How to Battle Short Attention Spans with Promotional Products

In an age where short attention spans and RSS feeds rule, promotional products hold out as tangible bulwarks against the incessant firing off of information. According to a New York Times article by Stuart Elliot entitled "TV Commercials Adjust to a Shorter Attention Span," 30-second television commercials became the norm back in the 1970s, but today commercials are as short as five seconds in order to stun savvy viewers who mute ads or fast-forward them on DVR. These cheaper, shorter segments allow advertisers to wage blitzkrieg attacks, firing many short shots at viewers rather than one long one they could easily duck.

Rich media ads on the Internet are just as brief -- 10-15 seconds -- and it's even more vital that they grab your attention since users can pause or close the ad with a click of the mouse. And because Internet ads are relatively new, the public is less conditioned to and tolerant of them. Advertising agencies are forced to innovate in order to create content that viewers want to watch. With the endless amount of media available, it is simply too easy to turn away from an ad.

Promotional products, on the other hand, offer consumers not an experience but an object. As tangible items, promotional products are inherently less ephemeral, but they still have to compete with thousands of other influences for a customer's attention. Here are some guidelines to making the message of your promotional products short, sweet, and direct, in order to capture short attention spans that have become the norm.

Less is more. One valuable product is worth a thousand chotchkies. Just like information, you don't want to overwhelm your customers with promotional products they won't use. Throwing hordes of letter openers, keychains and caps at a customer is generous but makes the promotional products -- and your brand -- appear less valuable. Instead, offer your customers a quality item they will use, not lose, like a cup, water bottle, or coffee mug. Drinkware and other useful items become incorporated into customers' everyday lives. Instead of seeing your logo on a thousand promotional products one day and zero the next, they'll see it on one item, consistently, each and every day. That kind of repetition allows your brand to outlive the five-second attention span.

Be consistent. When you find promotional products that work, stick with them. If you work for a university, for example, don't abandon that heather gray hooded sweatshirt with embroidered blue lettering that always sells. Having seen it on their older friends and siblings, incoming freshmen will identify the sweatshirt with the university brand and look forward to donning it once they reach campus. Certainly other colors and styles will sell as novelties, but maintain the classics. Similarly, if you represent an Internet start-up, consider using a single color for your promotional products. People will begin to associate red with your company and identify your start-up as vibrant and energetic. JetBlue, for example, uses blue promotional products that brand the airline as calming and comfortable, thereby syncing its promotional products with its claim of offering the most legroom in coach.

Keep it simple. The best imprint for promotional products is short, easy to read, and visually organized. Don't overwhelm your audience with text. Promotional products are meant to make customers aware of your brand, not inform them of every detail about your business. Like five-second television ads, promotional products act as teasers that generate curiosity and interest. Giving away all the best scenes in the preview only ensures disappointment when the full story is revealed. Make sure that whatever text you do imprint upon your promotional products is clear and bold. If you want your promotional products to work for you, make them visible to as many people as possible. That means bystanders on buses and trains, and not just the person holding it, should be able to read the logo on your promotional travel mug. Instead of trying to get fancy with typefaces of the week, keep it simple with a classic font that cannot be instantly identified on Microsoft Word. He lvetica is an incredibly ubiquitous, effective typeface that looks clear and neutral: Crate & Barrel, Jeep, Lufthansa and American Apparel all use that font. Don't underestimate good design; make sure your logo is clear and attractive, or else your promotional products won't have anything to showcase.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy