Tag: merchandise

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Pros and Cons of Using Promotional Merchandise: What You Should Know

Pros and Cons of Using Promotional Merchandise

Promotional merchandise is one of the most effective and affordable ways to market your business. Using promotional items gives businesses access to a wide audience at an affordable price. They’re cost-effective, provide a long-term return on investment, and can be adapted to meet your company’s needs. However, not all promotional merchandise is created equal. When choosing which products will work best for your business, you’ll need to be aware of their pros and cons. As with any new venture, there will be challenges along the way. However, the result will be worth it if you take the time to learn about promotional merchandise before implementing it in your business strategy. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of using promotional merchandise:

What is Promotional Merchandise?

Before getting into the nitty-gritty details of what makes certain promotional items effective and others ineffective, let’s first take a look at what promotional merchandise is. To put it simply, promotional merchandise is any product used to promote your business. Essentially, promotional merchandise includes items such as t-shirts, caps, hats, bags, pens, mugs, keychains, and more. All of these items and more can be used to get your brand name out there in a cost-effective manner. Like many aspects of the marketing world, promotional merchandise has become increasingly specialized. There are tons of different products (both big-ticket items and smaller, more affordable ones) that can be used as promotional items.

What to Look for?

As previously mentioned, there are many options when it comes to choosing promotional merchandise. With so many options, how do you know which ones are best for your business? To make sure you’re choosing items that will be effective in marketing your company, you’ll need to look for certain qualities in the products you choose. The first thing you should look at when choosing promotional merchandise is whether or not it aligns with your brand. Does the item match the image and message you want to convey to your customers? Next, you should consider the longevity of the product. How long do you think the item will last? Will it need to be replaced shortly after you start using it for promotion? This can be an indication of the quality of the product. If you choose items that will last a long time, then you won’t have to replace them frequently, saving you money in the long run.

Pros of Using Promotional Merchandise

There are many positive aspects associated with using promotional merchandise for your company. With so many benefits to be had from implementing this strategy, it’s no wonder that it has become so popular among businesses of all types and sizes. Here are some of the top advantages of using promotional merchandise: – Reach – One of the biggest advantages of promotional merchandise is its ability to reach a wide audience. No matter where your customers are located (or what they do during their free time), they’re likely to come into contact with your promotional items. This allows you to get your brand name out there in a big way. – Affordability – While most people associate expensive marketing strategies with success, this isn’t always the case. Some of the most effective ways to promote your business are also some of the most affordable. Promotional merchandise is one of these affordable methods. It allows you to reach a wide audience without breaking the bank. – Easy Customization – One of the best things about promotional merchandise is that it’s easy to customize. This means you can personalize your items to meet your specific needs. You can choose from a wide variety of products, colours, and designs to create items that perfectly represent your company.

Cons of Using Promotional Merchandise

No marketing strategy is without its drawbacks, and promotional merchandise is no different. While this strategy is effective and affordable, it also comes with certain downsides: – Timing – Timing can be crucial when it comes to implementing a promotional merchandise strategy. If you want to use items such as t-shirts or sweatshirts to promote your business, you’ll need to wait until the weather gets warmer. You don’t want to try to wear a heavy sweatshirt when it’s 90 degrees outside. Similarly, you don’t want to wear a t-shirt with your company name on it when it’s freezing outside. – The Right Customer – One potential downside of using promotional merchandise is that it can be difficult to target the right customers. If you give away t-shirts, for example, anyone can come and take one. While this is great for getting your name out there, it can be tough to control who is wearing it. If you have customers who are your ideal demographic, you may have a hard time finding a way to get their hands on your promotional items.

Conclusion

Promotional merchandise is a great way to market your business. It is cost-effective, easy to customize, and can be used to reach a wide audience. However, not all promotional merchandise is created equal. When choosing which products will work best for your business, you’ll need to be aware of their pros and cons. As with any new venture, there will be challenges along the way. However, the result will be worth it if you take the time to learn about promotional merchandise before implementing it in your business strategy.

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Why QR codes are a great way to advertise

You can’t walk through an airport, mall, or grocery store these days without seeing ads for some new website or mobile app. The marketers of tomorrow are using QR codes to promote their brand by placing them on promotional merchandise. Don’t know what that means? Read on to find out! QR codes (or quick response codes) are a type of bar code that can be read with an appropriate scanner and can contain a lot more information than the standard UPC barcodes you see on most products. In this blog post, we’ll share some benefits of using QR codes on promotional merchandise as well as offer some helpful tips to get you started.

