Why Will Promotional Pens Make 76% of People Remember Your Brand?

You may be thinking of using promotional pens as an alternative, or in addition to, billboard and newspaper ads. But can these seemingly inconsequential items really work as well to promote your business as bigger, bolder forms of advertising? This article provides statistical evidence and data to explain why small promotional items, such as pens, can actually be a more memorable and effective form of marketing than popular print media ads.

Low Cost Per Impression

Each time someone looks at an advert it is called an ‘impression’. This can be the same person seeing an ad over and over again, or different people looking at it only once.

A promotional pen will have a high number of impresions when it is used again and again

In a study conducted by PPAI Research, 73% of people surveyed claimed that they used a promotional gift at least once a week. Out of this, a further 45.2% said that they used one at least once a day. This means that the companies whose logos were on those gifts were receiving a high level of brand exposure from their corporate gifts. If there is a high frequency of exposure, the cost of each impression is lower for the advertiser. When using other forms of advertising, such as adverts in newspapers, impressions can be expensive to generate. But because promotional gifts are often everyday items, such as pens or mugs, they generate impressions at a low cost. Items that are inexpensive to produce, such as pens, will create very low-cost impressions for your business.

High Recall

The term recall is used when referring to the numbers of people who are able to remember the name of the brand on the promotional gift they have been given. High recall means that your promotional gift is doing its job, as the recipient has retained the brand information.

Percentage of participants who could recall the name of an advertiser on a promotional product versus a magazine or newspaper ad

Promotional gifts are better at generating recall than other forms of marketing, such as newspapers or magazines. The graph to the left tells us that people are far more likely to remember the name of an advertiser from a branded gift they have received in the last twelve months, than that of an advertiser in a newspaper or magazine that they have read in the last week. Because branded gifts tend to be used again and again by one person, that person is getting a high level of brand exposure, and is therefore more likely to remember the brand. High levels of exposure are not much use unless they are having an impact, and promotional gifts are a great way to ensure that your brand will be not just seen, but remembered.

Why Pens?

There are lots of affordable gifts that can become handy everyday items for your recipient, including key rings, toys and t-shirts. But one of the most popular ways for businesses to promote is through branded pens. This is because they are considered a useful item by almost everyone, from business people, to teachers, to children. And they are used nearly every day.

Reasons why participants decided to keep their promotional gifts

People are much more likely to keep a promotional gift if they consider it useful, as the pie chart to the right reveals. Your promotional gifts are only going to create impressions and recall if people hang onto them. By choosing promotional pens as your company's branded gift, you are choosing an item that a wide variety of people are likely to find useful, and therefore that they will keep and use. Therefore pens have the potential to create high numbers of impressions and high levels of recall, at a low price.

Browse Pens >>

If you are now convinced that promotional pens are the ideal alternative to other forms of marketing, please have a look at the range of pens on our website.You will find chunky, colourful styles and sleek metal options. If high-end, executive style pens are what you're after, we suggest the engraved Paragon pen, which you can read all about here.