150 - Beyond the Logo: Crafting Compelling Narratives through Promotional Products

In this episode, Brian Scott shares how to effectively use promotional products for maximum impact.

Brian is a promotional product supplier who specializes in spices. He and his wife Cynthia work as a team and are excited to share their passion for healthy, flavorful food, travel – and some wellness mixed into the recipe. They both come from an athletic background, having competed in numerous marathons and Ironman races.

To learn more and view a sample of Brian’s spices, visit www.swagspiration.com and search for spice powerpaks.

If you’d like to go “beyond your logo” for your business and create memorable themes and experiences that make a lasting connection, please reach out via the contact page on the website.

In this episode we cover:

2:44     Distributors & Suppliers

6:51     Ad

9:31     Guerilla Marketing

11:34   Archetypes

13:58   Case Study

16:35   ROI

18:32   Planogram

20:16   Persona

22:15   Gifts & Giveaways

24:34   Seasonality

25:59   Brand Integrity

Thanks so much for tuning in again this week. I appreciate you  🙂

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Special thanks to Brian Scott for being on the show.

If you have a question or comment for a future episode, visit https://www.speakpipe.com/lbovm.

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Transcript

Did You Know  0:02  
Did you know that promotional products can influence consumer behavior? According to research receiving a promotional product increases the likelihood of consumers taking action, such as contacting the company making a purchase or recommending the brand to others. 

Intro  0:18  
Hello, action taker! Welcome to Live Blissed Out, a podcast where I have inspirational and informational conversations with business owners and subject matter experts to help you get the scoop on a variety of topics. Tired of hesitating or making decisions without having the big picture? Wanna be in the know? Then this is the place to go. I'm your host Marisa Huston. Helping you achieve bliss through awareness and action. So let's get to it. In this episode, Brian Scott shares how to effectively use promotional products for maximum impact. Brian is a promotional product supplier who specializes in spices. He and his wife Cynthia work as a team and are excited to share their passion for healthy flavorful food, travel and some wellness mixed into the recipe. They both come from an athletic background having competed in numerous marathons and Ironman races. To learn more and view a sample of Brian spices, visit www.swagspiration.com and search for spice powerpaks. If you'd like to go "beyond your logo" for your business and create memorable themes and experiences that make a lasting connection, please reach out via the contact page on the website. 

Disclaimer  1:25  
The information opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. This podcast should not be considered professional advice. 

Marisa Huston  1:37  
Brian, welcome to the show. Very excited to talk to you today.

Brian Scott  1:41  
Thank you, Marisa, nice to be here. I look forward to our discussion. 

Marisa Huston  1:44  
Yeah, this is gonna be great! Would you mind sharing with our listeners, what we're going to be talking about today,

Brian Scott  1:50  
The conversation we're gonna have today is going to revolve around the effective use of our medium, and our medium is promotional products, swag, imprinted products, there's a lot of names that are given to it. So it's a medium that is very powerful, if used properly. So I think that's what we're gonna really delve into today.

Marisa Huston  2:09  
Yeah, and that word properly is so important. And we're gonna define all of these things for our listeners, so they understand what we're trying to communicate so that they are successful when it comes to using promotional products for their business. I believe in setting the stage and making sure that our listeners understand what we're talking about. I think it's important that we define what a supplier is, and what a distributor is, because those are the two key players here and how they work with small businesses. You're a supplier, I'm a distributor, would you mind sharing with our listeners, what exactly does that mean?

Brian Scott  2:44  
As a supplier, we are a manufacturer. And in our case, we're a Spice Company. So we import repackage and brand spice, and we rely on the distributor network to sell our product. So we do not have a dedicated sales force. We purely manufacture and market and try to support our distributor network, the best we can, and you are the distributor. So you should probably give that description.

Marisa Huston  3:12  
Absolutely. And thank you for defining that. Most suppliers do not work directly with customers, they work with distributors. And I believe that's primarily because distributors understand how to work with them effectively. And it just makes things run more smoothly. That being said, I as a distributor, work directly with a customer and I'm basically going back and forth between you and the customer, making sure that they get what they need. I believe that we are extensions of our clients business. So what that means is that we don't get paid directly by them. We work with them and partner with them to get what they need and get it effectively. Use the products to the best of our ability so that we can get the results that they're looking for. And so I think it's very important that our listeners who are mostly small business owners understand that so that they understand how to work best with us. I also believe that in all the years of business that I've done as a promotional marketing distributor, there's a big disconnect. How they understand promotional marketing is different from what is intended. And I want to talk to you about that. I want to talk about the uniqueness of your particular brand and how you use it to do what promotional marketing should do which is lead with stories and have an emotional connection versus leading with the swag or the stuff or the products. Because we know people understand how to shop online, but promotional marketing doesn't work that way. Would you elaborate on that?

