Subtle Promotion

Logos are everywhere. They latch onto keychains, pens, binders, calendars, watches, lanterns, mouse pads and just about anything that can be printed, and when they do they're called promotional products.

Look around your office right now and try to count all the things that have corporate logos and marks on them that you probably got for free.

General Motors spent $80.8 million in promotional products -- generally those imprinted giveaways, like pens and calendars -- and probably didn't bat an eye. GM, like a lot of other big corporations, has learned the value of having their mark on as many things as possible.

There is a definite advertising value attached to someone walking around with your logo on their key chain. First, most people like to hold onto and use these simple items. Second, most remember where they got it from and who gave it to them.

Additionally, all these people carrying logoed gear creates a "walking billboard effect". Everyone you come in contact with when you have some type of promotional product equals another impression. And as any advertising pro will tell you, impressions equal more reach and consequently more advertising value.

"One of the first stories I heard 16 years ago from one of the patriarchs of the promotional products industry was that he had given an ashtray to someone, and 30 years later it was still on their desk," says Arn Bernstein, executive editor of The Counselor, a promotional products industry magazine published by the Advertising Specialty Institute. "Promotional products can specifically target people. Not only is it a product that people find useful, it's given directly to them. It serves as a constant reminder."

Bring It On Home
So what does all this mean to a typical camp's marketing program? It could mean a lot toward return and referred campers. Put Your Camp Here on t-shirts and pens, and voila, walking billboard.

Promotional products don't necessarily need to be giveaways. Giveaways are typically called ad specialties, while promotional products as a whole encompass things you may sell at a camp store, like hats and t-shirts with the camp logo on them.

If you don't already sell promotional items that people like to buy and wear proudly (walking billboards again), you may want to consider offering this opportunity. And you don't need a store. A simple flyer with sizes and prices for t-shirts, for example, would be a good place to start.

There are about 300,000 different products that can be imprinted with your logo, so the creative possibilities are endless.

For a camp with an outdoors focus, Swiss army knives, Coleman lanterns, windbreakers, thermoses, compasses, water bottles and key chains with various functions are just a sampling of products that can be imprinted and tied into the mission of your camp. You can even get dog tags with a watch embedded in it that campers can wear around their necks.

Promotional products are also used effectively in safety programs as an incentive to pay attention to safety issues.

"Very often, groups of employees actually compete with each other to see who's going to win the most product. People are more conscious of safety because they want to win these products," says Bernstein.

You can also use promotional products when you send out an information packet. Let's say you have a swimming camp and you'd like to reinforce the message that your camp is serious about swimming. Why not place a pair of imprinted swim goggles in the packet?

It sounds like an added expense, but consider making room for it as a percentage of your ad budget. Start small and see if you can track any benefit from employing promotional products in your marketing program.

Where To Go
If you're looking for promotional products, the key words you would use work for both your local Yellow Pages and the Web. Key words include promotional products and ad specialties.

Bernstein recommends consulting what he calls an "ad specialty pro," but you can also get personalized products from your local engraver, screen printer and sign company, though their selection will be limited. But, if you just want t-shirts, call a t-shirt printer.

For access to those 300,000 or so products you probably will want to get in touch with someone whose focus is promotional products. They may have a retail location with an apparently limited selection, but they can order just about anything.

Additional Web resources include: www.asicentral.com, www.promomart.com and ppai.org (the association for the promotional products industry).