Banner pens give branding firm something to write home about

The company has found a niche in producing banner pens that are now a favourite to local companies out to advertise themselves.

“In a modern economy you have to embrace creative advertising strategies. A banner pen is among other means of marketing that are coming up,” says Jackson Ndegwa, the managing director of Design 40 Interiors Limited.

Banner pens are fitted with a banner on its side. The banner contains information regarding a company’s profile, list of its products or any other information it wishes to display to potential customers.

Design 40’s encounter with banner pens started with a visit by its officials to China early in 2009 where the pens are sold at the local market.

The team was so impressed that they sought to have similar pens customised to reflect their brand, Design 40.

Growing interest

Initially, the branded pens were to be used as gift items for the company’s clients but this changed since clients soon started to demand similar pens customised for their companies’ brands.

“In December 2009, we got the first consignment of banner pens with our brand name. Growing interest in the pens has given rise to a business of producing them for interested companies,” says Mr Ndegwa.

As result of the demand, Ultra Creations was set up as a division of Design 40 whose core business is interior design.

Production of banner pens and exhibitions are the main operations in Ultra Creations, which is mainly involved in branding.

So far, they have produced banner pens for seven local companies that include pharmaceuticals and parastatals.

Even before 2009, banner pens were available locally. However, Mr Ndegwa says, these pens did not meet the specific advertising needs for companies and were thus stock items for individual sellers.

“The banner pens we have been seeing around were imported for sale locally and contained calendars without specific company details,” he says.

Ultra Creations saw the business opportunity and moved in to fill the marketing gap.

A pen rarely gets lost — it merely changes hands until its ink dries out.

This gives the banner pen an advantage over other marketing tools like brochures whose life span could be cut short when it is torn.

Mr Ndegwa believes that through changing hands, a banner pen is likely to pass the intended message to anyone who comes across it.

Besides, the message keeps sinking every time one uses the pen. And for refillable pens, the life span of the message is longer.

On average, production of a banner pen costs Sh90 while prices of branded pens range between Sh60 and Sh100.

A brochure, which is close in line to the pens in advertising, costs Sh100 to produce.

So why would one prefer a banner pen to a branded pen, which is relatively cheap?

Mr Ndegwa says: “It is advisable to use different marketing approaches. While the branded pen will sell a company’s brand, the banner pen will carry more information because the banner provides a bigger space.”

Production of a banner pen involves five stages including designing the banner, printing, fixing other accessories in the pen, presenting the pen to the client for approval and production of the order after approval.

To ensure that the process is economic, orders are restricted to a minimum of 1,000 pens.

However, those who wish to order below the minimum quantity are required to place orders upon paying a set-up fee of Sh5,000. But the company does not take orders below 500 pens.

And as businesses turn to paperless operations with the emergence of computer technology, Mr Ndegwa is not worried over loss of market for branded pens.

He believes that business opportunities abound because Kenya is yet to achieve complete computerisation.

However, since branding industry is dynamic, Ndegwa sees change as an opportunity for the company to embrace emerging trends to remain relevant.

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