15 Ideas for Custom Matchbooks

15 Ideas how to use Custom Matchbooks to boost your business

Many business owners are on a quest for the cheapest possible marketing items that are still effective in promoting their business. Often times, cheaper is NOT better. Sometimes cheaper items will make your business look cheap; however, there are a handful of cheap items that DO work. How about buying an item that comes in at only $0.06 or less per item! As a matter of fact, this item has a cost of only one-third of a penny per impression, with an impression being how many times your item is used.

The items I’m referring to would be custom matchbooks. If you buy 20 stem matchbooks in a stock color, you can buy a minimum of one case of 2500 matchbooks for only $123.92, which is just shy of a nickel a piece. Knowing that each matchbook has 20 matches in each book, that means a recipient can use that matchbook 20 times. $0.06 divided by 20 is only $0.003 each time the matchbook is used. Each time the matchbook is used, that person sees your logo and is reminded of your company. It’s unbeatable pricing for marketing.

Here are some ideas for using custom matchbooks:

  1. Bars and Restaurants – these are among the top places you would expect to see personalized matchbooks. Many restaurants have bars and with drinking alcohol, many people smoke. Even though smoking has been banned in many bars and restaurants around the country, outdoor seating at bars and restaurants have become very popular. This gives the opportunity for bars and restaurants to market their business using personalized matchbooks.
  2. Tobacco Stores – More and more custom tobacco stores have opened over the past few years, giving tobacco consumers more choices about the tobacco they buy. Rolling your own cigarettes has become very popular and it stands to reason that giving away a pack of matchbooks with your logo and contact info printed on them is a great giveaway with each purchase.
  3. Bail Bondsman – It’s no surprise that many DUI’s are received after leaving a bar or nightclub. Well, a popular tactic with bail bondsmen is to give out custom printed matchbooks to bars, lounges, and clubs. Then as the bar patrons pocket the matchbooks left behind by a bail bondsman, they have a phone number to call should they get busted for a DUI. It’s very specific targeting of their clients, but it works very well.
  4. Attorneys – In a very similar fashion to the marketing strategy of many bail bondsmen, lawyers can follow the same procedure of leaving behind promotional matchbooks with contact information to patrons of bars, nightclubs, and even to inmates at jails.
  5. Prison Ministry – The current trend now in the U.S. is to deny anything to do with God in our schools, government institutions, and businesses but help prisoners find God AFTER they do a crime. While we recognize this as a completely backwards way of life, it is the way things are now. Facts show that the majority of prisoners are smokers. Some were smokers before they did their crime and some take up smoking after their arrest. Because of the high number of smokers in prisons, this is a great opportunity to print Bible verses and ministry contact information on custom matchbooks for the prisoners who are ready to seek God and have questions about their faith.
  6. Candle Companies – There are many companies that create some fantastic smelling custom candles and cool candle shapes. Including a book of matches with each order would be a great giveaway that would definitely be useful.
  7. Campgrounds – A popular outdoor family activity is camping. There’s nothing more relaxing than sitting around a campfire with nothing to do but stare at the stars and converse with friends and family. However, in order to start the fire, you need either matches or a lighter, so custom matchbooks are great giveaways for campground facilities.
  8. Tattoo Shops – Most tattoo artists are quite proud of their artistic skills. It takes a talent to be able to freehand elaborate designs in the form of a multi-color tattoo. Getting full color printed matchbooks is a great way to show off some of their portfolio of tattoos. In addition, some tattoo artists use matchbooks in place of business cards.
  9. Music Bands – Part of the revenue stream for musical artists is selling merchandise. Why not promote your website for your merchandise by including your url printed on custom printed matchbooks? Smoking definitely happens at concert venues so have fans use your personalized matchbooks to light up and further strengthen your musical brand!
  10. Incense shops – Even if your store doesn’t specialize in just incense but you do sell incense, giving away custom matchbooks is a great addition for each incense sale. For the next 20 times they light up their incense, they will be reminded where they bought it. Hopefully, by the end of that matchbook, it will be time to buy more and they will have no choice but to remember where they bought it.
  11. Marriage Counselors – Keep in mind that “corny” or “cheesy” sometimes works for marketing. So if you are a marriage counselor, how about printing a slogan on your matchbooks that says, “Want a Smoking Hot Marriage?” followed by your contact info. Have your laughs, but this works for marriage counselors.
  12. Caterers – For smokers, lighting up immediately after eating is common. For this reason, it’s a great, cheap giveaway for caterers.
  13. Event Planners – Candles are commonly used at events such as weddings and parties, so matchbooks can be useful items left behind by the event planners. It also is a discrete way to let all of the guests know who organized the event and is a great way to gain new clients.
  14. Wedding Favors – Brides are always looking for inexpensive wedding favors to commemorate their special day. Personalized wedding matchbooks are great for weddings. Brides can print their names and hitch date to give out in mass to their attendees.
  15. Hardcore Ministry – If you have ever seen any ministry organization reach out to those people who really need some guidance, you will know it takes creativity to get the attention of these lost people. I’m referring to prostitutes, gang members, drug dealers and abusers, among many others living a hard lifestyle. The strategy is to give out something that would appeal to them with an imprint on the front of the matchbooks with something that would entice them such as a source for drugs or prostitution. Then when they open the matchbooks to get out a match, a Bible verse or some other inspirational message is printed in plain sight. The idea is that maybe one or two of these people will see the light and get help to change their life for the better.

Virtually any business can find a creative design or use for customized matchbooks. Finding a “cheaper” form of marketing than custom matchbooks is virtually impossible. In addition, you can choose, from 20 stem, 30 stem, 40 stem, or box matches to suit your marketing needs.

Related content