What is the mission of your nonprofit organization? Most nonprofit and nonprofit organizations exist to spread the word about an important topic or to raise funds to meet a need. Promotional products can be an important part of your strategy in many different ways. The purposes of promotional products generally fall into one of the following categories:
– increase name recognition
– advertise a product or service
– thank customers or contributors
– spread information
– fundraising
– increase support for a cause
Here are some specific ways your nonprofit might use promotional products.
Increase name recognition
Getting your name and cause recognized is often high on the agenda of your nonprofit organization. This often involves participating in local events such as information fairs, street festivals, and conferences. The types of promotional products that many companies use as trade show gifts work just as well to increase your agency’s name recognition. Printed travel mugs and sports bottles, car stickers, and other generic items get widespread use and spread their name.
Advertise a product or service
More specific articles can be even more effective when paired with a tagline that plays on the article itself. While your product or service may not be “for sale,” your organization still has a need to sell it to the public. The same methods used by retailers and businesses will attract “customers” for their nonprofit products and services.
Thank you or thank you gifts
One of the most effective ways to generate goodwill for your cause is to thank the contributors and participants. Whether you send small tokens to contributors, give larger gifts to those who volunteer substantially, or offer a free “giveaway” to those who respond to a call to action, promotional items are a low-cost way. to say “thanks for helping”.
Some examples:
– Give a free appointment calendar to any woman who comes in for a free mammogram – and mark the month the next one should be scheduled
– Thank corporate sponsors by submitting their names along with the campaign slogan on all promotional gifts used in a campaign.
– Send inexpensive promotional products as thank you gifts to all contributors. Give bigger gifts to those who give bigger contributions.
Spread information
Enlist companies that specialize in promotional products to help you design and produce the flyers and brochures that you will distribute to spread the word. If your message is concise, you can put it on a variety of promotional products that you can distribute to spread the word. The latest technology offers even more ways to spread information. Save important presentations to a USB flash drive to make a real impression. The price of these has dropped dramatically, making them a great combo promotional tool and gift for those significant potential contributors.
Fundraising
Promotional products are also great for fundraising campaigns. Whether you’re selling car stickers to raise a few hundred pounds, or running a charity event with much more important goals in mind, the point is advertising. You can sell printed products, offer promotional clothing for sale, or promise corporate sponsors high turnover in conference folders, event posters, and promotional conference bags at charity events. The possibilities are endless.