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Where did the Promotional Products come from?

Where did the Promotional Products come from?

Nowadays, promotional products have entered everyday life permanently. Every day, after all, we use pens marked in the company logo, we carry keys suspended on an advertising leash or we drink from branded mugs and bottles. Currently, promotional gifts are a completely separate marketing industry, where many companies base their advertising activities. And although it may seem that giving out gadgets is a relatively new method of promotion, which began with the 20th century. However, this is completely different.

The use of promotional products can almost be tantamount to building brand awareness; we are surrounded by a whole range of products that somehow advertise a given brand or person. Already before our era powerful rulers used objects marked in their likeness, showing to whom the building or territory belongs to. This enabled the public to recognize under which jurisdiction they are in a given area. This situation is considered one of the first known examples of branding objects.

However, the purposeful use of promotional products is for the first time in 1789, when commemorative stamps were used. Produced to honor George Washington, who became the first president of the newly formed United States.

Necessity is the mother of invention

It is worth mentioning Jasper Meeku, who is considered to be the precursor of the Promotional Products industry. At the end of the 19th century, he was the owner of a printing press in the USA and tried to think of a way to earn extra money. He was looking for a service that his employees could do while they were not busy printing different editions of newspapers.

The idea of a new business came to him when he saw a child trying to carry all the books needed for school. He invented to print advertising slogans on jute bags, which would then be worn by students on their way to class. On the bags, there was the slogan "Buy Cantwell shoes" advertising the shoe store. This idea turned out to be a great success, because each party had certain profits in it. Jasper Meek found a way to make money while printing newspapers, the advertiser gained a great way to promote his business, and the children got a completely free product that facilitated their daily lives.

Of course, it was not just about bags. Then another successful production was started, this time the covers were printed on the top of the horse. Thanks to this success, Meek could start his own official company dealing only with advertising gadgets. Until the end of the 19th century, it sold its products practically without any serious competition.

However, the success of the company Meeka did not go unnoticed. The competition started to enter the market, and the promotional products themselves were growing rapidly. The result was the establishment in 1904 of the Promotional Products Association International, which began to deal with issues such as prices, new ideas and operational procedures. Its composition included the 12 largest manufacturers of Promotional Products in the USA. Interestingly, this relationship works today, organizing numerous conferences and trade fairs.

Promotional Products in Europe

It may seem that promotional gifts started to be used equally quickly on the Old Continent. However, when items branded in a company logo were used in many American homes, newspapers and billboards continued to be the main advertising medium in Europe. The situation began to slowly change in the 1970s, when companies from the United Kingdom began to see the opportunities offered by the appropriate use of branded products. They were handed out to customers as Christmas presents. It turned out to be a great idea - gifts allowed to deepen relationships and increase brand recognition, which resulted in an increase in sales and market shares. Over time, the use of promotional gifts began to change. The promotional products that were handed on during Christmas were distributed throughout the year.

The demand for advertising products has been steadily growing, and the demand for new, more diverse articles has been growing. This led to the expansion of the number of product catalogs and companies that focused only on a specific range of promotional products.

What will be the future?

Thousands of new, innovative promotional gifts have been produced for decades. Also invented hundreds of ways of applying graphics on them. Currently, there are wide possibilities of marking almost every product, from simple office items to modern electronic products. Thanks to this, promotional products are now a particularly apt way to advertise the brand, expand marketing campaigns and make new contacts. However, it is impossible to predict the future, it is possible that another unique gift idea awaits "just around the corner" until the successor of Jasper Meek falls in on him. All we have to do is wait and carefully observe the world around us.

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