7 Reasons Why You Need a Sticker Marketing Strategy

by Nicole Plyler November 4, 2021

Marketing your business requires many tactics and initiatives. It’s often hard to break out of the noise, and there are so many messages competing for attention. From display ads to social media marketing to direct mail, all these channels need to have their own strategy. There’s one avenue that’s proven to get people’s attention and celebrate your brand—sticker marketing. Many types of groups and businesses use it for brand awareness, humor, powerful social commentary, and much more. If you want to use this medium, you’ll need to develop a plan. Here are the reasons why you need a sticker marketing strategy.

A New Way to Connect

By using stickers, you connect with your audience in a different way. They can’t ignore it as they do display ads or change the channel when commercials air. Stickers are so versatile, as well. You can place them almost anywhere—windows, walls, cars, laptops, sidewalks, doors, machinery, packaging, etc. Stickers are a savvy and smart marketing solution.

Additionally, people keep seeing the stickers in certain areas, meaning they may retain the information longer. You could liken it to “old school” social media. Stickers enable real-life, real-time word-of-mouth impressions. They may also prompt people who see them to have conversations about the company behind them.

Further, it shows a type of endorsement when your current customers display them. It showcases their brand loyalty and could influence someone else to check out your business.

Stickers can create a strong connection when they align with your brand values and the things important to your customer. Developing a sticker marketing strategy helps you define that connection and execute on it.

But what is a sticker marketing strategy, and what should it include?

What Is a Sticker Marketing Strategy?

Before discussing the reasons why you need a sticker marketing strategy, we should define what this. It’s really no different than any other strategy you have for marketing tactics. It documents how you’ll use a channel to meet a specific goal.

For example, the goal could be to increase purchases of a specific product. One of the tactics could be to design a sticker series that features the project and its tagline with a QR code. If a person scans the QR code, they arrive at a webpage about the product. If customers make in this way, you can track that and attribute it to your sticker campaign.

What Should Your Sticker Marketing Strategy Include?

If you already have a strategy template for other marketing initiatives, you can follow that. If not, here’s what we recommend:

Define goals you expect to achieve with stickers. Some examples are brand awareness, improving social media engagement, selling more products, driving more traffic to your website or physical store, or launching a product.
Apply numbers to your goals, if applicable. It’s essential to quantify your goals so you know if you achieve them or not. For example, the objective may be to improve social media engagement. So, you could elaborate on that to be by 10%. To measure, you’ll need to start with your current stats as a benchmark. Then measure after 90 days to see if the needle moved.
Put a timeframe on achieving the goal. While stickers can continue to deliver value, you’ll want to at first define a specific timeframe to achieve it, such as the 90 days noted above.
Provide a budget. Every marketing campaign has a cost, and it’s a good idea to set one. Your expenses will be the stickers themselves as well as anything else you need to execute the campaign.
Determine how you’ll get the stickers to customers. In order for sticker marketing to work, you have to distribute them out into the world! How will you ensure they get to your customers and continue to expand your reach? There are many ways to do this. You can include them in all e-commerce orders. If you have a physical store, make them available there. If you attend or host events, that’s another distribution channel.
Identify the metrics you’ll track and how you’ll track them. Attribution in the physical world is more challenging than the digital one. However, there are ways to do this, such as using a QR code. You can also include a special URL, code, email, or phone number tied directly to sticker marketing. If you receive inquiries from these, you can attribute it to that campaign.
Promote the stickers. Beyond just simple distribution, you should also promote the stickers. You could do this on your website in a small callout about your branded sticker collection. Mention it on social media and in all product marketing as a “get a free sticker with your next order” type of strategy.
Consider a different segment of stickers that are for sale. Sticker marketing doesn’t have to just be about promotional ones. You can also create branded, expertly designed stickers that your customers may actually want to buy. If your audience has the appetite for that, it’s another option. You may find that some stickers become in demand because of their message or design. If that’s the case, you may consider ordering more but putting a price on them.

If you go through all these steps, you’ll be able to develop a sticker marketing strategy that can help you accomplish your goals.

Next, we’ll look at the reasons why a sticker marketing strategy is a great idea for your business.

Reasons Why You Need a Sticker Marketing Strategy

Creating a strategy may seem like a bit of work, but you don’t want to go into this type of campaign without some parameters. Otherwise, you won’t be able to show a return on such an endeavor.

So, why stickers? Let’s find out!

It’s a Cost-Effective Marketing Tactic

Most marketing campaigns are expensive. There are few things that don’t require significant investment. SEM (search engine marketing) can cost you thousands a month. Display ads and social media ads can wipe out a budget fast, too. Direct mail certainly isn’t cheap either.

