From the Advertising Specialty Institute's study of promo products vs. other advertising media:

Background:    
In June and July of 2008, a team of interviewers surveyed 465 businesspeople in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia on behalf of ASI regarding promotional products they had received. The purpose of the interviews was to understand how advertising specialties influence end-users’ purchasing decisions; determine the number of impressions of popular advertising specialties; and analyze the Cost Per Impression (CPI) of advertising specialties compared with other popular advertising media. 

Further, during October 2008, an online panel survey was conducted among recipients of advertising specialties to augment the non-wearables sample from the in-person interviews. Results have been combined in the report where appropriate. There were 213 completed Web based interviews, for a total of 678 completed surveys for this study.

Respondents were asked if they had received any promotional products in the last 12 months. Most respondents were business/professional people (84%) and all were age 21 or older.
 
Summary of Conclusions:

• Instant recall: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) respondents remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they’re received. 
• Very impressionable: 42% of respondents had a MORE favorable impression  of an advertiser after receiving the item. And nearly a quarter (24%) said they  are MORE likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they receive.
• It’s all business: Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the item.
• Pens are in: Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps and bags.
• User-friendly: The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.
• Staying power:  More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for more than 6 months.
• Bag it!: Among wearables, bags were reported to be used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month. They also deliver the most impressions: Each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month.
• Most impressive:  The average CPI of an advertising specialty item is $0.004; as a result, marketers get a more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media. 

A list of the most important articles I've read via RSS for the month of November, 2009:

• Do You Make These 10 Mistakes When You Blog? - Michael Hyatt
• One Step to Putting Video Online - Steve Garfield, Inbound Marketing Summit, 2009
• Great web sites mix art and science - David Meerman Scott
• How to Use Social Media (Guy Kawasaki interviews Dan Zarella, author of The Social Media Marketing Book)
• The Serendipity Engine of Social Media - Chris Brogan, via The Marketing Fresh Peel
• Your Social Media Planning Checklist - (integrating email and SM) Vertical Response
• Take Risks or Swallow Regret - Chris Miller
• Micro-Pulse: How Small Touches Impact the Heartbeat of Your Brand - Chris Wilson, The Marketing Fresh Peel
• Interviews on Blogging and Productivity - Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasion

Oklahoma City's American Marketing Association (AMAOKC)  has been around for sometime but if you are a marketing professional and you haven't visited lately, you need to check it out. Following is a video created by last week's speaker, Scott Townsend of United Linen. United Linen's social media story has been covered in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes and more:

The American Marketing Association seeks out the very best practitioners in the marketing profession and they bring this expertise to the monthly luncheon hosted at the Will Roger's Theatre.  A survey of last week's crowd also reveals a "who's who" of OKC's very important marketers with professionals representing some of the biggest and most notable brands in the Oklahoma City market (follow the Twitter stream during last week's meeting, here). A quick look at the most recent speaker line-up reveals an association definitely in touch with the demand most marketers are facing in their profession:

• Giovanni Galluci
• Charlie Taylor (OU)
• Google's John Black

The top four reasons to attend an AMAOKC meeting is:

1. Hear real life success stories that work for brands we know and love
2. Connect with other marketing professionals who are making a difference in their industry
3. Promote the brand you work for and improve the impact your brand can have
4. Build your own network and personal brand

AMAOKC is one of those associations poised to make an even greater impact on the marketing community at large in the upcoming months. The landscape for marketing is getting broader and the terrain more difficult. It is imperative that we, as professionals, maintain our edge. I, personally, have found that the AMA is the one place where innovation is encouraged and the enthusiasm for building effective brands is contagious. Join AMA now so you can start receiving updates on when the next event will be. If you have any questions, please email me.