How to Use Advertising Specialties and Premiums in Direct Mail Campaigns

Incentives work.
They work to get results to your direct mail, your space ad, your exhibit stand at a trade show, off a television commercial - in the hands of your sales reps. Because human beings are "people", advertising specialties and premiums get our attention. They are "things" we see, touch, taste, smell, hear. They are colorful or interesting or attractive or fascinating. Someone else has this "thing" - we want one too. Specialties and premiums should be considered as you build your direct marketing program. They can work for you. Let's talk about what these tools are - and how to use them.
Every day we are bombarded with dozens, scores, literally hundreds of advertising, marketing, sales promotion, merchandising and sales messages. Something like 560 a day. We may see 80, remember 12, and have strong opinions about only 3.

Although this was not the case in 1845 when the earliest recorded use of an advertising specialty occurred, the reason then was the same as now: offering recognition and being remembered.
An insurance agent in upstate New York asked a number of his business friends to display his announcement in their offices. They all refused. WII-FM went into play: What's In It For Me.
So this ingenious gentleman purchased a handful of blank calendar pads, attached his business message and presented them as gifts to those same friends. They promptly placed them on their wall, thus pleasing everyone. There was something in it for me. I had gained a useful item. This simple start was the beginning of advertising specialties as a business and marketing tool.

Let's define the terms. What IS an "advertising specialty"? What IS a "premium?

Advertising specialties have these characteristics:

• They are useful ideas for the office or home, car or boat, for traveling, for fun and games - and they are usually of nominal value,
• They bring with them some message - usually very specific as part of a total marketing program,
• They include the name and logo of the distributing company or association,
• They are rarely personalized to the receiver,
• They are offered with absolutely no strings attached - you get them because you are who you are or where you are - you don't have to do a thing, just be present.

You use a specialty prior to getting a piece of business ... or in conjunction with contact with your prospect or customer. For example, I've given away non-personalized post-it note pads or pens at many of my seminars. Each a simple tool the receivers can use. All with absolutely no strings. They attend the seminar - they receive the small "gift". Period.
Advertising specialties are used to open a door, to increase interest or awareness or your company, its' products and services. Maybe when you launch something new, move into new territory - introduce a new person - you give away a specialty to get attention.

Premiums are a little different:

• They are useful, usually of higher quality and value than specialties,
• Sometimes they come with a message and as part of a total marketing program - not necessarily as a part of the premium itself. Instead they are offered by virtue of close association with the product or service being promoted,
• Frequently, not always, these items are personalized by name, company or some other way to the receiver,
• They most definitely come with strings attached - strings that say: "when you take this hardware demonstration we'll give you this software package", or "buy this product by this date and we'll give you this bonus gift absolutely FREE".

Most often you use a premium following contact, or a sale, a presentation, a meeting. The premium is used to cement the relationship you started, to build on your position. You offer the premium to look good in the eyes of your customer and to encourage repeat business.
My use of premiums is as a small gift I give sponsors of my seminars. There are always 2 or 3 people who are key to the success of each presentation. Those that coordinate everything, reach out with extra service - do something to make my visit pleasant, the experience enjoyable.
To these people I present a "small piece of Arizona" - a gift from where I live. This has varied over the years. A truly unique design paper weight or tile, useful on their desk or in their office, has been well received by my hosts.

What makes both advertising specialties and premiums different from other forms of advertising and marketing is they are useful. You can do something with them, and usually gain a benefit by doing so. They are not only a message - they are an item with a message.

Specialty advertising and premiums offer 4 key strengths:

• They target a very specific marketplace, the audience you want to talk to, and no one else,
• They are of lasting value, because they are useful,
• They can serve a motivational tool, as well as reminder, and "thank-you", and
• They communicate the specific message you wish to communicate.

Because they offer long life (they hang around a while), and because they get multiple exposures (hanging around gets them seen and used), they rightly fit one of the key ingredients of a successful marketing and advertising campaign; they reach the right audience with a message, and they do it over and over again and again.

