Even if it's not yet another ugly holiday sweater, or ______________ (you fill in the blank), we all get excited to receive gifts because they make us feel good. So what better way to make a current or potential client feel good about your brand than by giving them a promotional gift? Let's be honest, advertising is advertising no matter how you look at it. Disguising your advertisement as a gift will fool about 2% of the population, the majority will still recognize it for what it is. However, if the item had perceived value, over half of them, according to PPAI research, would also view it was a gift. When done right, promotional advertising gifts can open a person's mind to your brand, company name and the slogan, giving you an easier way in to establish familiarity and trust.

So what purpose do promotional gifts serve other than relating your brand with a good feeling? They also help you score that extra point over your competitor through generating awareness. I'm a little bit like a goldfish in the fact that I am easily distracted by everything around me and have to make a pretty significant effort to focus. That being said, if I suddenly realize that I need a specific product, I will be more likely to go to the first source that comes to mind. Also, being a visual person, if I see a logo nearby, or have seen it recently, that's going to give that brand a much larger chance of being that first one I remember. That first vendor is probably going to have the advantage considering before I have a chance to get to the next possibility I will be re-distracted by something else. I realize that was a bit of a ramble, but do you understand the importance of having your brand at the forefront of someone's mind?

Promotional gifts also promote goodwill amongst people who matter by expressing your gratitude. Say you walk up to someone's desk and see a nice item sitting there. You compliment it and the owner automatically responds, "Thanks! I got it from ___________." Your immediate internal reaction, assuming it really is a quality gift, is going to be associating positive with that brand for caring enough to distribute an item of value. Not only does the brand have a loyal customer or employee, but now they are gaining referrals just by thanking and giving credit where credit is due.

Promotional gifts can also be used for introducing new products or services as well as communicating changes. I still receive several pieces of snail mail a week advertising changes to privacy policies or additions of new products. To be perfectly transparent here, I never read them or give them much of a glance, unless there's a significant visual attraction. Even then, it's more of an interest in the design than the message. However, if one of those brands made just a little additional effort and presented the information to me creatively in the form of a promotional gift—I would notice, and I would remember it, and I would probably even tell someone about it.

So there you have it, promotional gifts are an easy, effective way to associate your brand with positive feelings, gain that extra ounce of awareness advantage, promote goodwill when expressing gratitude, and making important announcements. Convinced you need to start incorporating these into your strategy but have no idea where to start? No problem. We have a few stress balls waiting to be tossed at coworkers with ridiculous ideas, so bog us down with brainstorm sessions to give us an excuse! Who knows, if you stop in, we might even let you in on the foam war.