Brian Scott  4:41  
Sure. So, what we've tried to do as a manufacturer as a supplier is offer a little value add to what we're trying to do. And that comes in the form of creative writing, design and visuals that will incorporate into the product design. And a big part of that is storytelling. Everybody loves a story, everybody can relate to a story. You might see a logo and have a thought as to what that organization does. But if that company could actually articulate a story about the value that they can offer their customer, that's going to be more impactful than just giving them a product with a logo on and leaving it to their imagination. So the power of story creates that emotional connection between the customer and the seller. So, that's really what we try to integrate. The neat thing about spice and we have 1000s of spices, every spice is uniquely different, has a unique property. So we try to leverage one of those properties into the story as well. So we're talking about the end customer telling their story, but also making it relate a little bit to the product that we have. It's been a pretty successful approach.

Marisa Huston  5:54  
I agree with that. And I think that's where a lot of people miss the boat. They think that if they buy the pen, and have their logo on it, that that is promotional marketing. And while that's very popular, and a lot of people do it, the important thing is not the pen, but the message and how it makes them feel. Your product in particular really resonates with me, because you're not leading with spice. Yeah, the spice is wonderful. We all use spices, and we even have memories around spices because it relates to food. But, what makes it really stand out is the messaging with it, right? So if you just walk around and hand somebody a packet of spice, yeah, it's great, thank you, I'm gonna use this for cooking. But it's the actual message that is tied to it that makes them go, wow, this is amazing. I didn't know this about this company, or I didn't know that they had the same values as I had, or whatever story you want to share, you have space to do that. And that's what makes it even more powerful. 

Brian Scott  6:51  
Yeah. I often think of a promotional item is nothing more than an ad, a billboard. And it should and it can do so much more than just present a logo, but do what an ad does. You know, it connects with the end customer, it shares some value that I can offer, it will often have a call to action, you know, requesting them to reach out and call this number or scan this QR code or drop by the showroom. I mean, there could be lots of objectives that the ad is trying to achieve. With a promotional item, you can do the exact same thing. I was actually a distributor for a number of years before becoming a supplier. And I always looked for products that had the largest imprint area, because I could see and do a lot with that area that was available. You could buy a quarter page ad or you could buy a full page ad, which one do you want? You typically gravitate to the full page because it allows you to convey more information or more visuals in a more meaningful way.

Marisa Huston  7:49  
Absolutely. And to caveat on what you said it is an ad but it's a less expensive ad. It's affordable. Every small business can do promotional marketing, and it includes a gift. You're giving them something hopefully that useful that they're going to enjoy and remember, because that's the key. and that's really where the power is, I'd like to talk more about the logo. Because logos are things that a lot of small businesses are very attached to. A lot of them created it themselves design themselves, they identify a lot with their logo and that logo message. I see the problem with that is that they handle their logo, similarly to how a big corporation would handle it. What I mean by that is that they think that well, if a big corporation has a logo, and they put it on everything, people will buy their mugs and buy their t-shirts and do all their merch, so to speak, because they're in love with that brand. And small businesses think that their logo could be that way. But the reality is, that's not the case. Because most small businesses don't have that kind of powerful brand. They don't have a marketing team or big advertisements that go out or galas or anything that they support. And so that being said, most people don't really recognize or identify with small business brands.  wanted to have a conversation with you about using promotional marketing, and leading with a message rather than the logo. So for example, instead of putting your logo front and center, maybe put a really warm message that ties to your brand. And then having your logo on the side or having a website or a way for them to get in touch with you and leading through the message rather than the image of their logo.

Brian Scott  9:31  
Yeah, and in advertising and marketing it really needs to be about the end customer. So the customers that you're working with, they might like a product, they might like to put their logo on a particular product. But at the end of the day, if it's not well received by their audience, it's all kind of for naught. You have to look at the design that goes on it through the eyes of the recipient, not so much through the eyes of your customer. Yes, you're absolutely correct. Just putting a logo on a product and if it's a small company and they expect to create some brand recognition, probably not. It takes a lot of money, a lot of repetition to achieve that. But they can be very clever, sort of take a bit of a guerilla marketing approach, and just do something uniquely different as you've suggested. It could just be a couple of words and the logo secondary, or it could be a tasteful image that relates to the brand and relates to something that the customer desires, and then the logo secondary. So I mean, there's lots of unique things that can be done from a design and creative standpoint, to really make the brand pop without, you know, sort of pushing it in the audience face. You just let them experience it and taste it and go from there.

