Happy Thanksgiving!

With the world in turmoil as we speak and the financial markets still suffering, it's time to take a deep breath and reflect upon that which we give thanks for. My husband and I will enjoy a delicious meal at a restaurant since our kids are scattered throughout the country. I'm thankful that I won't be cooking and will certainly miss the leftovers - but I plan on stopping at my sister's house and mooching off her, so I'm thankful for that.

I'm also grateful for a wonderful family and the five grown kids we have - with spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends and our grandson, Aiden. They keep us much younger than our real years and some of them keep one of us up to date on cutting edge culture. I'm grateful for my sister in law, Bea, who is one of the most amazing women I've ever met and is a role model for staying young and enduring sorrow.

The most heartwarming story of thanksgiving that I've heard is from a friend. She and her husband have been trying for many years to have a baby with no luck. They've had their names on a Chinese adoption list for several years for a little girl. Several months ago, they heard from an adoption agency in another state about a woman who was pregnant and due the end of January 2009. My friend and her husband met with the expectant mother and she picked them to adopt her baby! Last week, my friend got a call that the woman gave birth 2 months early to a 2lb 13oz baby boy. They have visited the mother and baby and the doctors and are now looking forward to taking their new son home when he's ready to leave the hospital. What a most perfect Thanksgiving!

The Power of Promotional Products

I received a mass e-mail yesterday from The Advertising Specialty Institute which announced that promotional products beat out all other forms of advertising as the most cost-effective advertising medium available. More than 600 travelers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia were surveyed to reveal the following findings:

• 84% of people remember the advertiser on a product they received.
• 42% have a more favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving an advertising specialty.
• Nearly one quarter indicate that they are more likely to do business with an advertiser on items they receive.
• 62% have done business with the advertiser on a product after receiving it.
• Writing instruments are the most commonly owned advertising specialty, with 54% of respondents owning them.
• 81% of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.
• More than 75% of respondents have had their items for about seven months.
• Bags deliver the most impressions with 1,038 impressions per month on average.
• The average cost per impression of an ad specialty item is $0.004 compared to $0.033 for a national magazine ad, $0.0129 for a newspaper ad, $0.019 for a prime time TV ad, $0.007 for a cable TV ad, $0.006 for a syndicated TV ad and $0.005 for a spot radio ad (Nielson Media data).

During these economic conditions, we all need to ramp up our marketing and advertising efforts. What more effective way to improve sales than to put your logo on a strategically chosen product whose recipient is going to keep it for seven months on average?

Making promotional products and corporate gifts a part of your marketing culture will help you grow your business even in times like these.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Several years ago I was attending a local Chamber of Commerce event and was speaking to a local insurance agent that I knew. We were talking about how their vendors stopped by their office every month and left goodies for them. Little sticky pads and pens and other SWAG with their name and logo. But there was one vendor who dropped by every month with some type of food item. One month it could be donuts and another month it could be chocolate. But he said the one they remembered every month was the vendor who left food for them. There was an emotional attachment to the food and it stood out from the crowd. Another story is a personal one. Many years ago I worked for an insurance company. Every year during the holidays we received lots of gift baskets and gift towers for our department to share. One year was particularly overwhelming. I had to write down who sent what, to send out thank you notes, but the gifts that I remembered who they came from, were the ones that stood out by virtue of the gift itself or the timing. The gifts that we received early- around Thanksgiving - stood out from the crowd as did a couple of other gifts, simply because their packaging was a little different - or the gift itself was a little different. Stand out from the Crowd! Send your gift early, send something a little different, send something with a special significance. Just keep putting your name out there!

Holiday Gifts in This Economy

I've wondered what the holiday season would bring this year with the economy being what it is. What I've discovered is that the vast majority of my returning clients are sending out gifts. A couple have even increased their budgets. A few others have decreased their budgets, but the majority of them are spending just about the same amount as last year. Sending out a holiday gift to a client or to someone who has helped build your business is good business sense, even in a bad economy. It's also makes good marketing sense - as you're gift giving and putting your name out there one more time. People want to know that you appreciate their business.
We send out holiday gifts every year to our larger clients and we send out holiday cards to all of our clients. This year will be no exception. And I can absolutely tell you it creates customer loyalty and repeat sales.

Marketing in This Economy

Like most other businesses, the summer is usually our slower time of year. People are on vacation, marketing plans completed and budgeting season passed, and the holiday season hasn't begun. In years past, we've concentrated on golf tournaments and company functions to keep our sales steady. But our move to New Orleans last year slowed our business in that area as most of that business was in the CT area. Rather than take it lying down, we decided to beef up our marketing campaign. We sent out catalogs and sale flyers in May and June to many of our clients, we're sending out another "Green" Catalog with eco friendly gifts this month, and in August we'll be sending out holiday catalogs. As a result of our stepped up marketing campaign, we find ourselves providing more quotes than usual and it's beginning to pay off. Our sales are picking up. And while money is tighter, people are shopping smarter. Take advantage of specials that are almost always going on in this industry. Ask your promotional products distributor - develop a relationship with them and make them your partner.

