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Most Recalled Promotional Products

Shirts

22%

Headwear

11%

Outerwear

6%

Writing Instruments

35%

Drinkware

19%

Promotional products have a high reach and potential for top-of-mind recall and are an excellent medium to increase and sustain brand awareness.

Unaided brand recall is a brand strength indicator as it depends on strength and
organization of memories and their accessibility. It is affected by:

  • Interference of other product information
  • Time since last exposure
  • The number and type of external retrieval cues

Promotional products can be used to minimize time gaps in exposure occasions
and provide external cues to help brand recall. They should be provided on a
regular basis, have a clear connection to the brand, and should be relevant to the
consumer.

PPAI

How do People Recall Promotional Products?

  • 7 in 10 consumers recalled receiving at least one promotional product in the past 12 months. A similar finding was observed in previous studies. Among those who recalled receiving promotional products, 70% recalled receiving two or more items.
  • Recall of the advertiser and message behind the first promotional item recalled are very high. While 88% recalled the advertiser from a promotional product received in the past 12 months, 71% recalled advertisers on a newspaper or magazine read a week before, which speaks to the power of promotional products to support brand recall.
  • Financial services, retailers, apparel brands and electronics manufacturers are the most commonly recalled advertisers of promotional products. The most often recalled promotional product categories include:
    • Wearables (41%): Including Shirts (22%), Caps/Headwear (11%), Outerwear (6%), Other Wearables (2%)
    • Writing Instruments (35%)
    • Drinkware (19%)

Usage of Promotional Products

  • Eight in 10 consumers own between one and 10 promotional products, six in 10 keep them for up to two years, and about half (53%) use a promo item at least once a week or more often
  • The main reason for keeping a promotional product is usefulness. Ranking higher in usefulness are Computer Products (100%), Health & Safety Products (100%), and Writing Instruments (91%)
  • Sporting Goods/Leisure Products/Travel Accessories (24%), Housewares/Tools (21%) and Wearables (23%) are more often kept because of their perceived attractiveness
  • The top categories of promotional products kept because they can be used for contact information reference are Buttons, Badges, Ribbons, Stickers, Magnets (33%), Electronic Devices & Accessories (29%) and Computer Products (23%). However, promotional products are not often used for contact information reference. Only 35% have ever used promotional items for this purpose
  • When it comes to frequency of use, Calendars/Planners (85%), Computer Products (85%) and Electronic Devices & Accessories (82%), take the top 3 spots
  • Most promotional products are kept at home (54%) or on the person (24%). Promotional products that are not worth keeping are either filed away and ignored (42%) or given to someone else. Only one in 5 trashes non-wanted promotional products.
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BMP Markham
17 Rae Crescent
Markham, ON, Canada
L3R 2X8

T (905) 946-9500
F (905) 946-0505