How to Measure The Effectiveness of Promotional Items

The most effective way to ensure the effectiveness of a promotional item is by measuring its Cost Per Impression (CPI). The CPI is the cost associated with getting a single view of an item. For example, a $1.00 branded pen. Imagine a person receiving the pen at a trade show who then places it in a drawer only to be used once, then thrown away after the ink dries a year later. This would effectively mean the pen had a CPI of $1.00 (since there was only one impression). Take another scenario where the same person received a $1.00 phone wallet and used it for a month. If 1,000 people saw the item, the CPI would be $0.001 (one tenth of a cent) making that item significantly more desirable from a branding investment point of view.