Wed, 23 August 2017
Margy is saving kittens on the highway and Jess is back from a very zen vacay! This episode features an interview with our favorite promo products guy, Phil Brakefield! Jess has used a bunch of promo products companies, and they pretty much all sucked. Some were wicked expensive, others made horrible mistakes and other sites were just confusing to navigate. Phil is a super nice guy and you can just email and tell him what you want. He gets it for you at a reasonable price, and he also knows a lot about what kinds of products get more traction in different markets.
1. Do people ever get stemless wine glasses? Can I have four? ● People DO get wine glasses- there are over 1 million items available! ● You can’t get 4 because promo products are based on quantity, so just 4 would be very expensive ● Better off doing “print on demand” for something like that
2. What types of swag are the most popular? ● Standards in the industry that are always effective are: mugs, totes and pens ● Cell phone chargers and screen cleaners are very popular now ● SO many hats ● Sometimes you will be surprised by what is and isn’t popular
3. Why should I have swag for my business? ● DONE CORRECTLY, it’s an important part of your branding/messaging mix ● You have to use the correct swag for your target audience (e.g. AARP crowd may not want phone chargers) ● 70% of people you give a calendar to plan to do business with your company within the next year ● Gain exposure through a useful, attractive and fun product
4. Do we have the cutest logo of any of your clients? ● YES! ● Good idea to minimize your logo and use a fun phrase instead (like #rockthepodcast!)
5. Why does orange look like sh*tty soda? ● All manufacturers have at least one item that just doesn’t look great ● Colors can come out badly on products if you’re not careful ● Some shades of orange look sh*tty
6. How often do your clients tell you that their swag resembles a sex toy? ● Only with Jess (LOL it was supposed to be a microphone)
7. What are the cheapest promo products that have the highest perceived value? ● It depends on what the nature of your show/business is ● Phil advises people to let him help them hone in on their message and their target audience ● Then they give Phil their budget and he comes up with the best product ● The key is NOT to go for the cheapest, but understand what is the most money you can comfortably spend reaching your IDEAL client ● Things that always work like pens and mugs may not fit the profile of your podcast ● Think about message first and reverse engineer from there
8. Is it worth it to sell your own swag? ● If you want to do that, you should go through the pain of becoming a promo products distributor, which allows you to buy things at a lower price ● Beware: it’s an involved process to become a distributor ● If you have a really fun product that’s popular, you may be able to make a profit selling it ● Can do a Shopify store and automate it
Resources Mentioned: Phil@unisourceadvantageclub.com |