Bobbleheads: A Story of Promotional Products Delivering Measurable ROI

"The modern bobble has been around for more than six decades, so they are definitely here to stay in one form or another," said Deutsch. "Over the past few years in particular, their popularity has really hit a high point that I don't foresee diminishing anytime soon." Deutsch recounts ball clubs reporting fans lining up outside the ballpark hours before giveaway games to try and ensure they receive a bobble. Fans are so bobble-crazed that it's not unusual for ball clubs to offer "guaranteed giveaway" programs so fans can secure their bobbleheads with the purchase of a ticket package. And finally, Deutsch mentions that the emergence of social media has increased the overall excitement surrounding giveaways as ball clubs are leveraging networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and others to create excitement around the bobblehead giveaways and encourage fan engagement. BDA reports an increase in bobblehead requests this year topping 1.7 million, up 200,000 from the previous year. Big business indeed.

So while being able to calculate a specific ROI for many promotional products is difficult, there are case studies and situations like this one that that show, very clearly, how success can be measured. For Major League Baseball Clubs, that's increased attendance, earlier ticket purchases and/or driving package ticket purchases and higher fan engagement online, which creates greater brand awareness and affinity—lots of good things that make promotional products a winning part of an integrated marketing strategy.

What about you? Any stories of measurable ROI on promotional products that you've experienced? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

Jeff Jacobs is the executive director of Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), the only independent organization accrediting supplier processes in the promotional products industry. QCA is setting the standard for safe and socially compliant manufacturing. Prior to joining QCA, Jeff was the director of brand merchandise at Michelin N.A., serving on its worldwide quality committee for promotional and licensed products. Prior to that, he worked with brands in publishing, home video and broadcasting.