What did the Raider’s new wide receiver teach us about genius promotional products marketing?

Dear friend,

Mark Holm here, your favorite promotional products specialist. I hope you and your family are staying safe and well in this challenging time.

I am writing because, if you are like many people today, your business may be suffering because of the COVID-19 quarantine.

If it is…or if you are wondering how in the world you’re going to get more handshakes while your clients are more than a social-distance arm’s length away – then keep reading…I want to share some secrets for keeping your business flowing – even thriving – during this very challenging time.


Did you watch the NFL draft this year? Boy, it was a lot different than year’s past, but very entertaining. I have to admit…even though I suspected that some of those guys lived in out-of-this-world mansions, I was still blown away when I saw them!


Anyway, did you see Henry Ruggs III?


He is an Alabama wide receiver who got drafted by the Raiders, and he was the talk of the night – at least among us promotional products folks – because he was wearing an Old Spice-branded bathrobe! Talk about high-profile product-placement!


Ok, so you I know you probably don’t care about a bathrobe – but here’s why I’m talking to you about it, and here’s why you should pay attention to it and learn from how to use promotional products to drive in business … especially right now when life is so very different than it was a few short weeks ago…


Whether he meant to or not, Henry Ruggs III put on a bona-fide master class in good promotional products usage. I want to talk about all the factors that went into making it a success – the factors that YOU can put to work in whatever line of business you are in…


So… what can YOU learn from Henry Ruggs the Third’s Old Spice Bathrobe?


1. The product fit the moment and the tone

This is a big one in promotional products. This is the fine art of using promotional products well. Most of the time, the goal is to make sure that the item fits with the tone and style of your event.


You get this wrong, and worse than no one knowing about your product, instead, they think bad things about it. For instance, you would not want your company’s branded “We’re #1!” foam fingers swaying in the breeze at the local mayor’s funeral. Wrong place, wrong time, and instead simply ignoring you, people may actively try to drive you out of town on the proverbial rail.


Remember Mark Zuckerberg showing up to his first big VC meeting wearing his slippers and bathrobe? It’s a classic power move – subvert the dress code by having the guy who is asking for money dress below everybody else in the room - which makes it look like you’re so confident, so relaxed, and so powerful so that you don’t even need the money.


We know how that ended, right? Zuck got the money…but you don’t see him in bathrobes anymore. Too bad…


Anyway, Mr. Ruggs in his bathrobe had a similar feel – “I’m so money I’m wearing a bathrobe for the NFL draft…the biggest moment of my life…” – a classic power move.

In promotional product-speak, it was the perfect synthesis of moment and message, which is something you always strive for when sending your promotional products out to work for you.


You want to hit that right balance of moment and message with your promotional products. You want to match the style of the event, the marketing message, and the item itself. When you do it right, like Mr. Ruggs did, its simplicity and perfection echoes from the rafters.


2. Old Spice “borrowed” the brand power of the NFL

There is perhaps no other event than the NFL draft that has as much of a “moment” in popular culture today. Maybe the Oscars…maybe Time’s Square Ball Drop…but during lockdown, I can say this is only thing everyone tuned in to for its entertainment value alone.


The point for us is that by appearing right in the middle of the NFL draft, Old Spice piggy-backed off of the brand power of the NFL, and so got an immeasurable lift without even trying.


Let me say more on this: think about what Old Spice would have had to do on their own steam to get the kind of press they got with Henry Ruggs III?


This is another coupe de grace in the marketing space: we call this “a million dollars’ worth of free advertising”.


In fact, Mr. Ruggs was wearing the bathrobe to highlight Old Spice’s $320,000 contribution to the United Way on behalf of all the drafted rookies that night. It’s pretty safe to say that $320,000 was worth at least three or four times that with the exposure Mr. Ruggs brought them! More on this one in a moment…there’s another hidden gem here for us to mine…


3. Celebrity sells

Whenever you can put your product in the hands of someone famous, it always helps. One of the reasons Michael Jordan is a billionaire today is not only because of his phenomenal basketball skills…but primarily due to his celebrity endorsement relationships with brands like Nike and Hanes.


In fact, he has made $4 in promotional product sales for every $1 he ever earned on the basketball court…and of course he’s been smart with his money too (like by buying the Charlotte Hornets NBA team)…so it has grown.


