Promotional products have reached a high level of popularity because they are flexible, tangible and long lasting. But how effective are these products when it comes to influencing or changing one’s perception or behavior towards an organization and its products or services?

To answer these questions, Promotional Products Association International conducted a 2008 research study and the results were quite surprising.

In this study, over 800 business travelers were randomly surveyed at Dallas/Ft.Worth International Airport. Of those surveyed, at least 71 percent reported receiving a promotional product within the last 12 months. Of this group, over 33 percent actually had the promotional product on them or with them.

Effective Recall
Of those who responded to receiving a promotional product in the past 12 months, 76 percent of these participants could recall the name of the advertiser on the promotional product that they received. In comparison to traditional print advertising, only 53.5 percent of this same group could recall or name an advertiser they had seen in a magazine or newspaper in the previous week.

Lasting Impressions
In this same study, 52 percent of the participants conducted business with the advertiser after receiving the promotional product. Of those who had not done business with the advertiser that gave them the product, almost half stated that they were more likely to do business with the company that gave them the product, and 52 percent reported having a more favorable impression of the advertiser after receiving the item.

Repeated Exposure
One of the key advantages of using promotional products, as proven in this study, is the frequency of exposure. The more the item is used and the logo message is exposed to the user, the lower the cost per impression for the advertiser.