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One thing they all have in common, though: The use of promotional products to enhance their marketing efforts. Brands as diverse as EA Sports, The Weather Channel, Dunkin’ Donuts and Heinz have all recently incorporated ad specialty items into their promotional campaigns. Why? Kiernan Laughlin, senior marketing associate for Gorton’s Seafood, and Sara Braca, associate brand manager for Heinz Ketchup, explain the thought behind the strategy when both of those brands hooked up for a joint promotion recently. “A personalized bottle of ketchup and other giveaways, including Heinz and Gorton’s magnets and stickers, provide an added value for prospective winners and allow us to reinforce brand loyalty across both brands,” they said in a joint statement.

Even further, other brands use promotional items as a way to get their best customers constantly promoting their brand names. Call it true grass-roots marketing. “It’s a badge of identity for people who wear and use gear branded with the Jones Soda logo,” says Josh Groff, brand manager for Jones Soda. “By making these personal connections with our fans, they each become brand ambassadors.”

Here’s a powerful case study of how a large brand-name company used ad specialties in recent marketing and promotional efforts. Last summer, Jones Soda proudly proclaimed it was “the official soda of the road trip.” To prove it, the premium soda brand teamed with Griffin Technology to reward people for sharing their most creative photos taken while traveling across North America.

Using Twitter, travelers were asked to make a post with the hashtag #roadtripjones and include their destination or itinerary. Photos and videos could then be uploaded at www.jonessoda.com/gallery and hashtagged through Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Ten winners received one of 10 Griffin iTrip AutoPilots, and 10 photos from their journeys were selected to appear on Jones Soda bottles internationally. The grand prize winner also received a $500 shopping spree at www.griffintechnology.com.

While the main marketing strategy for Jones Soda was conceived through online channels, the whole effort was enhanced by the use of a live road-show tour that included representatives handing out promotional products to people they encountered. During the summer, the Jones Soda RV hit various locations during a 10,000-mile journey throughout the country, tweeting all the way (@Jones_Soda_RV). Consumers who caught up with the RV or stopped by the soda company’s national headquarters received bumper stickers and coupons.

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Case in point: When Rachael Rose, field service manager with Regency Office Products (asi/306196), was contacted by a company that claimed to want only a low-end promotional product for its safety promotion, as its budget was allegedly a mere $200. At first, she sold them 500 logoed stickers that resembled a yield sign. The total sticker order was $184.

But Rose convinced her client’s reps that they could afford what they perceived as medium- and high-end safety items by presenting the products for an entire safety program. “I presented a safety cone, a hard hat, a hammer, safety stickers, magnets and chocolate hard hats,” she says. “By the time I had finished presenting my findings, the customer was purchasing the sticker at budget, the safety cones a little above budget, and the chocolate hard hats significantly above budget.”

The cones cost $680 for 500, while the hats cost $725 for 500. While this added up to just $1.36 and $1.45 per unit, respectively, Rose’s accomplishment was no small feat. After all, she convinced her client to spend a total of $1,492 on that order – nearly seven times higher than their initial budget.

Rose’s winning strategy, and one you should adopt, is to always move slowly but surely up the price ladder, and offer a program instead of just a product. “I always go with something right at the customer’s budget, something a few dollars above, and something significantly above,” she says. “I find that customers are so open to new and creative ideas that if you can bring a significant value to their promotion and create a true campaign for them, the dollar amount is no longer a concern.”

Here are some great ideas for low, medium and higher price-point items.

Get Low: Monitor Calendars
Cost: 50 cents
Why: Calendars that can be stuck onto a computer monitor are a fantastic and inexpensive way for end-users to keep the attention of their prospective customers in a long-term way, says Barbara Burcham, owner of Ad-Specialties & More Ltd. (asi/113357). “They have the whole year at a glance, and the whole logo is in the middle,” she says.

In particular, Burcham’s finance-related clients love these calendars, but she says that they are appealing to any number of clients. “For tax services, financial institutions – anybody would love these monitor calendars,” she says.

Possible themes: Special events (“save the date”); relationship building/employee morale (“it’s going to be a great year”); self-promotion (“great ideas brought to you 365 days a year”).

In the Middle: Blankets & Throws
Cost: $15-$35
Why: The industry produces a number of logoed blankets and throws that end-users love, says Bruce Jolesch, senior vice president of PXP Promotions (asi/297068). “Kanata Blanket (asi/63723) has a whole assortment of blankets that we’ve used as a mid-point idea with success,” he says. “They can be used anytime a client has a baby, and we’ve also seen them used for visits in the hospital.”

Possible themes: Real-estate programs (“a warm welcome”); insurance promotions (“we’ve got you covered”).

Higher Ground: Personalized Pens
Cost: Low-end up to $200 range
Why: “I’m a big believer that a personalized pen is something that people keep,” says Jolesch, who gets his pens from A.T. Cross (asi/47520).

These pens can come with a corporate logo, a person’s name, or both. And the fact that these are brand-name pens makes a world of difference in the buyer’s mind, according to Jolesch. “Anytime you’re dealing with a brand, it’s a high-perceived value by definition,” he says.

Market Your Business Through Good Relationships
One major business casualty in the last year was customer-business trust. Damaged by the Madoffs, AIGs, and GMs of the world and forced by a down economy and growing unemployment to pinch every penny, many customers are simply finding it difficult to hand their trust over to those with whom they do business.

That said, 2010 offers an opportunity for a fresh start. And while cutting prices or updating your marketing plan might help get the job done, it’s the connections you make and the relationships you build that will be the true game changers.

Relationships are more important than ever, particularly when it comes to doing business. If we simply pay closer attention to the e-mails, phone calls, and online interactions that make up our days, we can in turn create solid relationships with colleagues and clients alike. Here are three ways to make more meaningful business connections.

1. Improve your social networking skills. In today’s business world, you can’t ignore social networking. We promote products on Facebook, network through LinkedIn, and get our news updates via tweets on Twitter. But making meaningful connections via social media can sometimes take a little extra work and a different approach. Choose to connect with people who have similar interests or who are working in your particular field. And when someone you know, want to know, or need to know connects with you online, you should always reciprocate. It shows that you’re interested and available, and that you’re paying attention to them. And don’t let your online connections get lost out in cyberspace. Find ways to connect through other avenues such as conferences, retreats or occasional in-office visits.

2. Leverage your connections. Effectively leverage your business network by creating a large enough network, regularly staying in touch with them, and helping them get to know you and what you do in your business. But most of all, concentrate on getting to know them and developing a relationship focused on them. It takes a plan, but leveraging current relationships can be the miracle answer to the typical grind of prospecting. Advocates, centers of influence, and your customers will give you referrals and introductions that are critical to expanding your reach and incremental sales growth.

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