Branding using low cost gifts

Despite the number of unique and attractive gifting options, pens remain a firm favorite.

Instead of reserving pens for a conference alone, hand a few to your sales consultants to hand out when they hand out their business cards. I personally have given pens to people that I have met when I was at a function and I have actually received calls from people who have received them.

So many people give me their business cards at a function, but I do not always remember where I have met them. When you give a pen, you can use it to write on the back of your business card where you have met the person who you are giving the pen to. So when they next see your card, they can say “Oh yes, Mrs …., I met her at the Gibs Forum that I attended. This was some great advice that I got from sales and marketing guru Jacques de Villiers.

It may surprise you that as a corporate gift supplier I am often without a pen. Yes there is the irony, so when I get a pen at a function, I keep it in my handbag and unless my 5 year old daughter has been looking for lip ice in my bag and removes a pen (because she and my husband are have a love of pens), these pens tend to stay in my bag and each time I use them, the issuing company’s brand is reinforced.

Actually this works for a number of low cost gifts. I have an Old Mutual lip ice in my bag. Take that into account with the current great television advertising for the rural based lady who started a nursery with the funds in her Old Mutual investment, the brand is slowly sinking into my brain. It made we wonder why I have not considered their investments as an option for me before.

So guess who I will be investigating next time I take out an investment. Why Old Mutual of course thanks to their clever integrated branding campaign.

It seems so simple, but it really does work as part of a long term branding strategy.

But please remember to add your website address or telephone number onto the pen. If I was looking at an Old Mutual investment, I would not know who to call as the lip ice has no contact details on it.

For my smaller clients I usually recommend the website address instead of a telephone number because if their number should change the pens or other low cost gifts become will not direct the client to them.

Happy networking.