Did you know that one of the most personal statements people make about themselves without uttering a word is the magnets they use on their fridge, office desk/filing cabinet, and on their cars?
Magnets are significant silent salespeople.
Say you are invited to a neighbor’s house for a get together. Take a look at the fridge and you will likely know who the family’s vet is, their dentist, or the auto repair shop. Perhaps they’ve been to Disney World or Hershey Park. It’s all right there.
Or, you’re sitting in traffic. Ahead of you is a vehicle festooned with informational visuals that tells you a lot about the owner. The stick figure family shows 2 parents, 1 boy, 2 girls, a dog, and a cat. A university magnet – Clemson U – is on the left (likely the driver is an alumni or his/her child attends). On the right is a bone proclaiming “I heart my Labradoodle” (now you know what breed the stick-figure pooch is). There’s also a car magnet manger with “Keep the Christ in Christmas” in the middle (so you now know their religious affiliation).
This is what magnets do. Imagine what they can do for your clients. Look for businesses or practices that are celebrating milestones or key changes. For one example, the Midwestern chain Casey’s General Store created a unique specialty pizza it initially called Midwest Mystery Pizza. It created a campaign to give it a permanent name and an event – Casey’s Largest Pizza Party. The contest to name it was launched on September 1, and more than 17,000 people in 16 states gave name suggestions. The name was chosen and the celebration was held at its Des Moines location where attendees could sample the new pizza, have their pictures taken and play games. Imagine if a magnet with the new pizza name and the date of the party were given away. It would remind people to not only order that pizza, but if they were in the mood for say, a sub, the store itself would be top of mind.
Also this month, a week-long grand re-opening celebration for Sendik’s Food Market took place, including an official ribbon cutting, games, face painting, live music, free DIY workshop (create your own chalk cheese board with DIY expert Jenni Yolo), meet an greet local personalities, and more. This chain has an app, online shopping, gift cards, and more – so wouldn’t a magnet “shopping reminder” make perfect sense for the fridge? Any market grand openings in your area?
As technology has advanced, customization is much easier from suppliers, and thus, less expensive, too.
Three of Zoogee World Inc.’s most popular magnetic products, according to company president Richard Ouelette, are the following:
- Super strength magnetic memo holder with custom shaped full-color domed imprint facing and which can hold up to 10 full sheets of paper to a refrigerator or metal object. “These will for sure become the recipient’s favorite memo holder for years to come holding up To Do Lists and photos of family, friends, and favorite places,” he comments.
- Super-strength magnet pins with custom-shape full color domed imprint facing, which can hold through a heavy jacket without punctures. “When not being worn, they make an exceptional magnetic memo holder keeping the full-color domed logo alive for years to come and not thrown in a drawer like most lapel pins.”
- Super-strength magnetic hat clip comes with Zoogee World’s full-color domed metal golf ball markers, which, says Ouelette, are excellent for golfing promotional, professional or fundraising golf tournaments and can be given out to each participating golfer prior to the golf event.
The Magnet Guys specialize in this distinctive form of visual advertising. You can select from standard and custom shapes up to 190 square inches. There are 20-mm indoor magnets for lower price points and lighter mailing weights, 25-mm indoor (which is standard), 35-mm indoor for those clients who need a more rigid magnet, 35-mm outdoor for vehicles, and 55-mm outdoor. The varied thickness provides a wide span of uses and customers.
According to the website, The Magnet Guys’ magnets “can be used to create awareness about a brand/business/cause/social issue or to forge stronger inter-personal or inter-business relationships without breaking budget. Our customer base includes fortune 500 companies, mid-sized or startup businesses, motivated individuals and fundraisers; all who look to The Magnet Guys to produce their personalized magnets. Our product line offers a comprehensive collection of business card magnets, calendar magnets, save the date magnets, awareness magnets, die cut magnets, school magnets, custom shaped magnets, political magnets, real estate magnets, church magnets, announcement magnets, outdoor magnets, picture frame magnets, magnetic signs, and many more.”
In this day and age where everyone loves a little attention, a magnet that tells visitors or the outside world a little bit about them will be used. Oh, and did we mention the functionality of clipping important or desirable reminders? That should close the sale!