Many different aspects are involved in a promotional marketing strategy. Aside from the design and construction of unique features and brand images, a geographic distribution zone needs to be created to reach a specific target audience. Financial analysts and executive managers often spend a lot of time and money researching these markets, but there are a few simple categories that you can use to maximize return on investment while saving as much capital as possible.
Age
It may sound simple enough, but age is one of the most important characteristics promotional products may target. It can be a painful thorn in the side of a small business if promotional items target the wrong demographic, and there are two sides to this coin that must be taken into account.
The first is the services that a given business supplies. If your company designs personalized checks, for example, it would not make much sense to distribute promotional pens to a group of people below the age of 18. It is not necessarily likely that teenagers have checking accounts or associate with people who might need one. If this group is your only option, get creative – only hand out products to youths who are employed.
The second answer to the age question regards the promotional products themselves. Marketing executives must imagine which age group will get the best everyday use from business gifts. Daily visibility is critical to the success of a promotional advertising campaign – once again, you would not distribute personalized USB keys to an elder care facility because the average resident will be a senior citizen. People over the age of 65 cannot, by default, be expected to be familiar with modern computer technology.
Gender
This can be a sensitive subject for some companies, but the bottom line is that some promotional products are more frequently used by one gender than another. A ladies’ diver watch can be worn by a man, but fashion sense typically dictates that a woman should be the one receiving this particular gift. It would not be a good idea to send this watch out to a traditionally male demographic, like the construction industry.
However, unless you are targeting one of these gender-specific industries, your promotional products should err on the side of caution and remain gender-neutral for optimum results. As with any promotional giveaway, practical items that can be used by anyone will most likely result in the maximum return on investment.
Location
Another critical thing to remember are the geographic distribution zones mentioned earlier. These can be as small as a local town or as large as an entire continent. A demographic typically knows no bounds when it comes to physical location, but it is still up to you to decide where to send executive gifts.
These areas should be evaluated in conjunction with age and gender, in addition to any other important characteristics. The same check design company mentioned before might give out custom coffee mugs geared toward people in between the ages of 20 and 30. Though the west coast of Florida boasts plenty of residents and tourists around this age, there are also a lot of senior citizens who maintain permanent homes there. It would be much better to give out these promotional products in Boston, Massachusetts, which has a large percentage of college students in this age range.
Essentially, a marketing team needs to scout a planned location beforehand. Age, gender and other types of personal information are collected by government agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau, which can provide all of the data a promotional advertising strategy needs to be successful.