Why Use QR Codes on Promotional Merchandise?

QR codes are a relatively new technology, but they’re already being used for a wide variety of purposes. Some are used for marketing campaigns, others are used for security or inventory tracking, but the majority of them fall into the “convenience” category: QR codes make it easier to do something in the real world. Indoor navigation: The tech-savvy visitors to your booth at the convention centre won’t have any trouble finding your booth — you’ve posted giant signs with arrows directing guests to your location. But what about the people who are in town for a convention and aren’t familiar with the layout of the convention centre? A few strategically placed QR codes on your promotional merchandise help those visitors quickly find their way to your booth. Event tickets: Let’s say you’re hosting an event and you’ve invited a lot of guests to attend. Most of them will have access to the internet and will be able to download their ticket using an online portal. But how do you make it easy for the people who don’t have consistent internet access? Make it easy for them to print out their ticket by printing a QR code on the back of the invitation.

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How to Use QR Codes on Promo Merchandise

Like any other marketing campaign, you’ll want to make sure you have a plan in place before you start printing out QR codes. Before you select a design or a type of merchandise, you’ll want to know what your QR code link leads to. You don’t want to find that the code leads to a 404 error page or something else that will turn away potential customers. Once you’ve got a plan in place and you’ve selected the type of merchandise you’re going to print your QR code on, it’s time to design the code itself. The most important part of designing your QR code is to make sure that it can be read by anyone, regardless of their device or operating system. If it can’t be read by the person scanning it, all your hard work is wasted!

3 Benefits of Using QR Codes on Promotional Merchandise

– Immediate Results – One of the great things about QR codes is that you’ll get data and results right away. You can use online analytical tools to monitor how many people are scanning your code and where they’re coming from. You’ll be able to see which channels are working best for you. – Wider Audience – QR codes don’t discriminate based on the type of device being used. They can be read by anyone, regardless of whether they have an Apple or Android device. These codes are also readable by desktop computers, so anyone who is interested in your product can scan the code and get the necessary information. – Easy to Share – One of the best things about the internet is how easy it is to share information. You can send your QR code link to anyone via email and it will be quick and easy for them to share it with their friends. Once your code is out there, you have no control over who sees it — so make sure you’re sending it out to the right people!

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2 Tips for Incorporating QR Codes into Your Marketing Strategy

– Plan Ahead – If you’re trying to incorporate QR codes into your marketing strategy, it’s important to plan ahead. You don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute trying to find a service that can generate codes for you and have them ready in time for your event or campaign. You’ll want to make sure you have plenty of time — and more importantly, you have plenty of money. – Know Your Audience – It’s important to know your audience and where they’re engaging online. If you’re planning on using QR codes to promote your brand, make sure your codes are appearing where your target audience might be. 

Conclusion

QR codes are a fun and interactive way to promote your brand. Whether you’re advertising your event, your product, or your services, QR codes are a great way to appeal to a wider audience. There are many ways to use QR codes on promotional merchandise, from printing a link to your social media page to linking to an informational page about your product or service. Regardless of what you’re promoting, QR codes are a great way to advertise and get your brand out there.

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Make your Business PROSPER-Branded Merchandise Strategy Tips

business prosper

The internet is saturated with branded merchandise. Here are Strategy Tips to Make your Business PROSPER. Whether you’re browsing Instagram, Pinterest or even Google. There are plenty of images and ideas that will have you running back to your desk to start sketching out ideas for your own merch. But getting started on this venture doesn’t come without its challenges and complications.

There are many factors to consider before diving head first into a branded-merch strategy. Especially if you’re still in the early stages of establishing your business. Indeed, while not all brands can afford to invest in merch at this stage (unless you have some serious savings), the benefits it can bring to your business in the long run make it worth considering.

4 Things to Consider Before Developing a Branded Merchandise Strategy to make your business prosper

Before jumping straight into a branded merchandise strategy, it’s important to consider the following:

Business goals:
What do you hope to achieve with a merchandise strategy?
Do you want to boost engagement with your audience?
Are you looking to acquire new customers?
Or are you after a combination of both?

Whatever your reason for investing in a merchandise strategy, it’s crucial to understand what you hope it will achieve for your business.

Brand awareness:
Do you want to increase brand awareness with your merchandise?
If so, you’ll want to consider the message your products will communicate.

Ideally, your product should communicate what your brand stands for in a visual, memorable way.

