With their sizable impact, small promotional items prove that oftentimes “less is more.”

You’d think large corporations like UPS, Wachovia, Liberty Mutual, Chase, Nationwide and Honeywell would stick with big, impressive, expensive promos. But they’ve all promoted themselves with antibacterial pocket sprayers (item 10601-0.25 by Custom HBC Corp, asi/47934) purchased from Corporate Express (asi/168771). Why? Because little things mean a lot. Here’s how.

Lower Cost
A miniature promotional item solved a big problem for Jenny Hanrahan, sales representative at Billboard Marketing (asi/140097). One of her clients, a financial services consulting firm, wanted to give its clients a classy holiday promotional gift. She showed them several items from different price tiers, including a 5" x 7" digital photo frame that really captured their attention. “They thought it would be very useful for many demographics,” she says. “Everyone likes to display pictures of family and friends.”

But the frame’s cost exceeded their budget for that price tier of clients. Instead of letting the sale slip through her fingers, Hanrahan pitched them item DPFOVLK, a mini photo keychain by Crown Products (asi/47700), which holds 56 photos and can display them on its 1.1" screen.

Although smaller, the keychain retained the usefulness and tech appeal of the digital photo frame. The client ordered 25 and had them imprinted with their logo.

Good Traveler
In addition to helping clients stay within their price point for gift promotions, miniatures can also offer portable, practical giveaways for a general end-user. A distributor recently ordered from Natural Trends (asi/73497) for a hotel client. The hotel management wanted to provide travelers with a small, attractive memento of their stay. Natural Trends’ mini Stain Remover (item SS6025) met both needs and with its three-color label, the hotel’s logo really stood out on the white casing.

“It is perfectly sized for the pocket, purse, briefcase and drawer,” says Chelon Nickollette, a representative for Natural Trends. The diminutive size also ensures that airplane travelers can take their souvenir home in their carry-on luggage.

A portable product also provided a memorable and inexpensive gift shop item for the Pollack-Krasner House Museum in East Hampton, N.Y. As museum gift shop souvenirs go, it’s hard for the management to offer items that are desirable, affordable to customers and that include the museum’s contact information. It’s also nice if the item will give the museum plenty of impressions by frequent use.

Joe Lombardi, vice president of Provender International Corp. (asi/79975), proposed just the right mini item: his company’s .56-oz. mini sugar-free mint tin. The supplier customized the tin with the museum’s contact information and art representing Jackson Pollack, an artist who often used the floor for testing his color combinations. Art enthusiasts seeing the image of a paint-splattered floor immediately think of Pollack. That kind of insider allusion that only “art people” would recognize, along with the low cost and practicality, makes the tin a hit.

Lombardi, who sells both directly and through distributors, won the Pollack-Krasner House Museum as a new client; the museum ordered 540 tins, prompting him to consider pitching the same idea to other gift shops, bed-and-breakfasts, and other image-conscious businesses.

Quality Counts
Selecting a high-quality miniature item helps ensure that the promotion will be a hit. Mike Cleary, president of J.W. Cleary, met the need of Realtor clients he serves by doing just that.
The Realtors liked giving mini flashlights to their clients as a closing gift. The problem is, “most Realtors don’t sell 50 houses in a month,” Cleary says. “The lights may sit on a shelf for three years, so if they’re the cheap ones with the little watch battery, they’ll often go dead before the lights are given away.”

With a little research, he found item PAL4000 from Pressalite Corporation (asi/79940), which uses a removable AAA battery. That way, Realtors can insert fresh batteries before giving away the flashlights. Once those batteries go dead, the end user can replace them and keep using the lights, unlike disposable lights.

Cleary also likes the fact that the paper insert wraps all the way around this mini light, offering more space for a firm’s contact information and logo.

Bob Kreuzburg, vice president of sales for Harvey-Daco (asi/221600), also knows that small doesn’t mean cheap. When tapped by a large financial/real estate firm for an event memento, a small-but-nice miniature item filled the need.

The firm had invited clients to their suite in Arlington Stadium to see a Texas Rangers game. One of Kreuzburg’s account executives suggested American National Supply’s (asi/35579) mini baseball bat pen and case (item BBWB/3701), made of solid maple and laser engraved with the client’s logo on the pen and case. The case also bore the tagline, “Thanks for coming to bat with us.”

The client ordered 70 at $25 each. “Not only does the case work as a paperweight, but when you open it up, the mini baseball bat is a high-quality writing instrument,” Kreuzburg says.

The item’s diminutive size made it easy for guests to take with them and “it’s a nice-looking piece, which the client would more than likely keep and use,” he says. “Our account executive said it was very well received and guests were able to leave with a nice memento of the good time they had at the ballpark. It helped cement their relationship with the financial organization.”
Cross-Generational Appeal

Mini does not just appeal to one or two demographics or age groups. It works across the board. Here are some ideas.

Ever thrifty, the Silent Generation (65+) likes getting almost anything free. But they do prefer quality items and American-made goods, particularly if it’s a thank-you gift. Consider Benchmark Industries, LLC’s (asi/39700) item 2003, a mini clock in wood and silver, which would make a nice table or home office accent. For an interest-grabbing promotion, select items related to their interests, such as a mini golf tee caddy. Maxfli PowerMax mini golf bag kit (item MGLFBGPMX) by Crown Products (asi/47700) looks like a tiny golf bag and comes in a variety of colors (even pink!). The kit includes three balls and five tees.

As they retire, many Baby Boomers downsize their digs and whittle down their stuff. They may be more likely to keep a small item than a big one, especially if it fits in with their pared-down lifestyle. A mini fire extinguisher, such as item PKG C4 by CMV Ent. (asi/43017) fits better in the condo or motor home than a large one, for example.

Generation X likes portable items that help them maintain their on-the-go lifestyle, such as a mini hand sanitizer (item 10601-0.06M ) from Custom HBC Corp. (asi/47934) or All-in-One’s (asi/34256) computer accessories travel kit (item AIO-TRAVK), packed with mini versions of office essentials.

Generation Y has grown up with their favorite techno toys shrinking with each new release. Smaller is better to this age bracket. Anything small and technologically savvy appeals to this crowd, like USB flash drives. Item USB-MINISWI by Emage Enterprises (asi/52207) packs 4 GB in a sleek little unit. JMTek LLC’s (asi/63053) card reader/writer (item SDR-1) supports a host of memory card platforms, including mini SD. Or consider a mini iPod case (item SIL22) by Essef Distributors (asi/52710).

Children like things that are small, like them. They like items older people use, such as a mini lip balm or flashlight on a keychain. But tiny replicas and toys such as mini plush (for girls) or popular action figures (for boys) work well also. Girls would love item KeyMoose by Plush by Mascot (asi/78796) for clipping on a backpack or zipper pull. And holy key tags, Batman! What boy wouldn’t love his own Caped Crusader keychain (item TATBAT) from The WOW Line (asi/68670)

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant is a NY-based freelance writer.