How to Steal a Page from the Steelers' Promotional Product Playbook

Watching the most recent NFL playoffs, I was certainly struck by commentary that the noise in the Seattle Seahawks stadium from the fans had such a dramatic effect on visiting teams. Who says fans don’t get into the game? They’re a huge “player!”

And helping to fuel that fervor is the fan gear that brings color and solidarity to sports-loving crowds. Prime example is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Terrible Towels.” Did you realize that they’ve been using ‘em since 1975? It’s a promotional product legend. (Too bad it didn’t help them win Super Bowl XLV! Oh well… just say it’s because they played in Dallas.)

Good thing about these kinds of items is that they can become collectibles. So how can you start your own promotional product legend for your sports team or even event or tradeshow? Here are few neat ideas:

Your Own “Tremendous Towel” – Let’s call ‘em “Tremendous Towels.” Sounds better than “terrible.” But you can take a page out of the Steelers’ promotional playbook and encourage your fans or customers to take pics of themselves in fantastic locations with their rally towels (with, ahem, some restrictions of course). Helps to engage them in your promotion. Run contests for the best, strangest, farthest, etc. location or for significant locations or events such as at your branch offices, regional stores, particular games, etc. Could also be integrated with Foursquare or WeReward location-based social media apps, instructing recipients to also post a picture with the towels when they check in. Update: Check out the Steeler/ESPN “Towel Around the World” site where fans can load their pics showing off their “Terrible Towels” at www.TowelAroundTheWorld.com.
“Snackaphones” – Get megaphones that double as popcorn and snack holders during the game or event. Dual-duty helps cut promotional costs. As well, the ones we feature are made in the USA of recycled material, are biodegradable, phthlate and lead free, non-toxic, and CPSIA certified. Saves green, goes green!

And, yes, if you’ve gotta have those large foam fingers, we got ‘em and a whole bunch of other shapes (ever hear of a cheering noodle?) to add movement and color to your crowd. Plus, those we offer are union made in the USA.