Promotional Merch Cultivates Brand Loyalty

Investing in promotional items does not have to feel like a loss. In fact, promotional merch should be considered standard practice, because the consumer market is so saturated with brands selling the same products or services, it’s good to stand out. We’ll take you through some stats and reasons why branded promotional items will generate revenue in the long run.

“The U.S. alone accounts for an estimated $298 billion in ad expenditures annually and was recently named the world’s largest advertising market.”

— Moumita Das

Why Does Promotional Merch Matter?

With so many marketers focusing all of their efforts in digital marketing, tangible promotional products have taken a backseat. Unfortunately, businesses that have chosen to dismiss such products, are missing out.

Infographic by PPAI Research

A 2017 study by the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) explains everything you need to know about the effectiveness of promotional products. According to the study, most people keep promotional products for an average of eight months. That means your advertisement is sitting in front of someone longer than a simple PPC ad or pop-up on a website.

Promotional products provide brands with a reliable path to reach the target consumer group by positioning their message as it will be best received. In fact, according to PPAI research, promotional products are the most welcomed form of advertising by all generations and considered most effective in providing a rationale to respond. Promotional products not only allow brand messages to effectively reach their intended audience, but they also spread the word to anyone who sees the product displayed, used, or shared.

89 % of consumers have received a promotional product in the past six months; that’s nearly nine in 10 who own a promotional product, nine in 10 who use promotional products, and nine in 10 walking billboards for a brand.

Read more: Top 10 reasons to use promotional merchandise

Swag and Brand Representation

Brand ambassadors or brand representatives are also an essential part of driving your promotional product marketing strategy forward. In many instances, your promotional products are being distributed at large events and festivals. For a successful campaign, you will need an energetic team to help promote your brand and give out your branded swag.

Check Out 18 Company Swag Ideas Employees Really Want For 2021

Every brand needs a face and voice that will go hand-in-hand with the product. It’s not just about choosing the right product, you must also find the right people to promote your brand, a friendly face with a charismatic demeanor can help build confidence in your brand. A simple pleasant interaction with your brand ambassador will eventually result in brand loyalty.

Know Your Audience

In order for you to grow your brand loyalty, you should understand who your current customers are; but no only WHO they are, but WHAT they are – in terms of their needs, their wants, and what drives them to choose you over a competitor. By focusing your time on collecting this type of audience information, you can easily build a large following that is loyal to you and your business . Once you have a good grip on who your target audience is, you can seal the deal by presenting them with custom promotional products that appeal to their specific lifestyle .

Read How To Find Your Target Audience And Create The Best Content That Connects

Continued Engagement

Show that you appreciate their business! If your brand sells products or services, a good way to ensure continued engagement and brand loyalty is by providing free gifts after a purchase has been made or after a client connection has been made. These small gestures keep you fresh on their radar and they will associate your brand with a positive feeling.

So, How does a Promotional Item Promote Brand Loyalty?

It is important to create a promotional item that is of high quality because people will associate the premium quality of the gift or promotional item with the quality of your business. This will help a lot in keeping the first-time buyers of your products forever.

Promotional products can drive consumers to your business in a cost-effective way. Giveaways bring instant brand recognition. You can expand the reach of your products or services amongst a larger audience, and these items are also excellent for building a solid customer base and driving customer loyalty.

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3 Tactics for Promoting Your Branded Merch

So you don’t have the capital to give our free promotional items? Well, we think that you can make a decent return by selling them through your website for an extra revenue stream. This will of course depend on what type of business you have as it may not apply to everyone.

Check Out Launch like Steve Jobs: 7 Ways to Build Buzz for Your Next Product Launch

Limited Run

You can create a buzz around a product that is a limited-run item that would be worth buying. Find an item that would be useful, things that can be used in every-day life or that can be great decor. A good option would be to collaborate with an artist or another business to then create something unique, this way you will also attract the audience of that other artist or brand.

Promotional Discounts

Providing a promo discount code to loyal subscribers is also a great way to push your product, especially if it’s during a holiday or a special sales day such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Bundles or BOGO Deals

Promotional merch can also be an added bonus to a purchase of another product. Many times this tactic drives the buyer to chose your product over the competition if it means they will get an extra item to compliment their purchase.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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How Using a Local Print Shop Benefits You

Not all screen printing shops are created equal, and we believe that there are many benefits to using a local business. Those benefits range from community economical growth to environmental impact, and we will take you through some key points and reasons why using a local screen printing shop is not only beneficial to you but your community.

