Length of Exposure

The longer promotional merchandise is kept, the more impressions it makes on the recipient and anyone else who is exposed to the recipient using the product.
The majority of consumers keep promotional merchandise between one and five years.

Impact of the Message

Branding has everything to do with identity; who you are and what kind of products and services you represent. Successful messaging creates a voice for brands to connect with their target audiences and create a memorable consumer experience. The call to action then directs recipients to take action, thus enabling brands to directly interact and engage with consumers, capturing a response rate and measuring quantifiable results.
Promotional merchandise effectively delivers high recall between all three strategic advertising objectives.

So what type of ‘call’ best resonates with each generation?
Millennials best recalled social media.
Generation Xers best recalled directional calls to action, or statements with definitive instructions.
Baby Boomers best recalled points of reference such as website domains or contact information.

5 Reasons Recipients Keep Promotional Merchandise

Understanding why people choose to keep promotional merchandise provides key insight into which features are most valued by recipients. Unlike traditional advertising vehicles whose sole purpose is to communicate a message, promotional merchandise not only bring value to brands by effectively connecting with recipients, they also play a functional role within consumer lifestyles.

Promotional merchandise prominently displays advertising messages, but they are also found to be useful to most consumers, including a stunning 92% of the Silent Generation.
Among Millennials, 48% said they kept promotional merchandise because the design suited their style and/or personality.
Both Generation X (42%) and Baby Boomers (48%) said the product was enjoyable to have.

Staying Power of Merchandise

Merchandise allows brands to directly affect consumer lifestyles and maximize recall by organically integrating into everyday routines at work, home or play. Where promotional merchandise is kept also indicates emerging product trends for brands to consider.
 
Promotional merchandise used in the kitchen and carried on one’s person are ideal for promoting to a general audience. However, if the target audience is gender-specific, one might consider particular product categories within that segment. For example, promotional merchandise used in vehicles for men (e.g. car charger) versus a product generally kept in the bathroom for women (e.g. nail file).