Corporate Gifts Research Shows 83% of People Remember Brands after Receiving Gifts

Last week I wrote a blog post on statistics regarding the effectiveness of corporate gifts in comparison with other forms of advertising. They demonstrated that promotional products are better than print, online, TV and direct mail advertising at making customers feel valued, making them more loyal and encouraging recipients to respond to brands. A further study released by the BPMA exclusively to their members (which we're one of) only last week shows that promotional products are also helpful in increasing brand awareness and sales. 1244 company decision makers across a range of industries were surveyed on how they view the effects of promotional merchandise. Here are the stats and how best to make use of them:

76% of People Keep Promotional Items

Source: BPMA

The majority of people will keep a promotional gift that is given to them by a business. This means that the branding remains with them as long as they have that item. TV ads might seem like the perfect means of reaching a wide audience, but promotional gifts are actually a better value option as they will garner multiple impressions over a period of time, rather than just reaching lots of people at the time of airing the promo spot. Of course, in order to benefit from this fact you need to increase the likelihood that people are going to keep your gift. You can do this by choosing something they will find useful. If your clients lead hectic lives, you could get them personalised diaries to help them plan and organise their time well. If you’re not sure, doing research into who your customers are and what they need may come in handy. To find out more on how to do it, read this recent interview with Jim McCarthy, the CEO of Poundland. He uses it to achieve personalised marketing to ensure customers get what they expect, need and value.

83% of People Remember Brands after Receiving Gifts

Source: BPMA

And that's without them having to refer back to the item! This adds weight to the previous stat, as it shows that for those people who are keeping their gifts, they are definitely having the right effect. Getting people to remember who you are is often half the battle in business, especially if you are in a saturated market. Corporate gifts are a way to make your service or products stand out from competition and get you remembered. In order to increase the customer’s association between your corporate gift and your firm, make sure your branding is clearly linked to your image and identity. A well-crafted and considered logo, framed by a consistently implemented visual identity, brings a brand's values to life" says Glyn Britton, managing partner at Albion - the business behind the iconic Skype logo. Your logo could feature on your gifts, whether they be pens or coasters. But you can also find ways of making gifts stand out even more. A computer mouse mat, for example, could be printed in full colour with a photographic image that relates to your business.

73% of People Buy from Companies that Give them Gifts

Source: BPMA

The vast majority of promotional gift recipients will go on to purchase from the company that gave it to them. This clearly demonstrates that getting people to remember you is integral to getting people to buy from you. You can increase the likelihood of this happening even more by being savvy when it comes to designing your gift. Include your contact details on it if there is room, so that they can ring you or visit your website in future. You can even include a call to action on gifts. If you are giving away a freebie like sweets or a water bottle, you could include information about limited time offers on the wrapper. By printing something like "Buy two more products from us this month and get one free!", you will create a sense of urgency for the customer and get them excited at the prospect of more free stuff!

96% of People Think Branded Merchandise Increases Company Brand Awareness

Source: BPMA

Have you ever heard of the saying "perception is reality"? Okay, so by itself the above stat isn't conclusive proof that promotional gifts work. But if this is what survey participants said, it means this is what they want to believe. It just goes to show how much confidence majority of people have in corporate gifts, as only 4% didn't think they worked. Plus, people are likely speaking from their own experience of promotional gifts, demonstrating that they themselves have been made aware of a brand by a gift. Stay tuned for more insights from this and other surveys! I'm sure you are aware of the value of promotional gifts - maybe you are even thinking about buying some of your own? For free advice on this and for info on all of our products, don't hesitate to ring us on 01204 577 995.

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