Why you should support local businesses

Community Economic Growth

Local businesses are better at creating higher-paying jobs for your community. When you shop locally, you help create jobs for teachers, firemen, police officers, and many other essential professions. Supporting your local businesses helps improve social benefits and other public programs to help the local community with housing and food insecurities. Besides contributing to the local economy by employment, studies have shown that local businesses donate to community causes at more than twice the rate of chain businesses. For Family Industries, this is especially true and part of their mission as a Los Angeles based print shop.

In the summer of 2020 when California was being affected by wildfires, Family Industries sprung to action and offered an original design to be printed on t-shirts to sell and donate the proceeds to Direct Relief. When you buy local, you can be sure that those companies will make a change to your surroundings and bring positive change to your family, friends, and neighbors.

The Environment

Buying from local businesses conserves energy and resources in the form of less fuel for transportation and less packaging. It’s reported that buying local reduces automobile miles by a total of 25%.

When purchasing from an on-demand print shop, the amount of energy used in terms of production is much higher than a local print shop. Additionally, because these businesses are located all over the US, the amount of packaging used is also much higher, as items need to be oftentimes secured with additional materials such as foam, cardboard, and/or plastic. Furthermore, because products are being shipped all over the country, the amount of fuel used also affects the carbon footprint of those companies.

Personal Connection

You are their friends and neighbors, and locally owned businesses have a vested interest in knowing how to serve you. They’re passionate about what they do. Why not take advantage of it? Additionally, there is pride to take in knowing that you are helping a business in your neighborhood thrive and they are more likely to go the extra mile for you to make sure you are happy with the service and/or product.

Quality

When it comes to finding the right screen printer to uphold your standards and ensure the quality is good, finding a local print shop is your best bet. Why? Well, there are many print-on-demand online businesses but being able to visit a facility and see the operations and quality of the product before making a purchase can make all the difference. This instills confidence that your product is of high quality and that you are being provided with the best possible service. Unlike online print shops, you are able to speak with a real person and make a connection with them, and explain what you would like. Furthermore, the print shop also makes a connection with you and your brand and that pushes them to guarantee good quality work.

Local Screen Printers

With all the online print-on-demand printing services available to you, it may seem like an easy decision but you’re not assured good quality and service. It is reported that smaller businesses are more likely to care more about the quality of their service or product than bigger corporations as they tend to have more disposable income. For smaller local screen printers, their reputation is everything and they take greater pride in their craft. Additionally, local businesses can help boost brand awareness for your business by posting on their social media or their website.

For Family Industries, their primary goal is to bring quality to everything that they do as well as providing fair wages to their employees to guarantee productivity and quality.

Family Industries has also held a few community events to help local businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic by promoting their merch, as well as helping local artists by printing their artwork on t-shirts and selling them.

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Bottom line

Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money available to beautify the community. Also, spending locally instead of online ensures that your sales taxes are reinvested where they belong: in your community.

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For questions, send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com, or give us a call at 323.227.1547 and we'd be happy to help.

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Best Promotional Merch Ideas

In the corporate world, it is often customary to have branded pens, notebooks, or mugs. While having your brand on a pen is cool, we think you can do better! Much of the branded products you will find at a conventional office space are stationary and almost expected, but we believe that having more interesting merch brings excitement about your brand for both employees and clients. Promotional merch is also used to spread brand awareness and it can also be used to work with social media influencers to promote your services or products. In this article, we will show you a few ideas for cool branded merch ideas to fit your brand.

Remember! It is not about just having promotional products but about having the right promotional products that are geared towards your audience. Therefore, it is important to do your research before creating an item to promote your brand.

