23 Mar 8 Ways to Use Promotional Products to Build an Online Brand
8 Ways to Use Promotional Products to Build an Online Brand
With in-person trade shows being pushed to next year in almost every industry segment, sales managers are looking for creative new ways to grow their online brands.
Conferences would have traditionally given these individuals an opportunity to get their promotional products into the hands of tech journalists and the general public.
That’s no longer an option, but the fact remains that branded merchandise is still a great way to promote a company’s image and increase visibility.
Companies that want to create a promotional campaign will want to focus on the message they’re sharing.
Emotional storytelling is a vital part of promotional marketing.
Keeping your eye on the message will make building a theme that much easier.
1 – Use Promotional Products to Improve Theming
You can design personalised merchandise to match a specific theme that helps frame a company as exhibiting certain emotions.
Conferences have traditionally had themes that help to draw attention to a specific issue.
When you pick out promotional products, make sure they’re all built around one theme.
Granted, there’s no reason that you couldn’t make an eclectic collection a theme unto itself.
According to specialists from Custom Comet, everything from embroidered patches to air fresheners can be designed with a company’s brand image in mind.
Think of how many IT professionals carry around laptops with branded stickers on them.
Perhaps you’ve seen someone with a customised rocker jacket that’s littered in patches of their favourite recording artists.
These examples help to drive home just how effective theming is to the design of an overarching campaign.
2 – Creatively Placing Your Logo on Giveaways
More than likely, you’re going to be promoting your products primarily on the web, so you’re going to want to position your logo in a place that’s quite visible on a display screen.
Creative placement can have some ancillary benefits as well.
The traditional areas people imprint logos aren’t the best in this case.
Smaller logos on the sleeves of shirts and bottom of bottles might not be all that visible in person, but think of what might happen if a popular streamer got a hold of a piece of your merchandise.
Every time they took a drink or swung their chair, they’d make your company’s logo visible.
Assuming that you have a presentable logo, the viewers of a stream like this may end up going out of their way to look up what it represents.
3 – Give Promotional Products Away as Prizes
Since you might not have much of a chance to give products away in person, you’ll want to run some contest or promotion online.
Depending on your firm’s size and how big your promotion is, consider giving away branded merchandise to each actual certified human who signs up for your list or starts following you on a social media page.
Consider using a commercial print-on-demand service, which can handle the great demand of some massive campaigns.
4 – Encourage People to Post Unboxing Videos
Many viewers love to watch unboxing videos of any kind, so you might be able to reach people who wouldn’t otherwise interact with your brand by encouraging streamers to post them.
Send out branded merchandise to famous social video magnates and see if you can’t encourage some people to unbox them in front of their viewers.
5 – Send Out Branded Gifts to Casters
Don’t forget about audio-only channels as well. While it might seem a little weird to send something visual to a podcaster or an Internet radio host, many of them aren’t afraid of mentioning a brand that supports them on the air.
They’ll also potentially post some links back to your merch in their show notes.
Around 24 per cent of web users listen to podcasts regularly, which makes this an attractive marketing opportunity.
6 – Pack Your Gear in Nice Boxes
Professional package design is too often forgotten about, but you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to add your logo onto the exterior packaging and the product itself.
Branded packaging has, at times, become collectable in its own right.
While you might not be able to hold an actual event this year, there’s no reason that you can’t create an event hashtag that encourages your social followers to post pictures of themselves with your branded products.
You may even consider doing a live stream with those who prove incredibly enthusiastic.
8 – Pass Out Virtual Swag Bags
Assuming you have some merch leftover, you could even virtually hand out swag bags to those who attend virtual conferences or join an online discussion.
Send out everything you would have sent in a traditional swag bag to each individual who decides to connect with you during an event.
You may find that engagement levels are higher since fewer people are holding this kind of promotional stunt.