Marketing Custom Bags To The Masses

For many companies, promotional products serve as an integral part of their overall marketing strategy. They offer a number advantages over alternative solutions, such as Print and Television; they’re comparatively inexpensive, they’re reusable and provide sustained brand exposure over an extended period of time for no additional cost. One of the most popular promo items to emerge in recent times are Custom Bags. A familiar item at trade shows for companies to place their other promotional freebies and giveaways in and hand to would-be customers, custom bags are both fashionable and practical.  Keep reading to learn more about marketing custom bags to the masses.

More than mere storage devices, custom bags are proverbial chariots for your company brand, not only providing valuable exposure to others when in use, but also to the user of the bag itself. Whilst all custom bag suppliers offer you the ability to display your brand and slogan as standard, a more lucrative tactic is to also request to have your company’s web address (URL) attached, as well. This offers an interested or curious observer of your brand, a direct ticket to your company’s most prized promotional tool, your website. Like the universe itself, cyberspace is an immeasurably large and ever expanding dimension, populated by the presence of millions of businesses, so unless your company has a totally unique name, it’s best to add the web address rather than let a potential client enter the name of your company in the search engine which may lead them to a completely different site, or at worst, a competitor’s site.

Going Green – The Grocery Bag Revolution

Environmentally friendly products have been around for years, that’s nothing new, but in recent times there has been greater efforts by many stores around the world to improve their eco-friendly standards. One initiative that has gained momentum, is the gradual replacement of all plastic bags with reusable bags. This not only ensures a dramatic reduction of plastic waste materials in the environment, but also elevates the reputation of the company who advocates the use of such products, by making them a crusader of the reusable resource initiative.

This heightened focus on reusable bags presents an ideal opportunity for company’s to garner priceless brand exposure for their products. Rather than disposables, people are now opting to use stylish tote bags to carry their groceries and belongings. Unlike their plastic counterparts, your branded bags won’t end up in a landfill, but will instead be used by it’s owner for numerous occasions, far beyond mere grocery shopping.

Distributing Your Custom Bags

So we’ve established that custom bags are a cost-effective marketing solution that has the potential to offer your brand significant exposure – especially given recent efforts by stores to do their bit in saving Mother Earth, but how do we get these bags to our would-be clients to begin with? Rather than relying solely upon trade shows to hand them out for free, there’s a whole host of ways in which your company can create opportunities to distribute them freely, or at a small cost to the buyer.

1)      Athletics Carnivals – having a stall at a sports event is a ideal way to peddle your personalised merchandise to customers. Along with a custom bags, such an occasion gives you a prime opportunity to sell other promotional items that are relevant to sporting events such as water bottles, caps, towels, sweatbands and any number of additional paraphernalia, all fully branded with your company’s logo, slogan and website address.

2)      School Fete – similar to the athletics carnival, school fetes provide endless opportunities for the sale of custom branded merchandise, such as lunch boxes, pens, caps, frisbees, shirts and custom USB Sticks, all of which can be conveniently contained within a stylish custom bag.

3)      As An Incentive – consider providing your customers with a Free custom bag whenever they purchase a certain amount of items from your store.

4)      As a Gift Bag – similar to 3), except instead of just offering them one of your bags, consider giving them a bag filled with other branded items as well. This may cost more, but will provide multiple opportunities for brand exposure as well.

5)      A Fundraiser Event – fundraisers provide a range of opportunities with which to distribute your custom bags; consider arranging an assortment of quality baked goods, treats and snacks, as well as a gift bags containing to any number of custom printed items, such as children’s teddy bears, clothing and more.

Things To Consider When Designing Your Custom Bags

Before you consider purchasing personalised bags for your company, there’s a number of factors you need to be aware of that affect product expenses.

• Firstly, it’s the type of custom bag. There are many styles of bags available, including drawstring, non-woven, backpacks, lunch bags, tote bags and more
• Secondly, the amount of colours your custom print requires and hence, the number of inks required
• Thirdly, the quantity of your order. The greater the quantity, the less expensive each bag becomes. (Note: while suppliers won’t impose a maximum quantity number, there will be a minimum order size for a given product type)
• Design Consultation – suppliers will always be available to help you with your product design, however, be aware that some suppliers may charge a design consultation fee, should you require it
• Samples – before committing to a full batch of items, it’s wise to have the supplier send a sample item to you, as it will give you an exact idea of what your final order will look like. This may incur an additional charge in some cases.

The Final Word

By using custom bags, you’re not only guaranteeing a healthier existence for our planet, but for your business, as well. With so many styles of branded bags to choose from and so many ways in which to distribute them to would-be customers, they represent an excellent long-term marketing solution for a relatively small outlay, when compared to other mediums such as Print and TV. Add to this, the global commitment of many major stores around the world to eliminating disposable plastic bags once and for all, and you have a cost-efficient, self-driven marketing model, that is activated every time a person is utilising your bag or promotional item. Typically, an advert lasts only for as long as you’re willing to pay the advertiser, but with a custom bag, it lasts for as long as that person is willing to use your product.

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