Sales strategy:
Will your merchandise be sold in-store or online?
Is your goal to drive customers to your website?
Or do you want to increase footfall at your physical location?

Understanding how you want your merchandise to contribute to sales will help you decide what kinds of products you should be developing for your audience.

BUDGET:
How much are you willing to invest in merchandise?
The budget you’re willing to invest will significantly impact what you can offer your customers in terms of design, type of product and quantity.

Define your target audience

Before you start designing any merchandise, you need to understand who your target audience is. This will help determine what type of product you should be creating, as well as the price and quality. Depending on the type of business you have, you should have a rough idea of the type of person who would purchase your products.

Are they male or female?
What age group are they?
What are their interests?
You can use this information to help inform your decision on what type of product to create.

For example, if you want to appeal to a younger audience, you might want to create a t-shirt with a bright, colourful design that is appealing to the younger generation. If you want to appeal to an older audience, you might want to consider creating a coffee mug with a more sophisticated design as opposed to a t-shirt.

Estimate profitability of merch

Before you dive head first into creating a merchandise strategy, you need to understand how the profitability of merch works using the standard profit margin formula

gross profit = sales price – the cost of goods

So, if you’re creating a tote bag and are deciding on the price, you need to consider the total cost of the materials, the labour involved in the production and the relevant taxes. Even something as simple as the type of tote bag you decide to design can have a significant impact on the final cost. For example, a regular tote bag versus a cotton blend will have a different pricing structure.

Decide on the channel(s)

This is something you will need to decide on before you decide on what type of product to create. If you’re planning on selling your merchandise in-store, you may want to consider investing in a screen printing machine for on-demand designs for caps, hoodies, t-shirts etc. This is a great option if you’re after a quick and efficient way to produce merchandise for your store. If you’re planning on selling your products online, you may want to consider investing in a digital printing machine.

Digital printing is a relatively inexpensive method of producing branded t-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, etc. While it does have its benefits, it is important to keep in mind that the quality is not as high as screen printing and has a higher start-up cost. This is something to take into account when deciding on a type of product to create for your audience.

business prosper

Define your branding and product requirements

This is where the fun begins….

Once you’ve got a clear understanding of what your brand stands for, the target audience you’re appealing to and you’ve estimated the profitability of merch, it’s time to start brainstorming your designs. This is where you can really get creative. Whether it’s creating a vintage-inspired briefcase for guys or a stylish water bottle for ladies. It’s your chance to get creative and have some fun.

While you can certainly outsource the design process, we highly recommend investing time in creating your own design concepts. This is to help communicate your brand’s personality. Not only will it be a fun task to undertake, but it will also provide valuable experience when it comes to negotiating with potential manufacturers.

Takeaway

Branded merchandise is a great way to increase brand awareness and drive customers to your website or store.

Before you dive head first into creating a merchandise strategy, it’s essential to consider the following: business goals, brand awareness, sales strategy, and budget. Once you’ve clearly understood these factors, you can start brainstorming designs for your products.

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5 Tips For Swag Success That Will Take Your Brand To The Next Level

What is swag?

As the world of marketing continues to evolve and new opportunities arise, so do the strategies and tactics used to drive brand awareness, loyalty and sales. Traditional advertising methods such as television ads or print ads are no longer as effective as they once were.

Today’s consumers are constantly connected, accessible and armed with high volume of information at their fingertips.

To make an impact in this digital age

-brands must find creative ways to stand out from the crowd,
-stand for something meaningful and
-be memorable enough to create a lasting impression on potential customers.

And that’s where Swag comes in!

In today’s fast-paced world, people tend to process information visually – especially when it comes to branding. From t-shirts with logos to branded water bottles or mugs.

Swag is one of the most cost-effective ways for companies to build brand recognition while also giving their customers something useful that they can use over and over again.

Understanding SWAG

When you search for “swag” on the internet, you’re likely to find information about wildlife. Fortunately, there’s no need to worry as we’re going to focus on the marketing meaning of the term.

Swag (or promotional merchandise) is any branded item or item of clothing that companies use to market their brand. While T-shirts are one of the most popular pieces of swag other popular items include tote bags, coffee mugs, water bottles, and pens with logos.

Swag is an extremely cost-effective way for brands to build brand awareness and loyalty among their customers. Companies looking to create or re-build their image often turn to branded merchandise as a way to get their name out there and make customers feel part of a special group or an insider community.

Understanding swag

Create Something People Actually Want To Use

We live in a throwaway culture. That means that many of the items people receive as swag are ending up in the trash can or at the bottom of a drawer.