Stickers, however, are extremely cost-effective. You can print a high volume of quality stickers consisting of high-quality vinyl for very little. Additionally, the more you buy, the less per piece costs.

Because stickers are so budget-friendly, you can quickly scale up your campaign once it takes off. You won’t feel the pinch of extra costs like other marketing tactics. Because the investment is small, any returns you get can make up for this. When giving away stickers for marketing, your expense is just the fees for the stickers themselves.

Let’s do the math.

If you purchase 5000 stickers, it would cost you $200 or less. You then distribute those stickers in ways that don’t incur any other costs (i.e., in shipping boxes, at events, in-store, etc.). If only a few people see the sticker and respond to it and make purchases, you’re already ROI (return on investment) positive.

Stickers Aren’t Disruptive Marketing

In the modern world, advertising is coming at us from every angle. So much so that many become frustrated by it. Others tend to be “ad-blind.” The reality is that digital advertising and that on TV and the radio are disruptive. Stickers, however, are not.

People encounter stickers in the real world. They often aren’t blatant advertisements either. Just having a die cut sticker of your logo becomes a brand piece but not an ad. If you use humor or a special message, they may read it and have an actual emotional connection. Now, this prospective customer is wondering about your business and could seek you out online or in-store.

Stickers are just simple. They are small, in most cases, so there’s little to no text. It’s not throwing a million things at you like an online ad. No one wants to read a novel on your brand. A great design and an on-brand message will do the work.

Stickers Are Perfect for Your Loyal Customers

As previously discussed, stickers act as endorsements for your brand. But you don’t need a social media influencer to put one on their wall to get attention. When someone sees a brand sticker on someone’s laptop or bumper, they immediately know that the owner of the sticker is loyal to your brand.

That’s a powerful message. Most consumers look to others for recommendations and to determine the quality or reliability of a brand. While you can say all day long that you have the best cookies in the city, it will mean more for a customer to have a sticker that says that.

When your customers endorse you with stickers, it also shows others that you’re a dependable business. You’ve continued to follow through and deliver great products and experiences. Consumers have high expectations for the companies with which they do business. They expect you’ll do what you say you’re going to do. A sticker worn by a customer immediately confirms you will.

Plus, there’s no real effort on the part of the sticker owner. They don’t have to write a review, give a testimonial, or interact with you on social media. Placing the sticker on something that others will see is the only ask.

Stickers Are the Perfect Giveaway

Another reason you need to move forward with a sticker strategy is that they are the perfect giveaway. They can offer a great way to support your brand in a low-cost way. You can accomplish many things with sticker giveaways.

Increase Brand Awareness

Spreading awareness of your brand is a key objective with giveaways. The more distribution channels you use, the more likely you are to pique the interest of prospective customers. One way to do this well is to work with other businesses that are your partners or in the same vicinity. You can both help each other out by having stickers from the other company.

Another way to increase brand awareness with sticker giveaways is to make them easily accessible. If you’re at an event, don’t just put your stickers on the table in a pile. Instead, have someone stand up and engage with people as they walk by, offering a free sticker. It could start a conversation. If your sticker is attractive and interesting, people will also want to display it.

Build Customer Loyalty

Sticker giveaways to customers are a value add to them. They get something for free from a brand they like. By providing this to them, you can strengthen their loyalty to you. Consider ways to continue to engage with customers via stickers. You can put them in orders or bags if in-person. There may also be special events or times of the year where you create a specific type of sticker. In that case, send those out to your current customers.

For example, you could send customers happy birthday stickers, which make them feel special. Another idea could be fun Halloween sticker to give out in the fall. These can align well with overall marketing strategies based on holidays, milestones, or anything else relevant to your business and customers.

Maximize Customer Engagement

Stickers can improve customer engagement. They are a physical takeaway, so it’s much different from an online interaction. One way to do this is by setting up a contest where people in your city have to find different stickers your brand created out in the world. This could play out well on social media and get people excited. The first person to find them all could win a prize.

Another way to increase engagement with stickers is to refer a friend. Referrals are a great way to build your customer base while also recognizing the customer. This type of exchange could also be good for social media. Customers would need to upload photos or videos of them giving away a sticker. You can then offer a free gift or discount to both the existing and new customers.

The kind of engagement you build with stickers happens in real life, which can be much more powerful than other types. You have the opportunity to create connections with customers that will last.

Stickers Can Promote Many Things

Most businesses use stickers to promote their business, and that’s a great approach. However, stickers can promote many different things, such as products and events. Suppose you have a big promotion coming up, a new product launching, or you’re hosting. In that case, stickers can be another tactic to support them.

Stickers also don’t have to be brand- or product-centric. They can also be educational and offer helpful information. For example, health food stores could develop stickers with food facts to promote a better diet. Another idea is to include instructions on how to do some everyday task that relates to your business. These stickers would have your logo and branding but be really useful to people, which means they’ll stick them somewhere visible and keep them there.

