Corporate Gift Pros

So what does beer and branding have to do with one another?  Well this past weekend I went to a Beerfest.  There were literally 400 different beers offered for tasting there.  Now it is my understanding that beers are distributed by different companies or distributors.  I saw those distributors mentioned in the program that was handed out.  The program also showed the names of the beers that each distributor brought for the tasting.

While I realize that the beerfest is a fundraiser of sorts it is also a wonderful opportunity to get people to taste the distributors beers and realize that they have been missing out on some fantastic beers.  I tried so many different ones and while I won’t get into the effect that all that tasting had on me (I did have a designated driver - don’t worry) - the one thing that left me a bit cold, if you will, is the following:  Let’s say that I tried 100 of the 400 offerings.  There were many that I really liked alot.  I would say to my husband - hey remember I really like that “______”, in case I forget.

Now that is where I am headed - after trying 20, 50 or even 400 beers, how in the world was I going to remember which ones I liked.  Barring the fact that I was pretty well snockered, even if I was dead sober I would have a hard time remembering.  I am thinking that these distributors are sharing their beer in the hopes that it will increase sales.  But if I can’t remember the name of your beer how am I going to buy it?

Point being, these distributors, in my opinion, made a fatal mistake.  If I taste your beer and then I surprisingly tell you that I like it, don’t you think it would have been wise for them to hand me something with the beer name on it?  It could have been anything - a business card, magnet, a coaster - anything that would help me become a purchaser of their product.  Instead I am going around telling everyone I loved a bunch of nameless beers and when I go to the liquor store, I will probably end up with the old Miller Lite because I never got a promotional item - that would have helped me remember a wonderful beer.

Don’t miss perfect opportunities to have your company stuck in the heads of potential customers.  Call me for some good promotional ideas - heck even a not great promotional handout would have been better than no promotional handout.  Wanna bet who I will be calling on soon?

Marketing Ideas, Tradeshows branding, marketing, promotional ideas, promotional products

Yesterday, I spent the day with a tent on the 13th hole at a golf tournament.  It was a beautiful day out.  I handed out tons of logoed freebies.  I had imprinted golf tees, pens, six-can coolers, stainless steel travel mugs, magnets, business cards and catalogs.  I also had a contest where I was able to collect peoples info. 

The event was successful for me for many reasons.  First I got to meet lots of people.  Many of these people were business people.  For a lot less money, I could have just donated a logoed product to the tournament.  Instead, I spent quite a bit more money to have a tent on the course and hand out logoed product.  What is the importance of this? 

If you are a well known business in your community it is not as significant.  But for a company that is newer or not as well known, it allows you to let people know exactly what you offer.  If I had donated product imprinted with my company name it is very possible that no one would know who Corporate Gift Pros is or what we do.  But since I had a tent at the tournament and I could physically hand people my imprinted product.  I had an opportunity to introduce myself and briefly tell them what my company does.  So now when they see Corporate Gift Pros they can put a face to the company.  They now know that Corporate Gift Pros offers about 800,000 different products that we can imprint their logo on. 

In trying to establish a name for yourself or your company try to do events that you will actually attend and get to talk to people.  This insures that people know exactly what you do.  Making direct contact with them is a great first step in getting new business.

Marketing Ideas, Tradeshows branding, golf tournament, imprinted products, marketing, promotional products, Tradeshows

So you or your company decided as part of your marketing strategy you are going to be in a tradeshow or possibly a golf tournament or some type of event where you will come in contact with potential customers.  You will need to figure out how you are going to promote your company, stand out from the others at the event and get people to remember you and your company.  How are you going to do that?  Well I did the very same thing and here is the process I went through in preparing for an event.  

I decided to have a tent on one of the golf course holes at a golf tournament.   Now I had to start figuring out what would be the best way to promote my company at this tournament.  Beyond the tent and table I needed to figure out what promotional items I would hand out and what I wanted to do at my tent.  Here is where some people get lost.  First thought, what promotional items do I currently already have?  I knew that I still had six-can coolers left from the last tournament that I donated to - so obviously this is still an appropriate item since it is another tournament.  But what else?   Here is where you need to brainstorm and/or ask others for help.  It is important to know who your audience is.  In my case it will be mostly men, business men at that, who love golfing.  I may know tons about promotional products, but I am not a golfer, so instead of assuming that I know it all, I decided to ask my friends who golf what they like to receive.  Much to my surprise, they like receiving golf tees.  Now being a promotional products marketing guru you would think that I would have thought of golf tees right off the bat, which I did, but I really thought that everyone gave tees and the golfers would receive nothing but tees - so tees would be a big yawn.  Apparently everyone thinks everyone else is giving golf tees so no one is giving golf tees.  So my buddies said tees and emphasized the long tees - 2 3/4″.  That was key because I could have ordered 2 1/8″ tees for less money.  Here is where it helps to know your audience, because they may cost me less, but they would also get me less business because most golfers wouldn’t use them.  You want people to use your product with your logo on it or you have wasted your money. 

Then I decided that I would like my tent to be somewhat interactive.  My goal was to be able to talk to the golfers, at least briefly, so they understand what my business does.  I knew that they would not want to waste tons of time talking to me vs golfing, so I decided on a quick contest:  Guess how many golf tees are in the fish bowl.  Each player will put their guess on the back of their business card that I will collect.  Are you following me so far - if not, the idea is to get everyones business card.  The person with the closest guess will get a marketing consultation and 250 free pens imprinted with their own logo and info - so they can use the pens as their own marketing tool.  That led me to the decision to order those exact pens but imprinted my info and everyone that stops at the tent will get those too.  Now I picked the pens carefully.  I wanted inexpensive pen, but one that wrote so smoothly that everyone that used it would love it.  The goal:  to get others to want to order the pens.  By the way my imprint says Love This Pen?  To Order Call….

So I have coolers, tees and pens.  I decided on one more promotional giveaway.  I was torn between a golf tool that had a knife, divot repair tool, spike tightener and club pic or a stainless steel travel mug.  What do you think I picked?  The golf tool?  Of course….not.  Why, you ask?  It is a golf tournament right?  It is, but the tournament is also in mid September.  I knew that the tool would get thrown in the golf bag and not be seen for most of the winter, but the travel mug would be used all year long.  Are you seeing how my mind works and how yours should if you are marketing yourself at an event?  Finally I will make sure that I am wearing my logo embroidered polo shirt and I will have business cards and magnets at my tent as well.

So the method of my madness…Plan your events thoughtfully, creatively and early.  Think about the event, the people attending the event and how your giveaways will be used.  Your goal is increasing business, branding your company and making a good impression on customers and potential customers.  With the proper planning you can earn dividends on every marketing event.

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