Fall into promotional products, spring ahead of the competition

Close your eyes. Imagine crisp, cool breezes and red leaves dancing along the side of the streets and in the trees. Imagine hot apple cider and the smell of spicy pumpkin bread baking. Imagine bright orange promotional magnets and your company logo branded on pennants floating through the football stands. Now, open your eyes. It’s the Fall which means it’s time to start your promotional product campaign.

Industry trends show that many companies start their promotional product campaigns during the Fall due to their growth and strength during this time. This coincides with back to school advertising and the fundraising season. It represents a time where consumers actively look for new products and new promotions. It also represents a time when companies start to brand themselves before the holiday season. Fall branding benefits a company because promotional products serve as a lucrative means to raise awareness, increase an already positive perception and, most importantly, generate more funds in your company.

Starting a promotional product campaign in the Fall gets you in front of the consumers early so you can remain at the tops of minds throughout the year. Consumers spend more starting in the Fall and lasting until after the holiday season. Therefore, starting advertising and promotions accompanied with good premiums increases your chances of getting a big chunk of Fall and Winter consumer spending.

In an article "Fall Promotions Bring Seasoned Spending," Dave Spangenberg, director of business development at Carlson Craft Business Solutions, says "Clients are either preparing for the new year or are trying to find ways to energize fall sales with their remaining budget dollars—ad specialty items are usually welcomed to meet these needs." Ad specialty items, such as promotional products, coupled with print ads have the potential to bolster higher profits than print ads alone. It gives the active shoppers a reason and rewards for both remembering and using your company. They also generate a loyal and happy client base because people love free stuff. Starting in the Fall creates all of these positive results early, thus invigorating your upcoming year.

Taking into consideration all of this, contemplate the limitless options for using promotional products as a part of your campaign in the Fall. Promotional magnets can serve a double purpose when used during this season. Print your name and logo along with the fall schedule of the local sports team. Richard Krauth, vice president of Rainbow printing, in the "Fall Promotions Bring Seasoned Spending," said, "Promotional magnets are long-standing favorites with business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies. Unlike most other advertising media, magnets keep advertisers’ messages visible for an extended period of time." Design a new thank you card to prepare yourself for upcoming business. In the accounting business? Take the Fall to stock up on presentation folders and report cover inventory for the new year.

Fall campaigns allow your company to stay ahead of the competition, earn the pre-holiday profits and stay on budget with your campaign. As Karuth said in the last part of the article, "As advertising budgets are cut, more and more companies are looking for low-cost, high-impact ways to allocate advertising dollars—promotional products continue to fit that bill." The low-cost and effectiveness of promotional products make them a must in any campaign, especially an early branding and awareness campaign.