PPB August 2019

Meaning 75 percent say promotional products are a good way to learn about new businesses in the area 74 percent say promotional products they receive at events make experiences more memorable 73 percent say promotional products are a good way to learn about upcoming sales and events 96 percent of consumers want to know ahead of time when companies offer promotional products (See Figure 3) 2 3 Figure 3. TOP THREE COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES, BY GENERATION “How would you like to find out when companies or brands offer promotional products?” Boomer Gen X Millennial Gen Z Email Email Email Email Direct Mail Text Message Text Message Text Message TV Direct Mail Mobile Push Notification Mobile Push Notification Source: PPAI 2019 Consumer Study (n=2,881) PPAI’s 2017 study reported that the top three reasons people keep promotional products are because they are fun, functional and trendy. Perhaps for these reasons the pass-along rate for promotional products is high—and that’s another advantage of choosing promotional products over other types of advertising media. When survey respondents were asked what they would do with a promotional product that was no longer valuable, 79 percent said they donated the product to charity, gave or sold it to someone else, or never disposed of it. Twelve percent said they would dispose of a promotional product that wasn’t good for the environment; this was less of a concern for Baby Boomers (eight percent) than for Gen Z (nearly 20 percent). Not only do consumers want promotional products, but they experience FOMO (fear of missing out). The majority (61 percent) of respondents say they would prefer receiving an email when promotional products are being offered. While consumers of all ages agree on email, other forms of communication show stark differences between the preferences of older and younger generations. For example, TV ranked eighth among Gen Z consumers compared to a top three choice for 36 percent of Baby Boomers. Mobile push notifications may be the last thing on a Baby Boomer’s mind (nine percent), yet the tool ranks particularly high among Millennials (26 percent) and Gen Z (35 percent). The complete results from the 2019 Consumer Study are available free to PPAI members and for purchase by companies not eligible for membership. Log in to access the full report at www.ppai.org/members/research or email membership@ppai.org to join. For questions about this study, email PPAI research manager Mo Das at MoD@ppai.org . Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB ; Mo Das is PPAI’s research manager. PPAI Exclusive Research | FEATURE | AUGUST 2019 | 41