The first Promotional Products Week, which took place from 16-20 September 2013, has proved to be a nationwide success.

The Week kicked off with the Big Tweet, a rally call from the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) encouraging all Members and interested parties to tweet about the Week and engage with their customers.

The results of a consumer survey commissioned by the BPMA were also revealed, which gave interesting insight in to how promotional products are perceived and used.  It showed that the UK is a nation of freebie hunters and that brands who use promotional products as part of the marketing mix will reap the benefits, with 3 in 10 consumers stating they have purposely changed their regular brand in order to receive a promotional product. The survey results proved excellent ammunition for Members to use during the Week and in their ongoing marketing materials to support their sales effort.

As part of a comprehensive PR campaign, the survey information was sent to an extensive range of media contacts and achieved coverage in a wide variety of media, including national newspapers.  This added to the excellent coverage and support for the Week in the promotions trade media, as well as in a selection of marketing, vertical and business media.

BPMA members embraced the week and enthusiastically promoted it in their own regions and to their own customers, with the help of a PR pack created by Clareville in conjunction with the BPMA. This resulted in exposure on local radio stations, in big regional daily newspapers and in local weekly publications. Among many memorable outcomes was SC-M Creative Merchandise being interviewed by the Nottingham Evening Post and subsequently featuring extensively in the newspaper, Senator achieving exposure in its local newspaper, the Harlow Star, and Pro-Ad being featured in the Journal, a significant publication for the North East.

In all, over 120 Members got involved in some way with Allwag Promotions running a teddy campaign and The Sourcing Team dressing up in their corporate colour pink to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support at Monument and Bank underground stations.

Viv Blumfield, Chair of the BPMA, commented: “The day was a great success and the students did an excellent job in showing key players in the industry just what promotional merchandise is and how it can play a positive and beneficial role in any integrated marketing campaign.”

The day culminated in a photo call at the House of Commons with Brian Binley MP, the representative within Parliament for the promotional merchandise industry, who said: “I am continually impressed with the efforts made by the BPMA in raising the profile of promotional products, particularly over the last few years in what has been a difficult economic environment.”  Each student was given a certificate to mark their participation.

Brian Binley MP also hosted a dinner at the House of Commons, which was attended by Patrons of the BPMA.

Summing up the Week, Gordon Glenister, said: “We are delighted with the results of our first Promotional Products Week.  We knew that this year we needed to start to put a mark on the British business landscape about promotional products and we have done just that.  Plans for next year are already underway to develop this even further.”

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www.promotionalproductsweek.co.uk

Published on: September 30th, 2013