Promotional Products as an Engagement Strategy: Part 1 of 3

Organizations wishing to build stronger bonds of engagement with their stakeholders often choose promotional products such as: apparel; writing instruments; drinkware; bags; lifestyle products; awards; desk and business accessories; electronic devices; computer products; health, safety and wellness items; and food products.

This is an engaging tactic for:

• APPRECIATION: For extra efforts, loyalty, patronage or donor support.

• RECOGNITION: Of outstanding achievement and for reinforcement of positive behaviors.

• MARKETING: In a way that informs, influences and enables. Turning strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into advocates.

• BRANDING: To create long-term awareness, engagement and action.

• PRESENCE: Extending the organization's presence beyond a specific location, event or program on items that are carried with an implied endorsement by their recipient and that start conversations and create word-of-mouth continuity of message.

• INCENTIVE: Offering lifestyle enhancing products or products that serve as a reward for acting now. The huge variety of items that excite, engage and motivate people to pay attention and perform with enthusiasm.

• TRAINING: Teaching new skills, reinforcing key messages and communicating culture and values require repetition and multiple exposures to a message. Placing key learning messages on items that are kept, are used multiple times will do just that. Plus, because they engage all five of the senses, promotional products are a tool that can appeal to a variety of learning styles and audiences.

This is the first of a three part series that make up the chapter on promotional products in the curriculum for enterprise engagement. This text book teaches end-users and practitioners how to improve engagement throughout their organization.