Stumbling Upon Promotional Products in the World #4
- Found: Thank you gift from Heifer International
- Item: Tote bag with full color imprint
- Promoted Brand: Heifer International
Is it fair to say this was stumbled upon in the world? Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, it’s fresh in your A-Z Swagman’s mind, so it’ll be the subject of this entry.
Promotional products are a wonderful way of incentivizing good actions. Donate to PBS or NPR, get a mug or tote; help build a house with Habitat for Humanity, get a T-shirt; etc. In this instance, Heifer International (https://www.heifer.org/about-heifer/index.html) is an organization I’ve supported in the past and a recent request came with an offer of the pictured bag. Needless to say, this peaked my promo curiosity and the bag is now in my collection.
For a promo item to work as an incentive, it has to meet some criteria:
· Quality – an item should be well constructed and not fall apart the first time it’s used. In the case of this bag, your A-Z Swagman loves canvas bags and uses them almost every trip to the grocery store. Canvas bags provide more lifetime uses than non-woven polypropylene. This can be reflected in the price difference, but will often be balanced by the end users perceived value assigned to the bag.
· Usefulness (and not cluttering) – one thing I’ve noticed with the local NPR station, they offer a slew of incentives ranging from mugs to totes to socks! A tote can be stored in almost any vehicle as a handy tool. Mugs on the other hand are no longer to be added to the A-Z Swagman’s household (at least until a few current mugs are dropped on hard surfaces – accidentally, of course!).
· Brand value – An organization that supports wildlife would probably not be smart to use environmentally UN-friendly products to incentivize their supporters. Can you say hypocritical? One thing that pleased me when I received this tote, while it was manufactured overseas, it has a note of responsible sourcing and fair labor attached. Be sure to ask for promotional products that reflect the values your organization espouses!
If you’re running a local non-profit, relying on donations to create good in the community, you too can use promotional products as incentives. Contact your A-Z Swagman at swagman.azorinc.com or your A-Z representative to talk about ideas for your brand!
…
Any products found were obtained legally and photos are of the actual item. Current available items mentioned are subject to availability and prices or specials mentioned in the entry may not be current. Opinions and assumptions of the products shown are exactly that -- educated opinions and assumptions based on years of experience in the graphics and marketing industry, as well as some light online research. Any errors are regrettable and will be corrected as necessary. No offense is intended by any conclusions drawn by your A-Z Swagman. Any feedback from the marketing firms that produced these promotional products will be incorporated into a follow-up blog entry!