In the case of specific campaigns or events, you should consider developing themed stickers for these. For an event, start distributing them early. They could serve as a save-the-date announcement. While your sticker real estate is small, you can include a QR code or short URL to guide people to find out more about the event or register for it.

If you’re using stickers to promote a new product or service, they can be part of the buzz of excitement you hope to create. Use funny or interesting messaging that doesn’t reveal the product or service but offers hints. You can turn this into a game, too. People have to get all the sticker clues then make a guess. This is a unique way to hype something up that’s interactive and makes your brand stand out.

Stickers Are Durable

If you use a high-quality vinyl sticker, you can be sure that it has staying power. Cheap stickers won’t last as long, so consider this. You don’t want something you give away that has brand messaging to be low quality.

Vinyl stickers are waterproof and weatherproof so they can withstand the elements or even the dishwasher.

In most cases, a sticker can last for years. However, if someone wants to remove them, it won’t take lots of elbow grease. They typically peel right off even if they’ve been in the same place for years.

With a sticker, you are giving away of a piece of your brand story. When they are durable, that sends a great message to your customer that they can depend on you.

Can Any Business Execute a Sticker Marketing Strategy?

You may think sticker marketing is only for big companies. It’s true; they do use them a lot, but any company can leverage them for branding and promotion. Since they are so cost-effective, the barrier to using them is low as opposed to other marketing initiatives.

All you need is a strategy and a goal on how you’ll use them. You can start small by just giving them away to customers in orders. In this first wave, you can see if there has been any return. If you see positives, then expand how to use them with some of the ideas we’ve provided above.

Must-Haves for Your Stickers: Quality Matters

If you’re going to use stickers as part of your marketing strategy, you need to ensure they are of the highest quality. If not, then all the work to create engagement and excitement will be lost because the sticker will fail.

When comparing options for sticker production, you’ll want to look for these things.

Your stickers should be vinyl. It’s the highest quality material to use for stickers. It includes a 3.2-mil. block-out bubble free adhesive. With this construction, the adherence is permanent, but you can still remove them with ease without leaving any residue.
Stickers should have lamination. A lamination layer makes your stickers even more resilient. It protects them from fading and scratches. That’s especially valuable for stickers that will go on bumpers or anything exterior.
Waterproof stickers are the best: Water can quickly damage cheap, paper-based stickers. In most applications, a sticker will encounter moisture. The vinyl’s adhesive doesn’t let water seep in to ruin it. Additionally, with durable ink, the colors in the graphic won’t diminish even in high-exposure areas. True waterproof stickers can even handle going in the dishwasher.
Backing liners allow for easy sticking. When customers receive their stickers, you want to make sure they are easy to apply. A backing liner does just this. It removes smoothly every time.

Sticker Types: You’ve Got Options

No matter how you decide to use stickers for marketing, you will have many options to choose from regarding shape and size. Let’s look at those.

Die cut Stickers can be any size or shape. They follow the lines of the design. They are cost-effective and make your logo pop.
Rectangle stickers and Square stickers provide you with plenty of space to deliver a message or instructions. They are ideal for educational or useful information.

These classic, circle shaped stickers are a fun and engaging way to represent your brand in an exciting way! We print these stickers on a premium gloss vinyl, giving them a clean and sleek finished look.
Bumper stickers are an excellent type for fun or important messages. People put these on their cars to show their loyalty or position on something. These stickers will need to be UV and weather-resistant since they’ll have exposure to the elements.
Kiss cut stickers can be cut right up to the edge of your design, even if it’s complex or has lots of details. These sticker types are a good choice for promoting a product or event.
Clear stickers print on clear vinyl so they can go on transparent surfaces such as a window or glass for more impact. These sticker types would be good for other businesses that might display your brand as a partner.
Reflective stickers are a great way to stand out, as they add simmer which gets attention. These could be an excellent option for products or events, too. Halloween reflective stickers could be very cool.
Holographic Stickers are printed on an iridescent, shiny vinyl that give a rainbow like effect. A great way to promote your business. Suitable for indoors and waterproof for outdoors.
Sticker sheets are one way to print multiple stickers. They are typically 8.5” x 11”. They peel off easily, so you could use these at events.

A Winning Sticker Marketing Strategy Starts with a Great Partner

As the business, your responsibility is to execute the strategy. You’ll need a trusted partner to produce these stickers at an affordable price while not compromising on quality. Those are the results you’ll get with Stickerbeat. We have a huge assortment of sticker types by shape and size. We offer fast turnaround times and free shipping.

Start shopping our sticker products today and kick off your sticker marketing strategy!