Advertising specialties and premiums offer more than dimensions. Length, height and width are a part of each item - you can hold it in your hand or set it on a table or hang it on the wall - it is physical.
These length, height and width factors also give a very direct and personal touch ... that extra dimension ... FEELING. Which translates to "emotion". An extremely important and active part of just about every sales activity. Feeling is rarely available in any other marketing or advertising tool. It is with specialties and premiums.

There are just 5 specialty/premium product categories. Every one of the more than 25,000 items that have been used as a specialty or premium falls into one of these 5 categories:

Calendars - wall or desk, watch, wallet or purse, large, small, pop-up, by the month, quarter year or longer, multi-page with beautiful pictures or art, or on a single page with a simple message, printed on paper, plastic, cloth, wood, film and just about everything in between. Businesses use calendars in countless ways ... the average home has 4.
Writing Tools - pencils and pens of all types, shapes, sizes, styles, colors and descriptions, singles and in sets, by the dozen or gross, available in a wide variety of quality and value, from a few pennies to hundreds of dollars or pounds. There isn't a business or person alive, at home or in the office, that cannot make use of another pen or pencil.
Business Gifts & Awards - usually upscale ideas worth a little more, things of "keep" value. Includes functional desk sets and award/wall plaques. It may or may not carry the advertisers name/logo, design or sales message. Used as a reward, for good will, as a "thank-you, as a gift. Available as a serious business tool, and as recognition for volunteers.
Wearables - clothing covers everything from head to toe. Hats and caps to shoes and socks ... and literally everything in between. T-shirts and dress shirts, neckties and scarves, boxer shorts and dress shorts, sports coats and team jackets, belts and buckles, sweaters, sweat suits and sweat bands ... plus dozens more. Used by businesses for team building - used by teams to build rapport.
Catch All - All other ideas - a wide variety of products - fall into this "catch-all" category. Such as beer and coffee mugs, rulers and tape measures, luggage, brief cases and baggage tags, key-chains, notebooks, watches, calculators, radios, televisions, telephones, sports equipment of every dimension, beach and swimming pool toys - literally thousands of ideas. All used to meet the objectives of recognition for the individual - and of being remembered.

Advertising specialties and premiums, to be successful, must be IDEA oriented. Versus "thing".
Yes, you may use the item, the "thing", to get the idea. And to get your message across to your audience. To make that favorable impression. To get attention. To say "thank-you". To create a good image. To increase your awareness. To position your product/service in the eye of your marketplace. To be remembered. To help you achieve an objective.

Specialties and premiums can be passive ... or active. Sometimes they may be both - such as a pen and pencil desk set. You can "look" at it - you can also "use" it.

They build an impression of you, your company, your product and service. They have high retention value, and thus high recall value. They help you be remembered when you're not around. And most often at a reasonable cost per contact.

You may find them useful to generate a lead - and then close that lead into a sale. An advertising specialty may be offered as an incentive to gain a response. Allowing your sales rep to make a presentation. A premium may be used as a closer.

And to create "people" traffic at your store, shop, restaurant or exhibit both at a trade show.
Or to gather more donations for a cause - "when you give "X" you'll earn a FREE "Y" thank-you gift".
Plus, as a bonus "extra" when you make a mail-order purchase from a catalog, off a television commercial or web site promotion.

Advertising specialties and premiums - the medium that "remains to be seen". Think how you can use this marketing concept in your next DM campaign.

Marketers jump into Osama bin Laden death biz

Looks like Osama bin Laden is worth more dead than alive.

That is, at least, in the make-a-buck marketing world of souvenirs, collectibles and tchotchkes.

Within hours of bin Laden's announced death, a wide swath of marketers already had latched onto the leader's sudden demise at the hands of U.S. special forces. Most see it as a chance to cash in with T-shirts, pins, coffee mugs and even risqué thongs that — for $10 to $25 — memorialize or even celebrate the May 1 death of the man who was widely regarded as the world's most-wanted criminal.

