subject: 5 Holiday Marketing Ideas Using Promotional Products [print this page] There's no better time to work on boosting brand awareness than when commerce is at its peak - during the holidays. One of the oldest forms of marketing, handing out branded products gets your company name and logo "out there", both helping to remind current customers about your business and spreading brand recognition to new potential customers. Once promotional items, equipped with your company logo, are in circulation, they provide free marketing for as long as they remain in use!
As a time of giving, the winter holidays offer many opportunities for showing generosity to customers, clients and employees, while spreading your brand name far and wide.
Send a Christmas goodie basket to top customers or clients. For companies in the business to business (B2B) sector, this is a no brainer! Vendors of promotional products offer an exhaustive array of delicious promotional gift baskets, from whole smoked turkeys to gourmet candy delivered in company-branded dishes. Having these thoughtful gifts delivered to clients is a great way to say "thank you for your business", retain customer loyalty and, if branded products are included in the gift basket, to continue to promote brand awareness within that client's company.
To keep expenses down (you likely can't afford to send a $100 executive gift basket to your entire clientele), make a list of your clients and note how much revenue (or other value) each client contributes annually. Make a tiered list of gift basket styles to send to clients and choose which style each client will receive based on how valuable each client has been to your business.
When choosing gift baskets, remember to be thoughtful! Does the client have any nut allergies that you're aware of? Are they vegetarian or vegan? Does their company have many employees that might enjoy benefitting from your gift as well? Take everything you know about each client into consideration before choosing a gift.
Give away free calendars. For service providers and niche retail stores, giving away custom promotional calendars to customers can be a great way to say "thank you", while reminding customers about your brand for the next twelve months. An obvious choice for banks, calendars can also be a great holiday gift for auto repair shops, graphic designers, photographers and niche retail shops to hand or mail out.
Host a Christmas party and have Santa hand out promotional toys and products. Hosting a Christmas party can be a great way for retail stores and service companies alike to say "thank you" to their customer base, while inviting extra foot traffic during peak shopping season. Whether your company's holiday party is held during business hours as shoppers come and go or at a scheduled time and place, incorporating a gift-giving Santa is the perfect way to hand out branded gifts. If children will be present, be sure your Santa has a stash of promotional toys and games to hand out. For adults, useful items like tumblers, canvas totes, desktop clocks, USB ports and nice pens will receive more appreciation and mileage.
Include promotional totes or company bags in employee gift baskets. Employees who feel appreciated are happier and more productive! Giving gifts to employees is an important way to make them feel appreciated, but it can also be an opportunity to spread your company's brand. Give employee gifts in company branded canvas tote bags, or include useful branded products such as messenger bags and outdoor apparel.
Offer re-usable poly bags to shoppers at no extra cost. If your business is a retail store, replace disposable plastic or paper shopping bags with branded re-usable poly or canvas bags. Shoppers will not only appreciate your "going green", but they will also be carrying your store's logo around to other shops they visit throughout that holiday season!
