How to Reach a Target Audience

10
Mar
2011

Starbucks Offering (Free) Promotional Snacks to Celebrate their Birthday!

Normally when we blog about Starbucks here, we talk about how they effectively use promotional drinkware to promote their brand. By offering discounts to those who bring their own reusable drinkware items to hold their coffee, they not only increase brand awareness, but they also drive repeat business, which is especially important in today’s economy.

In addition to saving customers money, Starbucks also started helping customers to save time by paying for their lattes and cappuccinos via a smart phone app, which we discussed here back in the end of January.

Now, Starbucks is offering consumers promotional snacks as a way to celebrate their 40th birthday, promote their recent rebranding efforts, and advertise the introduction of their “petites” line. Customers will receive free promotional snacks item from the Starbucks petite treat line- which includes bite-sized treats such as cake pops and mini cupcakes- when they purchase a beverage between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., today through Saturday.

image from starbucks.com

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07
Mar
2011

Flaming Lips will Release New Songs on Promotional Flash Drives… Embedded in 7-lb. Gummi Skulls

The Flaming Lips aren’t exactly known for being conventional, which is why their new strategy for creating and disseminating music – while innovative – comes as no surprise to fans. Despite the fact that the Lips have been making music together since the early 1980s, they’re far from becoming obsolete: as frontman Wayne Coyne explains in a recent interview with Mashable, the band has embraced the changes that have troubled members of the music industry and are using social media, smartphone apps, and other new technologies to release their latest album as it’s built, one song at a time.

Coyne points out in the interview that yes, the Internet has made it virtually impossible for artists to prevent their music from being distributed widely and free of charge, a reality that has been a constant source of conflict since the days of Napster and P2P filesharing – but he also encourages musicians to use this to their advantage. The Lips’ recent release of a new single did just that: the song, which is split into twelve different YouTube videos meant to be played simultaneously, is meant to utilize multiple devices and thus encourages collective experience in a way that’s antithetical to the negative spin the music industry has always put on the term “filesharing.”

In addition to using social media, the Flaming Lips will make three upcoming songs tangible by putting them onto promotional flash drives that will be embedded in the gummi brains of some custom-made, 7-lb. gummi skulls. The promotional flash drives can only be accessed by chowing down on the sugary skulls, which will likely result in a huge tummyache that I assume will immobilize listeners by the time they get to the music itself.

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02
Feb
2011

The Can Grip: for When It’s So Cold, You Don’t Need Koozies

Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted an early spring this morning, but that doesn’t mean the cold weather is behind us. We’ve still got a few weeks of chilly temperatures to go, so there’s no need to pack your beach bags full of swimsuits and koozies just yet.

The bright side of this (and the side Phil was facing when he came out of his hole) is that you don’t even need koozies to ensure that your brew will stay nice and frosty; Mother Nature will be doing it for you. All you have to do is keep your warm hands off of your cold can, and there’s no better way to do that than with the Can Grip.

The concept behind the Can Grip is one of those simple-yet-brilliant ones that we wish we’d come up with first, but it makes us so happy that we’re just glad someone invented it. The product adds a whole new dimension to your friends telling you to “get a handle on yourself” when you’ve had one too many celebratory drinks at the post-game party; it makes it easy to hold your drink without warming it up when you’re wearing gloves outside; it’s got a built-in coaster on the bottom to keep a can steady on any surface, from the tailgate to the sidewalk…the perks of this magnificent product are endless.

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Posted by Admin in Cool Promotional Products We Love, Giveaways on a Budget, How to Reach a Target Audience, Sports News and Stadium Giveaways, 0 comments
12
Jan
2011

The Psychology Behind Travelers and Their Rolling Bags

With snow and ice still blanketing much of the East Coast, many travelers remain grounded in airports waiting for their flights to be rescheduled. One of my coworkers, Kim, made it out of Atlanta safely yesterday, but for those travelers who have not had the same good fortune, an interesting slideshow on businessweek.com this morning titled, “Airport Semiotics,” may provide some comic relief, as well as a little bit of insight into why travelers act the way they do in waiting areas. Journalist Tim Murphy delves into the different personalities you may see at airport gates, complete with entertaining cartoon illustrations. His typology of airport behavior was derived from observations made by Bloomberg Businessweek earlier this winter, which were later analyzed by a panel of experts.

