I'd be willing to bet that each of you can find something with someone else's name or company logo on it within your reach. It may be a key fob or pen in your pocket, perhaps a letter opener or calendar on your desk... it might even be the shirt on your back.

With over 15,000 items available for imprint, it is hard to imagine someone who doesn't have several advertising specialties within easy reach.

The Advertising Specialty business is a six billion dollar per year industry. Specialties are used by just about every conceivable type business from the American Automobile Association to Zondervan Publishers... automobiles to bibles.

Every so often I hear someone refer to specialties as the "trash and trinket" business. My response is that for six billion dollars there must be some pretty good trash and trinkets. Any industry that accounts for that kind of volume must be providing something of real value.

Why do companies use Advertising Specialties?

Savvy marketers have long recognized the value of name recognition, whether it is a company or a brand name. People buy those products that are familiar to them... names they recognize! An opportunity to get a company name or product in front of a potential buyer, in a form that will be remembered, is valuable. Smart marketers will attempt to maximize the opportunity.

Giving someone something that will stay around for a while is a good investment. According to the Advertising Specialty Institute, 89% of us have a specialty item that we have had for 9 months or longer. 70% of us remember when and where we received an item, and are familiar with the issuing company and its product or services. That's effective advertising!

Many firms use specialties to say thanks for your patronage. Did you receive a calendar from your Dentist, CPA or Insurance Agent this year? I'll bet if you look at your mortgage papers you will find them in a folder bearing a title company's name. Chances are good that you carry a phone or address book with a company name on the front.

Many companies use these neat little items to get you to go places or come to see them. I have clients that use puzzle pieces to get potential buyers to come to their booth at trade shows. If the puzzle piece fits the missing spot on a master puzzle at the booth, the prospect wins a prize. The sponsoring company has a list of all who visited the booth, a chance to show their wares and build a data base for other future marketing opportunities... that's their prize... a win-win situation.

Many show exhibitors make custom luggage tags for booth visitors. The visitor's name is on one side of the tag and the sponsoring company's name is on the other. Now visitors are carrying a message for others to see.

Beside the specialties that we receive as gifts there are those we pay for... no kidding. Just look at the golf shirts with a golf club name embroidered on the chest, or the tennis shoes that sport a company name, the golf umbrella imprinted with an equipment makers name that you just paid $19.95 for because it matches your bag.

We may not realize it, but we are advertising for these companies and are paying for the privilege to do so. Some may call this " trash and trinket" marketing - but I think of it as "shrewd and savvy"