A History Lesson

As I was doing research and development, I came across an article I hadn't seen for some time. It was about the history of promotional products and advertising specialties. It seems that the first promotional products were commemorative buttons when George Washington was inaugurated.

Skip ahead a few years and travel to Ohio. Jasper Freemont Meek owned a small newspaper in Coshocton Ohio and was looking for ways to supplement his income. He saw a girl drop her schoolbooks in the dirt. Mr. Meek approached one of his newspaper advertisers, a Mr. Cantwell, who owned a shoe store. Mr. Meeks sold him on the idea of buying imprinted burlap bags with the message "Buy Cantwell Shoes" and to give one to each child that came into his store. He would build store traffic with his message being seen all over town. Both entrepreneurs reaped the rewards. Mr. Meek officially started his own promotional products business by then selling imprinted horse covers which were seen on almost every horse in town.

Other early pioneers in this industry were other newspapermen looking to supplement their income, including Mssrs. Murphy and Osborne of Red Oak, Iowa. They printed a watercolor on cardboard and attached a calendar pad to come up with the first art calendars. Current statistics show that calendars are still one of the most successful and effective promotional products even now.

A New Beginning

Wouldn't you like to wake up tomorrow morning, turn on the news and the new administration has fixed the economy? As I listened to President Obama's inaugural speech, I felt renewed hope about the future of our country. I loved that he talked about personal responsibility and how we all need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and dust ourselves off. What a motivating thought. For myself and my country - I promise to get busy with my marketing plan for the year and to build my business during these hard economic times. It's good for the economy. And to paraphrase what he said, not to question if it's a big company or a small company, but if it works. I've spent the beginning of January taking a look at CT Corporate Gifts from a different point of view and have begun making changes. What have you done to kick it up a notch?

Happy New Year!

I returned home last night from my industry's first trade show of 2009. I was surprised to read today that attendance was up from last year in spite of the current state of the economy. The trip was awesome. My daughter met me in Orlando for a whirlwind trip. We went to Epcot - a first for both of us and attended a private industry function at Universal Studios (another first). The tradeshow showcased dozens of new items including a larger than ever group of green products. But the highlight of the trip for both of us was a two hour keynote with Tony Robbins and 1200 of our closest friends. What an electric event!!! The topic was "Harnessing Your Competetive Edge". This meeting started at 7:30am sharp and last two hours. And for over half of it, Tony had everyone on their feet yelling and laughing. I came away knowing that I can change my emotions by changing my focus. I can change my results by changing my focus. And that's what I'll continue to do in 2009. Happy 2009!

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.