Between midnight Sunday and 2 p.m. ET on Monday, thousands of consumer-created souvenirs already had popped up for sale on the websites Zazzle.com and CafePress.com, where royalty-seeking consumers go with original ideas for souvenir-like products that are ulitmately produced by the companies.

"Outside of an election year, this is about as fast a pickup as we've seen in our history," says Joe Schmidt, senior vice president of retail at CafePress.

Executives at its competitor, Zazzle, agree. "We haven't had a moment like this in some time," says Michael Karns, director of marketing at Zazzle. "It wasn't this big when Saddam Hussein was captured."

Observers of popular culture are not the least bit surprised. "People wear these things or buy these things in order to inflict the final indignity on bin Laden," says Grant McCracken, a cultural anthropologist and author of Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation. "And $25 isn't a lot to pay to gain entry in the national act of ridicule."

The tone of most items, Schmidt says, generally falls in one of four categories: patriotism, military support, celebration and a category that he calls "justice is served." But isn't the merchandising of bin Laden's death in poor taste? "We've always viewed ourselves as being a mirror to the culture," Schmidt responds. "What's more important than personal expression?"

Among the items for sale:

•T-shirts.

Already, there are hundreds of designs. The website Tshirthell.com, has sold hundreds of $20 T-shirts that show a stick figure version of a victorious, flag-carrying American standing over the dead stick figure (complete with scraggly beard) of bin Laden. "We made a batch of them and already need to make a bunch more," says Mika Larson, executive director.

A $21.35 T-shirt on Zazzle.com simply says: "Obama killed Osama."

•Buttons.

In making a marketable joke of bin Laden's burial at sea, a $5 button sold on CafePress.com shows a photo of bin Laden under the line "Fish Food."

•Coffee mugs.

A coffee mug shows bin Laden in a gun sight under these words: Death by U.S. Navy Seals, May 1, 2011. It sells for $15 at CafePress.com.

•Caps.

A $15 cap on CafePress.com treats the event like the collegiate basketball tournament that Obama likes to follow by listing the final two brackets as "Obama" and "Osama;" then showing the final bracket winner as "Obama."

•Bumper stickers.

 A $3.95 bumper sticker at Zazzle.com shows pictures of bin Laden and Saddam Hussein with the question: Who's Next?

•Neckties.

It shows bin Laden in a gun sight under the line, "Justice: May 1, 2011" goes for $31.75 on Zazzle.com

•Phone case.

At $51.40, an iPhone case shows a photo of bin Laden with these words stamped across his face: "Mission Accomplished." It's sold at Zazzle.com

•Dog T-shirts.

 For $18, even your dog can wear a T-shirt that commemorates the day. The shirt, which says "Osama's Dead," is Facebook friendly with the familiar thumbs-up "Like" logo.

Staying Ahead of the Technology Curve

QR Codes: the next generation of COOL!

 
Have you seen these funny looking boxes in magazines, newspapers, or supplier catalogs? They are called QR Codes, and are the next great "cool techie tool" for marketing your business. A QR Code, or the abbreviation for Quick Response, is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, website or other data. Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes are now used in a much broader context. QR codes can be used to display text, to add a vCard contact, to open a website, an email, or text message. Users can also generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR code generating sites like qrcode.kaywa.com. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR Code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. Recently, QR codes have become more prevalent in marketing circles and have been integrated into both traditional and interactive campaigns. Media where QR codes have been deployed include: billboard ads, in-store displays, event ticketing and tracking, trade-show management, business cards, print ads, contests, direct mail campaigns, websites, email marketing, and couponing. QR Codes can direct an otherwise passive viewer to take immediate action: make a purchase, visit your website, register for an event, or take a survey. Instead of posting a long website address that your audience is likely to forget by the time they get to their computer, place a QR Code on your printed piece or even in your store window. Whether it's an advertisement, direct mail, business card, flyer, or exterior street sign, your potential consumer can immediately gain access to what your company is about, what you're promoting, and you can nudge them to act now instead of the dreaded "maybe later." And to top it off, you can track and analyze the results of your printed pieces.



