Creative ideas for promoting your brand

General audience has seen enough re-runs of similar television commercials and the clutter of print ads inside newspapers. It doesn’t make a significant impact to promote your brand name using these medium now-a-days. The need of the hour is promoting your brand creatively by the use of items people haven’t seen before. Creative gurus insist on getting customized merchandizing since people carry it with them and wherever they go your brand gains more visibility. Items such as caps, t-shirts etc. have been used as promotional materials since quite some years. Now, it’s time for using items such as sweatbands, pin badges, wristbands which are still in its infancy as far as promotional merchandizing is concerned.

Pin badges can make your brand highly popular. By using vibrant colours, a witty quote and your brand logo, you can promote your brand effectively. Always keep your target audience in mind while making the quote because if it instantly appeals to them, they’ll definitely pin the badges to their school or work bag and carry it with them. For them, it will be like making a strong statement in front of their peers and for you, it will be (almost) free publicity! And it goes without saying that wherever they go, people are bound to notice it!

Similarly, effectively using sweatbands and promotional wristbands by promoting it to sportsmen can get you the much needed brand visibility. Imagine a famous player wearing your sweatband or a wristband during an international game being covered live by a leading TV channel! There’s no denying the fact that the moment people notice their favourite player sporting a particular brand, its sales increase tremendously. Same can be the case with you. All you need to do is create classy and suave bands so you could convince a quality sportsperson to wear it during a game.

There are many more items; it’s just up to you to bring out your creative side and see what all can be utilized as a part of your marketing mix. There are items galore that can be customized and distributed among your target audience. There are other utilities of such bands and badges too. In the field of medical sciences, people employ the use of medical lanyards, i.e. cord or rope worn around the neck. They are used to identify patients according to the type of ailments they have. Each type of patient is made to wear distinct lanyards. Most commonly, people use lanyards to identify patients suffering from diabetes, Alzheimer’s etc. Lanyard includes information such as the type of disease, name of the doctor and contact details. They can carry the name of the hospital as well, just to spread the name of the hospital among the masses.

Benefits of ID Lanyards in an organization

Lanyards are a piece of rope or cord that is worn around the neck and holds ID cards, pen drives and keys. ID lanyards are inseparable to any organization, since it allows employees to hold their ID cards in place.ID Cards contain vital details of the employee such as his name, contact details, designation, department and address. They also have a unique code which scans their in-time and out-time for the daily attendance. They look very corporate, neat and professional, yet don’t cost much. They barely cost a few cents but the benefits they offer are worth millions. Getting lanyards from trusted lanyard suppliers for your employees can serve the following benefits:

1.       Sense of identification with the organization: ID printed lanyards that are worn by employees can bring a feeling of belongingness in them since they contain the logo and name of the company they work for. Even when they meet employees of a different branch, they can identify with them and bond over the firm they work for. This will foster a sense of loyalty towards the company and a sense of belongingness with fellow employees.

2.       A feeling of pride during trade fairs: During the time of trade fairs, conferences and exhibitions, people will recognize your stall immediately by looking at the company name and logo on your lanyards. They will identify you as employees of that particular organization and there will be no need to explain anything further.

Promotional merchandizers also offer related items that are equally effective monetarily as well as in terms of getting your brand noticed. After the highly successful one of its kind campaign by cycling champion Lance Armstrong, people are trying to employ fundraising wristbands to market their brand. Fundraising bands are generally employed by corporate to do their bit of corporate social responsibility. Whatever money is collected using the sale of those wristbands is donated for a social cause such as charity or hospital.

Promotional wristbands help a company create a good image in the market since the wristbands carry the company’s name and logo. People who wear it are bound to know about the company and those who see the wristband will also become aware.

Other promotional products that can take your brand to greater heights are sports wristbands. They can be customized and distributed among the team members of the team you choose to sponsor. Imagine getting your name endorsed by sportsperson who are famous nationally and internationally! The minute people realize that sportsmen are wearing your brand, your recognition will increase tremendously and so will your sales.

You should get hold of an expert in this field who can deliver you with inimitable and unparalleled promotional items that convey your brand name.

The innumerable uses of Lanyards

Lanyards are one of those things that are always present in your house but you probably don’t know what they are called! Do you have your school, college or work ID card hanging somewhere around you? Well, the cord which holds ID cards and helps you in wearing it around your neck is a lanyard. They find multiple utility and it’s amazing to think how such a single cord of rope can serve so many purposes. It’s just about utilizing your brains effectively to think how creatively lanyards can be used, and you will be surprised to know what all purposes you can use it for.

Here’s our top 6 list of the uses of lanyards:

1.       For identification purposes: School and college IDs are worn around the neck by the use of lanyards Australia. Lanyards worn around the neck are imprinted with the name of the university, serving for the purpose of identification. At times, when a school/college has multiple branches across the city or even across the country, the name of the branch is printed along with the name of the school for identifying during the annual meets where all the schools take part.

2.       They make for good promotional products: Lanyards make for good promotional items at trade fairs, conferences etc. People get their corporate names printed on lanyards so that people can easily identify a person as a part of some corporate group. At trade shows, since there’s a huge in-flow of people, it’s good to wear customized lanyards so that people notice your brand and your brand gains recognition.

