Don't Giveaway: Promote!
The difference between a lackluster giveaway and an effective, targeted promotional strategy is all in the planning...
All effective promotions begin with a purpose. Many thousands of companies lose untold dollars every year because they misunderstand the difference between a giveaway and a promotion. A properly strategized and planned promotion will not only result in giving away promotional gifts, but creating an effective promotional effort.
For instance, a local computer store might decide to send out 10,000 USB thumb drives, one to everyone in their zip code. An inexperienced promotional products company might simply ask, "What color?" and ship the USB drives. The computer company would send them out, and in a month's time all they could say is that they sent out 10,000 USB drives, but they're not sure how many customers they got because of it. It must have worked though right?
Not necessarily, and the difference is what seprates a giveaway from a promotion, and an inexperienced company from a professional one.
Let's now pretend that the promotional products company representative had instead asked the question "What do you want to accomplish with your promotion?" The computer store would probably want to get their name out there, get people in the store, and sell some computers. Excellent, now there is a purpose to the promotion, and the beginning of a strategy. The experienced promotional products company can now help to create a promotion, rather than a giveaway.
First, they might suggest that each USB key be loaded with a password. Patrons might then be encouraged to drop by the computer store on a given day to input their password into a computer. The shoppers who have a winning password could then win a prize like a mouse (with the company logo on it), a digital camera (also with logo) or the computer itself! Anyone who comes in with a USB drive and buys a computer might receive a complimentary (branded) mousepad, or a coffee mug for all the late nights they'll spend in front of their new computer.
Now, at the end of the month, the computer company can safely say that they sent 10,000 USB drives to their neighbors, 1,000 came in, resulting in 100 computer sales at an average price of $1,000 each. This promotion brought in $100,000 for the computer company in direct revenue.
When you employ a giveaway strategy, you give away revenue. When you employ a promotional strategy (especially when backed by a professional company) you generate goodwill, buzz and revenue.