Shalise Owens
Shalonna McRoy
Alternative Media Presentation
Comm 452
Specialty Advertising
What is specialty advertising?
Specialty advertising consists of items that people use on a regular basis at home, work, or school, which contain a company’s name, logo, or contact information. Some specialty advertising items have proved to work as a subconscious marketing vehicle, often serving as a reminder to consumers of a corporations services or products. There are over a few dozen creative and traditional items that give companies several options to consider when deciding to advertise. The categories are as follows:
· Apparel: Baseball caps, shirts, scarves, robes, headbands, rainwear.
· Personal Accessories: Book lights, first aid kits, sewing kits, condoms, nightlights, manicure and grooming sets, bath & body products, massagers, towels.
· Automotive products: Bumper stickers, license plate frames, dashboard accessories, key chains and holders, sunglass cases.
· Office or desktop items: Writing utensils, notepads, portfolios, calendars.
· Computer accessories: Monitor mirrors, mousepads, wrist rests, media holders, calculators, calendars.
· Food and Drink: Candy and nuts, specialized labels on water bottles.
· Drinkware: Coffee cups and mugs, water bottles, barware.
· Cameras and Electronics: Hand-free headsets, electronic organizers, radios, disposable and custom imprinted cameras, clocks.
· Travel: Luggage tags and locks, phone cards, cell phone cases, books and guides.
Why is specialty advertising used?
Specialty advertising is usually the most affordable way to advertise a product to a certain group of people. Using specialty advertising can put a company’s name, logo, and phone number in front of potential customers every day, not to mention the fact that you are able to choose the products that best suit your target audience. You want to choose items that your customers will see and use repeatedly.
Several problems that specialty advertising can directly help solve are:
· Introducing New Products
· Promoting Branch Openings
· Building an Image
· Motivating Employees
· Promoting New Facilities
· Reinforcing Brand Loyalty
· Communicating your Key Marketing Message
Strategy
The objectives and strategy of specialty advertising is to obtain as much exposure to consumers and potential consumers in such a way that they will not feel overwhelmed or burdened by the thousands of ads they are exposed to on a daily basis. This alternative form of advertising will benefit the consumer by allowing them to use the items for their personal needs while decreasing the clutter.
Methods of Measurement
The number of people that are reached by this form of advertising is based upon the amount of specialty items purchased. Certain items may not necessarily reach an abundant amount of people, such as refrigerator magnets or monitor mirrors, because they are for personal use and are not shared with others or seen by a lot of other people. On the other hand items such as post-it notes, pens, T-Shirts, or bags may receive a lot of coverage because many people come in contact with these items or see them used on a daily basis.
Company and Contact Information
There are hundreds of companies that specialize in this kind of advertising. Most of them handle everything from pens to engraved clocks, but there are those that specialize in particular categories such as coffee mugs.
A few of the companies that offer a wide range of products to choose from are:
E-Promos
148 West 37th St.
3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018
www.epromos.com
212-564-1100
212-564-6655 fax
Go Promos
Po Box 4999
Hartford, CT 06147-4999
www.gopromos.com
888-246-7766
800-523-3292 fax
All Biz Promos
1401 S. Harbor Blvd.
Suite 127
La Habra, CA 90631
800-643-8338
Commercial Advertising Inc.
118 W. Bute Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
800-296-4008
757-626-0035 fax
Brown & Bigelow
345 Plato Boulevard East
St. Paul, MN 55107
www.brownandbigelow.com
800-752-5249
How to order
Products can be purchased by phone, e-mail, or by faxing in an order. Many companies have minimums on the amounts that can be ordered. For example, Epromos requires a minimum order of $250. A $60 processing fee is added in addition to the order fee. These prices exclude the shipping charges, which are also added to your order.
The $60 processing fee is waived if the order total is over $500.
The price of the product tends to go down as the quantity of the purchase goes up. These companies buy in bulk, so they are able to give a greater discount with a large quantity.
Some examples of products and costs from the epromos.com website as well as from the Brown and Bigelow catalog are as follows:
BIC Clic Stick Ice Pen w/ Rubber Grip300 / 500 / 1000 / 2500 / 5000
$1.12 / $0.84 / $0.64 / $0.58 / $0.53
Post-it Note Cube
500 / 1000 / 2500
$2.19 / $2.19 / $2.19
Cotton Meeting Tote
48 / 150 / 300 / 450 / 600
$2.79 / $2.49 / $2.49 / $1.99 / $1.99
11oz Coffee Mug
144 / 288 / 576 / 1008 / 2520
$1.39 / $1.24 / $1.09 / $0.99 / $0.95
Low Profile Brushed Cotton Twill Cap
48 / 96 / 144 / 288 / 576 / 1008
$6 / $5.15 / $5.03 / $4.90 / $4.78 / $4.67
Soft Touch Vinyl Key Tags
250 / 500 / 1000 / 2500 / 5000
$0.60 / $0.55 / $0.52 / $0.47 / $0.42
Specialty Advertising
By:
Shalise Owens
Shalonna McRoy
Appendix:
· What is specialty advertising
· Why is it used?
· Strategy
· Methods of measurement
· Companies names and information
· How to order
· List of promotional products