Over the past few weeks, the Newton Blog has featured posts on the concept of content marketing, methods of cause marketing, and potential pitfalls of cause marketing. This week we’ll wrap it up by taking a look at how promotional products play a roll in a successful cause marketing campaign. The effectiveness of promotional products as part of the marketing mix has been well documented. Here are 6 ways promotional products can enhance a cause marketing campaign.

1. Recognition - Use promotional products to recognize top participating people, businesses, teams, or locations. The item will ad trophy value and serve as inspiration for better participation, leading to better results. The item will also increase awareness to the cause as those who have earned it will show it off as a badge of honor.

2. Incentives - A tiered incentive program motivates participants in the campaign to continue to strive for the next achievement level. Each achievement level can have a higher value promotional item or combination of items. Again, the added motivation leads to better campaign results.

3. Event Marketing - There are 3 crucial stages in marketing an event - before, during, and after. A unique mailer can create buzz leading up to a campaign or event. A fun giveaway during the event will carry the campaign message on long after campaign. A “thank you” or follow up will take advantage of the momentum created by the campaign for continued support.

4. Uniform - Show that your business or group is united in support of your cause with a uniform look. A t-shirt is an excellent canvas to show your campaign message. For more corporate settings, give employees polos matching the awareness color of the cause that you are supporting. For example, pink polos during breast cancer awareness month.

5. Appreciation - Say “thank you” to participants, volunteers, and donors who played a role in your campaign. Gift value may be proportional to the level of contribution. Showing appreciation with a long lasting promotional item will help insure long term support and participation in the cause.

6. Resale - The previous examples have promotional products being given away. In a resale situation a promotional item or apparel piece is sold to the general public with the proceeds going to the cause. For campaigns that occur annually, creating a keepsake item for each year turns it into a collector’s item and creates a consistent revenue stream for the cause.

With all of these situations, the promotional products used must achieve the mutual beneficial goals of a cause marketing campaign - awareness and funding for the cause and positive PR and marketing value for the business(es) involved. It’s also important to point out that the cost of these products can be underwritten by sponsors, which means more funds going towards the cause. The long lasting effect promotional products have on target audiences mean that your cause marketing campaign will remain active long after it has ended.