Promotional marketing is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing. There’s a tangible promotional product, generally with long “shelf-life,” that is welcomed by the recipient (when was the last pop-up that you could say that about?), and can be targeted to your best prospects.
But that doesn’t mean that it is immune to general economic trends. The industry made it through the pandemic by offering PPE, products both generic and branded. Once the pandemic started to break, or even before, it was subject to the same influencers as the economy in general – limited production, supply chain issues, transportation costs, and staffing shortages.
Things are improving. But it is not a simple, straight line of prices moderating. By way of example, consider the family shopping. A box of Frosted Mini-Wheats is priced at the shelf at $5.49. Yet below the shelf price is a tag that says “2 for $5.00” with the sale dates in fine print. Pre-pandemic, the cereal would have retailed for $3.99. Yes, the price jumped. But careful shopping brings savings from the pre-pandemic price.
So, what does this have to do with promotional marketing?
You want and need to be a saavy shopper to ensure that you get the most for your marketing budget. Or work with a distributor like CHH Engraving can be that saavy shopper on your behalf. One who knows that stainless steel double wall vacuum insulated mugs would be a good promotional product for your campaign. One who also knows that while prices went up from $9.99 to $13.99 during the tough times, they are back down to a regular retail of $11.99, but with special, limited time offerings, at $9.48 each.
One area that pricing hasn’t come down, nor is it expected to with the recent UPS contract settlement, is cost to ship products. Here again, working with a distributor like CHH Engraving who will be open and honest about freight costs and works to keep them as low as possible helps make sure that your budget is spent on tools to market you business, not transport them.
So while the economy has its highs and lows, promotional marketing is steady. Branded promotional products remain a clear way to connect with consumers who still need products to keep their days running, interacting with them in the natural flow of their lives. And with CHH Engraving, you can be assured that you are getting the most for your marketing budget, all while making your message stick.