It may yet be that another month of summer vacation awaits, but there are some who go back to the classroom in August. It's also a great time for promotional pens to pull people in for early deals on notebooks, backpacks and other crucial school supplies that retail industry insiders say will be a boon to business revenue this season. Encouraging more foot traffic with freebies can only help to increase that profit margin.

At the same time, companies should be mindful that these tools must be targeted toward what consumers want right now. Promotional barbecue sets may be popular through the end of the summer, but once school buses start rolling out, these promotional products will be packed away with the rest of the summer items. Getting maximum brand visibility right now should be the focus of marketing efforts, and that means promotional notepads for back-to-school shoppers, as well as other practical items that will be useful throughout the school year.

Where the shoppers are

Knowing the target audience is the first step in coming up with the right promotional giveaway strategy. Once you know who the primary shoppers are, it's easier to come up with the most appealing options for that segment of the consumer marketplace, bringing in more customers through word-of-mouth and the power of free products.

CNBC reported that the majority of clientele most back-to-school businesses will be seeing this summer are women. A market forecast by IBM Global Business Services said that this demographic would be spending about 10 percent more this season on clothing and other goods than in previous quarters, meaning companies should be looking to moms as the number one segment to focus on. Promotional tote bags are particularly popular with women and pack a visibility punch, offering portable advertising whenever and wherever the item is carried.

Jill Puleri of IBM told CNBC that the best thing for retailers this season is to really hone in on the people coming into their stores already and study their lifestyle and shopping habits.

"Don't send me a promotion for youth apparel when I don't have young kids in the house," she said to CNBC.

Where the money is

The school retail season is one of the biggest of the entire year, so it's important that companies get it right. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that the industry is in itself the second-largest, falling shy of Christmas but beating any other season in terms of dollars spent and profits earned.

With IBM already forecasting a better shopping season than in the past year, major outlets are already gearing up their promotional item strategies to encourage more shoppers. Even big brands like Walmart and Target have been offering special incentives for consumers to shop more and spend more. It may be that a rocky economy in past years has shaken businesses, even international staples like these, making them wary that improvements won't last.

"If there's money out there to be had, they feel like they need to get it now in case months from now people aren't feeling so fabulous." said Wendy Liebmann of WSL Strategic Retail in a USA Today interview. She and other organizations are trying to push promotional giveaways and other strategies to businesses to help them plan for profits now without fearing the future.

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Promoting awareness

The Colonist reported that the Department of Defense (DND) is responsible for dedicating a huge chunk of its revenue every year to promotional giveaways. These items include hockey pucks, wristbands, shirts and other items totalling more than $300,000 per year. Promotional products are distributed at hockey games, public rallies and similar events meant to raise awareness of federal programs.

For those who think that might only consistent of boosting patriotism, funds earned at these events are also used for public outreach and supporting troops deployed overseas. It's a matter of making people aware that these initiatives exist, and the Colonist points out that these promo items serve that purpose well.

The Department has even organized a special team to deploy these giveaways, so to speak, and gain public notoriety for distributing freebies. Basically, when people see the DND's Team Canada, they know government-funded, high-quality promotional items are somewhere nearby.

Learning the brand

What businesses everywhere need to get from this example is how much of a successful brand the Department of Defense has created. Canadians don't immediately associate these promo calendars, custom coffee mugs and other items with the national government, but they know the brand as something similar. Team Canada itself is intellectual property and a possession of the DND, meaning those with knowledge of the infectious name are aware in some capacity of the entity it represents.

Private organizations can replicate this success by using targeted, persistent promotions as well. There's no need to spend on the same level as the Canadian government, either, when purchasing sensibly and with the right audience in mind. A review of promotional purchases by the State of Missouri found that one-third of all items bought were no good for the market, didn't match consumer expectations or were never given away. Some items simply weren't cost-effective, the internal audit revealed. For instance, expensive shirts and name-brand shorts were purchased instead of far more effective promotional calendars at one point by the state.

"Promotional items are to be purchased to promote an agency activity," the report read. It went on to state that it would be more appropriate to limit cost-per-item and focus more on a broad range of consumers to enhance promotional giveaway relevance.

Work with what you have

Instead of trying to warp the market, as the Missouri report pointed out, it's better for businesses to try and give people what they want. Not only are they more likely to take promos in that event, they're also more likely to keep and display them.

The Colonist reported the DND was actually able to save money on its Team Canada initiative last year due to an existing cache of promotional products making it unnecessary to buy new materials. Since the products in its inventory had already been proven to work, there was no need to order more of the same, the article revealed.

Companies should be mindful of supply and demand for promos, just as they are when it comes to distribution of products and services. Using a sales and marketing mindset toward regular distribution, as well as advertising, can make a promotional campaign that much more successful, as evidenced by both the State of Missouri and Canada's DND.

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Issue custom coffee mugs that have your company's logo emblazoned on it, as well as an American flag in the background ruffling as if it were proudly blowing in the breeze. Whenever your client pours himself or herself a mug of hot coffee, he or she will feel a sense of patriotic pride and associate that with your company and service.

You can also give out custom pens as corporate gifts. Have the pen bear your logo on one side, and on the other have an image of something that aptly symbolizes American pride. The Statue of Liberty stoically standing, spanning the height of the pen, could be a great addition, or a bald eagle soaring through the skies may have the same impact on clients.

Promotional wall calendars are also great indicators of patriotism. Every month display a national monument such as the Lincoln Memorial or the Old North Church – where Paul Revere saw the lanterns hanging and proceeded to sound the alarm that British were on the way. You can also have an excerpt from a historic American document, such as the Gettysburg Address or the Declaration of Independence.

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