Interview | Promotional items in your branding strategy

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS IN YOUR BRANDING STRATEGY: HOW DO THE COMPACON EXPERTS DO IT?

CREATIVE THINKING

CONCEPT & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

SOURCING

PRODUCTION & QUALITY

LOGISTICS

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS IN YOUR BRANDING STRATEGY: HOW DO THE COMPACON EXPERTS DO IT?

Those who are involved in branding strategy often come across the word ‘experience’.

Merely mentioning your unique selling points on a flyer or blogging about it online does not cut it. Creating a brand experience triggering all senses is how you make your story come to life in the hearts and minds of those you care about. Your message can be either abstract or crystal clear, but the way you make it tangible helps to get it across.

Promotional items have taken up a role within marketing strategies for years. However, there is limited information on the way it is designed especially to help reach your communication goal. Compacon has experience in creating promotional items and premiums for nearly 30 years. From the creative kick-off to logistics, our experts explain how to compose the perfect item to share your brand story.

IT ALL STARTS WITH CREATIVITY

tailor-made solution. The way we can add to the success of a brand’s promotional campaign often really surprises both new and existing clients!”

Pauline is responsible for the Compacon marketing activities within the France region and mentions that creativity is the most fun part of her job: “Our ideas either support our own communication efforts or those of our client. It is the most challenging, but also most fun part of the job, for sure!”

Whether it is our designers or sales representatives contributing, a brainstorm at Compacon guarantees a lot of output. Starting with mentioning the brand, its audience and communication goal, the ideas start flowing generously.

THE BIRTH OF A CONCEPT

Numerous printing techniques, ways of transportation and continual development of new products.

Today, there are practically no boundaries to the design of promotional items. Elke Heijens has a vast experience within communication, but returned to her “first passion” as Account Manager for the Compacon Belgium office two years ago:

The output of the brainstorm is then sculpted into an idea.

Questions like ‘why does this product fit the brand identity?’ or ‘what text should be added and how to make the recipient truly understand the story behind the product?’ are part of the daily process.

Judith Meyer is Key Account Manager for the France office of Compacon and thinks this is the most exciting part of her job:

“What I love about my job is that I can be creative while using my background in marketing, experience and passion to create a

“You have to be able to source from the right, niche suppliers and customize your offer in order to it meets your client’s requirement.

Impact glass bottle with bamboo lid P436.770 XD collection

Cover photo: Bert-Jan Singor Account Manager Compacon the Netherlands

This helps them stand out from the crowd! You can say that I sell ‘difference’ and ‘creativity’” Dutch Account Manager Bert-Jan Singor is one of the younger sales representative, but has been with the company for eight years: “It can be challenging to continuously create new ideas and proposals. Sometimes it feels like we have already done it all.

However, we all feel the importance of inspiring each other.”

And that inspiration is definitely required. For every communication goal, the sales team presents several ideas. Think about a baseball cap with a note that says ‘Head off to you” or a custom-made end of year gift fitting the brand’s personality both say ‘thank you’ to employees.

Jacob Thidemann is part of the Nordics team shares the same role as Bert-Jan and thinks the concept and product development is a huge benefit of the job: “Since the process can be quite intensive, it is important to look ahead. For example, our Christmas ideas come to live in April to make sure the items are produced in time. I stay updated on the latest trends in our industry to never miss out on that perfect idea for our potential proposals.”

CREATIVE THINKING

FIND THE RIGHT SOURCE Once the perfect idea has not only triggered Compacon’s enthusiasm, but also that of the client, the process continues. Jettie Koniuszek is Buyer at Compacon and support sales from all offices with finding the best solution for each client; “It does not mean I am always looking for the best price, but also choice in materials, leadtimes and compliance.”

The fact that ‘anything is possible’ makes Jettie like her job even more: “Every day is different, so there is always something to learn!”

Her responsibility comes with the need to stay on top of trends.

Without hesitation, she mentions ‘sustainability’ as to be the biggest trend in promotional items today.

“The request for more sustainable products is becoming larger every day. Next to the more traditional products, we also look at more eco-friendly alternatives, such as PLA and bio-cotton. Another angle is looking at products with a larger lifespan, meaning you do not throw it away easily, or buying locally to reduce CO2 emission. To build on this further, we have partnered up with organizations focusing on upcycling or circular production techniques.”

There is no doubt, expertise in buying and sourcing is becoming more and more important. Not just to find that perfect product that fits the client’s wants and needs, but also those of our planet.

Factory of Plato group in Helmond

CONCEPT & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

SOURCING

PRODUCTION & QUALITY

PRIORITIZING QUALITY The concept has been designed, the sourcing and manufacturing options have been decided upon, so it is time for the next phase of promotional item production.

Compacon has established itself as a leading organization within the full service spectrum of promotions and premiums.

This means quality control is an inevitable part of the process.

Monique Groot is Account Director with a lot of experience designing promotional concepts for major brands: “Companies like, for instance, Mars maintain a very strict policy regarding CSR, product safety and factory audits. In these kinds of projects, it is important to focus on details that mitigate risks.”

Compacon is constantly developing its quality within a wide range of its business. The organization has received a Platinum rating by EcoVadis and is ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 certified, showing the ability to handle internationally adopted quality management systems and sustainability efforts within the daily operation.

The fact notable brands like Philips, Mars and Danone request the proper handling of strict regulations does not scare Monique.

“If, for instance, face some challenges with Asia transportation like today, I will make a buffer for lead times and look for European production solutions. One way or another, we will find the right fix!”

Does this trend in becoming more sustainable and quality-oriented

mean the creativity becomes more limited? Key Account Manager Judith does not think so: “It is challenging to be creative while controlling costs, lead times and stricter CSR policies, but I like it! It is what makes Compacon different.”

BRINING THE CONCEPT TO YOUR DOORSTEP To complete the process, the product needs to arrive at the requested address, ready for distribution. André van Heest is Project Coordinator within the Dutch office and plays a vital part in the entire operation: “My role is to provide advice on products, design creative proposals, manage orders and stay in close contact with our Traffic department to ensure proper delivery. The challenge is making sure every step in the order needs to be managed in such a way that it all comes together on the date agreed upon with our client.”

A vibrant job that André enjoys a lot after his experience within the promotional industry for years.

With several management systems, orders are managed in different ways. PromOnline(b) is Compacon’s own webshop module in which brands can distribute their promotional items towards, for instance, different offices around the world. However, a lot of handling is coordinated by André and its colleagues, who have gained experiences and learned to solve them:

LOGISTICS

“A trend that appeared during the pandemic was delivering ‘work from home’-gift boxes to actual home addresses of employees. This required us to ship across Europe and even overseas. The team managed to find the right way of working very quickly to service the clients in these ‘new’ types of orders. Keywords are communication and partnerships!”

THE BEST FULL SERVICE EXPERIENCE From creative concept development to excellent quality delivery: the full service within promotional items and premiums entails more than you might have originally thought. Compacon is lucky to have the brilliant minds in-house to maintain a great service on any discipline. Finding alternative solutions for occurring challenges is only possible for experienced and above all passionate people.

Every client has a different identity and different goals, but with the right knowledge, there is a custom-made solution for anyone.

Find out how promotional items and premiums help boost your brand with a tailor-made proposal.

More information and contact details can be found on the Compacon website. www.compacon.com