Unconventional Event Swag and Promotional Items

Robo-cube puzzle fidget toy

Magnetic interactive fidget pen

Hexagon spinner fidget cube

Ball of Whacks fidget toy

Fidget Toys are the new stress balls! Everyone loves a good fidget toy to entertain themselves while taking a mental break from your desk job. Especially now that more and more people are working from home and encounter more distractions than before. In addition to the improved learning benefits, fidget toys can also reduce anxiety and stress, enhance dexterity, improve coordination and fine motor skills. Besides the benefits, a fidget toy makes for a great promotional item for potential clients or current clients as it keeps your brand on their minds, but also, who doesn’t love a cool gift? Check out ‘Fidget Toys Are Not Just Hype’ - Scientific American

Conventional and Practical Branded Products

Supersweet Coffee & Tattoos

Panton blue light glasses

Verve Coffee Shop

Ultra-portable speaker

Promotional items are also great if you are looking to do a virtual giveaway. Depending on your business, you may be looking for more traditional items that can be used to promote your brand but still motivate people to want to participate. Promotional products such as t-shirts, hoodies, speakers, notebooks, and coffee mugs are more of the traditional branded merch and can seem boring to some but if you have a good design that also ties in your logo, chances are, people will want them. What is better than a free t-shirt? A cool free t-shirt. Incorporating giveaways can be an excellent way to get people excited about your event, while also spreading brand awareness in untraditional ways.

“8% of promotional product recipients remember the name of the advertiser on the products. 85% of the recipients do business with the advertiser on the product. 83% of people like receiving them.”

Praytell agency Promo Box

Why Promotional Product Work

Promotional products are a powerful marketing tool because they allow a brand to connect with consumers by engaging their senses. Branded items are one of the only forms of advertising that allows consumers to interact with a brand on a physical level, promotional products often create more memorable brand experiences and promote brand recognition.

Family Industries has worked with brands such as Praytell Agency to create a one-of-a-kind promotional items box which included a pair of bombas socks, a thermal mug, stickers, and a scarf. All products and the box itself contained a print of their signature logo.

How to Design The Right Promotional Item

When creating your own promotional items, it is tempting to try to pack as much information as possible, but we suggest you prevent overwhelming the design with too much text. Keep these points in mind when you're designing your promotional products to create memorable gifts.

Less Is More

Keep it simple, use your brand logo and a catchy tagline, website, and if you’re able to fit it in, a phone number or a social media handle.

Use Your Brand Colors

Choose a product with your standard colors to maintain consistency in your style and to improve the chances of brand awareness. If a product option is not available in your colors, select a neutral color that will allow your brand identity to shine through your logo and text, instead.

Usefulness

You will want your product to be useful time and time again. Novelty items such as fidget toys are great to raise a smile or promote a healthy work-life balance, but depending on your audience perhaps more traditional items such as travel mugs, t-shirts or flash drives are the best options. Do your research!

Key Takeaways

Promotional products are essential for your business, over 50% of adults use at least one promotional product regularly, and 85% of that group will eventually do business with the advertised company. Additionally, the cost of a promotional item compared to regular advertising is much lower, and corporate gifts build relationships and brand loyalty.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

A Guide to Branding in [2023]

Author Irene Floridia, Content Creator

Thinking of starting your own business? Looking to improve your customer satisfaction or ensure customer retention? We have a guide on how to improve your branding efforts and new ways to enhance brand awareness in the fast-paced environment of consumerism.

What is Branding?

Branding is the process of researching, developing, and applying a specific set of criteria to an organization so that consumers can associate the brand with the product or service.

Branding is generally an action taken before the launch of a brand to ensure there is a cemented identity and to then establish standards for the product or service provided. This action also helps determine who the consumer for this product or service is to then tailor marketing efforts so as to target a specific group of people.

The Importance of Branding

The importance of establishing a brand is arguably the most important first step in starting a business. It gives your organization an identity, it makes your product or service memorable and it encourages consumers to support and trust your business. Being able to define your business and its purpose can have a big impact on the ability to build a consumer base. Most often, branding can be the deciding factor for consumers when they make a purchase decision.

In a 2015 global Nielsen Survey, almost 60% of shoppers said they actively buy from brands they know, and 21% said they bought a product because they liked the brand.

How To Create A Brand Strategy

• Establish Target Audience

  • Branding leads to awareness, recognition, and revenue; this outcome stems from customers. The first step in constructing a strategy, as a business, you will need to understand who your audience is and that is how you will understand what will resonate with them. Who does your product serve? Who is your ideal customer? Read about what is Brand Awareness.

