The team at Steel City Marketing have been discussing our predictions for the top 5 promotional merchandise trends for 2012 and here they are.

1. QR Codes

Using QR codes on branded items is an extremely effective use of the print area. It provides the brand with the opportunity to maximise the information they want to communicate about their campaign, product or service to the chosen recipient. This is a trend being seen throughout the marketing mix, so it will naturally extend to promotional merchandise in 2012.

2. Social Media Calls to Action

Promoting social media links via promotional merchandise allows a business to join up its offline and online marketing activities, encouraging your customers and prospects to engage with you online and driving traffic to your website. Traditional calls to action in other media are being replaced by social media calls to action, allowing the brand to interact regularly with their audience. This will certainly be the case in 2012 for merchandise. There is no other form of media that acts as a reminder for the person to engage when they are ready to do so. The reason we feel this is that according to a recent British Promotional Merchandising Association survey, over three quarters of recipients said they kept a promotional gift for longer than 12 months – that’s effectively a 12 month reminder to connect with a company online!

3. Personalisation Through Accurate Data

There will be a greater personlisation of products this year, as a result of ever improving methods of accurate data capture and retention. For example notebooks, calendars and mugs lend themselves perfectly to this. However, digital printing techniques further increases the possibilites for personalisation across an even greater number of different product ranges.

4. Smartphone Accessories

Smart phone and tablet accessories will become increasingly popular this year with the continuing increase in sales of smartphones. According to figures published in the Guardian in July 2011, smart phone users in the UK will make up more than half of all mobile phone users in 2012. In terms of this trend for promotional merchandise, items such as smartphone gloves, touch screen pens, cases and holders will help improve the user experience and provide a strong brand presence.

5. Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality may seem a little unattainable presently for smaller brands as cost is a factor. However this will likely reduce over time and the potential wow factor for the user is undeniable.  With some potential self managed solutions, a “desktop” where products come to life with additional info and imagery using smart phone apps is an exciting prospect.

Developments in technology are certainly a common theme affecting trends in promotional mechandise and marketing techniques in general for 2012 and no doubt for years to come.

One of the best ranges of branded merchandise to consider in the winter months is that of promotional ice scrapers. We are guaranteed frosts in the UK at some point and people will often choose to use an ice scraper (plus a little elbow grease) above other solutions such as chemical de icer sprays, credit cards or (heaven forbid) a kettle of boiling water!

Why should you consider promotional ice scrapers for your next campaign?

1. “Low cost, flat and lightweight”. Promotional ice scrapers are a perfect item for direct mail or event giveaways. They can be easily sent out with brochures or literature. As this is also a product found in the retail sector, it has a good perceived value so could be used as a gift with purchase. Cost wise, there are many models that are under £1.00 per unit.

2. “Your brand in their hand”. Should you send out one of your promotional ice scrapers to a client, there is every chance that they will see your brand for up to 5 minutes each time there is a frost. It is also very common for someone to keep this type of item for many years as it is not an item that is constantly being replaced. Therefore considering how many times your branding will be seen over such a long period of time, the “cost per impression” is very low indeed. (See below for some bpma research results).

3. “Large range and great print areas”. There is an excellent range of promotional ice scrapers to consider. A website or promotional gift directory can only really scratch the surface on this. Models come with handles or can be small enough to fit into your wallet. Quite a number are made from recycled materials. We would be happy to run through shapes and styles any time. The print area is usually impressive too, allowing branding, calls to action and key messages to be displayed. (Branding Tip : Why not add a QR code with a link to your website, or use your social media ID’s as your calls to action).

4. “Lead time”. If you are looking for a last minute item due to having spare budget or want to make a sales push, then promotional ice scrapers should be considered. Lead times can be as quick as 3-5 working days (from proof approval). If your event deadline is shorter than that, ask the question anyway.

If you are still unconvinced about whether promotional ice scrapers are something your business should consider, here are a few facts from the bpma (British Promotional Merchandise Association) research conducted in 2011 :

· 79% of respondents that received a promotional product said they were likely to do business with the company in the future

· 8 out of 10 (84 per cent) respondents said that a branded promotional gift increases brand awareness

· Over three quarters (87 per cent) of recipients said they kept a promotional gift for longer than 12 months

· Over half (56 per cent) of respondents said their opinion of the brand/company was more favourable after receiving the promotional product.

Do you still think promotional ice scrapers don’t have a place in your winter promotional campaign? If you have any further questions or would like samples and prices, please give a member of the sales team a call.

Putting together and creating a marketing plan for 2012 can seem a little daunting at first but failing to plan is planning to fail! Producing a list of all your activities will help keep your budget spending under control as well as making it easier to measure the effectiveness of your marketing spend. If this is something you have never done before, it can even be done using a couple of very simple tools:

* Excel spreadsheets allow you to easily create the columns for every month, splitting those into sections that will show what you are budgeting for and what you have already spent.

* An A3 sheet of paper is as simple as it can be to start creating a marketing plan for 2012. Using the same column principle above, you can be planning in no time!

If you are setting a budget (or applying for one), either of the above will give you the foundation to be able to show just how much money you think you will need. It will also show how much of your budget is remaining once you are under way!

There are various categories that would be worth including throughout the year. Some of these might not apply to your business at all. It really depends what is right for your business in terms of marketing activity. Activities that you might want to include when creating your marketing plan for 2012 are:

* Exhibitions, conferences and events
* Product Launch
* Promotional Items
* Print & Design
* Other areas could be: Public Relations, Media, Social Media, Database Management and Website.

Once the list is complete, fill in the projected marketing spend for these activities in the monthly columns in which the activity is expected to take place bearing in mind that this is not always when the activity is due for invoicing. At the end of each line calculate the total ‘Committed’ and ‘Invoiced’ for each activity. At the bottom of the sheet calculate the total ‘Committed’ and ‘Invoiced’.

Having all your plans for the year in one place means working smarter and more efficiently. If you know you have a golf day planned in May, a trade show in September and a sales conference in November, you can plan your promotional merchandise, PR, design and print requirements well in advance without any last minute panic, which can often drive up the costs.

Throughout the year, it is a great idea to monitor and update the sheet, taking care to move any ‘Committed’ values to the ‘Invoiced’ column as soon as these activities have been invoiced. Of course, even the best laid plans change or may require a little tweaking, especially in the event of budget cuts or changes to the overall business strategy. However, having a plan to hand will make it easier to incorporate these changes into your marketing strategy.

As we have shown, creating a marketing plan for 2012 need not be a daunting prospect and if done correctly it can be something you can keep effective control on throughout the year.