• Utilizing larger design areas with thoughtful aesthetics, compelling storytelling, and impactful copy elevates a promotional item beyond a simple logo, enhancing brand memorability while boosting perceived value and ROI.
• Integrating clear calls-to-action and digital components like QR codes helps direct recipient behavior, increases engagement, and produces trackable results that align with specific marketing objectives.
At its core, a promotional item is a functional <a href="https://shoppixy.com/2024-apple-gift-guide-buying-advice-and-deals-on-every-product/” title=”2024 Apple gift guide: Buying advice and deals on every product”>product featuring an advertiser’s logo, providing numerous brand impressions for the business. However president of Le Tour de Spice (asi/67035) in Kitchener, ON, many products fall short by neglecting design and overall visual appeal
“There’s significant opportunity to increase the value and impact through the strategic and creative use of good design,” says Scott. “Any product that offers a large design area in particular is an opportunity to go beyond just a logo and make the end-buyer’s product a true marketing tool.”
Before launching Le Tour de Spice in 2018 with his wife Cynthia, Scott spent years on the distributor side, managing accounts for various Fortune 500 companies. He consistently prioritized quality products that provided ample space for branding.
“I used the ad space analogy,” he says. “If you could buy a quarter-page ad or a full-page ad in a magazine for the same price, what would have a better return on investment? The full page, of course. So I looked for well-designed products that have more space to show a client’s message.”
However, the size of the design area is only part of the equation; how that space is utilized is equally important.
“Recipients judge a brand’s value based on the product’s aesthetic,” he says. “Creative design signals quality, intentionality and trustworthiness, while poor design does the opposite. Ultimately, good design makes a brand memorable and increases the likelihood of a favorable ROI.”
Here are four key tips for making the most of great design, which Scott says are possible no matter the size of the team.
When appropriate, product design can accommodate much more than just a logo. “It can be a vehicle to communicate a brand’s values, personality and mission,” says Scott. Working with a distributor, Le Tour de Spice assisted an end-buyer with an internal promotion to communicate the company’s new mission statement. With the right design and available space, products can accomplish other things like announce a new offering or reiterate core values to employees and clients alike.
Products with ample space, like this promo spice tube with sleeve from Le Tour de Spice (asi/67035), can be used to tell a story or convey a longer message.
Creative copy is a must, says Scott. “It helps make the product and brand memorable, adds personality, clarifies the messaging and boosts emotional impact,” he says. When it comes to a self-promotion campaigns, for example, distributor clients of Le Tour de Spice have done well with “relaxation” verbiage for products like tea, and “hot sales” copy for spice tubes.
A short call-to-action (CTA) gives the recipient direction, which creates a sense of urgency, boosts engagement and conversions, and generates quantifiable ROI. Scott says it’s a good idea to distribute handouts at trade shows with a CTA tied to a giveaway, such as “book a meeting and receive a free product.”
“With a suitable amount of design space,” says Scott, “the product clearly communicates its call to action in a way that’s both visually engaging and strategically aligned with the brand’s objective.”
QR codes and call to actions, shown here on the PowerPak from Le Tour de Spice, demonstrate how promo products can directly lead to a goal or increased sales activity.
4. Combine the Physical and Digital
QR codes, when used strategically, can encourage engagement among recipients. A quick scan takes target audience members to a website where they can follow through on a CTA, like claiming an offer, watching a video, entering a contest, downloading an app, following social channels or scheduling a meeting. Meanwhile, the advertiser can measure ongoing engagement.
Scott says these four concepts are easy to apply and remarkably impactful. “As we navigate a potentially challenging period,” says Scott, “this is an excellent opportunity for distributors to differentiate themselves by offering greater value and ROI, thus creating lifelong customers.”
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