When you think about McDonald’s, what comes to mind? Aside from their food, it’s probably the golden arches that have been McDonald’s logo since the early ’60s. Or what about Starbucks? Their two-tailed mermaid (or, as devoted Starbucks customers know her, their siren emblem). How about Apple? That one is easy, right?
This is the impact of great branding. You think of a company’s name, and you can immediately visualize their logo without even trying. These companies are the pinnacle of branded success because they’ve maximized all of their marketing channels, from traditional to digital to social media advertising. But a significant part of this success stems from their branded merchandise.
Every item you buy at McDonald’s dons its golden arches, as do all of Apple’s electronics. At Starbucks, you not only see their logo on all of their drinks and food packages, but their locations are filled with additional merchandise for customers to buy. And if you know anything about Starbucks, their holiday cup launches alone bring in massive revenue every year.
Branded merchandise can get overlooked by smaller companies that have more restrictive budgets because, after all, you aren’t McDonald’s, Starbucks, or Apple. But when done right, branded merchandise is an extremely valuable and cost-effective addition to your marketing efforts. Here’s why.
Cost-effective Marketing
Investing in merchandise, whether it be t-shirts, socks, tumblers, or totes, may seem like a huge upfront cost, but when you compare it to other marketing avenues, it’s quite cost-effective. The average CPI of branded merchandise is around $0.004 per impression, and these products can have a much longer lifespan than a TV ad or a billboard.
Instant Brand Recognition
Oftentimes, the entire purpose of your marketing campaigns is to build brand awareness. As demonstrated in the beginning of this post, it’s clear that companies with great branded merchandise benefit from instant brand recognition. The more comfortable someone is with your brand, the more likely they are to come back. Consider creating promotional products that can be used daily over long periods of time. Getting these types of items in front of your customers and potential customers puts your company in the forefront of their minds, impression after impression after impression.
Lead Generation
Those who receive your promotional products are bound to be more enthusiastic about your company. They may even become unofficial ambassadors of your brands, generating leaders for your business in a sort of compounding interest effect.
Takeaway
Encourage your team to use promotional products especially when interacting with your client base. To enhance your marketing campaigns with branded merchandise, give our team at Prodigy Promos a call.
