As the economy slowly continues its recovery, marketers are making careful decisions about the best use of marketing budgets. A recent study from the Advertising Specialty Institute compared the exposure of the major forms of advertising media. Similar to a study completed in 2008, this one from late 2010 looked at network TV, national magazines, radio spots, internet, billboards, and more. This time the survey looked beyond the U.S. to global markets in Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

As advertising agencies are well aware, a key metric of campaigns is the cost per impression. Advertisers typically want their message seen by as many as possible, but not everyone has a Super Bowl budget. Once again, it showed that one of the most targeted marketing vehicles was also lowest in cost per impression (CPI) - Promotional Products or Advertising Specialties. These specimens of physical advertising came in with a CPI of only $0.005. More importantly, unlike radio ads where the listener is unknown, ad specialties are given directly to a selected target audience. That allows for direct measurement of the return on investment (ROI). Having said that, it's also possible to simple give stuff away in an undisciplined attempt at “brand awareness.” But APTCO can help you to go well beyond that a craft an effective and measureable promotion.

The complete study reveals that the typical promotional bag is seen over 1000 times per month, that electronic items are kept the longest, and that branded items are much more likely to be passed along than to be thrown away. They're the gift that keeps on giving. To see the complete study, which includes comparisons by gender, age, and other demographics, click here.