Fridge magnets....we never use them in the UK. Should we?

B

billsams

New member
Hi

One of the things that I have noticed on this forum is that fridge magnets are being used as a promotional tool by a lot of pizza owners.

I, nor does any pizza owner I know in the UK, use them. They are just never used.

I am presuming that they work due to the popularity. However I rang a company yesterday to enquire about the cost and they were very expensive (about £1, which is about $1.50 ) each, with a minimum order of 500, plus delivery charges. Ouch!!

Are they really worth the investment? Are they are an effective marketing tool or just a nice gimmicky gift from pizza owners who can afford to give them away.

I would appreciate any comments that you have.

Thank you so much.

Bill
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we
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billsams:
I am presuming that they work due to the popularity. However I rang a company yesterday to enquire about the cost and they were very expensive (about £1, which is about $1.50 ) each, with a minimum order of 500, plus delivery charges. Ouch!!

Are they really worth the investment? Are they are an effective marketing tool or just a nice gimmicky gift from pizza owners who can afford to give them away.
Click to expand...
I pay less than 1/10 of the price you were quoted for my magnets. At the price I am paying I sent one out with every order. Check around for another supplier I did a quick search and found a site that is in Cheshire that quotes 35p each for a quantity of 500 on their web site.

Statistics suggest the refrigerator gets opened an average of 25 times per day or close to 10,000 times per year. At a cost of 10 t0 15 cents that is .000001 cents per consumer impression.

Before I started using magnets I looked for a way to keep my name and phone number readily available to my customers. When I looked at my file cabinet I noticed a magnet that had been there for over 20 years. I ask you to think of what other advertising medium you know of that remains in place for more than even a week.
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we

Thanks for the reply and the very interesting figures. They were fascinating.

Thank you too for taking the time to search for me regarding finding a fridge magnet supplier. I will do a more thorough research myself to see what else I can find.

Your point about the fridge magnet on your filing cabinet was very interesting. On the one hand I can see your point about it out-lasting other forms of advertising but on the other hand you can get so used to seeing something that you no longer notice it.

Does that make sense?

I am sure for the immediate term, fridge magnets can be effective and might be a good novelty thing to do with my customers as I can guarantee that they won’t have one from any other pizza shop owner in this area.

Again, thanks very much. Really appreciate your reply and research.

Bill
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we

We use them extensively and give them out all the time, but not to the extent of Daddio (he’s got more money than me :cry: ).

Here in Australia, or around where I am not many places use magnets. I guess that is why people call us because they have our number on their fridge and not a competitor.

What you are saying about nobody uses them in the UK reminds me of a story about a shoe salesman who was sent into the wilderness. After a week he sent a letter to his boss asking to be brought back home because it was useless as non-one wore shoes. The next salesman who was sent there sent a letter requesting a container load of shoes be sent as a matter of urgency as he saw a great opportunity as no-one wore shoes.

You have a great opportunity to get your name and number out in front of every household in your area by getting magnets into their houses.

For me I would put a fair whack of my advertsing / promotion budget into getting a couple of thosuand magnets as a matter of urgency and then get them into the households around you. Be the shoe salesman who requested the container load of shoes and not the one who didn’t see the opportunity.

You never know, but this may be the catalyst for getting the people into your shop and not one of the 5 others right near you or the 37 in your area.

I would be surprised if you would have to pay anymore than 50 pence each for them and maybe less if you buy a couple of thousand.

Dave
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we

tell ya what you can buy some nice 4 color nice business cards for about 40.00 for 500
then buy the adhiesive magnets

http://cgi.ebay.com/500-Magnetic-Busine … 240%3A1318

try it out its a low cost trial before ya dive in. But its been my experience that magnets work…Like daddio I change mine ever so often. Funny thing is not many people put 2 of the same magnet up but they do put 2 of mine if they are different…Dont know why but it happens
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we

Thanks Dave and Rockstar

Liked the story Dave and got the point 🙂

Rockstar, thanks very much for posting those links which is a very ingenius and affordable option.

Bill
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we
wa dave:
What you are saying about nobody uses them in the UK reminds me of a story about a shoe salesman who was sent into the wilderness. After a week he sent a letter to his boss asking to be brought back home because it was useless as non-one wore shoes. The next salesman who was sent there sent a letter requesting a container load of shoes be sent as a matter of urgency as he saw a great opportunity as no-one wore shoes.
Click to expand...
But did they buy the shoes?
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we
Dewar's Pizza Bakery:
wa dave:
What you are saying about nobody uses them in the UK reminds me of a story about a shoe salesman who was sent into the wilderness. After a week he sent a letter to his boss asking to be brought back home because it was useless as non-one wore shoes. The next salesman who was sent there sent a letter requesting a container load of shoes be sent as a matter of urgency as he saw a great opportunity as no-one wore shoes.
Click to expand...
But did they buy the shoes?
Click to expand...
You aren’t supposed to ask questions like that !!! 😛 :shock: It takes away from the point I was trying to make, just like politicians do. 😛

Just like Obama, I’m a good story teller. The result will be told later. :lol:

I’ll let you know later after I figure out which came first, the egg or the chicken while I decide if my glass is half empty or half full. :roll:

dave
 
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billsams,
Be the first! Set the trend. Abeit small, it’s a differentiator and like it was discussed in the other thread, you need them to compete. Maybe it’s the key that will unlock your potential.

You can brag that you were the first ones to use magnets in the UK. Although it’s probably not true, it sure sounds good… and who’s to argue?
 
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there must be plenty of people using magnets in the UK - just google fridge magnets UK and you come up with page afetr page of suppliers - and you know people only supply things if there is a market.

I hope Billsams doesn’t take this the wrong way (its my usual cynical view overflowing again) but when you don’t even know about box topping then chances are your not going to know about fridge magnets. I think you’d be silly to think your the first in the UK.

billsams - read through the frequently asked questions at the top of the page - before you start with wild ideas agree a budget of what you can afford to spend each week to market and then consider the different options available to you and which one fits your budget etc best. IMHO fridge magenets (whilst nice to have) fit way down the list after effective distribution of menus, box topping etc.

The best advice I can give you -have a plan, write it down and do it. If you don’t you’ll flit about from one idea to the next and never achieve anything.

Good luck.
 
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Re: Fridge magnets…we never use them in the UK. Should we

Hi

I think I need to change what I said previously. What I should have said is that I don’t know anybody who uses fridge magnets in my area.

I am sure that pizza places uses fridge magnets somewhere in the UK but they are not used round here.

The marketing culture seems very different in the US than it does here which is why I am desperate to pick up your tips.

Again, box toppings are not used by anybody that I know and that is why I have not heard of it before.

All the pizza places do the same kind of marketing: ie: yellow pages and a leaflet drop covering 10,000 homes every other month. That’s it. Nothing else.

If anybody was doing anything other than that then I would have been tracking their marketing very closely.

This forum is opening up a whole new world to me and really could help us to get the edge over our competitors if we apply the suggestions and tips.

Bill
 
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