Perfect Promo: Making Memories That Last
Effective promo can be as simple as the free pens in the jar at your bank, but some campaigns demonstrate the potential of promotional products to create a memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression.
Here are three award-winning examples:
Keep Calm And Bake On
When pandemic restrictions and furloughs prevented Lesaffre Group employees from baking their holiday goodies in its test kitchens as they had for years, the baking ingredients company partnered a promotional products distributor to bring the experience to employees in their homes.
Together, they created a custom baking gift box dubbed “Keep Calm and Bake Pies” that was delivered to 450 employees just before Thanksgiving 2020.
Designed to look like the beloved baking ovens in the company’s test kitchens, the gift box included a branded apron, oven mitt and various utensils needed for baking holiday desserts, as well as a custom cookbook with popular recipes from the test kitchens, a gift card to purchase ingredients and a personal note of thanks and support from the CEO.
The employees and their families were delighted to receive the “Keep Calm and Bake Pies” boxes, even making use of the items beyond the kitchen.
Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
They say good things come to those who wait, and premium tequila brand Don Julio 1942 engaged a promo distributor to help them prove it to 150 influencers and celebrity fans.
Due to the pandemic, the spirit was unavailable for several months in 2020. Don Julio and its promo partners collaborated to create a special experience to celebrate the return f the spirit with custom bottle cuffs featuring locks programmed to pop open at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day 2021.
The promo distributor made it all happen within four weeks, procuring timer padlocks from overseas within two weeks and creating a custom mold for the 24k gold cuff in the U.S., then using a local 3D printer to produce 125 standard cuffs and 25 magnum cuffs in just three weeks.
The specially prepared bottles were then drop-shipped to recipients in every U.S. time zone, plus two overseas. The finished product wowed recipients, and the Don Julio team was thrilled with the buzz generated on social media.
A Winning Hand
BC Hydro Power Pioneers, a nonprofit group representing more than 5,000 retirees of the electric utility company for the province of British Columbia in western Canada, engaged a local promo company to design and produce custom playing cards for them.
The goal of the product was threefold:
- Provide a unique and engaging way to preserve and share the legacy of the utility company’s history.
- Provide members with a safe, stay-at-home activity during COVID-19.
- Raise money for BC Children’s Hospital.
Each of the 54 playing cards, printed on premium casino-grade linen playing card stock, features interesting historical facts and imagery. The deck provides a fun and interactive way to complement Gaslights to Gigawatts, a hardcover coffee table book of interviews, stories and photos detailing the organization’s history.
More than 100 decks were sold online; another 200 decks were sold or gifted to museums, libraries and community groups; and all proceeds were donated to BC Children’s Hospital.
