Friday Poll: Do You Invest in Custom-Printed Promotional Items?

    • 1373 posts
    January 24, 2013 11:03 PM PST

    Happy Friday, everyone!

    Here is this week's poll question:

    Does your station invest in custom-printed promotional items to give away to listeners at remotes, contests, and so on?  If so, what sorts of items?

    Looking forward to reading your replies!

    • 84 posts
    January 25, 2013 4:22 AM PST

    We give away "Sunny Window Stickers" and "Sunny Stick On Tattoos" (had to...since we have 127 REAL Sunny tattoos)

    We sold BOTH of these to local clients... they have a coupon on the back (covered the cost of paying for the printing)

    My favorites are the tattoos... we use a little envelope sealer bottle (with water in it) to put them on at events. It is a GREAT way to get people walking around an event with your logo on their cheek, or hand, or arm. VERY COOL!!!

    John Small 
    www.MySunnyRadio.com

  • January 25, 2013 5:49 AM PST

    Yes! One of the biggest one's in the summer is T-shirt Tuesday's where they go to a 90 minute live broadcast at a sponsors location to win station t-shirt. Plus, summer time we have the Port Huron to Mackinac sailboat races where floating key chains, Frisbee's, beach balls have been given away in the past. Football season we have mini football with station logo. The newest item is recyclable bags with station logo on one side and sponsor on the other.

    • 9 posts
    January 25, 2013 7:24 AM PST

    Right now, we're doing coffee mugs...sweatshirts....and pens.  We had done frisbees, but was only good for parade giveaways.  (No lasting value in advertiser's mind)  Whatever you pick, make sure it's 'top of the mind', so your impression lasts and is visible.  We've passed on keychains and flashlights, for that very reason.

    • 6 posts
    January 25, 2013 7:41 AM PST

    We Use Pens, Tee Shirts, and Caps as promotional Items during our Remote broadcasts. Listeners always need pens and want the Tee Shirts and Caps.

    • 2 posts
    January 25, 2013 8:59 AM PST

    We give away scratch pads like candy - to clients and listeners. They're traded with a local printer who also gets his name and address on the pads.

    In the past we have also done credit card sized ice scrapers (HUGE hit!). Our logo was on one side and the sponsor's on the other.

    And, of course we also have pens and t-shirts.

    • 180 posts
    January 25, 2013 11:45 AM PST

    The most impressive give-away I ever had was cigars with my name and the station logo. They can be ordered from Thomson Cigars out of Tampa FL. They are different. Women accept them and my name stands taller than a pen does if they put them in a cup on their desk. The best thing about a give-away is that it it different. Cups, frizbees, water bottles. They all get old fast.

    • 1373 posts
    January 28, 2013 9:30 AM PST

    From Tara, @salesdiva KW on Twitter ("Growing local businesses through brilliant, customized radio advertising campaigns! Tweets are my own."):

    We have rulers, drink coolers, keychains and stickers. We hand them out at local events and live on locations 

    • 993 posts
    August 7, 2015 2:20 PM PDT

    Probably my favorite giveaway item is one we've distributed to stores, restaurants, etc. throughout the region: a custom-imprinted "Give-a-Penny/Take-a-Penny" tray, emblazoned with an ad for our morning news. 

    Retailers love these things for their convenience, and very few failed to accept the gift.  We even purchased some rolls of bright shiny new pennies to "seed" the trays. Since these things are seen daily by customers stepping up to the counter to pay for their merchandise, an impression is made every time they're noticed.

    • 993 posts
    August 7, 2015 2:26 PM PDT

    We've done the scratch pads, too - they're great for advertisers, listeners, and as giveaways at station appearances.

    For our members' convenience, here's a 4-up template (built in Adobe's InDesign) for a standard letter-size sheet, that can be customized with your own station logos, converted to a .pdf file, and sent to your printer.  I've also uploaded a .pdf version for easier viewing.