Mid-Year Brand Checkup: Print, Promo & Store Performance
By the time summer arrives, most organizations have already completed trade shows, launched campaigns, distributed promotional products, and fulfilled orders through their online company stores. While it’s easy to stay focused on what’s next, mid-year is the perfect opportunity to pause and evaluate what’s working, and what isn’t.
A mid-year brand checkup helps ensure your marketing investments are supporting your goals, reinforcing your brand, and delivering measurable results. Whether you’re managing print materials, promotional products, or a company store, taking a closer look now can help you make smarter decisions for the second half of the year.
Start with Your Brand’s Consistency
Before diving into performance metrics, begin with the foundation: your brand.
Over time, even well-managed organizations can experience brand drift. Different departments may create materials independently, outdated logos can resurface, or messaging may become inconsistent across channels.
Take a fresh look at your print materials, promotional products, and online storefront.
Questions to Ask:
- Are all materials using your current logo, colors, and brand standards?
- Is your messaging consistent across print, merchandise, and digital channels?
- Have any outdated products, flyers, or assets remained in circulation?
- Does your company store reflect your current brand identity?
Consistency matters because every interaction contributes to how customers, employees, and prospects perceive your business. A mid-year review can help identify small inconsistencies before they become larger branding challenges.
Evaluate Print Performance
Print marketing continues to play an important role in many marketing strategies, particularly when paired with events, direct mail campaigns, sales materials, and promotional merchandise.
A mid-year brand checkup can help you assess which print pieces are still delivering value.
Review Your Materials
Start by gathering the print assets you’ve used throughout the year, including:
- Brochures
- Product sheets
- Direct mail pieces
- Event signage
- Sales collateral
- Presentation materials
Look for pieces that may need updates due to new products, services, pricing, or branding changes.
Measure Effectiveness
Beyond appearance, consider performance.
Ask your sales and marketing teams:
- Which materials are being used most frequently?
- Which pieces generate conversations or support sales efforts?
- Are there materials that consistently go unused?
If you’re tracking QR codes, landing pages, or campaign-specific responses, review those metrics as well. The goal isn’t simply to print more- it’s to ensure every piece serves a purpose.
Eliminating outdated or underperforming materials can reduce waste while improving overall marketing effectiveness.
Assess Your Promotional Product Strategy
Promotional products often represent a significant portion of marketing and event budgets. However, not every giveaway delivers the same value.
Reviewing your current strategy can reveal which products are generating engagement and which may need to be reconsidered.
Analyze Product Performance
Think back to the events, employee programs, and campaigns you’ve supported this year.
Consider:
- Which items received the most positive feedback?
- What products disappeared quickly from giveaway tables?
- Which items are employees actually using?
- Have any products remained in storage long after an event?
The most effective promotional products tend to balance usefulness, quality, and brand visibility.
Look Beyond Cost
It’s tempting to evaluate promotional products solely by price, but value matters more than unit cost. According to the latest Ad Impressions Study from ASI, consumers are significantly more likely to view a brand favorably and do business with companies that provide useful branded merchandise, reinforcing the importance of selecting products that deliver long-term value rather than simply the lowest cost.
A premium item that remains in use for months may provide significantly more brand exposure than a lower-cost product that gets discarded immediately.
This is also a good opportunity to review sustainability initiatives, inventory levels, and upcoming event needs. Identifying trends now can help you allocate your remaining budget more effectively throughout the rest of the year.
Review Your Online Company Store Performance
For organizations with online company stores, mid-year provides valuable insight into employee engagement, ordering habits, and brand compliance.
Your company store should make it easy for employees, teams, and locations to access approved branded merchandise. If it isn’t accomplishing that goal, adjustments may be necessary.
Examine Store Data
Review metrics such as:
- Top-selling products
- Low-performing inventory
- Order frequency
- Popular categories
- Seasonal purchasing trends
These insights can help determine whether your product assortment still aligns with employee and customer preferences.
Evaluate the User Experience
Performance isn’t only about sales.
Consider the overall shopping experience:
- Is the store easy to navigate?
- Are product descriptions accurate and helpful?
- Are branded items consistently available?
- Is the ordering process straightforward?
If employees struggle to find what they need, they may seek alternatives outside approved channels, which can create brand compliance issues.
Check Inventory and Fulfillment
Mid-year is also an ideal time to review inventory levels and fulfillment performance.
Assess whether:
- Popular products need replenishment
- Slow-moving items should be removed
- Shipping timelines meet expectations
- New products should be introduced for upcoming events or initiatives
Making adjustments now can prevent supply issues during busy fall event and holiday seasons.
Turning Insights into Action
A successful mid-year brand checkup isn’t simply about gathering data. It’s about using that information to make informed decisions moving forward.
Look for opportunities to:
- Refresh outdated print materials
- Retire underperforming promotional products
- Improve company store offerings
- Strengthen brand consistency across all channels
- Reallocate budgets toward higher-performing initiatives
Small adjustments made now can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your marketing efforts for the remainder of the year.
Ready for Your Check Up?
A mid-year brand checkup can reveal valuable opportunities to improve brand consistency, maximize marketing investments, and create better experiences across print, promotional products, and company stores.
At Brand Advantage LLC, we help organizations align their branding across every touchpoint- from printed materials and promotional merchandise to fully managed online company stores. If you’re ready to evaluate what’s working and identify new opportunities, our team is here to help.
Contact us today to schedule a brand performance review!
