Behold the Lowly Refrigerator Magnet

I must confess:  Refrigerator magnets are my all-time favorite promotional products.  Alas, those inexpensive versatile items get little respect.

Are they wildly creative?  No.  Are they typically unique?  Not really.  Do they boast a high perceived value.  Nope.  But do they work?  Absolutely.

It’s not that they necessarily generate immediate response.  The power of the fridge magnet is in its keepability and, yes, affordability.  As promo products go, those items are comparatively dirt cheap to purchase, hand out, or mail.  But more important is their messaging capability.

If some business sends you a fridge magnet in a plain ol’ #10 envelope, you’ll open the package to get to the gift inside.  You may have already guessed what the surprise is, but you’ll rip open the envelope anyway.

Will you read the enclosed letter or flyer?  Maybe.  But if you’re like most people, you’ll keep the magnet.

And where will you put it?  Chances are you’ll stick it on your refrigerator, which in most households is the family bulletin board and address book.  In fact, many often refer to that “message board” to find the phone number of a particular business.

You know the information is there, because you see it every time you go to or walk by your fridge.  In other words, that magnet is a 24/7 billboard.

It’s also incredibly cost effective.

Say a business sends out fridge magnet mailers at a cost of $2.00 each (creative, production, list, fulfillment, postage).  You put the magnet on your fridge and then see it an average of three times per day.  That’s roughly 1,000 impressions per year.

However, your spouse or domestic partner does the same.  As a result, your little billboard is producing 2,000 impressions yearly…for a cost per placement of just $2.00.  You do the math.

So the next time someone mentions fridge magnets, don’t treat the idea like it’s a Rodney Dangerfield.