• Mission Statement

  • To establish a mission statement you must ask yourself ‘why did I create my business?’ Answering this question will help you write your mission statement, which defines the purpose of your brand. Check out ‘How to Define Inspiring Mission and Vision Statements”

• Define Features and Benefits

  • There are most likely other businesses or services in your industry, and it’s important to set yourself apart from them to engage consumers and convince them that you are the best option. Ask yourself, what is the one thing that your business has that no one else has? take some time to write down unique values, benefits, and qualities that set you apart from the competition. Read “How to Develop a Unique & Memorable Brand Identity”.

• Create Visual Assets

  • Some will argue that this is one of the most important steps when building a brand. People are attracted to well-thought-out designs, this means having a good logo, color palette, attractive typography, iconography, and other visual components. To create these elements, building a brand guideline is helpful to create a composition and use of your visual assets.

• Find Your Brand Voice

  • How your brand communicates with the consumer is important, think about what this voice would sound like if it were a person. The brand voice is particularly important for a well-rounded marketing campaign, social media, blog posts, and your brand story. How you communicate with your targeted audience sets a tone and should be consistent throughout all of your written content.

How to put your branding to work

Social Media

All posts, cover art, and branded imagery should reflect your brand. Using your logo as your profile image will make it easier for customers to recognize your business. All of your content such as blog posts, product copy, captions, and videos should reflect your brand voice.

Packaging

If you have a physical product, your packaging should reflect your branding - this means, design, color pallet, fonts, size, and feel. Detailed packaging helps build confidence with consumers as it reflects on how much you care about your product. Packaging also assures the buyer that they have purchased something that is high-quality and this way you can build brand trust and loyalty.

Businesses like Family Industries can help create packaging with logos and preferred color pallets as well as fulfill your orders directly. Not only is Family Industries a screen printing shop, but they offer a variety of different services from branded apparel tags, to stickers and soft enamel pins to be included in your package.

Marketing

Marketing such as advertising, both digital and print, are tools used to establish brand awareness and introduce consumers to your brand, therefore, it is critical that they reflect your branding. All this work on your brand identity should make the marketing ads creation process easier - by following your brand style guide, you will already know how your ads should look and what type of copy to write.

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Pro Tip: Overall consistency is key to brand recognition, brand trust, and loyalty.

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For questions, send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com, or give us a call at 323.227.1547 and we'd be happy to help.

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Promotional Gift Ideas For 2022

As we welcome the new year, you may be thinking of ways to improve your business or step up your game in one way or another. Swag bags or promotional gifts may be a good way for you to maintain engagement or improve your brand visibility.

We will take you through all the promotional merch ideas for 2022.

Key Features

When looking for the best promotional gifts for your business, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Certain criteria may apply better for your type of business, however, overall we believe these features will be helpful.

• Small Items

• Portable Items

• Adaptable for Remote Work

• Easy To Ship

• Sustainable / Eco-friendly

• Home & lifestyle-themed

• Health and wellness-themed

• Unique and on-brand

All the products below can be branded in different ways with a business logo, a graphics design, branded packaging, and more.

Check Out Best Eco-Friendly Merch

Swag Box

A swag box is commonly used as “Thank You” gifts or “Welcome” gifts for agencies or service providers for clients. Swag boxes are unique in the sense that you can pick and choose what type of items to include and the personalization aspect is much more pronounced.

For example, you can put your logo with your company colors on the box itself and include items that also display your logo, company moto, or tag line.

Check Out A Guide To Creating Your Own Merch

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Top Ranking

Promotional Items

Water Bottles

This doesn’t have to be a boring items, you can make it cool by choosing the right bottle. There’s various styles you can customize to incorporate your logo and any other aspects of your branding.

For example, JBL used a MIIR wide mouth bottle and added their logo as well as some artwork they created for this specific merch item. Water bottles are a great promotional item because there’s a lot of surface to play with and because it’s a functional product.

Portable Laptop Stand

This simple yet sleek design is great for remote workers or people that travel for work. Woox laptop stand is the perfect compact yet useful gift for clients old and new. With more people moving towards remote work, this makes a thoughtful gift that can be included in a swag box as it is small and light. It’s also an opportunity to laser cut your logo into and keep the your cost down.

This is also a very simple design that most merch agencies such as Family Industries can produce for you.

