Auto-motivation

Safety products, like jumper cables or other emergency or convenience items, would be one example. Haley mentioned Beacon Promotions’ ice scrapers, which he said are one of the company’s more popular items. “They could be given to employees for a safety program,” he said. Giving an example of how such a program might work, he added, “For internal distribution, hotels will use them and give them to their customers as they come in.”

For such item like ice scrapers or drinkware, Haley had an interesting bit of advice. “What buyers see in the marketplace, what they see their competitors are using and what they enjoy personally, they extend to their business buying,” he explained, giving examples of end-buyers choosing ice scrapers because they operate in a northern region or selecting drinkware because they understand its promotional strength.

DEALERSHIP DEALS
Car dealerships are perhaps not the best time to ask “If they’re in the car, what exactly are they doing?” However, not only are auto dealerships huge buyers of promotional products, but due to the nature of what they sell, they present opportunities specific to their industry. Because of the frequency that auto-maintenance can sometimes be required, Stoeck pointed out items that keep important phone numbers front-of-mind, like magnetic business cards for sales reps or mechanics, can be effective. He also highlighted how the inside of a car can provide space for promotions.

“There’s a local dealer where we live that offers free tires for the life of your car,” said Stoeck. “They could buy doorknob hangers and put it on all the gear-shift levers or rearview mirrors, so when you’re looking at that dealership, versus a competing dealer in the area, you’re going to remember, ‘Gee, they have free tires for life on all their cars, it was on every one of the cars in the lot.’”