Talk:Promotional item

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Contents 1 Etymology 2 Vendors 3 Merge 4 Promotional Products or Advertising Specialties 5 Added Citations 6 Proving that promotional gifts work

[edit] Etymology

I believe that "Swag" can also stand for "So what, another giveaway."

Or "Some Worthless Advertising Gimmick", "Scientific Wild Ass Guess", "Stuff We All Get", "Stolen Without A Gun", "Stuff We Ain't Got", "Shitty Worthless Ass Gift", "Samples, Wearables, and Gifts", ... These are all backronyms are are probably not the true etymology. 208.201.253.21 (talk) 22:21, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

I think it is from an acronym used commonly by Union hands meaning Stuff We Ain't Gettin'. Drjonfrockit (talk) 07:26, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Vendors

There are at least 23K of them, so I'm thinking that only vendors who meet WP:CORP belong here. Ronabop 05:58, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

But why not do something like list the top 25 according to a non-profit org? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.213.9.50 (talk) 20:28, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Merge

Based on this request being made in January, and no objections, I went ahead with the merge. For some reason, though, the target link when you now go to "Advertising Specialties" does not go straight to this article, if anyone can fix that it would be much appreciated. Jkraybill 16:29, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I vote Merge. Promotional item is used 3x more on Google than Advertising specialties. There is no distinction. Oicumayberight 22:12, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree, The term Advertising Specialties is not as widely used as say Promotional Items and Promotional Products.

I vote Merge. The fewer the number of these spam-catching articles we have, the better. They can pay for their own advertising. Phaedrus86 03:00, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

I vote Merge - I'm in the "promotional products" industry and these terms are interchangeable, but usually people say "promotional products." --Constana 18:19, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Promotional Products or Advertising Specialties

They are interchangeable. Advertising Specialties is the older of the phrases but Promotional products has become more widly used in the past 10 years. 4-6-07

I think either can be used. Advertising specialties refers to a range of items beyond just "products" - like cups, mugs and pens. It also encompasses embroidered clothing and branded merchandise, and refers directly to what the purpose of the products are - to "advertise" a company's logo and brand. In business terms, they "advertise." "Promotional products" works, but the term is a bit limiting. Concert marketers do "promoting," while logoed merchandise "advertises."

I disagree with the above comments. Cups, mugs, and pens are "products." I don't see your point. Promotional products and advertising specialties are synonymous. Advertising specialties was the common term in the past, but now its most people in the industry say promotional products. Also, "advertising specialties" incorporates the branding of the for-profit Advertising Specialty Institute. --Constana 18:46, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Added Citations

Today I added several citations, deleted some editorial and spam content, and reworded a couple sentences with questionable grammar. Disclosure: I am employed by a promotional products company, but further disclosure: I strongly oppose spam, articles without sources, and commercial content on Wikipedia! I added links to a PDF document, the "State of the Industry" by Counselor Magazine, which can be a bit markety for outsiders but is produced by the main independent body that covers the industry. It is certainly very pro-industry, but their numbers tend to be well-researched and I have not found any other reliable source for the figures they present. Jkraybill 17:04, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

• • This is the fallacy that you're perpetrating - Counselor Magazine "...is produced by the main independent body that covers the industry." is not true! ASI is a for-profit provider of resources to the industry! It would be comparable to Ford being called an independent body representing the car industry. PPAI, or PPA is the industry's non-profit body! PDFs found here provide non-biased data. Again, ASI is *for profit.*

http://www.ppa.org/Media/Industry%20Information/Trends%20and%20Data/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.184.36.47 (talk) 13:29, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proving that promotional gifts work

I've just added an external link to a blog that has an article on it that shows how promotional products can be shown to have a good return on investment. This is a difficult thing to demonstrate within this particular context and any extra information can be helpful I believe. Lindaph1 (talk) 18:42, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

I think it is from an acronym used commonly by Union hands meaning Stuff We Ain't Gettin' —Preceding unsigned comment added by Drjonfrockit (talk • contribs) 07:22, 17 March 2008 (UTC)