A tradeshow visitor walks up to you, points to one of your promotional products, and asks “Can I have one of these for my kid?” Or maybe you’re meeting with a client and upon handing him your cool new promotion, he exclaims, “My kid will love this!” Your heart sinks as you realize that this promotion will not be used for its intended purpose which is to sell your product, service or cause. Worse yet is that those marketing dollars are being wasted to provide a child with a plaything.
There are also some additional issues that come into play (pun intended!) with these scenarios. Though these items are not intended for children, they are now going to be given to children, opening up an additional layer of consumer product safety concerns.
Can you avoid this problem? Even though whether someone gives an item to a child or not is out of your control, there are some promotional product strategies you can use to make it less of an issue.
Read SWAG: How to Choose and Use Promotional Products for Marketing Your Business
1. Select Age and Purpose Appropriate Promotional Products – Select items that adults use. Chances are children are not going to be too interested in items such as auto travel mugs, writing portfolios, and adult-size clothing. Look for items that relate to your marketing purpose or event to help guide you.
2. Avoid “Cute” if Giving to Adults – This is where the trouble really starts. In particular, stress balls available in a myriad of cute characters and shapes are problematic. These are not toys and should not be given to young children! They are not required to be made or imprinted with kid-friendly materials. Bits of them can also be worked off, presenting a swallowing or choking hazard. Same principle for stuffed toys, model cars, novelty pens, and the like.
3. Select Safer Products – Unsure of in what hands your item will end up? Are you actually giving to children as a way to endear yourself to the parents? Select an item that complies with safety standards for non-toxic materials or would not present other hazards by nature. For example, coloring books can be a safer choice, especially looking for those which are identified as using non-toxic inks. Ask your promotional product distributor for details on particular products.
Don’t let your promotional product end up in the hands of little ones who have no ability to buy from you! This will save you marketing dollars and will help make your promotions more effective.
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Product Info
- Shop for promotional products at PromoWithPurposeShop.com
- Shop for Made in USA promotional products at USAandUnionMadePromoShop.com
- Read SWAG: How to Choose and Use Promotional Products for Marketing Your Business
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