The purpose of a promotional sticker is to increase exposure and awareness of a company, brand, organization, belief, cause, etc. Of course, the only way this is going to happen is if people are actually seeing the stickers. Unfortunately, it’s not always realistic to rely on outside parties to display your stickers. One important method of sticker distribution, “Place and Promote”, involves taking matters into your own hands and placing promotional stickers in locations that you own or control.
What’s great about the “Place and Promote” method is that it requires the least amount of effort, think of it as the “low hanging fruit” of sticker distribution. You don’t need to seek people out to give the stickers to or spend the money and/or time necessary to create incentives to encourage others to showcase your stickers. All it really requires is taking advantage of the space you own or control to put your information or message in front of customers or prospects. The ball is totally in your court.
Of course, you can always stick a promotional sticker where ever you want; walls, signs, lampposts, etc. But there is usually an ethical or vandalism aspect to this distribution method. I talked a bit about that in another blog post: Should I Be Arrested for Sticker Vandalism?
Here are a few great examples of where to legally “Place and Promote” your stickers (and brand):
Boxes/Packaging
This is a must for companies that participate in e-commerce. Why send the purchased product in a boring brown box when you can spend a few quick seconds putting your custom roll labels on the box? When the box arrives at its intended destination, the recipient will automatically know where it came from. In addition, your brand is being seen by anyone who handles the box as it makes its journey. Think about Amazon’s “smile on the box”. Every box that ships is another opportunity for brand exposure.
On Products Sold
Nearly everyone servicing or selling a product has the opportunity to leave their mark (custom sticker) on the equipment being serviced or sold. It’s not just about “advertising”, it’s also about being proud of your work. There are plenty of examples of industries where this practice is commonplace but one big one that comes to mind is the auto dealer industry. Car dealers are known for blending their logo sticker or decal onto the back of every car they sell. The majority of car buyers won’t question it and if they do, it can be removed.
Company Vehicles
Vehicles are great places to put promotional stickers, including but not limited to bumper stickers, because vehicles aren’t static. This means that the sticker can be viewed by a new person every day. Company vehicles should be “wrapped” in the logo, but utilizing stickers is great too. You can also ask employees to display your stickers on their vehicle. You certainly can’t force them to, but it never hurts to ask!
More Real Estate
Your promotional stickers can of course be put on your actual real estate. It’s usually called signage, but almost all signage these days is in fact custom decals and stickers. All your signage might as well also include your logo and be strengthening your brand.
There is also other “real estate” you can encourage employees (and friends and family) to place stickers; water bottles, laptops, bikes and other sports equipment, helmets, etc. What custom promotional sticker can you design that your fans will want to display and show their pride for an organization, a product, a philosophy, an image?
Marketing works a lot better and is a much better value when you have a volunteer sales force spreading your brand and message as part of their daily life. Promotional stickers make this a whole lot easier.
Even places you do not control are great for certain”applications. ” LIKE lampposts.