Promotional products remain less expensive per impression than most other forms of advertising. The investment in products used in promoting your brand is modest, more targeted and allows for much greater levels of interaction with consumers than other forms of advertising.
Promotional products have a lower cost-per-impression in the United States than prime-time television advertising, national magazine advertising and newspaper ads, and a similar cost per impression to radio and Internet advertising. Plus, while all of these other forms of advertising are often passive, promotional products allow for much more active interaction, such as storing valuable information on a USB drive or carrying groceries or other items around town in a promotional bag.
Also, consider that when consumers receive promotional products, they are often the exact market segment the advertiser is trying to reach. Banks aren’t simply mailing out pens to consumers of all ages from all areas, whether or not they have a branch there. Rather, they are giving out the pens only to current or prospective customers in the geographic areas that they serve. This targeted approach to advertising is much more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in other forms of mass market advertising.
The cost for promotional products is not expected to increase markedly in the next few years, making them a more stable, reliable and innovative way for advertisers to reach consumers. The cost of producing a 30-second radio or television commercial is often out of reach for all but the biggest advertisers. Many would have their entire advertising budget eaten up before they even aired the commercial more than a few times. This isn’t true with promotional products. Companies from the smallest local businesses to the largest Fortune 100 companies have access to the best that the promotional product business has to offer.