In the following article CMYMK directors, Matthew Gatt and Anika Gatt Seretny discuss how promoting with promotional items can make a difference also in times of crisis.
The following is based on an interview with Coryse Borg that was originally published on NEWSBOOK ON 12TH MAY 2021.
Since COVID-19 struck, a lot of companies have been struggling. Don’t you think that in times like these promotional products are maybe something a little bit extra? May something that they can do without?
Since the pandemic we’ve seen many businesses struggling. However promoting is something which you need to keep doing even in bad times. Because it is in those times that you need to remind your clients that: “hey we’re still here”. We need to remind them; “We still value your business and we still want a relationship with you”.
Can you think of a specific project that you’ve worked on where strengthening the customer relationship was the main objective of the promotional products campaign?
One of the projects that we’ve worked on was with SHE Malta. This was actually pre-COVID but it was an important example of how promotional items can help build the relationship between a brand and its audience.
SHE Malta is an organisation promoting women entrepreneurs and it gathers like-minded women who might be struggling with various aspects of their business. They provide a mentorship setup in order to share best practices and create a safe space where women can work together and collaborate through certain issues. As an organisation they organise events and offer a membership scheme. SHE Malta has built a nice, strong brand that they were looking to promote.
So you came up with a number of items that they could give to their members?
What we did is work with them to identify a number of items that they would be happy to associate with SHE Malta, and that they could provide as merchandise to boost the SHE Malta brand. One of the items we came up with are retro enamel mugs. This is a very on point and trendy item that is having a a comeback. Another item we offered with the SHE Malta branding are Popsockets. These are in themselves a known and desirable item which many people have on their phone. Now you could also get your own SHE Malta Popsocket.
A third item which has somewhat become a SHE Malta staple is the SHE Malta tote bag. We’ve honestly seen this item in someone’s hands, all over Malta, whether it is Valletta, San Gwann, Marsascala or Mellieha. When your promotional items are everywhere, you are truly managing to widen your brand reach
Do you think that these items helped SHE Malta connect with their audience better?
Definitely. I think that promotional items here proved to be a very effective marketing tool to strengthen their relationship with members and project their brand further as a desirable, trendy brand. With promotional items the brand remains more present and in the minds of the audience. In this case we also had an additional dimension where the promotional items also helped SHE Malta widen their reach and generate revenue. By promoting the items and offering them also on their online store they were available to a wider audience.
If you would like to find out more about SHE Malta and their Membership please visit their website here. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned in this article you can also do so via the link here. The following is an edited except of the original interview. Click here to read about another project that we worked on.
