It’s not a secret for anyone that most promo materials that are distributed at conferences and such get thrown away before making a real impact where they should make. As most participants at conferences have actually to travel to get there, the major step any promotional material has to overcome is being nice/useful/interesting enough to compensate for the extra weight/space is going to take in the receiver luggage.
I remember a while ago someone did a list of worthy promotional materials on a social network where a lot of people contributed with feedback on what could be interesting to receive as a promo material. I suppose there are also a lot of articles talking about this, and very sure that every company that sells promo materials have a very good pitch on what is good enough to giveaway.
But I don’t want to talk about this, because I’ve realised something interesting today. Most of the pens that some way or another are considered worthwhile and make it to my desk, either have an interesting design/feature or promote a big/known/quality company. I’m not an expert in pens features, so I’ve came to the conclusion that the reason why the pen is in my hand it’s because the logo/brand that is on it somehow guarantees that it will be a quality pen.
You might wonder how I’ve came to the conclusion I’m picking up pens because the name on them should mean they are good pens? Simply. I was in a Board meeting a couple of days ago, and I was trying to write down what I have to do for the next week. Yes, trying it’s the good word, because my pen from a “Known big brand” was simply refusing to do the job. While I was looking at the name on the pen, 2 thoughts came up:
- Hey, if the pens are shitty, maybe their products are too, but just have a good marketing
- I’ll never stop by their booth to take goodies, because they aren’t worthwhile
Ok, you might think that not trusting the products anymore because of the pens it’s a little bit exaggerated. Well, sometimes you don’t really remember all the details, so this could mean that next time I see their logo at a conference I will think automatically they aren’t a good company (because somewhere in the back of my mind there is something that says they aren’t great – don’t know exactly what).
And second, if the promo materials are bad, maybe there is no reason for me to come by your booth and you will miss the chance to sell me your company products.
So when do the promotional materials really matter? To cut it short, when they qualify your prospect for the right mindset about your brand. If you do it wrong, then it’s better not doing it at all.
