One thing that has always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine is how little thought organizations and individuals put into the promotional items they hand out; and some don’t bother at all. There is a better & more strategic way to use promotional items to communicate your marketing message! Below are a few steps when considering what type of promotional product is appropriate for you?

1. Focus on the Who. Are you trying to increase your presence into the state & local public sector? If so, consider this – conferences are often the only places government officials can accept promotional items. Providing a promotional item that has a good chance of being kept and used again and again is a great way to ensure name recognition when you submit an RFP to a new state market.
2. Think about the What. Are you underestimating the power of the pen? Everyone uses pens and has them all over their desks, at home, and in their laptop bags. Pens also happen to be a very cost-effective promotional item. Look for opportunities to order pens that stand out a bit, make your organization memorable, and last long enough for your name to be remembered? Make sure your pen is powerful and most importantly of good quality.
3. Consider the Where. Where do you place your promotional items once you have them? As a famous actor once said “Don’t put Baby in the corner” – likewise, don’t just put your promotional items into a storage unit, bowl or a corner. Make sure they get into the hands of key targets. Make them work for you by having conversations when handing them out.
4. Know the Why. Do your promotional items connect with your brand? I always find it interesting when I’m visiting a booth and receive a branded key chain from a technology consulting company and when I ask them what does it have to do with their company, they can’t tell me. Make some extra effort in your search for a promotional item that actually connects to your brand – it’ll help your organization stand out and be memorable.

Marketing is everywhere including all of those promotional items you hand out at a conference. Just make sure they make a clear connection to your brand they position your products well and they are memorable to your audience. All of this will ensure they’re will effectively promote your organization and its key selling points.

The post How to be Effective with Promotions in the Public Sector appeared first on Fetch Multimedia.

Remember CGI two years ago? If that name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps rephrasing the question will help jog your memory. Remember the contractor that took the blame for the struggles of healthcare.gov during the first open enrollment for public healthcare? I’m guessing you now remember. The amount of press, issues of delivery, and subsequent removing of this contract from CGI, clearly had an affect on the rest of their public sector business in the United States. Over the next several months, CGI had significant struggles with their state government contracts and pursuits.

Which leads into 4 important reasons why brand does matter in the public sector just as much as it does in the private sector:

1.  Recognition

It goes without saying that whenever you are up against a tough competitor during a bid it can greatly help if your organization name is a known one in your space. Considering many government contracts are awarded through competitive bid, being a known entity to those awarding the work can help smooth the process to a successful award.

2.  Differentiation

Likewise, having a differentiator from your competitors will help your organization stand out. Just make sure the differentiator is not a negative reputation as that leads into our next two important reasons why brand matters in the public sector.

3.  News travels fast.

The public sector has more bureaucracy and tends to be slower to change than the private sector. Because of this, a brand that isn’t managed well and is received negatively can stick around an agency for a very long time.

4.  Perception is reality and reality can suck.

And as we all know, perception is reality, which can be a bad thing if your brand has a negative connotation in the minds of those awarding contracts and working with your organization.

The post The Top 4 Reasons You Should Care About Your Brand In The Public Sector appeared first on Fetch Multimedia.