Tip: Need a recommendation on a QR Reader app? For iPhones, try Red Laser or Tap Reader. For Android phones, try QR Droid or Barcode scanner. You can also download a free QR Reader for any phone by visiting http://get.neoreader.com from your smart phones internet browser. These are all free and available in your "apps".

Online Breach Highlights Data Security Needs!

A massive security breach this week at an online marketing firm placed millions of people at increased risk of e-mail scams and amplified concerns about the safety of data that businesses store. The infiltration at Epsilon exposed the names and e-mail addresses of customers of major companies, including JPMorganChase, Verizon, Citibank, Victoria’s Secret, Target and Walgreens. The scope of the breach at Epsilon, which manages customer databases and e-mail marketing lists for about 2,500 clients, became clear earlier this week as banks, retailers and others began warning customers they could soon be targeted by phishing attacks – e-mail fraud attempts in which scammers purport to be from legitimate businesses in an effort to steal information like account numbers or businesses.
Epsilon says the breach was limited to names and e-mail addresses, and that other sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, were not exposed. Still, “any time you have an organization that loses the contact information of customers for some of the biggest banks in the world, that’s a big deal,” Brian Krebs, editor of Krebs on Security, a website that specializes in online security and crime, told The New York Times. “You’ve just given the bad guys a road map between the banks and their customers.”
The breach is particularly alarming in the wake of a recent AVG survey that found six out of seven small businesses in the United States and United Kingdom have no Internet security measures in place. This lack of security means credit card numbers, confidential reports, e-mails and other information a business would never want made public or destroyed could be vulnerable to attacks. To protect sensitive data, distributors large and small need to put security measures in place. Those efforts start with knowing where data is stored and who has access to it, says Michael Kleeman, a network security expert at the University of California, San Diego. Additionally, companies should consider encrypting data. “If the data is grabbed, you want to make it difficult to utilize,” says Kleeman.
To better protect their data and systems, here are some steps 'companies' should take:

1. Install and update anti-virus software on all company computers and perform all hardware and software updates on time.
2. Institute written policies that govern employee computer use. These policies can include prohibiting personal e-mail use, allowing only routine attachments to be downloaded and requiring employees who download a virus or detect something suspicious to report the problem immediately.
3. Set up a company firewall and business class router.
4. Regularly create back-up files of all important data and store them in a safe or other secure location offsite.

Beware Of Greenwashing

As the green movement has picked up speed, many suppliers in the ad specialty market have introduced new lines of eco-friendly items. However, some are just using marketing efforts to say their products are green, when in fact, they’re not any more eco-friendly than other items in their product lines. Here are four tips from Colette Chandler, green product expert and founder of The Marketing Insider (www.marketing-insider.com), for differentiating a supplier of true eco-friendly products from a supplier with marketing claims that could be classified as greenwashing:


2. Examine packaging. Sometimes the ingredients might be environmentally friendly, but the container itself might not be. Let’s say a product comes inside a hard box, but to keep the box closed, there’s a plastic ribbon around it. Things like that are often overlooked.

3. Review the manufacturing process. Sometimes the process is worse than the outcome. How wasteful was it? Was it harmful to the environment? For things made with bamboo, there are a lot of questions about the process vs. the outcome.


4. Consider shipping distance. How far did each ingredient travel, and how far did the final product travel? If suppliers have products that are sourced overseas, there’s a huge carbon footprint. What are the suppliers doing to offset that, or what can the distributor do to offset that? In this case, maybe using a more local supplier is the way to go. – Shane Dale
1. Look at ingredients. Labels can be very deceiving. There’s a lot of health-oriented products out there like lip balm or lotion that say “organic” on the label, but that doesn’t prove it’s organic – that all the ingredients are sustainable. Ask questions about where products are sourced, how they’re made and what their true ingredients are.

Is Green Marketing Still Red-Hot?

