Impact and Persistence of Cheap Promotional Products on Brand Value

Posted by Express Promo on February 6th, 2018

Call it dated or old fashioned in our day and age of digital ads, but promotional items still hold their own as a powerful marketing tool. All you need to do is look around your office and you are sure to find a logo of some product somewhere—be it a mug, a pen holder, or a block of writing pad. And it’s no surprise why marketers still use cheap promotional products in building brand value. In a survey done by research group PPAI, it has been noted that 3 out of 4 consumers have at least one promotional product in their possession, and 6 out of 10 claim to have 2 and 11 or more of these products. This is a testament to the reach and efficacy of even the cheapest promotional items available.

The promotional item market is globally a multi-billion-dollar market, and is bound to get more business from all kinds of companies, big or small. The fact remains that “swag sells”—and this is evident in the proliferation of cheap promotional items such as pens and notepads, stress balls, mugs, tumblers, and a wide variety of other items, from the kitschiest to the more premium ones.

This fact can lead one to surmise that while some items can add value to the brand, it is generally the other way around—especially for big businesses and brand names. The fact is that slapping on a logo of a big brand name on a mundane item actually increases its perceived value. This, of course, is not to undermine that the correct choice of items will affect brand perception, but that is another point altogether.

A contributing factor to the proliferation of cheap promotional products stems from the fact that they are more accessible in today’s tough economy, where the actual products that they promote are often beyond what the consumer can afford. So, having an item with a similar brand becomes very desirable—and in some cases aspirational. This opens up the opportunity for businesses to cash in and take advantage of the opportunity for marketing and adding value to their products. They can engage consumers with promo items either as a means to promote a product or as a value addition or reward for every product purchase made.

About The Company:

Express Promo, a unique venture by the Creative Sensations Group, is a popular online store for premium quality custom branded merchandise for promotional prices. The company offers a wide variety of promotional items including personalised pens, keyrings, drinkware, stationary, totes, caps/hats and more at factory direct prices, thereby making sure that clients get high returns on their marketing expenditure.