The Global Ad Impressions survey by America’s Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) measures the ‘impressions’, recall and ownership of promotional merchandise. Researchers conducted thousands of in-person and online surveys in the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe. The report breaks down by region and product category, with sections covering Germany, France and the UK. The survey answers questions about promotional products’ reach and consumers’ perceptions. Moreover, it examines how branded products influence buying decisions and impact consumer opinions of the advertiser.
The study shows promotional products are the most high-impact, and cost-effective advertising medium. It defines promotional merchandise as “items that have an advertisers logo and/or message on them. They are usually given away free by companies to consumers”.
In the US, promotional pens and drinkware are the most widely owned. The study finds that 89% of consumers own at least one promotional writing instrument, with 20% owning more than one. Furthermore, it finds that a promo pen will generate 3,000 impressions over its life.
Promotional bags are similarly effective, with 3,300 impressions over their life.
Compared with the cost of the products, the CPI (cost per impression) is surprisingly low. For example, an item of promo drinkware that costs USD7 has a CPI of under 0.5c per impression.
Quality and Usability of Promotional Merchandise
The ASI study also looks at how long end users keep promotional products. For instance, recipients keep promo umbrellas for an average of 14 months. Furthermore, 59% of the baby boomer generation keep promotional umbrellas for at least two years. This longevity helps explain the number of impressions umbrellas generate.
Also 58% of recipients report that the quality of a promotional umbrella is the number one reason for keeping it. The study emphasises the importance of quality and usefulness across all promo categories.
Download the full report here.
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Research provided by the Advertising Specialty Institute, ©2019, All Rights Reserved.