Learn more about How To Capitalize From Branding Costs

Personalized Socks

You can never go wrong with socks! Personalizing socks with your company colors and logo is an easy and budget friendly merch item to include in your swag box. You also don’t have to worry about size as much as you would with other apparel items.

You can also include ankle socks if the weather calls for it. Socks are generally a safe gift as it’s a common wearable item that all us use, and because of the size it’s an easy item to ship.

Wireless Power Bank

A wireless phone charger is a great canvas for your logo and it can be used by everyone with a phone. This is a great gift for a client or employees. Again, it’s a small item that can be easily shipped and it’s a highly utilized product.

Pourover Coffee Maker

Corporate gifts don’t have to be boring. A branded pourover insulated coffee maker is the perfect alternative to a coffee mug or a travel mug as this is one step above the traditional gifts. With this pourover coffee maker, you are sure to impress your clients.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Looking to assemble your own promotional swag kit?

Look no further! Request a quote from us!

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Finishes That Take Your Brand To The Next Level

Custom finishes can be the thing that sets your brand apart from your competition. These customizations can range from small and simple to being a little more involved and a bit more expensive. We think that investing in details is the best way to take your brand to the next level. In this article, we will go through all of the custom finishes available as well as comparisons and options for smaller budgets.

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What Are Apparel Finishes?

Custom apparel finishes are collar tags, interior tags, screen printed logos inside the garments, price tags, as well as packaging. Most of what apparel finishes refer to are markers withing the garment that shows off your brand’s logo and other brand characteristics.

Check Out A Guide To Branding

Examples of Custom Finishes:

• Neck Tags

• Custom Woven Tags

• Fold & Bag

• Sticker Application

• Brand Info Tags (hanging tags)

Why are apparel finishes important?

Creating a brand new tag on your shirt is an excellent way to promote a business’s brand. Imagine including your logo on every tag knowing that everyone will check to see the size. Customizing the tag allows everyone to see your logo and details about your business in a unique and effective way.

Every piece of clothing comes with a tag already printed and it is usually on the back of the neck. The tag’s purpose is to provide the wearer with all the relevant information they need to know about the garment. But imagine replacing all that with your company’s logo, brand, and info. This can build brand loyalty.

Check out Guide To Product Packaging & Labeling

Neck Tags

Neck tags or collar tags are the most common types of apparel finishes. Neck tags can either be woven or printed directly unto the garment.

Woven tags are a little more involved as these are separate pieces that need to be sown unto the garment, therefore, adding more steps to your finishing services. However, tags look more professional and you have more freedom to add color.

Printed tags are done directly unto the garment, these types of tags are easier and can be more cost-effective depending on the amount of units you or your local screen printing shop are producing. This type of finish is typically done in a single color, which is recommended to ensure a good rate from your screen printer.

If you are looking to place a tag on the sleeve or the bottom hem, woven tags will be your only option. These placements can make a big difference when done right, this is usually a premium service that is provided by a merchandise agency such as Family Industries.

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Hanging Tags

When you add hang tagging to your custom apparel, it gives your garment a professional look that is ready for retail. All you need to provide is the info for the hang tagging and where you want to place it, then a merch agency such as Family Industries will take over the rest.

Hanging tags are generally applied to hi-end apparel and allows for you to include more information about your brand such as your mission statement, your logo, and any other branding elements. As a merch agency, we supply and print all custom tags in-house, as well as apply the tags to your apparel.

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Packaging & More

Personalized packaging such as poly bags or box tape can also elevate your brand presentation. Little details can go a long way when presenting your product. These types of finishing services can be an added bonus when deciding to invest in your business.

As a merch agency, we always recommend adding your logo to the package either by stickers or printed unto whatever the surface may be such as a box or tape.

Stickers are the cheapest option if you are on a budget and adding more to the bag is also a good way to get your brand in front of other people and most customers like these details.

Check out Classy Ways to Use Stickers on Your Packaging

For a more economical way to add a personal touch, you can invest in a stamp of your logo. A stamp can be used in just about any surface which makes it easy to brand your packaging such as shipping boxes, tape, and packing paper or poly bags.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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Do you have more questions about premium merch printing?

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com, or give us a call at 323.227.1547 and we'd be happy to help.

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

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For FAQ, check out our site!

For any inquiries, send us a message!

OR

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com