Marisa Huston  10:38  
Absolutely. It's the experience that really is powerful. And as you were saying that, Brian, I think we need to talk about the word "brand." I think there's also confusion with that. Because there's two definitions, I feel that people resonate with, when they hear the word brand. They think of branding, which is like when you brand an animal, you put something on something. So that's basically stamping your logo on something. That's how people recognize that word. But then we're also talking about brand as in the personality, the messaging, the characteristics of a company. That could be things like, is your company considered serious or funny or witty or corporate? Whatever that image is, it's really how people perceive you. There's an overlap, people use that word interchangeably. And so we do both in our industry. We brand and tag things with messaging and logo, but it has to tie to the brand image.

Brian Scott  11:34  
Correct? Yeah, you're spot on with that. There's an interesting course I took and it was on archetypal profiling. So this goes back to the whole concept of archetypes. There's 12 very distinct sort of archetypes or brands, you could sort of substitute those names to some degree. There's like a lover brand, there's a caregiver brand, there's the hero brand, there's the sage brand. So knowing what your brand personifies is really critical, and how you can share that whole experience with the customers is key.

Marisa Huston  12:06  
Yeah, and being consistent. And I think for small business, that can be difficult, too. Because sometimes we want to be a certain persona. We're attracted to something. So let's say you're attracted to being a funny brand, but you as a solopreneur, maybe, are not necessarily funny. You're more reliable and serious. And I say serious, in a good way, meaning efficient. And so your personality doesn't connect with what you want and then it always falls back on what you truly are. And if you are consistently trying to be something that you're not, then there's going to be that disconnect, and it's going to confuse your customers too.

Brian Scott  12:42  
Yeah, you totally have to be authentic to who you are. And to try to be anything different, yeah, well kind of fly in the face of what your brand really is.

Marisa Huston  12:51  
I think that what makes your company unique, as well as the fact that you have a team of people that help you put together copy to help our clients get that message out. Because it's one thing to know what your message is, let's assume we do, then it's another to actually put it into words and package it in such a way that your audience will connect and appreciate it as well. Because at the end of the day, it's all about them not about you. Can you talk a little bit about how you approach that? 

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Brian Scott  13:58  
Sure, one example might be a client that a distributor did work with called Barrett Jackson. They're a car auction and they auction off vintage and classic automobiles. Very high end. The clientele that they attract are people with money and people that love cars. And you know they have an appreciation for the finishing touches and really pristine automobiles. So we let our copywriters kind of loose on this particular project and see what they could come up with from the standpoint of recommending a spice and then also recommending the copy that would support Barrett Jackson brand, but also tie into the promotional item that was being given out. So they came up with a theme, "The finishing touches make all the difference." And if I'm going to have Barrett Jackson auction, that's really key to me. So playing on the word finishing touches we proposed and we ultimately did a tube of Fleur De Sal, which is a very high end finishing salt. The finishing salt tied in well to the copy, the finishing touches make all the difference. And then we go on to tell a little bit of a story about Barrett Jackson. So, at Barrett Jackson, experts staffs are our special ingredient, making your automotive experience the best it can be, trustworthy and transparent customers serves flavors with everything we do. So having copy that ties in to the product, to the brand message, and to the audience, that's what's important to them, is what we will often do in our design and development work.

Marisa Huston  15:35  
And it's so nice to know that we have that. Because a lot of small businesses don't have teams like this. And so knowing that all they have to do is reach out to a distributor like me, and know that I partner with you to make that happen for them is invaluable. Because then they get exactly what they need, it ties to everything. And we also partner with them. We understand their brand, we understand everything that goes around it so that we can start with that and continue to support them. That piece is critical. If the messaging is disconnected, there's problems. And the same goes with the fact that we are marketing. We're using promotional marketing. At the end of the day after that product is handed out, it's important to follow through with the sales piece and with the relationship building piece. So for example, if your message in the marketing is that we are customer service focused, and then every time they try to call you they don't get an answer, then there's a disconnect, and the product is not going to do them any good.