Small businesses often underestimate what kinds of free celebrity endorsements they can get. Local news people, local professional sports teams…there’s even a way to get B or C list celebrities to endorse your product or service…either for straight compensation or, if you have a proven income stream to point to, a piece of the increased business they generate for you.


Even closer to home – most small business owners have “Centers of Influence”, people who know (and have some influence over) lots of other people in the community. Why not find out what kinds of pens your COI’s like to use, then print up a couple of boxes with your name and info on them, and drop them off with your COI to use and give out to the community?


As long as it is done tastefully, you will be able to “borrow” the influence of these influencers, and you will be putting your (high-quality, low-cost) promotional products into your prospects’ hands, where they can see what kind of quality work you are associated with, and they will know exactly how to reach you!


So one great idea is to get some promotional products for your business into the hands of national, state, or local-level celebrities, where you can “borrow” some of their gravitas to get into the hands (and then hearts and minds) of your best prospects.


And just in case you’re interested, it IS possible to get B or C list celebrities – household names who are in the evening of their careers – to endorse your business or be seen using your branded promotional products … often for a lot less money than you think!


4. Charity is good business

Coming back to Mr. Ruggs III now….


Old Spice was able to borrow the prestige of a rookie running back, the Raiders, and the NFL draft for one very good reason:


They had given $320,000 to the United Way on behalf of all the rookie football players. While that was, indeed, an extremely generous act, it was also a very smart business move. That act of charity appealed to Mr. Ruggs III, which is exactly why he donned that robe.


Chances are, if Old Spice had just paid him the money, he would have been less interested, maybe he wouldn’t even have done it because he wouldn’t want to look like he was profiteering from a big moment.


But as it was, he didn’t accept a dime of that money, and everyone got good press from it.


What’s the take-away?


If you’ll pardon my frankness: charity is good for business.


Don’t believe me? Look at the success Tom’s Shoes has had – Tom built a business based on giving one pair of shoes to a poor child for every pair of shoes someone buys here in the U.S.A. It has been such a socially-appealing message that many businesses have copied it simply for the golden halo of good vibes it gives the company.


So how can you use this?


Don’t be afraid to support, and publicize, your charitable behavior. This gives consumers a warm and fuzzy feeling for your business, which is the Holy Grail of branding and marketing…the kind of hazy love for the brand that every CEO salivates over. Think babies, weddings, owning a home, and all the kinds of markets whose pricing defies the laws of gravity because raw, unbridled human sentiment takes over whenever it’s time to buy.


We could all use a bit of this in our branding!


And hey, charitable giving is tax-deductible! That means Uncle Sam says “Hey, you give it away, or you pay it to me!” Why not make your community better AND get good customer sentiment at the same time?


Why not buy 1000 high-quality pens stamped with your contact info, and the line “One hungry family fed for every pool swept…just ask me how”?


How do you think your Center of Influence would feel about handing those babies out? He would probably be embarrassed not to…especially since people will look at it, and it will become a conversation topic…


“Hey Frank, does this guy really feed a family every time he sweeps a pool?”


“Yeah he sure does. He told me all about it last week at lunch. He’s fed over 7000 families in the last five years. Just amazing.”


You see? A center of influence is selling for you…due to your charitable work…which is also a testament to your business success….


There are of course other things we might learn from Mr. Ruggs III, but I’ll leave you here to think about that for yourself.


One last word…


In the time of COVID, some people say “Well, what good are promotional products? I am not seeing people face to face right now…”


That’s a great point. Believe it or not, I think this is EXACTLY The right time to use promotional products…because you can’t be there in person to stay on top of mind with them!


Why not mail some out with a nice letter and just thank your people for doing business with you in the past, and ensure them that you’re operating today in a safe and responsible manner, and that you are here to help them with your product or service if they should need it?


Then you follow it up with a phone call, mostly a social call, ask them if they got the item, and how things are on their end. If they don’t have any business for you at the moment, then ask them for some referrals?


Then you send the referral the item with a nice introductory letter mentioning your mutual friend, and follow that letter up in a few days with a get-to-know you phone call.


I think you can take it from there!


Thank you


Thanks a lot for reading – I hope you found this message useful, even provocative for how you can help the world and keep doing business at the same time.

I wish you peace and health in these challenging times.


Warm Regards,

Mark Holm


Contacts


Ideal Printing Promos & Wearables

2795 East Bidwell Street #100 #246

Folsom, CA 95630

t. 916.990.3502 | f. 916.983.5021

mark@idealppw.com

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