Print Solutions Magazine, June 2003 -- Promotional Products Feature Article

If you offer promotional products, you should know that the financial market--banks, credit unions and stock brokers--and the health care market--hospitals, doctors' offices and clinics--are the top two purchasers of promotional products respectively, according to a study conducted in 2000. Promotional Products Association International, Irving, Texas, sells a detailed report of the study, which was conducted by Louisiana State University and Glenrich Business Studies.

Perhaps you already sell printing to banks or hospitals and would like to diversify within your existing accounts. This article offers details about trends and needs within both markets to help you boost sales.

Banking on Promotional Product Sales

At first glance, decks of playing cards and sewing kits don't seem like the types of promotional products banks demand. But Larry Kist, who has sold these products to financial institution clients, says such needs are consistent with one of the biggest trends in banking right now: travel clubs. Kist, a sales representative and part owner of Financial Supply Inc., a distributorship in Bloomsdale, Mo., says these clubs often target people older than 55, a client base with the time and disposable income necessary for travel.

A seniors club or travel club allows banks to recognize and reward clients who often have the biggest deposits. (Some banks set minimum deposit levels for membership.) And clubs, which usually are offered by community banks, allow these institutions to differentiate themselves from larger competitors.

Seniors clubs hold parties and barbecues for members and organize bus trips to nearby destinations and international getaways. These loyalty clubs are so popular that they have spawned an organization and its related publication, Bank Travel Management. The magazine targets the estimated 3,700 banks it knows have loyalty programs, according to editor Brian Reed. The most active programs average six to eight overnight trips a year and 12 day trips annually, he says.

In addition to banks' interest in the senior market, Kist has noticed a resurgence of kids and youth clubs. In fact, some banks have more than one kids club, with members segmented by age. As a result, banks need inexpensive items, such as imprinted Slinky® toys, yo-yos, plastic baseballs, calculators and piggy banks, to give to kids club members, says Terry Murray, president of distributorship Smith-Ingalls-French Business Forms, Binghamton, N.Y. Some clubs have mascots, such as bears, so banks might give away stuffed animal representations of the mascots sporting T-shirts screenprinted with their names. Banks that hold parties for kids club members might use imprinted pencils, balloons and other products as giveaways.

The Financial Market's Basic Needs

Banks and credit unions always have been civic-minded, Kist says. As a result, litterbags and Halloween trick-or-treat bags are popular. Financial institutions also purchase giveaway items such as wooden nickels, candy and screenprinted T-shirts to promote themselves during community parades. Financial institutions also often help community organizations such as local American Legion posts, Kist says. Such groups sometimes ask banks to donate items that can be used at banquets. For this reason, Kist explains, banks often stock promotional items such as imprinted napkins, coolers, and more expensive items that can serve as door prizes.

Banks remain conservative and seem to prefer items that have practical uses, Kist says. Such items include imprinted pocket screwdrivers, shoeshine kits, luggage tags and umbrellas. Whether or not banks have kids clubs, they often show support for local schoolchildren each fall by purchasing a variety of back-to-school accessories, such as imprinted pencils and rulers, Kist says.

Patriotic symbols also are important to banks. They may order patriotic lapel pins and other items displaying the American flag. Old standbys include pens and calendars, including pocket planners, wall calendars, wallet calendars and academic calendars for teachers.

Marketing First Aid for Health Care Clients

Although many promotional products are designed specifically for doctors' offices and hospitals, clients in the health care industry often want promotional items that match their corporate logos or relate to themes of special events. Case in point: A few years ago, a group of pharmacies that served long-term care facilities decided to thank the homes' directors of nursing (DONs) by inviting them on an evening cruise out of Long Beach, Calif.

To help the DONs remember the evening, the company turned to Steve Smith, CFC, for help. Smith is president of Mission Peak Business Products Inc., a distributorship in Union City, Calif. Smith found a source for a white poplin jacket with navy trim and button-down pockets that served as a nice reminder of the nautical event. He sold the client about 80 jackets embroidered with its logo. "The customer loved them," he says. "They still remember them."

Smith once sold a biotech firm a nylon bag filled with beach-oriented items such as sunscreen, sunglasses and a flying disc. The client gave the bag to employees attending a company picnic. A pharmaceutical company, whose product needed to be kept cold, gave imprinted coolers to patients participating in clinical trials of the product, Smith says.

Trends in the Medical Marketplace

During the Crimean War in the mid-19th century, British nurse Florence Nightingale made a name for herself and nurses everywhere. Even if you don't remember much from high school history class, printing professionals who sell to the health care market should realize that Nightingale's role in making nursing an honorable profession is recognized annually from May 6-12. (Nightingale was born May 12, 1820.)

With the current nursing shortage in the United States and the country's aging population, it's little wonder why hospitals and other medical facilities annually recognize the role nurses play in the health care community. This spring, Terry Murray of Smith-Ingalls-French Business Forms, helped hospital clients choose appropriate gifts for their nursing staffs. Ideally, hospitals select items that nurses will appreciate having for personal use and will raise the health care facilities' public profiles. Such products include travel mugs, tote bags, gym bags, coolers and folding chairs.

The American Nurses Association, which sponsors National Nurses Week, lists several ideas for commemorating the week on its web site (www.nursingworld.org), several of which could result in additional promotional products sales. For example, a hospital could arrange free blood-pressure screenings that week, sponsor a community-wide event such as a children's coloring contest, or organize a charity fund-raiser.

National Nurses Week is a proven marketing opportunity for distributors targeting the health care field, but dozens of other health observances are designed to raise the profiles of particular diseases or stress healthy habits. These include Leukemia Society Month and Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (September); National Dental Hygiene Month, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month (October); American Diabetes Month and National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month (November); and World AIDS Day (December).

In conjunction with some of these events and others, hospitals frequently host charity golf tournaments or fund-raising dances, Murray says. Popular golf tournament giveaways include embroidered wind shirts and imprinted divot fixers. Dance participants may receive embroidered shirts or sweaters. Hospitals continue to sponsor extensive educational programs, which range from heart-healthy cooking classes to smoking cessation programs. To land such sales opportunities, printing pros should target hospitals' community outreach coordinators and marketing directors.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which took effect April 14, potentially could create demand for inexpensive promotional products such as imprinted pens and self-adhesive pads that remind health care workers about the new regulations. Additionally, distributors can sell items in the shape of hippos or imprinted with hippo logos since the medical community has adopted the animal as an unofficial HIPAA logo.

Katherine House, a freelance writer in Iowa City, Iowa, is a frequent contributor to Print Solutions. Email us your comments at editors@printsolutionsmag.com.

How Do Hospitals Use Promotional Products?

* To promote special services such as Poison Control Hotlines or lactation consultations

* To promote themselves at health fairs and wellness days

* To help parents celebrate the births of their children

* To thank volunteers

* To promote themselves at sporting events and charity events they sponsor

* To raise awareness about their services and disease prevention at county fairs and community events

* To recognize employees during certain times of the year such as National Nurses Week (May 6-12)

* To create awareness of certain diseases and how to prevent them

* To stock company stores

* To raise their profiles at recruitment/job fairs

Helping the Medical Industry Commemorate Special Dates

Want a heads-up on special days that health care clients might want to commemorate with free health screenings or public awareness campaigns? The National Wellness Institute Inc., Stevens Point, Wis., has an extensive calendar of national health observances posted on its web site, www.nationalwellness.org. The listing includes names, addresses and web site links for sponsoring organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association.

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