Brian Scott  16:35  
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, the other area that I see a lot of end users not really taking advantage of is. You know, they're anxious to buy a product or anxious to put their logo on it, they're anxious to hand it out, thinking that business will result when they really haven't clearly defined what their objective is. If I'm going to spend $1,000 on promotional items, and use them at a tradeshow, how am I going to show an ROI on that $1,000 investment? How am I going to be able to track that and measure that? And you know, really going to the trade show was the end objective. It's obviously to sell product. But what are all the steps along the way? One of them might be booking a meeting. So the objective that tradeshow could be booking a meeting to have a further more in depth conversation. So, I think you know, business owners need to push a little harder on distributors to say, this is what I'm ultimately trying to achieve. Yes, I want to buy a product. Yes, we want to brand it, whatever that might look like but this is what we ultimately want to achieve. And you know, I think if that can be shared, and distributors can ask the probing questions to help the customer get there to figure out what they want to achieve, then this medium can be very powerful.

Marisa Huston  17:45  
I so agree, it's going back to what we talked about in the beginning. Many small businesses misunderstand how promotional products work. And so what happens typically is they'll go online, and they'll search for and we'll just use pens, again, because they're very popular. They'll search for a pen, they fall in love with the look of it, the price is right. And then they reach out to a distributor and say, can you put my logo on this and make sure I get it. And the distributor wants to do so much more. But many times small businesses don't want to have that conversation. They're just like, can you just get this for me? I just want it. I needed next week. And then that's the other thing is they wait to the last minute and just buy something as opposed to really having a well thought out plan and message that will eventually help them achieve that ROI that you were talking about.

Brian Scott  18:32  
Yeah, when I was a distributor, we would develop like a plan on grant a marketing planogram for our customers. We would look at their year, look at their marketing plan, some would share it, some wouldn't, to be able to access a marketing plan. And then as a distributor be able to lay out over the next 12 months, these are all the opportunities that we can utilize a promotional item to help further promote further reinforce or further achieve this given result. You're right, not rushing into the purchase because you have to but actually being proactive and kind of planning out your year as to what that might look like is very valuable.

Marisa Huston  19:08  
Yeah. And it kind of reminds me of Stephen Covey's, you know, begin with the end in mind. Have that strategy of saying, okay, what is my overall objective, and then work backwards. What's really cool too Brian, is that you don't have to think about anything anymore. Because the whole year's planned out. You already know what events are coming, what your goal is. You can track for example, if you want to set up X number of meetings at a trade show and you use the item to do that. How many did you actually get? Did you get an ROI? Or did you hit the goals that you set out to hit? And so, you can then analyze things and spend your time really marketing as opposed to worrying about whether a product has arrived on time or whether it's even the right product. Really distributors and suppliers are your partner, an extension of their team to help them achieve the goals that they have when it comes to this type of marketing. I'd also like to talk about things like the target audience, focusing on the fact that oftentimes when we're looking for product, we get emotional. If it is something that we like, we think everybody else is gonna like it. But the reality is, it's not about what we like, it's what is going to resonate with the recipient, the person that is receiving it, and whether or not it ties with the message.

Brian Scott  20:16  
Right. It's an interesting point. I mean, people want to buy what they like, not necessarily what the audience likes. So, it's really important to sort of know who your audience is, you know, develop a little bit of a persona on who the audience is, and the types of things that they do in their life and things that they enjoy. And whether they're family or whether they're young singles that you're targeting, or what have you, and find products that obviously relate well to them. The customer may not like it, but if you can justify that the audience that they work with, they will, then great,

Marisa Huston  20:53  
Absolutely, Brian. And the other thing that I see that a lot of my clients I know don't really understand is the difference between a gift and a giveaway, or what we call leave behind. We know that leave behind some giveaways are typically going to be lower price point items, because they're things that we still want to look good, we still want to send a good message. But, we don't want to break the bank, because we're just giving away something and hopefully scheduling an appointment, or maybe it'll lead to a call. But it's not practical to do a leave behind or a giveaway for a very expensive item. That doesn't make sense. So generally speaking, that's where that would fall. And then we have the gifts category, which is let's say you're a realtor and you sold a house for a client and now you want to send them a really warm thank you. You're not going to give away an inexpensive item. You're going to give them a nice gift, still branded, still with the messaging, all of the things we talked about, but much higher end so that they feel special. So that they have something that they can use and appreciate for a long time. I think there's a disconnect there. Because people just think promotional marketing is one thing, and they're very familiar with the shirts and the hats and the bags and the traditional stuff. Talking about your product, I think that what really makes it special is you cover all those bases. You have beautiful gifts that you can package for clients, and also provide those leave behinds and giveaways that still honor the brand of your clients.

