Top Promotional Marketing Trends for Summer

Companies seeking new ways to promote their brands to the buying public will find traditional advertising is only going to take them so far. Strategically planned promotional marketing campaigns provide a highly targeted way to put a company and its products in direct contact with customers and prospective customers. When a smart campaign is launched, promotional items bolster branding efforts while providing a sustainable, focused way to reach a highly targeted audience. The key to success lies in finding the right promotional items to capture recipients’ attention enough to ensure use. The top promotional marketing trends for summer indicate that thoughtful, quality products resonate best while offering the best potential for return on investment by generating leads and new sales.

While the specific branded items a company might use for promotional marketing should be customized and carefully selected based on client demographics and other factors, these trends are running strong as the summer gets under way:

• Tech items are golden – As the buying public becomes increasingly reliant on technology for work, play and navigation of everyday life, tech items are in high demand. Branded earbuds, chargers, memory sticks and other devices have strong return-on-investment potential because recipients are likely to appreciate and use them frequently. Each time they do, a company’s logo or message will be seen.
• Quality matters – As the demographics of the buying public shift more and more to Gen Xers and Millennials; there is an increasing demand for higher quality promotional items. Cheap giveaways are resonating less and less. Recipients simply want items they’ll use and are likely to last. The advantage in going with quality items does go beyond impressing recipients. Since higher quality items are more likely to be used and to last, their effective use in promoting a brand tends to have a much longer lifespan than throwaway items.
• Retail appeal matters – Some of the biggest hits in promotional marketing involve the use of brand name products that are incorporated into promotional campaigns. Drink sets, higher quality brand name water bottles, known-brand backpacks and other items all emblazoned with the logo of the company being promoted are fast becoming a hot commodity.
• Clothing remains hot, but with a twist – T-shirts, pullovers and polos have long been staples in the promotional marketing arena. These items tend to have a high return on investment because recipients effectively advertise a brand each time they wear a promotional item. Clothing remains a very hot giveaway item, but quality and style do matter. Brighter, bolder, unique designs that are fun to wear inside and outside an office tend to have the biggest appeal for recipients.

Promotional marketing is an excellent way to reach a highly targeted audience while enhancing return on investment potential. Summertime is perfect for launching campaigns meant to reach the buying public. Companies that wish to succeed in their efforts will find that thoughtful, quality items tend to resonate best.

This article is written by Kate Krivodubskaya, associated with The ODM Group. The ODM Group is a buying office in Southern China catering to the promotional product industry.