Four years ago, I was driving to Baltimore for a wedding, and just as I hit Wilmington, DE, my watch quit. Being one of those obsessives who feels naked without one, I got off I-95 and began looking for a jeweler. I found five; one was closed. Another didn’t have the right battery. Another didn’t do watch repairs. The last two were “too busy right now” and asked me to leave the watch for a few hours – time I didn’t have.

Heading back to I-95, I noticed a Marshall’s in a shopping center. I pulled in, thinking perhaps I could buy an inexpensive watch there. OK, it might mean dropping 30 or 40 bucks, but I had to have one. 

It turned out I found one for $15. A designer model, but a very cool looking one.  I got more compliments on that watch than any I’ve ever worn. One guy at a nightclub even offered me $50 for it; his girlfriend liked it. I said no. By then I’d become kind of attached to it. Sadly, it now resides about a quarter-mile offshore St. Lucia; the catch accidentally opened on the tender ride from the cruise ship.

The story’s point? The watch was a cheapie, but everyone admiring it didn’t know that. Their perception was that it was worth more. 

And the point of that statement? Something we’ve noted in these pages for years: Perceived value is at the heart of promotional products’ effectiveness. 

Consider the following, by Dr. Henry S. Bunting, promotional products expert:

“... value in use, while it may not be related at all to value in exchange, is still an important fact of economic science. A thing may have a very high value in exchange and a low value in use – a diamond, for example. Contrarily, a thing may have a minimum value in exchange – say bread, for example, and yet have an excessive value in use ...”

Pretty logical right? What makes it more interesting is that Bunting wrote it in 1913. Since then, the American economy has been affected by the Great Depression, two world wars, three undeclared wars, an unprecedented spending boom, a major recession, the virtual loss of several industries to foreign competition, massive layoffs at previously rock-solid corporations, and an entire space exploration program. And through it all, the concept of perceived value – in terms of logoed goods – remains exactly where it was 87 years ago. 

In a nutshell, it doesn’t matter what something costs. Could be $5,000; could be 47 cents. Could be used once every two months or 17 times a day. Neither is key. What matters is that if the recipient discerns it as more valuable, it becomes more valuable to her and, by association, to those around her. 

True, certain products seem to have a high perceived value already built in. Watches are one. Sweaters, discussed in this issue, are another. So are cameras, crystal and certain writing instruments. And it’s almost intrinsic; I’m not the only person who knows you can go to Marshall’s or a similar discount store and pick up a watch or sweater cheap. Millions do. Yet they’ll always see such things as inherently valuable.

With those products, it’s one of those bizarre inexplicables of human nature. But what if your promotion can’t afford or apply one? Again, it doesn’t matter. Nearly anything can become something with a higher perceived value. A mug. A letter-opener. An award. A notebook. Even a clip-on plastic pillbox. The idea is to make it something someone wants to have. And if they want to have it, you can be absolutely sure they’ll remember which company gave it to them.

How do you do that? All kinds of ways. It might be the presentation. The distribution. The imprint. The packaging. The timing. The color. The weight. The texture. It differs with every promotional effort. You just need to gather all the right information. And that’s what your counselor is for. Give him a call and begin brainstorming together.

Think of it as modern alchemy. Only instead of turning lead into gold, you can do it with steel – or ceramic, plastic, paper, wood, stone, etc.  Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but more significantly, so is value.

P.S. Remember, your comments, criticisms and suggestions are always welcome.