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
