The Promotional Product - What Is It Anyway?

Medi-Facts, sponsor of this blog, is part of the Promotional Products industry. Sometimes those of us within the industry forget we, just like other industries, have a bit of our own lingo. We sometimes forget to even define what for us is the most basic of terms. So let's start here for those of you not familiar with this industry.

You may hear the term Promotional Product and while you might make an educated guess, you still wonder exactly what one of those things really is. A few examples go along way toward the explanation. Imagine, if you will, Blue Collar Comedian Jeff Foxworthy's way of saying "you might be a redneck."

• If you have a golf ball and the clubhouse's name is imprinted on it, you might have a promotional product.
  
• If you have a pen with the name of the last hotel you stayed at printed on it, you might have a promotional product.
  
• If you are wearing a shirt with an embroidered logo, you might have a promotional product.
  
• If you have a magnet on your refrigerator with your local pizza parlor's phone number on it, you might have a promotional product.
  

Our apologies for butchering the humor out of Jeff Foxworthy's routine but it certainly helps deliver the point.

Wikipedia (which redirects "Promotional Product" to "Promotional Item") defines

Promotional items or promotional products refers to articles of merchandise that are used in marketing and communication programs. These items are usually imprinted with a company's name, logo or slogan, and given away at trade shows, conferences, and as part of guerrilla marketing campaigns.

Wkikpedia further states "Almost anything can be branded with a company’s name or logo and used for promotion."

As you look around and think of all the things you encounter in the course of a week, or even a day, you might be surprised. Desktop items such as pads of paper, mousepads, pens, stress balls and coffee cups. Clothing is a huge part of the industry including printed or embroidered shirts, socks, hats, jackets and even pajamas. You can find sports items such as golf balls and tees, bowling towels, various equipment covers and bags, sweat bands, wristbands, and more. Other items you might see around you are water bottles, flying discs, calendars, "how-to" hanging guides or magnets, portable CD holders, drink cozies, and so on.

The possibilities are endless and you have probably seen more items than you think. If you have seen something really unusual and cool, we'd like to hear about it; post a comment here and tell us about the item and what logo or message is on it.

You may have heard another term, "Specialty Advertising," and wonder how that differs from Promotional Products. The two terms are quite interchangeable. A Specialty Advertising item in as Promotional item, and in either case, promotions with logos and messages are a special form of advertising. Some make argue the nuances but for all practical purposes, they are the same.

Tune in later in this blog to learn some of the other terms used in the industry. If you would like a good primer in the meantime, see this Promotional Products Glossary Of Terms from PPAI. (And before I forget that we are defining terms, PPAI means Promotional Products Association International, a non-profit trade group).

Down the road we'll also provide guidance for those of you that want to help raise awareness for special causes, promote local groups or teams, and yes, even help promote businesses where you work or may happen to own. Subscribe to our feed to get these updates and all our other observations and posts automatically.

Links in this post:
Wikipedia
Promotional Products Glossary Of Terms
PPAI