Dear Dan: My business is three years old, and I consider marketing a top priority. I receive mailers all the time from promotional product companies, but have never used any. Are promotional products an effective way to advertise my brand?

- Productless

Dear Productless: Promotional products - usually imprinted with your name, logo or message - have long had appeal to small-business owners. They are an affordable way to advertise a business and market a brand with a long-lasting message and results that are measurable.

But in this high-tech age of e-mail campaigns, Web impressions and advertising overkill, promotional products hold a special place as a "sensory" medium. They are about the only form of advertising capable of engaging all five senses. Depending on the products you pick to carry your messages, customers can see, hear, touch, taste and even smell the item that carries your brand.

That ability continues to make promotional products one of the most popular marketing methods around. Just check the numbers: Businesses will buy nearly $20 billion worth of advertising giveaways and premiums this year alone.

Promotional products are also flexible. You can buy just a few or a lot. You can use them alone or with a broader campaign. Typical uses include: Driving traffic to a tradeshow booth; improving direct-mail response rates; boosting customer referrals; encouraging repeat business; and improving employee morale.

There are literally tens of thousands of different types and styles of promotional products, from the common coffee mugs and calculators, to exotic food items or custom items you design yourself. According to the Promotional Products Association International the most popular categories are:

Wearables: such as T-shirts, polos, jackets and hats.

Writing instruments: including pens and highlighters.

Calendars: for the wall, wallet, desktop or other uses.

Drink ware: Glass, china, ceramic, crystal, plastic or stainless steel.

Office accessories: folders, desk pen sets or cubed paper.

Bags: tote bags, satchels, etc.

Games and toys: such as kites, balls, puzzles or stuffed animals.

Textiles: such as flags, towels and blankets.

Customers tend to keep promotional products for a long time - half of those surveyed recently said they keep their promotional products more than a year, on average. A stunning 76 percent could recall the name of at least one advertiser who'd given them a promotional product within the last 12 months.

Devising a strategy

If you decide to give promotional products a try, don't just order items and hand them out willy-nilly. For your campaign to succeed, you need to consider your budget, audience and goals. Follow these four steps to promotional product success:

Define your objective. Whether your goal is boosting trade show traffic or increasing awareness among current customers, your first step is to clarify your program's purpose.

Define your distribution plan. Buying promotional products is one thing; getting them into the hands of your intended audience is quite another. For example, a targeted pre-tradeshow mailing can deliver far better results than simply handling out items to passersby at the show.

Develop a central theme and a message to support it. For instance, one local bank wanting to promote its services to small business created the theme "Are you tired of being treated like a small fish?" and sent fish-related products to its prospects.

Choose appropriate products. You'll want something that fits with your particular business, profession and customer base. Keep in mind that customers most often keep products that they consider to be useful.

Solution guide

Promoideas.org is a Promotional Products Association Web address that can hook you up with advice and information on using promotional products effective. The group can also help you find a promotional products consultant who has met industry qualification standards.

The Incentive Marketing Association is a membership group for promotional product suppliers. You can search the group's directory to find suppliers in your areas of interest. Visit www.incentivemarketing.org. You can also search for suppliers at the Advertising Specialty Institute, www.asicentral.com.

PromoMart.com and GoPromos.com are two advertising specialties shopping malls where you can easily shop by theme, most popular categories or request ideas.

Daniel Kehrer is the editor at www.business.com, a business research engine.