Reality Check

Hard facts on promotional items and promotional porcelain

Current studies are difficult to find due to the broad overall market for below-the-line advertising. Guerilla marketing, direct mail and sales promotion are included alongside other methods for seeking and retaining customers.

Marketing trends are created in the US. That's why we've spent time there. And it's the same reason why we belong to the largest industry organizations PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) and ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute).

Who receives and uses promotional items?

The astonishing statistic: 83 % of American consumers are glad to receive a promotional item, according to a study from PPAI1. The level of acceptance increases with higher quality items, above all when the item has a clearly-recognized function: 69 % of those surveyed will keep the promotional item if they consider it useful, 5 % base their decision on attractiveness, 23 % keep all items and only 3 % won't keep it. One percent of respondents only keep collector's items. The saturation level among promotional items has not yet been reached: 48 % of consumers would be glad to receive them more often.

The way to reach customers

In the midst of nearly endless varieties of media and constant overstimulation, it's still possible for an advertiser to positively convey a message to customers by means of promotional items.

Participants in the study were asked whether they could remember a certain promotional item which they received in the past two years. An overwhelming number, 76.2 %, were able to name the product, the advertiser and the advertising message!

Directly in everyday life

We were captivated by the question of how promotional items were used. Can they be integrated into everyday life? Can they become something that is used regularly? A newspaper is already out of date on the next day. So how does it look with promotional items?

In fact, the trend of saving and using promotional items is quite pronounced. This is particularly evident in the 91 % of those who have at least one promotional item in their kitchen. Where else does are practical objects used with greater frequency? In addition, 74 % of respondents keep at least one promotional item at their workplace. And even the bedroom was researched: 55 % of those surveyed keep a promotional item there or in their closet.

The goal: return on investment

Another study (ASI)2 focuses more closely on the individual categories of promotional items in the business-to-business field: For 86 % of respondents in this study, the usability of the product is the reason to keep a promotional cup or glass, while 26 % indicated the attractiveness of the item. However, only 23 % own a promotional cup or glass.

As a result of their usability – often by several people – promotional cups/glassware have a certain number of contacts with people (impressions). Like cost per mille (CPM), this is used as a factor for cost calculation in order to measure the true cost of a single contact. ASI's study showed 251 impressions per month for a promotional cup/glass. On average, promotional porcelain is used for 7 months. This provides a total of 1,757 impressions with the product, its advertising message and the brand.

The calculation

Based on this information, at a price of 8.00 € for a high value promotional cup, the price per impression is 0.03 € for the short usage period of one month. For the average usage timeframe of 7 months, the price falls to an unbelievable 0.0046 € per impression.

More effective

It should also be noted that an impressive 26 % of respondents use promotional porcelain and glassware longer than one year! And 51 % of those who don't use the item personally pass it on to someone else.

The most interesting finding in the study is that 65 % of those who receive promotional porcelain have done business with the advertiser after obtaining the item!

Promotional items have been a "must" for years—something that was "simply done" as a part of the marketing mix. But what these recent numbers bring to light is just how effective promotional porcelain can be as an instrument for attracting and retaining customers.

In summary, it's been shown that high quality and practical usability promise success. With its high value aesthetic, promotional porcelain is a prime example of this. And the cost of investment offers a high cost-usage factor.