Premiums

A US chewing gum company called Topps had been using baseball cards as a promotional item since the beginning of the 20th century, and they had become a collector's item. They were so successful that the company dropped the gum entirely in 1990 and just sold the cards. Easier to make and not banned in Singapore.

You can see its point when a card from 1909 featuring the splendidly named Honus Wagner sold for $600,000 (£304,607) in the 60s. This turned out to be a good buy because it sold again for an even more unbelievable $2,350,000 (£1,119,037) in 2007.

Think how that would have gone down on Antiques Road Show if someone had found it at the back of a drawer. Topps' decision proved to be a good one when Michael Eisner, previously chief executive of Disney, bought Topps for $385,000,000 (£195,471,854). A rare example of the promotion overtaking the promoter's business, although it's obviously not likely that Andrex will get out of paper products to concentrate on cuddly puppies.

Ken Spedding, KWS Consultancy.