Harnessing the Lasting Branding Power of Writing Instruments

You know them, you use them, you have maybe 50 of them on hand until you’re out somewhere and actually need one — that’s right folks, I’m talking about pens.

It seems the more people try to stand out with their promotions, the “simpler” items like writing instruments are being written off (no pun intended). But, not so fast: Pens are a fantastic promotional item that people are always going to need — even if AI robots are making writing obsolete (kidding … sort of).

Trina Bicknell, chief revenue officer for HPG Brands, Braintree, Massachusetts, says that pens are great promotional tools because they never have just one user. Think about how many times you’ve lent a pen to a friend in high school, never to see it again.

“Writing instruments enhance brand recognition because they are shared and or borrowed often,” Bicknell says. “It is said that a pen typically has eight different owners, which means that the brand is shared over and over with each of those owners.”

Keep Pricing in Mind

Given that we’re in an economy right now where it seems like almost every little thing costs an arm and a leg (seriously — $8 for a latte?), good price points are a key advantage some promo items have over others.

Bicknell explains that while pens are cheaper, they don’t have to be perceived as cheap. You can create a luxury promotional pen that will make people go, “You can borrow it, but give it back. That’s my good pen.”

Crinkle Grip Pen from HPG Brands

“Pens have had a real surge in this economy because of the lower price point and versatility for projects, but customers are looking for innovation within this very traditional promo product,” she says. “This innovation comes in the form of new shapes and technology — our NFC scribe combines NFC technology with the smooth writing ability of a Hub pen [and] has been a huge hit since its launch at PPAI. It allows the user to program their website or messaging for seamless transfer to smartphone or tablets during the event.”

Don’t let the allure of low costs cloud your judgement, though. Bicknell warns that cutting costs too much can lead to a downfall
in quality.

“A common mistake is looking only at price and not quality of the pen,” she warns. “Writing instruments have a very high ability to repeat order, but if a pen doesn’t write well, smudges, runs outs of ink, and doesn’t feel good in the hand of the user, that chance or reorder rate decreases. A couple of pennies can be the difference from having a subpar pen to having a great pen.

Distributors can really make the difference by sampling and showing a customer the quality of the pen and why they want their brand on the quality writing instrument.”

Know Your Audience

Rhonda Reilly, director of sales, promotional products for Pilot Corporation of America in Jacksonville, Florida, says that because all customers are different, a promo company’s array of options should reflect that.

“Every audience has a different want and need when it comes to material or pen type,” Reilly says. “At Pilot, we offer various materials to fit consumer and industry needs. We offer metal, plastic, and recycled materials in our pen line. Metal barrels have a higher perceived value than other materials.”

G2 Premium Gel Roller Pen from Pilot Pen

In tandem with the argument of knowing your audience, Reilly believes that not talking to your customer to figure out exactly what they want sets a lot of distributors back when it comes to selling pens as promo products.

“A common mistake a distributor makes is not knowing what their client needs for their specific industry or campaign,” Reilly says. “The biggest mistake is not offering a writing instrument in every presentation or conversation. Pens are a staple to every industry.”

Bicknell says metal pens have higher perceived value and are great for gifting or higher-level events. However, she says plastic pens are still the most popular because of their “versatility and economic price.”

Over the past few years, she says she’s seen people prioritizing comfort over everything else in their writing instruments.

“Pens with rubberized finish have absolutely surged the last few years because of the comfortable feel of the pen in your hand,” Bicknell says. “This rubberized trend prompted us to develop our new Wizzard Comfort. Our Wizzard pen with its fidget spinner was already a great seller. When we brought it out with a comfort grip with rubberized finish this January, our customers went wild because they loved the fun of the fidget spinner with the feel of the comfort grip.”

Pay Attention to Peak Selling Times

Given that pens are such a versatile promotional tool, it’s not surprising that they don’t have just one time of the year when they’re in high demand.

Reilly says she sees surges in demand for pens from the education industry, typically in late summer when people are going back to school, and sectors like financial services show a higher peak in January.

Bowie Softy Monochrome Stylus Pen - Mirror Laser from Goldstar

For Bicknell, she says that she sees an uptick during the holidays.

“Writing instruments are the perfect promo product because they sell all year with little seasonality, however you do see a pickup of sales on metal writing instruments during Q4 for holidays because they make a great economical gift,” Bicknell says.

Stick to the Classics

As we so often see, product trends develop and evolve year after year. But Reilly explains that the beauty of a pen is that there are always going to be classic styles that people will go back to time and time again. So, when all else fails, there is a “tried-and-true” item you can always fall back on with confidence that it will be well received.

BIC Ferocity Clic Gel Pen from Koozie Group

“New styles become trendy every year, but with every fad, styles come and go,” she says. “This leads to the classic and reliable gel and ballpoint to get the job done, depending on the industry.”