Premier League Mornings Musings
I recently attended the Premier League Mornings Live event in Nashville. I only attended on Sunday and almost didn’t because my team’s game was originally scheduled for Monday. Fortunately, the game was rescheduled for Sunday, so I was surrounded by lots of other Tottenham fans while watching the win over Nottingham Forrest!
While I was there, I posted on LinkedIn (my only social media), a thought that I’m sure I picked up from a much more experienced promotional product expert (but I added my version):
· Event + Promotional Products = Experience
· Event + Promotional Products + Tottenham = AZ Swagman Experience!!
I also found myself thinking about all the wonderful promo items I took home with me. Admittedly, I was unashamedly willing to take anything offered to me and did not purchase anything from the merchandise booth – so I am very much NOT a typical end-user. (The main reason is I have a trip to the last home game of the season at Tottenham and am saving for that visit!) Below, you can see all the cool things I picked up and I’d like to take a moment to think about the strategy behind this use of promo.
I’ve numbered groups for ease of discussion.
1. First was probably the last freebie I received. While it’s not marked as a Hatch Show Print, it is almost definitely printed letterpress – which Hatch is known for. And while it will decorate my office, I am a little peeved that the Tottenham v Nottingham Forrest game is left off. This is most likely due to the change of schedule happening after these went to press. Originally they were to play on Monday, but the game was changed 10 days beforehand due to scheduled rail strikes in the UK.
2. A flag and a stress toy are a couple of typical giveaway promotional items branded with Bournemouth. Odd that they were handed out on Sunday as they played Louton on Saturday (and lost!) I know many people attended both days, which I considered, but had enough to keep me occupied on Saturday.
3. A small cotton bag emblazoned with last year’s champions, Manchester City. Again, they played (and defeated) Crystal Palace on Saturday, so handing these out on Sunday probably means products left over. I’m not a fan of MC, but I do applaud a more ecologically-friendly choice.
4. My wristband. As we came in, we were affixed with these as they warned us that there was no in-out privilege. Were I the scrapbooking type, I might affix this on a page with memories of the event. From a more technical point of view, this full-color wristband is a quick (and difficult to counterfit) way of identifying that someone is legitimately where they have a right to be.
5. Manchester United gave out three player posters and a cardboard sign to hold up while cheering on the team. MU managed to hold second-place Liverpool to a draw, so I had to pick these up for my AZ colleague, who couldn’t attend the event. Paper printing is one of the easiest and most economical promo products to give away.
6. Here’s the promo I will hold near and dear – my Tottenham pin and cards. I did miss the opportunity to get legend, and former Spurs captain, Ledley King’s autograph on the card unfortunately. But the lapel pin is something that I can show my support in just about any situation!
7. String backpacks by both Barclays and Peacock. The blue one was handed out as I arrived, and I was very thankful for it by the end of the day – it held every promo item except for the big poster. Bags are a very good promotional product that carries a brand for quite a while to come. I’m certain that many of these will wind up being used by the many kids who play rec-league soccer.
8. Finally, a scarf was my compensation prize for not winning one of the big prizes at the giant claw machine. I will say that at the time, I was cold enough that the scarf was preferable to receiving a $200 gift card or better! While not as large as some of the team scarves, the Barclay’s Premier League scarf was soft and warm.
Now, bottom line, the giveaways I took home with me probably cost NBC and the Premier League a very small amount compared with the heavy margins they’d be taking home had I purchased one of the stylish Nashville Premier League jerseys ($80) or PL hoodies ($65-80) or PLM T-shirts ($40-60).
Bottom line, giveaways, branded merchandise and signage are all promotional products which added to the whole experience!
#PromotionalProductsWork
#myplmorning
#tottenham