BPMA Research into UK Promotional Merchandise - 2011

It's Been Proven – Promotional Merchandise is Fantastic Value!

Recent independent research into the UK market proves that promotional merchandise delivers a higher ROI than most other forms of advertising. New statistics show a conclusive link between promotional merchandise, branding and sales. Key findings:

• On average, promotional merchandise delivers a higher ROI than most other forms of advertising
• 66% of respondents said they could remember the brand on a promotional product they received during the last year
• 79% said they were likely to do business with the company in the future
• 84% of respondents said that a branded promotional gift increases brand awareness
• A massive 87% of recipients said they kept a promotional gift for longer than 12 months

The first ever in-depth independent national survey into the power of promotional merchandise in the UK questioned business men and women about their behavioural trends and preferences for different promotional gifts. One of the most significant findings of the survey is that promotional merchandise can deliver a higher ROI than radio and outdoor advertising and a ROI that is equal to TV and print advertising. The cost per impression however is second only to billboard advertising, but promotional merchandise has a much higher brand recall.

Cost per impression for a mug is £0.001, a mid-range pen £0.001, a calendar £0.004, a USB stick £0.005 and an umbrella £0.003. With an average cost per impression of £0.003, these figures compare extremely favourably with the cost per impression of other media with TV coming in at £0.008, radio at £0.003 and advertising hoardings at £0.003.

Notes; A UK wide study was conducted of a randomly selected set of 14,728 adults, who were screened on receiving promotional items at either work or home. Students and people under 21 were excluded. Of the 517 responses received there were 254 female respondents and 263 male respondents from across a range of sectors including manufacturing, retail, IT/Communications, media, finance and education. Job titles included Chairman/MD, Manager, Director, Executive PA and Administrator.