So what does it mean when a traveler unpacks and repacks their rolling bags repeatedly? How about when travelers fidget and twitch? Keep reading for a brief overview of several of the traveler types identified in Murphy’s slideshow…

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24
Sep
2010

Sex Sells – Even in the Promotional Products Industry

And Advertising Specialties Institute’s latest issue of Successful Promotions features an 11-page spread that aims to prove it through the examination of five recent marketing campaigns with sexy themes – and profitable outcomes. Perhaps they took a nod from their own assessments in their decision to put sexy ‘celebutante’ Kim Kardashian (whose ads for Carl’s Jr. feature her indulging in their salad in bed) on the cover.

If you don’t have the budget to hire a celebrity spokesperson to amp up your ads, you can still put a little sex appeal into your marketing efforts by incorporating sexy promotional products that will “add a little va-va-voom to your next promotion,” according to ASI.

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23
Aug
2010

Promotional Golf Items to Support the Goals of Your Charity Golf Tournament

Promotional Par Pack with Balls and TeesHappy National Golf Month! Has your company ever considered sponsoring a charity golf tournament? Well, if not, now may be a great time to think about expanding your community involvement via this consistently successful fundraiser idea. Follow the simple steps outlined after the fold, and with adequate promotional golf items to distribute to participants and ample publicity, you will be on your way to holding a charity golf tournament that local residents will remember for years to come. Keep reading…

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03
Aug
2010

Put a Masculine Spin On Your Back-to-College Promotional Products

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2010 Consumer Intentions and Actions Back to School survey released a few weeks ago guys will be out-spending and out-buying their females co-eds in back-to-college merchandise. So if you are planning a marketing campaign to target university students you better be sure to include some promotional products that appeal to the males in this demographic.

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03
Jun
2010

Luxury Promotional Bags and How to Use the Blogosphere to Your Advantage

A Google search for the phrase “fashion blogs” results in about 144,000,000 results. Compare that to the 95,900,000 search results for the term “stock market today” and the 82,000,000 results for “local weather,” and it becomes apparent that there is an enormous market for fashion-focused websites. Millions of loyal readers have made it a ritual to check in with their favorite fashion bloggers daily, and the popularity of these blogs has forced retail brands stand up and take notice. In fact, many well-known fashion bloggers earn six-figure salaries, thanks to advertising revenue and affiliate marketing.

Recently, Coach invited four notable fashion bloggers to collaborate with their designers to create a series of limited edition ladies’ handbags, “Coach Collectibles”. Each blogger therefore has her own statement bag, true to her unique style and perspective. 200 bags in each style are available on Coach’s website (until supplies run out!) and every promotional bag sold comes with an attached hang tag touting the name of the blogger who helped design it.
Keep reading to find out how you can follow Coach’s example to reach your target audience…

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08
Apr
2010

Using Promo Products to Target Hispanic American Consumers

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“Yo Sumo.” The Spanish phrase, which in English translates to “I count,” forms the basis of PepsiCo’s current campaign addressing Hispanic Americans. The campaign hopes to spur Hispanic consumers not only to participate in the 2010 Census, but to make their citizenship “count” to the fullest extent. Instead of just filling out the form and being included in the census tally, “Yo Sumo” urges them to discuss their experiences and influence on the American nation via Pepsi’s interactive website, http://www.pepsiyosumo.com/. Popular Hispanic actress Eva Longoria Parker is slated to collaborate with Pepsi to film a documentary based on anecdotes posted to the site. The “Yo Sumo” website has already caught on within America’s Hispanic community, and many fans of the initiative have purchased official “Yo Sumo” custom t-shirts (pictured above). Lots of “Yo Sumo” supporters proudly wear their logo apparel in profile pictures on social networking sites to communicate their excitement to friends and family!

As was the case with the last national census in 2000, experts expect Hispanic consumers to comprise a large portion of respondents, reminding marketers about their immense purchasing power. If you compete in an industry that targets largely Spanish-speaking market segments, there are lots of promotional products that you can customize in order to reach out to these consumers. You can, and should, take immediate action to diversify your marketing mix to appeal to Hispanic audiences. Consider ordering items like these calendars featuring Spanish text or imprinted pens that sound a cheery Spanish voice recording to end users when their heads are pressed down. In addition to items with predetermined stock messages in Spanish, don’t forget that you can tailor any promotional products to people of any native language by specifying your own custom content and graphics.

Dana
Team Lead – Social Media

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