Why It Pays To Network With Advertising Specialties?

The first thing one would rightly ask is, what are advertising specialties? Many people, particularly those who have not used specialties, might not recognize them by their correct name. The imprinted promotional products industry has a minor identity problem. Specialties have been called premiums, souvenirs, give always, and even advertising gimmicks.

An advertising specialty is correctly defined as a product that is usually inexpensive and useful. It carries an advertiser's identity logo or sales message and it's given freely...no strings attached.


Premiums - often confused with specialties - differ from specialties because they are normally more expensive and they are usually given with strings attached. Normally you have to do or buy something to receive a premium.

Why network with advertising specialties? Because advertising specialties are inexpensive, useful, come with the giver's identification, and are given as gifts, they are ideal networking tools.

People love to receive things. A gift, no matter how small and inconsequential it may seem to the giver, is very important to the recipient...it means something special to them. By giving a specialty item imprinted with company or personal identification, you've reinforced your message beyond the business card.

Specialty advertising as a form of networking has a time release impact. A message read or heard only once is 66% forgotten within 24 hours and is practically out of mind in 30 days. A message that is read or heard several times a day for 8 days is virtually memorized. At the end of 30 days, the memory retains 90% of the message. An inexpensive imprinted advertising specialty allows you to get your networking message in front of your audience and keep it there as they use their gift over and over again.

With careful selection, life expectancy of an advertising specialty and its message far exceeds that of any other medium. Although imprinted promotional products are described using the word "advertising," they are used for purposes other than pure advertising. Advertising specialties are widely employed in a corporation's marketing mix as incentives, awards and for recognition. Specialties are also used for public relations, politics and community relations.

In a poll of 146 people, 63% of those interviewed stated that they were either carrying or wearing an imprinted specialty item. Forty two percent of that group stated that they had the item for at least six months. But the most important statistic of all was that more than three quarters of these people were able to recall the name or message prior to revealing the specialty to the pollster. Do people really appreciate inexpensive free gifts with someone's name or advertising message? You bet they do.

We're reminded of the story of a foursome of bankers play ing golf at an elite country club. One of the golfers hit his ball into a clear, shallow pond. When he went to retrieve the ball, using one of his clubs to reach it, he noticed that there were several other balls just beyond his. In an effort to get a couple of free balls, he overextended himself and wound up with both feet in the water and mud of the pond. His golf shoes were a mess. The moral of the story is that the golfer could well afford golf balls, but he still sacrificed an extremely expensive pair of golf shoes to get the free balls.

How To Network With Advertising Specialties

Since a major attribute of imprinted advertising products is memory retention, they are particularly useful for your first meeting with someone, either in person or by mail. They can also be used as thank you gifts for favors. Many networkers give specialties to receptionists or secretaries. They can be used as hand-outs at trade shows. Specialties can be given at the close of a sale as appreciation gifts. Real estate people often give specialties at the closing of house sales. A friend of ours who runs a catering service presents his clients with the pen they have used to sign their contract.

Walking Billboards

Almost everybody wears some form of imprinted clothing. In the specialty industry the clothing is known as wearables. Wearables include: hats and caps, T-shirts, shirts, ties, sweat shirts, belts, sport shorts, socks, shoes and just about anything else you can think of to wear.

In the retail trade, fashion conscious people buy designer logo clothes - also referred to as signature clothes - at premium prices. There was a time when we hid labels. Now it's trendy to show off the manufacturer's name or logo.

Imagine the networking impact of someone wearing something for all to see, that has your name, message or logo on it. Not only are people willing to wear something with an advertising or networking message, but more importantly they seem to do it with a certain sense of pride. When you wear a cap or jacket from your school, fire company, employer, or service club, you're really networking for that group.

Selecting A Specialty

There are thousands of specialties from which to choose. A good starting point for the selection of a specialty for your net working purposes should be your budget. How much can you spend and how many pieces will you need? Another consideration is how you are going to distribute your specialties. If you are going to mail them, you have to add in the postage cost.