Before you even think about designing any promotional merchandise you should spend some time understanding the needs and wants of your current customers.

What products do they rely on?
What tools do they use?
What items do they need to help them do their jobs or stay on top of their busy lives?
How can you help solve their problems with your product?

Once you have a better understanding of your current customers, you can finally start producing items they will appreciate and keep for many years to come.

Stick To A Limited Color Palette

Just as every good writer knows the power of choosing the right words and grouping them together in an effective sentence. Every good designer knows the power of choosing the right colours and grouping them in an effective palette. With every printed item you create, you’re influencing the brand perception of your company. So, you want to make sure you’re using colours that are appropriate for your target demographic and that you’re pairing them in a way that complements their appearance.

Most designers will tell you to keep your design to 2 or 3 colours, depending on the complexity of the design. This will not only keep your design looking clean and professional but it will also make your printed items easier and more cost-effective to produce.

To make this process easier on our clients, Juice Promotions has a fantastic in-house team of designers that can help make your brand stand out. Just let us know what you need!

Don’t Waste Money On Oversized Print Runs

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when ordering swag is going for an oversized print run. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of ordering your first batch of branded merchandise and ordering more than you need.

Luckily, Juice promotions offers a range of limited-run items for your company to select from. Before placing your order with us, consider the following questions:

How many people will be wearing the t-shirt at your next event?
How many people will be drinking from the coffee mug at the next trade show?
How many people will need a tote bag to carry their stuff around?
How many people will need a pen to write down their notes?

If you’re not planning to sell any of your branded items after the event or trade show, make sure you don’t order more than you need.

The Sky is the Limit!

From the moment you start working on designing your logo, think about how you can get it in front of your customers no matter where they are or what they’re doing. From the side of a coffee mug to the bottom of a water bottle or the body of a tote bag. Your logo has the power to be seen by countless customers each day. That’s why it’s so important to find creative ways to showcase your logo. The only limit is your imagination.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get inspiration for your next SWAG collection!

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The Power of Promotional Merchandise in the Marketing Mix

Promotional merchandise, it’s the ninja of the marketing world. Look around you and you will no doubt see an item or two in the same room as you a branded item that has comfortably made its way into your home or office and is subtly conveying a marketing message to every unknowing passerby! Whether it’s a branded reusable coffee cup, tech products or IPad covers, promotional merchandise is a well-established and effective means of marketing in today’s society.

Why brands use promotional merchandise
into their marketing approach

Promotional merchandise provides businesses with the opportunity for limitless forward-thinking, exciting and head-spinning ideas that truly showcase the brand. While the upfront cost of promotional merchandise may put businesses off, the positive impact on the brand’s business is unquestionable.

Promotional merchandise should be part of every marketing plan through a carefully thought-out strategy that brings the right product with the right message to the right audience. Put your branded product out there and it will do all the hard work for you!

So,

What is the real value of promotional merchandise?
is it a worthwhile cost to your business? Yes!
Why wouldn’t you want to receive a free gift,

…which is why 85.4% of consumers would rather receive a promotional product than a promotional email. The return of investment is significantly demonstrated by countless studies like the one pictured below by the Promotional Products Association International 2019 Consumer Study. There is a good reason why marketers and agencies have made promotional merchandise an integral part of their businesses marketing strategy.

Promotional merchandise…the facts

We can talk about it, but ultimately the statistics speak for themselves. There are three key areas where promotional merchandise makes a real difference:

promotional merchandise
  1. Improving brand exposure, recognition and recall

Promotional merchandise builds brand awareness. It’s basic science, the more you are exposed to something the more familiar you become and likely to remember it. Anything familiar becomes comfortable, and therefore more trusted. A trusted brand is likely to attract sales. Unlike a promotional brochure or email, consumers keep hold of merchandise. 57% are reported to keep products for more than five years!

Ultimately this means that promotional merchandise can attract more prospective customers into the sales and marketing funnel to nurture and convert. But obviously, this depends on the quality of the product and whether it holds value. Juice Promotions promise to deliver only products of high quality that meet all industry standards.

Another advantage to promotional merchandise is that it is relevant at any stage of the company’s development. Starting out? Hit the market with a bang! Need a refresh, having a rebrand, or just need a boost in a competitive market? Promotional merchandise could be your solution. It’s an opportunity to emphasise the core values of the brand, and shape your corporate image.

