The old saying “the pen is mightier than the sword” can actually be applied to marketing. Something as small as a pen can be a huge marketing device, it can make your clients think you are the next best thing since sliced bread. How? I’ll share in this week’s edition of Manic Marketing Monday.
Promotional products have been around for a long while. Businesses have used them as a free gift that’s meant to help keep their name & brand fresh in their clients’ and potential clients’ minds. They come in all kinds of sizes, colors, and variety… bags, magnets, notepads, clips, mousepads, even iPod speakers! Some of the best and most effective promotional products have been the smallest and cheapest, in this instance we’ll look at the pen. Even in this world of high tech, we all still use pens – the pen may never go away. One of the most effective promotional products that I have seen work for my clients has been the pen… but not just any pen. One simple strategy for having a successful promotional pen is: getting the best. Ever notice that the best writing pens are the most coveted? You can go out and finally find “the” pen, the one that is best you’ve ever had, the one that you guard with your life! It’s that pen that everyone who borrows it asks where you got it – and after you tell them where you got it, you make sure to get it back!
The simple strategy in having a successful promotional pen is – go and get the best. Find the pen that writes the best, is the smoothest, isn’t cheap feeling. The funny thing is, most of the best pens aren’t even the most expensive. So you could actually get a great writing pen for cheap. Most promotional printing companies will actually send you samples so that you can test the product out for yourself. Here are a couple that I’ve used, for the cheap: 4imprint.com & for variety and customization: datai.com. Your goal is for your pen (the one you’ve chosen with your logo printed on) to be “the” pen of the office… the pen everyone wants to steal!
So there you have it, a simple cost-effective strategy for a promotional product that can have a lasting effect. I hate to admit that this marketing tip should cause thievery in the work place… but it should!
scottJ
owner/artist Brown Cow Design
