PPB July 2019

Carry On Choosing the right bag makes all the difference in a promotion. I s there anything more useful than a bag? Simply put, bags allow people to carry more items than they could using only their hands. Because of this function, bags have played an important role in the development of civilization. In the early days, cave dwellers fashioned bags out of animal skins and used them to collect berries and grains. Today, we choose between paper or plastic at the grocery story, or, if we have really evolved, we bring our own reusable bags. The Campaign’s In The Bag In the promotional products industry, bags have been a long-time favorite. According to PPAI’s 2018 Sales Volume Study, bags comprised the fifth largest product category, responsible for 5.4 percent of total product sales. Gwen Brey, marketing coordinator for New Ulm, Minnesota-based supplier Beacon Promotions, Inc., says there are many reasons why bags are so popular for promotional campaigns, including the wide variety of materials, styles, colors and the larger (often two-sided) imprint areas for logos. “Totes are pretty easy to sell because of the great views, months of use and cost per impression,” Brey says, noting that a tote is kept for an average of 11 months, and 73 percent of consumers own a promotional tote. Brookelynn Miller, content marketing manager for Fountain Valley, California-based supplier Origaudio, says high-quality bags make for popular executive gifts or welcome gifts for new hires. “They also are the perfect bundle item, since you can fill a bag with other fun, useful, branded items,” she adds. Bags by Brittany Glenn 44 | JULY 2019 | GROW