In this economic downturn, it’s most important to gear UP your marketing program. Print and media advertising are expensive and a one time shot at getting your message to your client. A well targeted program that includes promotional gifts and follow-up, will improve your sales, promote good will and keep your brand top of mind with your clients. Even in this economy.

Summer Fun Corporate Outings Activities and Products

Are you planning your company's summer outing? Looking for activities? This activity is a hit among employees and management alike - great for teambuilding skills.

Divide your participants into four groups with an equal number of people in each group. Each group is identified by color coded tee shirts. For instance, Group A has lime green tees, Group B has royal blue tees, etc. Furnish each group with a CD of a famous song, a CD player, and a theme - such as teamwork, customer service or something focused on your business. Each group gets together for 30 minutes and has to come up with new words for the song. Each group then gets to perform the song for the other groups. The group with the most applause wins. You'll need an additional copy of the CD without the words or a karaoke copy and can use battery operated microphones or a karaoke machine. The winning team each gets a prize. It will be a huge hit!! It is one of the funniest corporate activities I've ever experienced or witnessed.

Speaking of prizes, some great products with your company logo include: insulated picnic backpacks, MP3 players, digital photo albums, imprinted beach towels or spa gift sets.

Money Saving Tips

Planning ahead is the key to saving money with your promotions. Many of our suppliers, give us price incentives, especially for seasonal items like calendars or holiday gifts, for ordering early. And ordering early doesn't mean you have to take delivery right away. Because the holiday season is the busiest time of year, our suppliers for holiday cards and calendars are giving the deepest discounts if you order by May 31st. If you order during the month of June, you'll still get a discount but maybe not as much as if you had ordered during May - and so forth and so on - usually through August and sometimes September. Another of our suppliers - who supplies us with our gift towers, will give us discounts through the first of November. Most of the time, you can specify your delivery date far into the future. These are great programs, and if your budget for promotions and branding throughout the year is substantial, this could mean sizeable savings for your company. If you wait until the last minute, you're usually charged with rush charges from the factory and rush shipping charges. Wouldn't you rather spend that money on adding an additional promotion or keeping it in your pocket?

Eco Friendly Promotional Products

A couple of years ago there were just a few promotional products available that were "green" or environmentally friendly. Eco friendly products can fall into one of several categories. It could mean the product was made with sustainable (ex: bamboo) or recycled (ex:plastic) materials. It could also mean using a product that conserves (ex: hybrid cars, solar powered calculators).

There are now hundreds of eco friendly promotional products and I'd like to share some of them with you. Maybe they'll be of use in one of your upcoming promotions.

Organic items: Organic cotton tee shirts, jute tote bags, bamboo tee shirts. No pesticides were used in the growing of organic cotton. While they may be a little more expensive, the prices have come down. Bamboo tee shirts are very soft - feel like pima cotton. Tote bags made of recycled polypropylene. Imprints can be made with lead free ink on some items - ask.

Notebooks and sticky pads: Many of the promotional product suppliers have introduced notepads, notebooks, sticky pads and other paper products using recycled paper. Some of them look upscale and they come in many sizes and price ranges.

Recycled Plastic items: There are a variety of chip clips, water bottles, tote bags and other products made from recycled plastic.

Plants and Seeds: Seed packets and good luck bamboo plants are ideal for tradeshows, gala events, gift with purchase, direct mail, wellness, safety and loyalty programs.

Rand McNally offers a "green edition" Road Atlas. It features tips on improving your gas mileage, recycling on the road and mini-city guides for North America's most walkable cities. Also includes information on ecotourism and how to be a responsible tourist, including a list of green hotels and what makes them green.


"We do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children". -Native American saying.

The Latest Hot New Product for Branding

I've just returned from the latest promotional products industry trade show in Las Vegas. 600 suppliers, each showcasing from 100-1000 items. Creating lots of buzz was a new product going into production here in the US sometime in May. It's an inexpensive cell phone holder for when you're charging your cell phone. It's a piece of flat plastic, curved on about a 55 degree angle with a hole in it and it hangs on the plug for the charger. Just lay your cell phone on the "shelf" while it's being charged. The logo is plainly visible. Great idea as it will be used almost every day! Very popular in Europe right now. It's a great promotion for almost any type of business but especially for the telecommunications business.

While in Las Vegas, we attended The Beatles "Love". It was phenomenal! If you haven't seen it, it's a must. Sensory overload right from the beginning - Truly spectacular!