Show Them The Money

the mere scent wafting through the air of Omaha Steaks grilling one of its juicy tenderloins can send trade show attendees scurrying to locate the source. And if word spreads of another vendor doling out tidbit bites of real crabmeat, booth reps can't keep up with the rush of hungry visitors.

Exhibitors who can't afford to dish out gourmet treats in exchange for a few sales leads rely instead on low-cost promotional products to entice passersby.

It takes real planning, consultation and customer insight to select the right low-priced product to get the job done. And that means thinking outside the traditional logo pen, which is not the answer to every promo product question.

Funky Junque, a lively Chicago company that markets wholesale women's fashion accessories to boutique retailers, restarted its promotional products program this year, dedicating 3% to 7% of its trade show expenses to the program. Its goal is to keep cost per piece under $1.50.

Company executives met with Remred Business Class Promotional Products Inc. to determine what would be a good fit. The group looked at dozens and dozens of products before settling on note pads that looked like million-dollar bills.

“You don't have to be wild and crazy,” says Ken Dermer, Remred's owner. “It just has to be effective.”

Now it could be said that a note pad falls into the category of “nothing special,” but the devil is in the details. The pads were chosen because retailers, Funky Junque's customers, “use notepads like crazy,” says Linda Wolff, president of Funky Junque.

Funky Junque first deployed the pads last March at the Children's Club trade show at the Javits Center in New York City, placing them on the front counter of its booth designed to look like a women's boutique featuring necklaces, bracelets, scarves, handbags and belts.

Once the show was over, Funky Junque worked to quantify the impact of the promotional program. It compared the number of revisits by existing customers, visits by new customers, and average order size with shows where no promotional product was available. The results?

Some 5% to 10% more orders were placed at the show, and Funky Junque saw an increase in orders after the show. Some 15% to 20% more people stopped by the booth and spent more time while there. Another benefit came from the increased traffic to the Web site (www.Funky-Junque.com appeared on the note pad).

The company plans to rotate in other low-cost promotional items so attendees come across something new to take away. Flavored lip balm and, yes, pens (remember, those retailers like to take notes) are next. Refreshing the promotional items is in sync with the firm's business model of continually rotating in fresh merchandise.

“It's has to be fun and we have to keep coming up with something new,” Wolff says.

The Promotional Product: Million-Dollar Note Pad

The Cost: $1.23 per piece

Quantity: 500

The Goal: Attract repeat and new customers to exhibit booth with promotional products costing less than $1.50 per piece

Promotional Products Distributor: Remred Business Class Promotional Products, Inc. www.remred.com