My sister is very aware of ecological issues; she tries to recycle just about everything. One of her traits is to use the same bags for collecting her shopping until they wear out and have to be replaced. Unaware that every day as she walks to the shops she is providing a mobile advertising campaign for the various businesses that are displayed on the promotional bags she carries. This seems an ideal method of advertising, particularly for small businesses with limited budgets. She stops and talks to her friends who without realizing it are taking in the information displayed in front of them. If you multiply this by the kind of numbers of promotional bags used by the bigger retailers we see a pattern of marketing that could be very effective. When a brand becomes well known, there is no longer any need to be able to read the details. We can tell who it is from just the colour or general layout.



Although many high priced advertising campaigns have been very successful, it is a risky business to invest large sums in promoting your product. Promotional bags on the other hand seem to me to be a sensible method of spreading the word. If you give them away as a gift to customers or sell your products in them, they can continue to work for you after their initial use. An advert in the local paper only lasts till it is used to light the fire or line the hamster cage. I tend to skip pages full of adverts despite my interest in promotion. In these financial times we all need to consider carefully our best options. A useful item that carries your information and does not have to compete with lots of others is worth looking into.



Unless people know that you are out there and offering a good service you will limit your potential customer base.