It’s safe to say that green marketing blossomed in 2009. However, as issues like the economy and health care grabbed the public’s attention, corporate environmental practices fell out of the spotlight. Now that it is less hip to go green, will the movement wither on the vine? While marketing experts’ opinions vary, a number agree that it is no longer as integral a focus as it had been just months ago.

“A lot of businesses jumped on board because it was trendy, not because they believed in it. They did it because the polls showed this or a focus group said that. Others never got started,” says Simon Sinek, owner of strategic marketing consultancy Sinek Partners. “Now it’s not trendy.”

The green movement made great strides, but now the hurdle is higher in terms of generating attention, says James Gregory, CEO of the consultancy CoreBrand. “The ante has been raised in terms of making news. You used to be able to fake it somewhat; now you need to prove it, believe it and live it.” Still, he feels that eco-conscious marketing practices won’t go away anytime soon. “It will be with us for a long time.”
Others, though, believe that green marketing and operations have become part of the fabric of business. Robert Passikoff, president of marketing consulting firm Brand Keys, says green practices have become so prevalent that they have become the status quo for many companies. “It is being included in all of the decisions that are being made,” Passikoff says. “It’s not the exception anymore. It’s the rule.”
For the companies that successfully implement green practices, there will be benefits. “Green acts as a differentiator,” Passikoff says. “If a consumer is choosing between two brands, they may not buy on price. They may buy the green product. It affects the value of the brand.”

In terms of supporting green practices by purchasing green promo items, distributors report mixed results. PromoShop (asi/300446) fielded 842 orders for green goods in 2009, up from 136 the year prior. “Clients are putting it in their budgets and actually making it happen,” says PromoShop Vice President Kris Robinson.
Bob Vibe, on the other hand, says, “I know it’s an important thing and certainly our government and culture is pushing it, but I haven’t been writing a lot of green orders.” The owner of Ad Pro (asi/444041) says, “I don’t think people perceive that issue as being as prevalent right now. Price is more of an issue. The economy is more important, that’s for sure.”

Sinek agrees with the sentiment of price-consciousness impacting green marketing. “During hard economic times people are more concerned about their wallets versus being a good citizen to our environment, which has no immediate payback,” he says. “Given the choice, people will choose their wallets over ideals.” – KH

Coalition Aims To Make Apparel Industry 'Greener'

Leading retailers, clothing manufacturers, environmental groups and academics announced plans this week to form a new coalition aimed at lessening the environmental and social impact associated with producing apparel and footwear around the... world. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) intends to develop improved sustainability strategies and an index to measure and evaluate "green" performance in the apparel industry. Evaluating and scoring businesses on things like worker conditions and water and chemical usage, the Apparel Index 1.0 will enable companies to measure their environmental and social impact, compare themselves to other companies and receive improvement strategies.

To further the green mission, coalition members will devise plans to reduce chemical usage, lessen the apparel industry's water and industrial consumption and improve waste diversion. Concerned about the potential hazards industry employees face, the coalition intends to make the process of producing apparel transparent and get workplaces throughout the apparel world to adopt standards that lead to fair treatment of employees and safe working environments where none are exposed to toxic chemicals. "Over the past few years, the U.S. apparel and footwear industry has embraced sustainability as a key component to the way we do business," says Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. "The industry understands that collaboration and transparency are the best ways to reduce our industry's impact on the environment."

The SAC's 30 or so founding members include companies like Walmart, Target, J.C. Penney, Timberland and Nike. Other initial members of the coalition are Duke University, the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, the Environmental Protection Agency and Verité, a labor rights group. The SAC could expand to 40 members by June. "Should the Sustainable Apparel Coalition succeed, its focus on improving supply chain performance could become a model for other industries," says Leon Kaye, editor of GreenGoPost.com, a website that focuses on the business side of sustainability. "More efficient, energy-saving and transparent supply chains not only reduce costs, but lessen the human costs that put too high of a price tag on what are often cheap clothes."