The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

Last week we were working with a client who wanted to look at promotional bags as a product to use at tradeshows and exhibitions. Now these types of promotional products do vary considerably in their price range and the types of materials they are made from. There are also several different types of bag including document, laptop, executive, sports, exhibition and backpacks. Price often reflexs the complexity of the product. Take a drawstring bag compared to an executive laptop case for example. Visually you can immediately see the simpliity of one product to the complexity of another with its carry handles, shoulder straps, zipped pockets and pouches. However what both have in common is a great print area and one that can take a number of different print options. There are several imprint techniques when it comes to promotional bags including digitial transfer, screen print, laser engraved and embroidery. We always recommend one that is suitable for the bag material, cost of the product and expected life. You see bags have a life that can extend far beyond a tradeshow or exhibition. Get it right and a promotional bag can last for several years, always getting used and advertising your brand. So how did we end the week with this particular client? Well they opted for a quantity of drawstring bags for their show next month but they also ordered a small quantity of the executive bags for their top clients as a ‘thank you’ gift for last year. Not a bad way to end the week.

When it comes to self-promotion, promotional pens are a must. No other promotional products will provide you with such opportunities to market your organisation and these types of writing instruments come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and prices, with a whole range of options to match. So what makes promo pens such great marketing tools? Well the first aspect is that everyone writes and needs a pen. I am sure that a few hundred years ago if you looked carefully at the quill being used there was a brand marked onto its stem. Seriously, pens and even pencils work because they are can be supplied in small or large quantities and at a relatively low price. They can be coloured match or made up to suit your company logo. Pens also offer a very visible imprint area and more often than not you can print on both the barrel and clip. Now the only things to be careful with when it comes to promotional pens is to make sure that you choose a barrel and clip colour that will make your imprint as visible as possible. You also need to make sure that your imprint is not so small that it becomes hard to read. You should win every time with a promotional pen or pencil and push them out to as many people as possible. When you find a design that works for your company and clients – stick to it and perhaps only vary the colours used next time.

We were discussing a major roll-out programme with a client the other day. Their campaign involved using a number of promotional products including: pens, bags, conference folders, flashdrives and ice scrapers. Now as you can imagine with such a wide range of gifts the imprint areas vary enormously and so we turned to the question of logos and just what we could apply as a imprint standard across the product range. Their client was already a well known brand and so what we were actually doing with the gifts was brand promotion i.e. just the logo and perhaps a concept tagline. Any more detail and we would have had to print it too small if we wanted consistency across the product merchandise. So we opted for just the logo as an imprint. Then we turned to the way this would be applied. Where materials were used such as the bags we went for an embroidered imprint using all three colours in the logo. On the ice scrapers we opted for 3 a colour screen print as the products were white and so offered a white background. Now the pens were in a corporate blue and so we opted for a single 1 colour to off-set the logo – the choice here was white or silver and we opted for silver. We used the same on the flashdrives but this time as a laser engraved and on the folders we embossed. So when all the products sat together we could envisage a range of gifts with obvious connection between the branding, with each offering an imprint that suited the background and materials. We also made sure that we made use of the ‘white space’ on each of the promotional products to be show the logo. Simple but needed some thinking as most of these more complex projects do.

I know that many of our clients are avid golfers. Now is the time when they put on their baseball caps and fleeces and head down to the driving range to get some practice in, before the inevitable weekend jaunts around water logged courses in freezing temperatures. Golf is one of those wide-appeal sports that offers plenting of promotional opportunities and at the Promotional Gifts Store we have a very wide range of branded golf gifts and merchandise. What I like about this range so much is the wide range of items and budgets we can appeal to. Starting with low-cost items like branded golf tees we move on to higher value items such as clothing and even golfing umbrellas. Now a personal favourite of mine are the golf putting sets – perhaps because they allow me to practice golf in my office or living room, in the warmth with a nice mug of tea and a Toffee Crisp close to hand. Nice…

When it comes to promotional merchandise there are so many uses that we sometimes forget to stand back and focus on just what we want to achieve in using such items. Suppose that we are looking at rewarding employees. Working with consultants involved with Investors in people has made us more aware of the need for suitable ‘reward and recognition’. The first keyword here is ’suitable’, as it is important to make sure you maintain equity between employees whilst at the same time giving them something they will see as a reward and not simply a token giveaway. Now, we work with one firm who has made each line manager responsible for their own departmental awards scheme and these vary from team to team. Whilst the company has a high customer-service focus, each department also has its own goals in this corporate pyramid. Sales are focused on sales budets, operations on output and service on customer response times and even first time fixes. Therefore the managers in this firm scale their rewards from a ‘no-cost’ thank you to the more formal reward of a plaque, certificate, wine or chococolates and even shopping vouchers. The important point is to make sure you are rewarding the right behaviours, with the right rewards to keep the organisation moving towards its corporate goals.

