for a later use, making this a smart investment.
3. Pragmatic items
This category may seem a bit too wide, yet, it’s vital that you include it to the list, as well. You see, making promotional USBs, t-shirts and even distributing promotional notepads to your clients and team members creates a positive image of your business. First of all, by gifting them something practical, you’re ensuring that this item won’t just be placed in a drawer somewhere but used on a regular basis, instead. The more they use it, the more interactions they will have with your brand, which raises both brand recognition and brand awareness.
4. Badges and t-shirts
The reason why we placed badges and t-shirts into a category of their own is due to the fact that they have a dual purpose. On the one hand, we could have listed them amongst the pragmatic items (especially t-shirts). On the other hand, they are also a tool of promotion unlike any other. For instance, by wearing them, each of your customers is becoming a brand ambassador; a walking billboard. Second, by dressing your employees in them, you’re creating a more uniformed and united look from the outside, which may impress your clients in more than several ways.
5. Mugs
Lastly, mugs are probably one of the first things you thought of when we mentioned promotional materials and products earlier on. Why? Well, probably because there isn’t a single person out there without at least one customized mug in their possession. Mugs can be distributed amongst your team, thus giving everyone an even more personalized experience of working in your employ. In the era of telecommuters, this is an even better choice, due to the fact that you can send these mugs to your remote employees, thus making them feel like a part of the team.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are three major uses of promotional materials. First, they are meant to impress or evoke loyalty in a person that they’re given to. Second, they’re meant to visually remind people of your brand. This works even for those who didn’t receive the item but are encountering it on a daily basis, thus, giving the promotional material the ability of indirect brand promotion, as well. Finally, they’re meant to unify your team and, in this way, work towards a more efficient talent retention program. Dan Radak is a marketing professional with eleven years of experience. He is currently working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies. He is also a coauthor on several technology websites and regular contributor to Technivorz.