Before deciding on your promotional giveaways for your next show, are you sure you’ve thoroughly considered all the options, asks Jeff Salton.
For more than 20 years, Australasian Promotional Products Association (APPA) members have been providing the exhibitions industry with a countless array of products and ideas designed to entice, engage and excite show visitors.
However, the promotional products industry itself is the consummate ‘silent partner’, with most people who receive a gift or reward having little or no idea about what goes on behind the scenes to ensure that what they get is memorable.
APPA is a not-for-profit organisation with 610 members spread throughout Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Taiwan. It is the only professional trade association specifically for the promotional products and promotional marketing industry in the Australasian region.
APPA belongs to the International Federation of Promotional Product Associations (IFPPA) and APPA CEO, William Kestin, currently serves as its vice president. Globally, promotional products are reportedly a $40 billion-plus dollar industry.
“In Australia alone the industry yearly generates over $1.56 billion and the New Zealand market is worth over $213 million,” says William. “APPA works hard at qualifying promotions companies and their distributors to ensure that the industry provides quality products and delivers them in a professional manner.
”William adds that continual sharing of information and knowledge from our international partners in the US, South America, Mexico, Europe, Turkey and Canada keeps APPA at the forefront of trends and product sourcing. This competitive advantage helps APPA members offer better pricing and higher- quality products over their competitors. Traditionally, promotions companies have only been associated with the best place to find cheap giveaways and mementoes. But William says the industry offers a lot more and companies miss out on creative partners that can increase their exposure and eventual sales. “While many companies only use promotional companies as a last minute source of giveaways at trade shows, they may not be aware that promotions companies can tailor campaigns to increase brand awareness, reward staff and increase stand traffic by helping to engage the show visitors. There is much more in a successful promotion than throwing caps, pens or mugs at passing guests.”William explains that a successful promotional campaign at exhibitions should “engage the visitor, elicit a response, otherwise it could be a waste of your investment,” he says.William cites the following APPA award-winning promotions as an example. PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd was launching its new tag line: “new ways of thinking” and wanted to attract traffic to its exhibition stand. Promotions company Infocus created the concept using a parking meter timer and keyring – a good promotional gift with some intrinsic value (especially if you’ve overstayed a meter recently). Visitors to PMI’s stand were given a branded parking meter timer which also had two metal discs attached to it.The metal discs were individually numbered and were used as tickets to a prize drawn at the PMI stand every 30 minutes.The parking meters were pre-set to go off just before each draw, therefore alerting the holder to high-tail it back to the PMI stand to witness the draw – naturally, winners had to be present at the draw to collect their prize.The metal discs were able to be used for future events and tradeshows, which ensured the promotional product would be kept by clients indefinitely. The discs also directed clients to their website which increased web traffic, post-show. The alarms continuously went off during the show, generating a buzz among all attendees and most importantly brand awareness for PMI.
