subject: The Promotional Product; The Ruler Is Mightier Than The Pen [print this page] Promotional products come in various colors styles and types, an example of just a few products, decals, mouse pads, counter mats, and floor decals. This certainly is not a comprehensive list of products, which promote a companys brand.
There is a subset of products used to advertise brand these other products known officially as collateral products unofficially known as trinkets and trash. The term trinkets and trash usually refers to an item cleverly designed, but usually has no apparent use, which end up in the round file.
These products include such items as stress balls, which in the using cause stress so the user tosses the product in the round file. These promotional items usually freely handed to each attendee of a trade show. Because of the sheer volume of trinkets in your possession the hapless consumer is must locate a bag to haul the giveaway items around the trade fair. This same attendee packs the various collateral items to travel home.
In the solitude of their offices, the trade fair spoils divided among the useful, the novel, and trash. The items, which seem to find a home on or in the desk of the trade fair devotee, such as pens, calendars, mouse pads, and rulers.
I have attended and have been an exhibitor at many expo product shows, and my company manufacturers promotional products. I have found and maybe you can agree the most often used collateral item given away at trade fairs is the writing instrument, the pen or pencil is so ubiquitous the advertising impact is lost. The promotional item almost non-existent as a collateral item is the measuring instrument.
The ruler is an item that does not end up in the round file, unless it is broken, because it is so functional. Ask yourself have any of us every thrown a ruler away? I submit that the ruler is king of promotional products in any office, pun intended. The Pen is thrown away when it function ceases by running out of ink a pencil when it is sharpened to the last nub.
The ruler is on or inside the desk of the consumer, promoting the brand, product, or service, until the rulers use fullness ends. Over the years, I have employed the longevity of the ruler to promote our brand and the proof is in the pudding not in theory.
A personal case history of the rulers promotional longevity in 1986 I designed a ruler to promote our company in a particular industry. The ruler was a simple 2 wide by 15 long measuring instrument, imprinted with our logo and products we manufactured and contact information.
I distributed the ruler to trade show attendees in 1986, and I continued to receive calls from potential customers into the early 1990s. The callers noted they got our company name and phone number from a ruler they had on their desk. The requesters could not remember where they acquired the ruler, but when they needed our products we manufactured our name was the first to come up. The reason we stopped receiving calls from the ruler after 1993 is we move the company and changed our phone number. Remember this all occurred pre-internet.
The ruler is king of the collateral products; the pen is food for the round file. The next time you need a promotional giveaway product rulers never die they just rule.