Next, you should consider how appropriate your specialty is to your personality, your business or profession and your audience. A beverage distributor might give bottle and can openers. An automobile dealer could give an emergency flashlight, tire gauge or road atlas. A real estate broker could provide an imprinted yard stick or tape measure for the new buyer to use to measure space for furniture.

Promotional products are often used to create a special effect or to dramatize an important moment. Imprinted flashlights have been distributed to audiences who will turn them on in a darkened room to tie in with the speaker's message. Balloon drops are a popular way to dramatize an important event. Of course, the items were imprinted with a logo or message as reminder advertising.

Where To Buy Specialties

Advertising specialties are produced by thousands of manufacturers and are sold through three primary sources. Most specialties are sold through advertising specialty distributors, whose salespeople are known as counselors. Some are sold through what are known in the specialty industry as direct houses, and some are sold by mail order.

Advertising Specialty Distributors

Advertising specialty distributors are your local sources for specialties. They are often small business people working in the immediate area of their offices, but can also be multi-million dollar corporations serving the entire nation. Counselors should be well trained to not only provide products but to also help you with concept and product ideas. They will also help you pick products within your budget, suggest distribution methods and research specialties that will particularly fit your audience. Several advantages of local advertising specialty distributors are the convenience of a local office, showrooms maintained by many distributors where you can see samples of products, and the close personal contact with a nearby source.

Direct Houses

Direct houses usually provide national coverage by a team of company-employed salespeople reporting to a national head quarters. Ordering from a direct house doesn't mean that you will get discount prices because you are buying "direct." Rather, the direct house is a form of distribution using company controlled and trained salespeople in a wide geographical area.

Mail Order Sources

The third possibility for buying specialties is by mail order, from the catalogs you receive at the office or your home. Sometimes the mail order catalogs are perceived as offering lower prices than those from direct houses or distributors. Studies have shown, however, that this is not usually true. Catalog pricing tends to match that of local distributors. The catalogs may also offer free gifts with your order or some other "special offer" device to get you to order.

Though the prices may be advertised as very low, or the free goods very enticing, you sacrifice the personal attention and ideas available from other sources. Sources for imprinted promotional items are listed in the classified section of your phone book under the heading "Advertising Specialties."

When To Buy Specialties

Every networker should have a least one specialty to give away to remind people of who you are and what you do. In addition to this specialty, there are many occasions when you should use additional specialties for specific purposes. To name just a few: if you move, get promoted, change your phone number, throw a party, take an exciting vacation, run a seminar, celebrate holidays or weddings.

How To Buy Specialties

Just as there are "discount" sources for most products, there are those who will always be ready to "offer you a little something off" catalog or list prices. You should recognize that in many instances you will be sacrificing something. Usually that something is composed of quality, on-time delivery, research and service. Advertising specialty pricing is based on providing a fair margin to the supplier who supplies the four very important elements mentioned. Stories abound of people who bought a little cheaper but received their specialties with misspelled words, in wrong colors or too late.

Another consideration for the buyer is "shopping" creative product ideas developed for your particular program. If a counselor creates a unique program for you with recommended products, if s really not fair to then look for the lowest prices from someone who didn't provide the creative aspects of your program. Creative talent should be recognized as part of the catalog pricing. Anybody can sell a commodity but creative ideas are a lot harder to come by. Your best possible source for specialties is the one that can come up with really great ideas and provide the research to find just the right product.

Trade Shows, Seminars And The Open House

Advertising specialty trade associations often run trade shows for local customers and prospects. Manufacturers sometimes provide seminars, in co-operation with trade associations, to offer educational opportunities for the trade. Distributors with show rooms will, from time to time, host an open house for clients and prospects. These are all excellent opportunities to learn more about imprinted advertising specialties and how to use them to both support and enlarge your networks.

Ad specialties are inexpensive, long remembered and always appreciated. Give the people in your network something to think about: give them an imprinted advertising specialty carrying your name and information.