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One of the most effective ways to launch a new product is to package it with a promotional gift. The something-for-nothing factor is always a great lure to get people to try a new product, and it's one that is being exploited in a big way by many major manufacturers. If you're launching a new product, you don't want to package it up with just any free gift, though. You need a plan to make sure that the promotional gifts you choose are the ones that will return the most boom for your investment.

Coordinate the Gift with the Product

The free giveaway that you choose should make sense with the product that you're selling. A fitness club launching a spring advertising campaign, for instance, might include an imprinted promotional water bottle if you come in for a tour of the facility, and give you a free fitness meter imprinted with the club's name if you sign up for a year's contract. The two items fit the club's profile, are scaled to the product, and will serve as advertisement for the club when they're used by the recipients.

Choose Promotional Items That Bring People Back

Another way that free giveaway promotional items can work for you is if the giveaway is most useful in conjunction with your company's main product. This is the concept behind free mobile telephone giveaways when you sign up for a year's contract with a mobile service provider. There are many other products that benefit from this kind of packaging. A company that sells stationery and office supplies, for instance, might include a free memo cube holder with a first order of memo notes, and profit from the return business as companies buy refill packs for their cubes.

Use Promotional Items to Bring Customers In

One clever way to use promotional items is to coordinate them with the product launch marketing. You might send out imprinted plastic carrier bags by post to a targeted mailing list, for instance, with an invitation to bring the empty bag to your store to be filled with a free gift; or invite conference attendees to drop by your booth with the bag for a useful packet of coupons and information. A clever launch for a new beverage flavor might include a mass mailing of foldable beverage coolers imprinted with the new product's name, and an invitation to bring it by a participating store to get a free sample bottle.

Create a Buzz About the New Product with Promotional Items

Nothing stimulates sales like anticipation. Promotional items can play a large part in nudging a product buzz into a roaring demand. Publicity stunts that garner media attention ' and even more importantly these days, the attention of the 'new media' ' can launch your new product into the stratosphere. You might launch balloons imprinted with the name of your new product and the projected launch date, or hit the beaches and parks to hand out boomerangs and flying discs with the product's logo printed on them. Launching a new magazine or newspaper? How about handing out magnifying glasses printed with 'Want a closer look? Read the Times on '.

Successfully launching a new product is a careful amalgam of planning, publicity and timing. Promotional gifts can play a big part in that process.