Although marketers get the reputation for being creative minds, doodling on papers and spacing off in meetings, what many fail to realize is the importance of data, statistics and numbers to do our job effectively. Although we may be creative minds at heart, we also know that in order to be successful, we need data to back up our wild ideas.

Part of that data is focused on our audience – who we are marketing to and why. Marketing campaigns cost time and money so in order to get a company on board with pouring money into a campaign, we need to strategically plan for who we will be targeting in the campaign and what will appeal to them.

Whether you’re creating a targeted Facebook ad, running a late night TV commercial or developing a promotional products campaign, knowing your audience’s demographics is key to understanding what is most important to them and, in turn, what will get them to spend their money with you.

Let’s focus on a promotional products campaign. Although you may think it’s easy to distinguish the type of products that will be most suitable for your audience, (i.e. tech products will be a stand out item for millennials while headwear may captivate a crowd of 65+), it’s never that simple. Until you do your research and gain a true understanding of what your audience is looking for, you can guess all you want but you won’t have anything to back it up.

When talking about demographics, most go straight to the obvious factors: age, sex and race. However, like most things, it’s not that simple. Your audience’s location has a big an impact as anything. For example, while a 35 year old male living in chilly Alaska may love to receive an expensive piece of outerwear, the same male living in sunny Florida may turn it down.

In order to create an effective campaign, a variety of factors need to be kept in mind. Use the resources available and do your research to ensure your promotional product giveaways are something the recipient will truly value and find useful.

ASI’s listing of the most popular promotional products by state is a fantastic resource to get a quick picture of what consumers in your area, or your targeted area, are looking for. Check out the complete listing here.