Incentive - January 2008 - (Page 24)

Ho w to c h o o s e t h e r i g h t p ro m o ti o n a l p ro d u c t By Leo Jakobson PRIMER Th i ngs to Con sider When C h o o si ng a Prom oti ona l Product • What is the client’s goal? • Who is the recipient? • What is the right product for this particular occasion? • What is the perceived value of the award? W hen it comes to choosing a promotional product, whether it is used to promote a sales incentive, to show employees your appreciation for a job well done, or, to thank clients for their business, the key is to find one that is appropriate to the occasion, says Bruce Molloy, COO of Creative Marketing Concepts, a promotional products company in San Francisco. “The way to do this right, is be consultative with your clients,” he says. “To find out what their needs are.” “If you want to incentivize people, it’s not just how much you spend, it’s how you spend it,” he continues. “Recently, a client was having a corporate picnic—people were bringing their families—and asked us for a mug or a nice pen to give out. I said, ‘It won’t perceive well, even if it’s a 50 dollar pen. [At a picnic] you want umbrellas, beach towels, beach balls. Mugs will be left behind. You can spend less on these gifts and get a higher perceived value.’” That’s another key. “A one-dollar pen looks like a one-dollar pen, but a five-dollar pen can look like a $50 pen,” he says. Electronics can be particularly good in this regard. “[Recipients] will say, ‘If I had to go to buy this cute two-gigabyte flash drive in a store, it would cost me 40 or 50 dollars.’ But it actually will cost you 15 dollars.” In general, the promotional products business is broken down into two categories. These are “clients and employees,” Molloy says. “A lot of people understand clients but not employees.” Starting with the easier recipient category, Molloy says promotional products are “an opportunity to brand your company, to get Incentive ILLUSTRATION BY KATHARINE SANDALLS is COO of Creative Marketing Concepts, a full-service promotional products company with a 3,000-square-foot showroom in San Francisco’s downtown financial district that allows clients to actually see and feel a wide variety of the items it carries. Molloy has extensive experience in the sales, marketing and promotional products fields and joined Creative Marketing Concepts some four years ago. Molloy may be reached at (415) 982-8618 or bruce@cmcpromos.com Bruce Molloy your clients to want to do business with you.” His own firm sends out samples and catalogs three or four times a year, as well as sending clients small gifts after every order. “It’s also a product they might buy,” he says. “If they bought a nice notebook, send them a pen.” As for selecting merchandise for employees, that’s where a promotional products expert can help, he says. Noting that his firm carries 750,000 different products, he says, “We have a lot of history with different companies. [We know] what type of products do well with financial services firms, with retail stores, with banks. We can say, ‘Here’s five or 10 products banks like to give their employees.’” Law firms, for example, like to give out nylon fleece blankets to clients, he says. “People use them in their homes, keep them in their car, the kids use them,” Molloy says. “People find them to be nice, useful and to have a high perceived value.” In virtually all cases, promotional products are logoed. “Companies usually want a logo, but not always a message,” he says. “People generally want to blast their logo out there.” At the higher end of promotional products, adding your logo to a product that carries its own logo becomes co-branding, Molloy says. “We’re seeing more companies that want to buy [golf club maker] Ping or Nike shirts,” he says. “They have a high perceived value, they put the XYZ Company in a rarefied air.” Recently, Molloy’s firm put a client’s logo on a very expensive driver. The golf club “was a big statement,” he says. “Companies are raising the bar on the quality of gifts.” And what is the most popular promotional product? Molloy doesn’t have to think about it. “Pens are still the staple,” he says. “Co-brand your company with Cross, Mont Blanc, Parker.” 24 | | January 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - January 2008

Incentive - January 2008
Contents
Editor’s Note: Out of SITE
In The News
Cover Story: Include a Meeting, Improve Morale
Case Study: DHL Delivers Recognition
Incentive Primer: How To Use Promo Products
How Bob Nardelli Rallied Chrysler’s Dealers
Incentive Interview: Ken Blanchard Says Be Nice
TV’s Extreme Makeover Motivates Giving
Pre-Employment Motivation
The Daycare Dilemma
Happy Employees Shouldn’t Mix with Sick Employees
Incentive Research: Consumer Promotions Report
In Her Shoes: Winning Approval Of Flextime
Travel News
Field Report: Barcelona
Field Report: Bermuda
Golf: Follow The Pros
potentials Here and Now
Watches As Jewelry
Awards: Online Gift Cards
Tech Gadgets for 2008
Last Word: Stanley Bing Bashes Bully Bosses

Incentive - January 2008