Nov 19

Nov 19 The Art of a Good Promo

We know many of you are incredibly talented when it comes to designing and updating your property’s promo items. But some of you may be new to your role or just need some fresh perspective. Recently, we were able to catch up with Tasie Stonehouse, and she generously shared her approach to creating promo items that are attractive, trendy, and useful.

Tasie is the Area Marketing Manager for the 3 properties (Wilshire Landing, Camden Forest, and The Lofts @ Randall) in the Wilmington, NC market and has been with the Preiss Company for 4 years! You can reach her at anastasia.retson@tpco.com.

As much as I LOVE designing promo items, getting started always feels like a daunting task. But like most things, once I’ve finally started, I usually realize it’s not so bad. For me, promo items are important because it allows a property to be a trendsetter in their market. There’s always the constant challenge of competing with other properties in a market that may have newer or more recently upgraded clubhouses, larger amenities, and high end interior unit upgrades. But we can stand out from the rest by making huge statements with our promotional items. This can help showcase how fun it is to live at our properties!

Below are some things I keep in mind when designing our latest promo item.

Where Do I Begin?

I typically start the initial design process by spending a few hours looking through one of our promo item vendor’s website. Sometimes I’ll have specific items already in mind but other times I’ll ask the vendor to show me the things that have been super successful recently.

I like to look for items that are:

Trendy and relevant
Useful and practical
Get the message across.

The point of a good promo item is to get your property’s brand out there, but you also have to have desirable things that will stand out. A lot of people who we market to don’t need or want any more “junk” so providing something that has a better aesthetic, is functional, and lasts a long time would be my suggestion.

Filtering Out Your Research

After I’ve scoped out a vendor’s website, I flag and save any of the items that initially draw my attention. Then, I will methodically evaluate each item, deleting certain ones that don’t check all the boxes. Too expensive? Too long of a turn around time? Not as cool as I first thought? BUH-BYE! Also, make sure to ask others in your office for a second opinion as this can be super helpful during this stage.

Know The Occasion

Once you feel like you have a good variety of options, it can be helpful to classify each one for different types of give away. One option may be more suitable as more of a “freebie” to give out to everyone and other items may be something that should be more of an exclusive item to be given away as a contest prize. Obviously, it’s good to have both types of items so you can be strategic and give out items in the appropriate setting. For example, you wouldn’t want to give out a more expensive and exclusive promo to everyone that comes to your housing fair.

Communication Is Key

Communication is KEY when you’re working on any project, but even more so on a large promo item order. Having a good relationship with your promo item vendor is really important so you can better communicate what you need and also feel comfortable asking them for advice. The more you communicate, the more your vendor will know your style and what you’re looking for.

Also, make sure to ask your vendor to mock up your items and clearly communicate your budget for the project so you can make any necessary changes.

Always Be Looking For Your Next Big Idea

Be on the lookout whenever you’re browsing social media or Pinterest and take a screen shot of something that catches your eye for a potential promo design idea. Any time I’m scrolling through Instagram and see a cute shirt or design of some sort, I’ll save it for later. This way, when you are requesting a creative design from our corporate marketing team, you’ll be able to provide a specific example of what you’re looking for. I like to think of it the same way as when you are getting your hair cut/colored. You may describe it exactly the way you imagined, but it could be interpreted in a completely different way. A picture is worth a thousand words!! (and a much safer option, am i right?)

Downhill From Here

After working with our corporate design team and getting the design to where you want it to be, your vendor should be able to take care of the rest. Sometimes you may need to provide your vendor with some input on colors and layout.

Check out some previous designs we’ve used that have really worked in our markets. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at (anastasia.retson@tpco.com).

Since we passed these stickers stickers out during the summer, we wanted them to be colorful and fun. We also gave these out during move-in. I love the fact that these sticker designs turned out in such a cohesive fashion!

These turned out even better than I thought! The sunset logo and the wood grain really made these stand out from the rest.

Since all of our sites are pet friendly, we wanted to have something to pass out that would let people know we are and help keep our community clean!

I love a baseball tee! These were really soft and we went with a logo play off of the infamous Fyre Festival. By doing so, people were attracted to it because it was something recently relevant and buzzing.

One of my favorite items for getting your logo out there! To be honest, these car air fresheners didn't last that long, but I forgot about it and left it hanging in my car for months. I bet a lot of students did too and our logo got to hang out in a person’s car while they drove around! back and forth to class and shuttled friends around. A useful way to get lots of exposure!