People love free stuff! It has long been the habit of marketers and Event Marketers in particular to brand anything and everything you can think of with a Client’s logo to drive consumer awareness and appreciation for an events sponsorship source.
We know that giveaways draw crowds. And crowds allow brand ambassadors to deliver the speaking points, communicating brand messages that educate consumers. Education drives differentiation, purchase intent and, ultimately, sales.
The Post-Event Impressions from Promotional Items
Primary research conducted in 2008 by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) found that the impressions generated from premium distribution is best calculated, “based on the number of times items were worn or used per month and the average number of people that came in contact with the user.” (ASI, 2008)
The research found the following monthly usages for common premium categories:
- Branded Bags average 9.33 uses per month
- Branded Caps average 6.06 users per month
- Branded “Other Wearables” average 4.62 users per month
Furthermore, the research found that the number of people the user is in contact with when using the branded premium ranged from a low of 14 to a high of 111 (on average). Specifically, for the three promotional item categories listed above, the research found that:
- Branded Bags were typically used when in contact with 111 people on average
- Branded caps were typically used when in contact with 79 people on average
- Branded “other wearables” were typically used when in contact with 14 people on average
Take together, the potential average, unique impressions generated per month from these items ranged from a high of 1,036 for bags to 65 for “other wearables.” On average, branded caps or hats generate 479 impressions per month.
The average number of months someone retains a premium can be applied to generate a total potential impressions estimate for each individual premium distributed. The research had “other wearables” lasting the longest with 8.7 months, followed by bags (8.6 months), then the catch-all “other non-wearables” (7.8 months). Branded caps or hats tended to be used for 7.1 months on average.
Finally, before we can calculate the impressions generated by event marketing premiums, we need to take into account the frequency by which someone who is around someone using a branded promotional item actually recognizes the brand being promoted. It turns out, people tend to recall the advertiser on a branded promotional item roughly 84% of the time. This varies by product type with Bags posting 90%, Caps at 89%, “Other Wearbles” at 94% and “Other Non-Wearabls” at 84%.
Therefore, we can reasonably approximate the overall impressions generated for each branded bag, cap, or other wearables by the formula:
monthly impressions x average months used x percent where the advertiser is recognized = potential overall impressions
The Results
- Branded Bags generate 8,019 post-event impressions
- Branded Caps generate 3,027 post-event impressions
- Branded “Other Wearables” generate 532 post-event impressions
It’s interesting to note that “other non-wearables” were reported to generate around 1,387 lifetime post-event impressions.
Premium Impression Data Source:
The facts in this post were drawn from the Advertising Specialty Institute’s 2008 Study, “Advertising Specialties Impression Study: A Cost Analysis of Promotional Products Versus Other Advertising Media.”
The ASI’s study is based on primary research conducted in 3Q ’08 where 465 U.S. business people were interviewed regarding the promotional products they had received. This research was supplemented with an online panel survey.
Respondents were asked if they had received any promotional products in the last 12 months. Most respondents were business or professional people (84%) and all were age 21 or older.
Premium Impression Reference:
(ASI, 2008); Original source at http://portma.net/ASI2008