Products Most Likely to be Kept (Statistically)

By Richard Garner

Short term savings often lead to long term loss

In a study carried out by the BPMA (British Promotional Merchandise Association) it found that 87% of the people who took part in the survey kept a promotional product for longer than a year and that over half found that their impression of a company improved after they received a promotional product. But if that is the case, what are the best products to give to your customers?

Top 5 Products

BPMA reported that the top 5 items to be kept for a year or longer are USB’s, mugs, umbrellas, pens and clocks/watches… we’re not sure about that last one, so we’re just going to skip over that. However, the other four items we definitely think are worth considering when it comes to impressing your clients. But, if they’re already the most popular, how are you supposed to make them noticeable? We’ll give you some small tips on what we recommend but if you want to check it out in more depth, they all have their own individual articles.

BPMA reported that the top 5 items to be kept for a year or longer are USB’s, mugs, umbrellas, pens and clocks/watches.

Pens

If you want to get an edge on promotional pens then there are a lot of simple tricks that we know to help you get that advantage. If you’re looking for a personalised plastic pen then our Senator range has ink refills that last up to 16x longer than their Far East equivalent. Or if you’re looking to make a real favourite of that pen, go for a customised metal one. Metal always makes an impact because it’s add that premium touch to your brand and you can get them laser engraved for that luxurious finish.

Mugs

Now, promotional mugs can be a bit of a minefield as there are 100’s of options out there and after scrolling through a few pages, they can all start to blend into the same thing. The first decision you have to make is earthenware, porcelain or bone china? Sounds complicated. The easiest way to base this is on customer use. If they’re going to be in a construction yard, they’ll probably want earthenware as they're more durable. If they’re sat in an office, they’re more likely to need something delicate and capable of fitting under a coffee machine.

Umbrellas

Maybe you’re looking to protect your clients from the ever unpredictable British weather but don’t want to just bang your logo on the centre. Personalised umbrellas don’t need to be bright to be brilliant. Our custom printed Knighton Walking Umbrella gives you the ability to choose your stitching colour which you can tie in with your corporate colours and also change the ribs and shaft colour to match the stitching for a more thorough reinforcement of your brand colours.

USB’s

If you have 100 and 1 things to remember, like most office workers, you’re probably likely to forget something. So a bit of portable memory is always useful to carry around with you. Promotional USB’s no longer have to be the boring stick you plug into your computer, with the ability to make them fun with weighted bottoms so they bob around your desk and personalised characters, personalised USB’s have opened up into a whole new market.

Choosing Alternative

Research shows that people are more likely to keep promotional items if they are useful and though custom printed pens are extremely useful, they are also available in abundance. Spend the extra penny and go for the more expensive items such as customised mugs or personalised USB’s. You might spend an extra few pounds in the short run getting the products but the extended exposure and decreased likelihood of it being an item they already have plenty of outweigh this cost. How often have you gone to find a USB and not been able to locate one? Or how many of you have a favourite mug? That kind of brand exposure in making someone’s work life easier is incredibly valuable.

Breaking the Mould

If you’re really looking to stand out then of course the best thing to do is knock the ball out of the park. Go for original and useful. A memorable example of this was when the mobile network company EE gave out free branded powerbanks to their customers that requested a code and popped into their local store to pick one up. This investment in technology that was, at the time, only just becoming popular saw an increase to their store visits of 300% over the opening weekend and 1 million requests from their customers in the space of 4 days. It may have been more expensive than giving everyone a free bag of sweets but it got their customers engaged, and in front of their products, in a way that sweets never would have.

This investment in technology that was, at the time, only just becoming popular saw an increase to their store visits of 300% over the opening weekend and 1 million requests from their customers in the space of 4 days.