A comprehensive survey by the Advertising Specialty Institute, the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, shows that branded merchandise outperforms all forms of TV, radio, and print advertising as the most cost-effective advertising medium. The survey included 600 respondents, the majority of whom were business people over the age of 21. They were first asked if they had received any branded merchandise in the year prior to the survey.

 

The survey’s findings then revealed:

 

84% remember the advertiser on a product they receive.

42% have a more favorable impression of the advertiser after receiving the item.

24% are more likely to do business with an advertiser whose branded items they receive.

62% did business with the advertiser after receiving the branded specialty.

81% of promotional products were kept by the respondents because they were considered useful.

More than 75% of respondents have had their items for about seven months.

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What conclusions, then, can be drawn from these statistics? Here are some thoughts for consideration: with a low CPI (cost per impressions), high recall among those who receive branded specialty items, and increased intent among recipients to make purchases from the advertiser, organizations get a more favorable ROI from branded merchandise than almost any other popular media.