Also known as promotional items, marketing swag, corporate gifts, or business gifts, goodies are advertising media offered to customers, prospects, or employees as part of a promotional campaign.
The very first goodies were created in England in the 18th century. They were designed by Josiah Brown, a cigar manufacturer who engraved the rings of his cigars to make personalized gifts.
Gradually, goodies were democratized, particularly during the industrial revolution of the 19th century, which made it possible to manufacture standardized objects.
Today, almost every company in every industry uses them at least once in its lifetime.
Goodies can be distributed at a variety of events, such as trade shows and fairs. They also delight spectators at major events such as the Tour de France, with its numerous advertising trailers.
During summer street marketing campaigns on the beach, for example, or in front of a store, they can also be handed out to people walking by to promote a brand or the sale of a product.
Goodies are generally small, practical objects such as key-rings, pens, shopping cart tokens, caps, reusable bags, mugs, etc. They can also involve food items, such as gift baskets with candy, cheese, beverages, cookies, etc.—whatever is likely to leave the best impact on the recipient!
Their aim is to raise brand awareness by becoming part of the daily life of the consumer, who will use the promotional item on a regular basis.
In this way, the advertising message has a lasting impact on the life of the consumer and those close to them, since these objects are generally kept for a long time.
To achieve this, goodies are personalized with the brand’s colors. They can incorporate the logo, slogan, or any other written communication element that will enable the consumer to easily identify the brand.
Goodies are therefore a really good communication medium for companies.
They’re also a highly effective medium, because according to a study carried out by CSA Research in 2017, the memorization rate linked to goodies is 75%, which is as high as cinema and therefore well above all other communication media.
What’s more, according to the same study, 77% of consumers would like to receive more goodies from brands, and the same proportion claim to keep them for a long time.
While the well-known goodies such as key rings, mugs, and t-shirts have been attracting less interest in recent years, high-tech products are in demand, as are office accessories. Ecological and locally made gifts are other top items in terms of popularity with consumers.