3.       For key chains: Lanyards are good for holding your car, motorbike and home keys. You can put your keys in the lanyards using the hook provided. Generally, people who don’t have pockets but need to keep their keys use lanyards. Such people include church administrators and fellow workers.

4.       Holding your mobile phones: Public places like train stations and airports are the most common place where people have reported cases of cell phone theft. It’s really easy for pickpockets to flick cell phones and fade in oblivion at such places. It’s better to hold the cell phone by the use of lanyards that are worn around the neck whilethe cell phone can be put inside your shirt pocket.

5.       Attaching it to spectacles: Spectacles are an expensive item. People carelessly forget them at a friend’s place or in a restaurant! It’s better to make sure it’s always with you, by attaching lanyards and hanging them around the neck.

6.       Luggage Tags: Lanyards can be used as luggage cords for pulling heavy bags. They can hold details like your name, phone number and address so in case your luggage goes missing, someone who finds it will know where to call.

Promoting your brand inexpensively

Promotion is a really important consideration for any brand. Getting your brand publicized and advertised well can have a lot of positive impacts such as increased brand recognition and recall, brand favourability, increase in sales etc. In today’s times, the audience has become really smart and it’s hard to please them. Traditional means of advertising aren’t generating sales as much as they used to once upon a time.

During present times, the marketing mix should be really strong for getting your brand across to the masses. People should understand what your brand stands for and what it has in store for them. This can be achieved by a creative marketing mix that could include the following:

·         Giving Corporate gifts: Corporate gifts include all those items that are given by a corporate firm to its clients. They generally include customized alarm clocks, photo frames, diaries, calendars etc. However, times have changed significantly and the above mentioned products don’t excite people anymore. You could try giving customized embroidered shirts with customized zipper pulls with your brand logo and golf umbrellas.

·         Brand visibility at trade shows: Your brand can a strong recognition at trade shows and exhibitions. All you need to do is get customized promotional lanyards that will carry the company brand name and logo. All the visitors will immediately identify your employees and your brand recognition will increase. Ultimately, all brands want their name to spread and gain recognition. When people go out to purchase, 90% of the times theybuy the brand which they can recall immediately.

·         Corporate social responsibility: Every corporate firm indulges in CSR to do their bit of goodwill for the society. Some firms sell products and donate all the proceedings to an NGO for some social cause. This way, they come in the eyes of the public and create a good image for themselves. By using fundraising products such as bracelets and slap bands that support some cause, you can collect funds. The collections can be donated for a good cause and you can get some press reporters to cover the story. It will serve as good publicity.

·         Use ambient advertising: Ambient advertising includes using unusual places as your promotional medium. Such places include bus stops installations, using the outer walls of a building, train seats etc. When people notice creatively done ads, they immediately develop a liking for the company. Even you could hire creative geniuses for executing some innovative ideas.

One of the best benefits of indulging in out of the box ads is that media covers such unusual things and as a result, you get free publicity in press as well as on television. Interestingly, these two mediums are the costliest! Imagine getting them for free!

Some really cheap ways to extensively promote your brand

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Corporates assume that promoting their brand requires a lot of money. It might be true if they are considering the traditional means of promotion such as TV commercials and print ads in newspapers. However, by use of ambient advertising tools, they stand a betterchance to attract people. Ambient advertising refers to placing ads at places and on things which people normally don’t expect. Places like these include inside buses on the bus handles, in the middle of the road, on the outer walls of the building etc. Advertising on unusual things and in unusual places can grab much more attention, at the same time costing you less.

If you wish to promote your brand, it’s advisable you try out something new and unique. Here are some unique, creative and cheap ways to promote your brand:

·        Advertise on Luggage Straps: You could easily get your logo, brand name and a witty quote to go along with on luggage tags. Since your luggage is usually used when you’re traveling, it has a chance of being exposed to a lot of people on bus stops, train stations and airports. Fellow passengers are likely to notice the logo and name of the company on their co-passengers’ luggage. The more your brand is exposed to people, the better for you!

·        Custom wristbands: Wristbands are a rage among people today. Youngsters in particular want to flaunt it in front of their peers to demonstrate their affinity towards a certain club, cause or state of mind. You can effectively capitalize on the same and depending upon your target audience, come up with unique wristbands that can become viral among your target audience. Tyvek wristbands are a good option to go ahead with since they are tear resistant highly stable and are light weight.

·        Keyrings: Have you ever noticed the charming prints inside a keyring? Key rings can be customized according to your brand. The only limitation might be the colours since it’s difficult to achieve all of them on metal. However, there are selected colours that look well when contrasted together such as golden and silver, or copper and silver. Your brand logo can be imprinted with perfection, making the keyrings a good corporate gift. Your customers will cherish their association with your brand name by using those key rings for personal use.

Promoting your brand uniquely has its benefits. It grabs attention in an instant since people are taken by surprise when a brand is strategized in such a way. People usually expect advertisements inside a newspaper or on a television so you can go a step ahead and place your ads where they least expect it. Wristbands, key rings, luggage tags etc.! It’s all about thinking out of the box.