Marketing Tip: Don’t Be Afraid to Step Out of the Box to be Memorable

Posted on September 19, 2011 by admin

As the owner of Your Computer Friends, a MAC and PC repair company, I like promotional products that not only tie my business identity to the product, but that also have a real value for people. Honestly, I have enough koozies…

After giving my requirements to Brian at Go To Press Printing & Promotions, he was able to find me a nice, purple computer screen cleaner and keyboard brush combination. It was perfect! It nicely tied into my business identity, they had it in my company color, it was not common and the price was very reasonable. (In fact, not much more expensive than a koozie!) Everyone has a PC screen that gets dirty with breakfast, lunch and snack crumbs in their keyboards, so this was the PERFECT promotional product for my business!

With the Rotary Golf Fundraiser approaching, I ordered enough screen cleaners to put one in each of the gift bags for the golfers. There would be my logo, company name and number on the coolest, most original promotional item in the gift bag. They would laugh at the koozies and golf tees – old news! – and would covet my screen cleaner and keyboard brush. I was feeling like a rock star!

The product came in on time, perfectly printed in purple ready for the golf event. I boxed up the required number, sent them to the golf outing and promptly forgot about them until a couple of days after the event. I ran into a business associate who said, “Man, your promotional product at the Rotary event was a real hit! All the guys loved them.”

“Really,” I said smiling. I thought it was a great gift, but didn’t expect such a street corner review. “I’m so glad they were well received.”

“Yeah,” my friend said, “it didn’t hurt that the course was so muddy that day. Everyone needed those cleat cleaners and shoe buffers when they got off the green!”

Yep. My golfers thought that great computer screen cleaner was a cleat cleaner. Well, not the way I imagined that promotional product to be received but as long as they enjoyed it and remembered my name, that is where it’s at! So if you’re out golfing with someone and they pull out a purple “cleat cleaner”, don’t tell them… just let them enjoy.