As we run up to the UK’s second Promotional Products Week event, which starts on 15th September, I thought I’d put Gordon Glenister, the Director General of the British Promotional Merchandising Association (BPMA), on the spot and ask him a number of searching questions about the state of the industry.

If you buy – or are thinking about buying – Promotional Gifts to help your enterprise with its  sales, marketing, PR and brand building, this and the next couple of my blog posts are essential reading.

1: Gordon, as Director general of the BPMA, you must see lots of really good examples of promotional gifts, care to describe your favourite?

1: Yes, I see a lot of great promotional gifts but my favourite gifts are those that have some relevance to a theme. One of my favourites is something I have kept for over 15 years – I picked up what looked like a piece of wood only to be told it was whistle and made the noise of a great steam train. Given the company was called Commission Junction, I liked the link. Not only have I shown this gift to thousands of people in my seminars, all our research suggests those items that have relevance and usefulness are likely to be kept for the longest.

2: For clients looking for a memorable promotional gift, which style offers the best ROI? Quirky/unusual or regular/standard?

2: That’s an important question, especially in today’s still economically challenging times. I have to say that much depends on the target audience. If you are targeting a cool, young and trendy audience as, for example, you would be if you’re in the fashion industry, you might source unusual items that are relevant to that group. However, all the research suggests that the stable products such as pens, mugs, clothing, usb sticks and so on still lead the way. I know that sounds like I’m recommending safe or dull choices but it’s amazing, for example, what the Google brand does on a standard mug – I’ve seen the reaction! The other big question gift buyers should ask themselves is how the gift is being presented. For example, is it being given away at an exhibition, is it to be mailed, is it an on-pack promotion or is it being resold? These factors will impact on the effectiveness of the response a gift generates and therefore the ROI the sourcing business enjoys.

I hope you enjoyed Gordon’s insights into the kind of promotional gifts and merchandise that tend to work best for business, and how to go about choosing them to benefit from maximum return on your investment.

In my second blog post in this series, my questions and Gordon’s responses deal with choosing a promotional gifts supplier. So don’t forget to check back soon.

In the meantime, if you’d like highly expert and experienced advice and guidance to help you make the right choice of promotional gift for your purposes, budget and deadline, please don’t hesitate to give me, or any of my team at RT Promotions a shout.

If you’d like to know more about Promotional Products Week simply visit www.promotionalproductsweek.co.uk.