Brian Scott  22:15  
So yeah. A gift really is the Thank you and it's given without any thought of reciprocation. That you're just giving it to that recipient to say thank you for the business, you value their business. Whereas, you know, a promotional item really does have more of a marketing approach. It's the front end, the gift is sort of the back end. So the promotional item really is to try to fuel the sales to achieve the result, then to thank and reward, it could be given as a reward as well. That's where the gift would play its role.

Marisa Huston  22:50  
Yeah, rewards and appreciation and really making people feel valued. And it could even be for somebody who sent you a referral. You know, it could be for anything, but it has to make them feel special, when they open that gift. The emotional factor still in there. What I love about what you're doing, Brian is you have those options, you have sets, you have little gift sets that have all kinds of little things there that are really put together with that person in mind. It's a one stop shop, you have all the options. Which then leads me to defining the difference between a one time gift versus something that's more replenishable. This is where I see a lot of disconnect. When people give something for example, like a mug, again, that's very popular, so let's go with that. You're not going to be giving that same mug over and over and over again, right? Because once they have a mug, they can only have so much real estate in their kitchen to hold the mug or in their office or whatever. But a replenishable item is exactly what your company's about. Because if you give a spice, like let's say you give that beautiful salt or pepper or whatever spice you choose to give, they're going to use it and then they're going to need more. And not only that, but you can change it up. Maybe you're going to start with salt. And then the next time you want to hand out, you know, paprika, or you want to do ginger or whatever spice you want to give, you can certainly change it up and always make sure that they have something that they can build on and enjoy. And so that's more of a replenishable. And it also works really well for people who do a lot of visiting, Because maybe you are going to stop by a business that you want to work with and every three months or so, you're going to come by and leave them something, then you can always give them something that they can use and then replenish again. 

Brian Scott  24:34  
Yeah, and you could tie in with our line. It's very easy to tie into the seasonality. Heading into the fall, you know, maybe a nice handout might be pumpkin spice. And you know heading into the holiday season, a nice cinnamon. Heading into the spring could be a barbecue rub or something like that. So, with spice there's always a spice for every occasion. You can build a whole program. You go to visit Your customer and they say, well, hey, what spice do you have for me this quarter this month? And they could actually become very sort of habit forming. It creates this expectation that you're going to be in there with a new flavor a new spice.

Marisa Huston  25:12  
And gives them something to look forward to, something that they can use and really enjoy. And it just ties everything together. Which then leads me to the last thing that I wanted to have a conversation with you about Brian, and that is the importance of brand integrity. If your brand is compromised, the message is disconnected. So for example, let's say you're a high end hotel, very well known five stars, whatnot, and then you leave a very inexpensive plastic pen for them as a gift. There's a disconnect between your message and what you gave them. And that could actually compromise your brand and actually make the person feel disappointed and come up with negative emotions about what your messaging is. And also confused them, frankly, because they're going to go, but this isn't what they're about. So I don't get this. Can you elaborate a little on that?

Brian Scott  25:59  
Yeah, as you stated, I mean, that can actually do more damage than good. So you're better off not to do that. Setting, you know, some buying criteria for the types of products and the quality of the product that your organization should consider. So, having some standards like that, but you know, also just from the usage of logo and copy that you want to make sure that you're dealing with a credible distributor that understands the importance of that. It knows to ask the right questions to make sure that you know, they're using your logo, your graphics, your copy any of your brand assets properly. So that's pretty key. 

Marisa Huston  26:36  
What you just said is so important, because it's really utilizing your distributor to the best of your ability in the sense that you're gonna have to be willing to have that conversation. Most of the time people just find a product online, contact a distributor and say, can you take care of this for me? And they use a distributor more as an order taker, when really a distributor should be more of a partner and consultant, somebody that you can rely on to have those conversations and pick the right products for your brand. Brian, I can't thank you enough. This has been so helpful. I think that our listeners are gonna get a lot out of this. And perhaps the next time they're ready to place that order, they'll give that thought they'll begin with the end in mind as we talked about and really look at this differently so that they can get the results they're looking for.

Brian Scott  27:23  
Yeah, absolutely. You're spot on. Marisa, thank you very much. I enjoyed it.

Outro  27:27  
That's a wrap for this episode of Live Blissed Out. Thanks to Brian Scott for joining us and thanks for listening. If you have a question or comment for a future episode, all you have to do is go to www.speakpipe.com/lbovm or click the link in the show notes to leave a brief audio message. If you find value in our show, please visit lwww.iveblissedout.com to reach out, subscribe and share on social media. This show is made possible through listeners like you. Thank you. So long for now and remember to keep moving forward!

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