Promotional products are used by countless people and entities on an everyday basis to promote their names and increase their brand values among their consumer bases. While they are used by so many people, few are aware of how the industry really began. The earliest recorded use of promotional products involves the use of well button clamps used to commemorate the election of George Washington in the late 18th century. After that, the industry slowly began to form around the progenitors of the promotional products that we idea that we see all around us these days.
A Real Evolution
The first man to deliberately use promotional products to increase brand value and spread the name of a company in a town was Jasper Freemont Meek. He was the owner of a newspaper printing business in the late 19th century; a business which he subsisted with contractual printing jobs. One day he came up with an idea to print school bags with the name of a shoe store on it so that everyone in town would be able to see the name and thus the brand name of the store would spread amongst its denizens.
This idea subsequently led to other ideas like printed horse saddles, buggy whips, cloth caps, aprons and a whole range of other everyday items. Basically, anything that could be fitted through a printing machine was used to make advertisements. The initiative was so successful that Meek eventually setup an advertising company and starting printing promotional materials on a professional level.
Another man from the same town that Meek operated his advertising agency out of came up with the idea of using printing presses to advertise stores, companies and products and thus began the industry of promotional products as we know it today. Both these men started aggressively printing products with promotional slogans and soon the industry blossomed and spread to other areas. Very soon after that, calendars with pictures printed on them came into existence and till today remain one of the most endearing promotional products that you ever come across.
Trade Still Goes On
In the early years of the 20th century, a trade association of the budding industry was formed and soon after that the industry flourished and spread throughout the United States as well as other nations. This was partly due to increased industrialization and competition between companies which gave rise to the need for increased advertising with promotional products.
Promotional products helped companies get their name out into communities and towns and increase their sales and compete on a higher level than ever before. They also allowed for the development of a deeper bond between the companies and businesses and their clients and customers as the customers also derived the benefit of getting free products which they could use.
Today, we see promotional products all around us. They are used by big businesses as much as by small budding businesses. The reasons for their popularity is that they offer something to both parties, i.e. businesses and clients at a very nominal price and that is why the industry has become a very popular and highly sustainable business in the 21st century.
You can become a part of the history of promotional products too. Look at http://www.promotionalproductinc.com and you'll see just how the industry has evolved.
A Real Evolution
The first man to deliberately use promotional products to increase brand value and spread the name of a company in a town was Jasper Freemont Meek. He was the owner of a newspaper printing business in the late 19th century; a business which he subsisted with contractual printing jobs. One day he came up with an idea to print school bags with the name of a shoe store on it so that everyone in town would be able to see the name and thus the brand name of the store would spread amongst its denizens.
This idea subsequently led to other ideas like printed horse saddles, buggy whips, cloth caps, aprons and a whole range of other everyday items. Basically, anything that could be fitted through a printing machine was used to make advertisements. The initiative was so successful that Meek eventually setup an advertising company and starting printing promotional materials on a professional level.
Another man from the same town that Meek operated his advertising agency out of came up with the idea of using printing presses to advertise stores, companies and products and thus began the industry of promotional products as we know it today. Both these men started aggressively printing products with promotional slogans and soon the industry blossomed and spread to other areas. Very soon after that, calendars with pictures printed on them came into existence and till today remain one of the most endearing promotional products that you ever come across.
Trade Still Goes On
In the early years of the 20th century, a trade association of the budding industry was formed and soon after that the industry flourished and spread throughout the United States as well as other nations. This was partly due to increased industrialization and competition between companies which gave rise to the need for increased advertising with promotional products.
Promotional products helped companies get their name out into communities and towns and increase their sales and compete on a higher level than ever before. They also allowed for the development of a deeper bond between the companies and businesses and their clients and customers as the customers also derived the benefit of getting free products which they could use.
Today, we see promotional products all around us. They are used by big businesses as much as by small budding businesses. The reasons for their popularity is that they offer something to both parties, i.e. businesses and clients at a very nominal price and that is why the industry has become a very popular and highly sustainable business in the 21st century.
You can become a part of the history of promotional products too. Look at http://www.promotionalproductinc.com and you'll see just how the industry has evolved.