Advantages of Specialty Advertising
If you've ever seen a stainless steel tumbler with a car
dealership logo or a T-shirt with a prominent beer brand printed on the front,
you've seen specialty advertising in action. Find out more about this type of
direct advertising.
What Exactly Is Specialty Advertising?
Specialty advertising is a type of direct advertising in
which company-branded items are used as giveaways or to promote the business.
These items can be given away as customer loyalty rewards, business gifts
associated with partnerships, or promotional items distributed for free at
public events or trade shows.
Examples of Specialty Advertising
Specialty advertising items differ from free product
samples, which are a smaller version of a company's product. Specialty
advertising, on the other hand, refers to items of merchandise that prominently
display a company name or logo. Examples of promotional products include:
- Hats, tees, jackets, and sunglasses
- Glasses, cups, and mugs
- Backpacks and tote bags
- Key rings and keychains
- Flash drives and mouse pads
- Calendars
- Coolers
- Pens and pencils
- Magnets
- Matchbooks
- Lip balm
4 Advantages of Specialty Advertising
Specialty advertising giveaways can be very appealing to
small business owners. This type of marketing:
1. Increases general brand awareness: An advertising
specialty item can disseminate your company's name and logo to the general
public. While it is impossible to narrowly tailor to a specific audience,
specialty advertising is useful when seeking broader forms of brand exposure.
2. Has a low production cost: When ordered in bulk, most
promotional products, such as coffee mugs and mouse pads, have a very low unit
price.
3. Is easy to source: Certain vendors' entire business
model is based on producing specialty items for business clients. If your
specialty advertising strategy includes free cups, mugs, magnets, and bottle
openers, you may be able to find a vendor who offers all of these products
under one roof.
4. Makes a positive impression on customers: By providing
genuinely useful merchandise to your potential customers, you can leave them
with a positive impression of your brand, increasing the likelihood of a future
sale. Your company name and brand message can be printed on both a coffee mug
and a business card. People, on the other hand, will find a coffee cup more
useful than a business card. That is why the free mug may result in more
goodwill in the long run.
Advantages of Specialty Advertising
Despite certain inherent benefits, specialty advertising
will only work for certain businesses.
Specialty items can deplete marketing budgets. Small
businesses on a tight budget may be unable to order specialty items in
sufficient quantities to obtain a reasonable per-unit price. Or, if they order
enough units, it may consume their entire advertising budget, leaving them with
nothing left to spend.
Narrow targeting does not work with specialty advertising
campaigns. If you want to reach a narrowly defined target market, specialty
advertising cannot compete with the precision of a digital advertising
campaign. Your promotional products will reach some of your target customers,
but they may also end up in the hands of people who are uninterested in your
industry. If you want to target specific groups of customers, redirect your
specialty advertising budget to a more focused digital campaign or even a
direct mail campaign.
Specialty items may not naturally align with the brand of
your company. You want your target market to see a clear link between your
specialty advertising merchandise and the services or products your business
offers. Occasionally, a brand does not match the available merchandise. A
wellness company, for example, might not want its name on a box of matches or a
beer bottle opener. The connection must appear natural.