  1. Conveying a message that is creative and memorable

Juice Promotions recognises the need to produce products that actually add value. Quality products that are not just your regular offering from the other suppliers of stock-standard promotional merchandise. They supply the usual items you’d expect such as: reusable coffee cups, calico bags, custom pens, promotional water bottles, promotional umbrellas, polo shirts. But the key to bringing a brand to pole position with potential customers is creativity. It’s the ability to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas that generate talkability.

It must capture …

  • – attention and create memorable,
  • – lasting impressions that connect,
  • – help attract,
  • – acquire and convert prospective customers.

Quality promotional merchandise is memorable with a longer shelf life than other forms of advertising. A leaflet will likely be thrown away after a first read. A billboard is forgotten about once out of sight and a social media ad blocked by a user tired by the repetitive nature of some targeted ads. Promotional merchandise has the power of longevity.

  1. Converting customers

Not only does promotional merchandise have the power of longevity but it opens up your audience to the masses. A brand ambassador may wear your promotional baseball cap but in wearing it they are a walking billboard for all to see.

And it works which is why as an agency partner Juice Promotions has been trusted to provide promotional merchandise to many leading global brands including Audi, Coca Cola, Uber, Air New Zealand, Microsoft and 2dayFM. They thrive on conceptualising creative ideas that are new, imaginative and customised to the brand and the message which the client is aiming to convey. Brands are becoming increasingly creative regarding what items to brand and how to present them.

Here are some examples of client case studies at Juice Promotions:

Jack Daniels – Chopper bike

The challenge:

Jack Daniels wanted to drive sales of their twin-packs at BWS via an exclusive instore competition. They needed to align with Jack Daniels racing and target 18-25-year-old males.

The solution:

Juice Promotions designed and produced a fully-customised Jack Daniels chopper bike for the prize. A bike that aligns with the demographic of Jack Daniels (the client). Buy a twin pack and go in the draw to win the bike which was displayed in all BWS stores across Australia. The collaboration enforces a more powerful message as two brands over one with the reputation. Kudos and associations of the chopper now true to the Jack Daniels brand.

Despite the upfront cost of the bike, the ROI for Jack Daniels is high, and the impressive vision of a motorbike in a bottle shop creates a memorable moment for shoppers and passerby’s imprinting brand recognition and recall. It’s also creating an incentive for shoppers to choose Jack Daniels in the hope of winning the prize when they might otherwise have chosen a rival brand.

Aeroplane Jelly – 90th anniversary

The challenge:

The brief was to conceptualise a limited-edition item for Woolworths supermarkets to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Aeroplane Jelly. The item needed to be memorable and practical, with a vintage feel as a nod to its heritage.

The solution:

Juice Promotions delivered a custom antique-looking spoon, the perfect accompaniment to every jelly-lover young and old. The spoon was to be given away along with die-cut, printed display boxes for Woolworths check-outs. Possessing a limited-edition item creates a feeling of being special, knowing that not everyone will own this particular type of spoon. The fun design appeals to the younger audience and its reference to the anniversary may be appreciated more by an older audience.

This promotional merchandise is about creating an experience – don’t use your regular dessert spoon, you can now use your specific Aeroplane Jelly spoon!

Audi – Keep cup

The challenge:

Audi asked Juice Promotions to conceptualise a unique product to include in the Welcome Pack for new owners of Audi vehicles.

The solution:

Juice Promotions delivered a reusable coffee cup that upholds the quality cues of the Audi brand, while fitting the cup holders of all Audi vehicles. The design features a tyre-tread grip around the circumference. Practicality is key, a reusable coffee cup will not only reside easily within the car but will be an accessory that joins the journey of the Audi user, advertising the brand in every office, coffee shop and social encounter of the day. There’s an abundance of reusable coffee cups on the market, this design is unique and styled to the target market of Audi.

A conscious supplier

Juice Promotions has been a trusted supplier of promotional merchandise and more recently PPE to both local and international brands for the last 17 years. Ethical practices derive from the core of the business, with a transparent approach to addressing environmental concerns.

The merchandise industry may not have the best credentials regarding waste reduction, but Juice Promotions are invested in reducing their carbon footprint, making every effort to understand the sustainability journey from design to delivery in their commitment to a clean and safe environment.

Contact Juice Promotions to discuss your business and creative needs. The team is committed to building enduring relationships built on integrity and increasing brand awareness through fully customisable products that creatively and effectively communicate the values of its client. They will prepare innovative concepts that can help you attract, connect with and acquire new customers so that ultimately, you smash your targets.