PRODUCT MEDIA: TANGIBLE ADVERTISING
A promotional product or business gift has the great advantage over other media of being tangible and durable, especially in an era where more and more information is digital.
Product media appeal to several senses (hearing, sight, touch, smell, taste) while other media stimulate only one or two senses.
- A radio spot is one-dimensional. You hear it, then it disappears.
- A TV spot is two-dimensional: we see images and hear information. After 30 seconds, it also disappears.
- A newspaper ad is also two-dimensional: the information is seen and read and the medium is tangible. The life cycle of a newspaper advertisement is, however, short: usually one day.
- But a promotional item can be seen, smelled, sometimes heard (an audio message may have been recorded on it), sometimes even smelled (for example a perfume as a business gift) and tasted (promotional candies and cookies).
The more senses that are stimulated, the more brain activity there is and the higher the memory value. This is what some studies also show. The perception of a brand is stronger when touch and sight are stimulated than when sight alone is stimulated. In addition, a promotional product lasts over time: some studies show that they are used daily or weekly and that consumers keep them for months or even years. This is what makes a promotional product so powerful.
