TV news stations in the USA, most notably CNN, spend millions on voter research, trying to determine which of the two Democratic candidates - Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton - is likely to win the race for their party's presidential nomination. But, they needn't bother because one leading US retailer has come up with its own innovative and cheaper solution to work out which candidate is winning the country's hearts and minds by counting mugs!

Californian online merchandiser Cafe Press allows customers to upload their own designs to be placed on personalised promotional items such as mugs, t-shirts, badges and car stickers. The San Matteo based company has simply counted up all such items ordered relating to the presidential nomination race and concludes that Obama is winning by an extremely comfortable margin.

Their figures reveal that Obama leads the race, accounting for 69 per cent of their national Democratic primary promotional item sales, against Clinton's meagre 18 per cent. Of course, this way of determining who is winning the presidential nomination race is even less scientific than the majority of the exit polls conducted on behalf of the US news stations, but it does highlight the impact promotional items have in advertising a variety of causes.

The production of promotional items is a tried and tested way of gaining valuable and cost-effective exposure for a new product, service, company, or campaign. Any visitor to kitchens in the majority of offices and factories throughout the UK will find they are stocked full of promotional mugs; step into the office and they'll likely also find promotional pens galore.

The beauty of such promotional items is that they are resilient, and long lasting. Any campaign, message or product details are there for all to see for months or even years. They can even be used as corporate gifts, delivering a marvellous double whammy: claimed as advertising costs while at the same time rewarding a company's best customers.

As the race to the Whitehouse proves, advertisers don't have to stick to mugs to deliver their message; t-shirts, car bumper stickers, badges and other items can all be used to promote messages effectively and cheaply when compared to other forms of advertising.

The most effective users of promotional items tap into current trends, such as the widespread usage of travel mugs by drivers in the UK or perhaps the current fad for putting promotional messages on t-shirts that look like they've been designed by young children. Whatever is chosen, advertisers and campaign managers all agree that promotional items are both impactful and useful, and a cost effective way of getting your message across.

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