When it comes to below-the-line marketing budget spends promotional products remain one of the most cost-effective mediums. The key though is to make sure that you put as much thought into the timeframe that your giveaways and premiums will be used within. Why? Well take promotional gadgets with internal batteries. Batteries have a design life and most will probably run flat without recharge or replacement within twelve to eighteen months. So if you use promotional flashcards for example, you are probably going to get the most benefit from them out of an autumn/winter campaign. A well known emergency car rescue services provides these in its welcome packs. Off course gadgets like USB flashdrives have an infinite life as they are powered from a PC USB port. One thing to watch here is to make sure you use an imprint that will last the life of the product – embossed or engraved is always the best way to go especially if there is a chance the imprint will get rubbed in a pocket against metal objects like keys and pens. If you give away items at a tradeshow or exhibition that are relatively low cost like promo bugs, the you have to remember that the majority of these low-cost giveaways are going to be out-of-sight within six to twelve months or sooner. So pick items that you believe your target audience will keep and use, again and again because each time they use them you know that your brand is right is front of them. A firm favourite for me is rulers. It does not matter how much work we do online at some stage we all need to print information out and use a ruler to measure or as a guide to data reading. Promotional rulers are one of the unsung winners when it comes to giveaways and merchandise – have you got one in your drawer? If not would you keep one if it was given to you? I would dare to suggest a definite yes! Promotional Mugs are another best seller when it comes to gifts offering longevity.

Just how small can you be before you experience the impact promotional items can have on your marketing? Well we know several ‘one-person’ bands to give them their politically correct name, who have been using promotional merchandise to build their brand and get their name in front of people. One of the classics for this are promotional pens, printed with a logo and contact details. Some of these smaller entrepreneurs are never without a supply of these pens and make sure they press one into the hand of everyone they meet. They also make sure the pens are of a high-enough quality, with a classic or modern eye-catching design. It really does not matter whether you are a small business owner or large corporate. The power of using promotional products in your marketing and daily activities is one you should harness immediately and rest assured as you will never turn back.

Everyone tries to use time as a differentiator but there are times when when we cannot respond as fast as we want to an enquiry and even have to tell a client that what they are asking for is impossible – yes it even happens in the promotional merchandising industry. Most enquiries can be dealt with within a reasonable timeframe. On our promotional gifts website we show single print options and we duplicate this data within our quotations systems. In fact the quotation system contains more price breaks and priced print options. We define these as standard enquiries. Non-standard enquiries are project-related and cover items not on our website or items on the website for which we do not have immediate information in relation to a high quantity print or variation. Non-standard promotional items do take longer to quote and sometimes can take even up to 2-3 days if they are possible. One reason for this is that we may have to turn to a new supplier through our global supply network and it can take time to get a quotation, especially when we are crossing time zones. So do we ever say no? Well occasionally we have to. The most common reason for this is deadline. Whilst we have a FastTrack range, sometimes even this cannot be supplied within the timeframe required. It all comes down to planning and communication.

Well this time of year is one the busiest for tradeshows and exhibitions and it is a good time to just step back and think through just what makes great gifts and promotional products at this type of event. Let’s reduce this problem down and focus on seminars. When we hold a seminar for clients they are generally talking about having a captive audience for a period of time. During this time they want the clients to become totally absorbed with a brand and use branded promotional items to reinforce and support activities during the seminar. So, for example, at the start of the day clients may receive name badges and welcome packs using conference boxes or bags packed with information that will be used during the day, a branded paper pad for notes and personalised pen. It is also likely that key information such as company presentations, datasheets and price lists may also be included on a personalised flashdrive. On the tables in front of the clients may be bottled water – branded off course, along with some personalised sweets and mint tins. Attendees may also receive some corporate clothing which will be embroidered with the company logo and there may well be surprise gifts during the day for a seminar related competition. So looking a the basics we have to start with a budget and our focus for the event. Then we simply find the best possible way to deliver the objectives for the promotional products including getting a client’s attention and leaving them with a favourable, lasting impression. The same is true of exhibitions and tradeshows but the amount of time you get a client for is more limited. What we recommend is that you put low-cost, low-bulk items on the front of stands to use as giveaways like pens, bugs and badges. Also if your budget covers it include some branded bags and carriers – this will become ‘free advertising’ around  the event. Keep your more expensive gifts for key clients and only pass these out if they sit down with you or request a sales follow up after the show. Promotional products are very effective items and especially at tradeshows and exhibitions but you have to remember that when your visitor gets home they may well have a bag stuffed with goodies and your gifts have to be ones that stand out from that crowd.

Now is a great time of the year to take a large piece of paper, whiteboard or spreadsheet and simply map out your promotional marketing events for the year. Most campaigns will include both above and below-the-line activities and once you have a clear schedule and media map you can then start to think about timing in relation to promotional products. This is important because very often we work in a micro-world and do not always see the big picture. Mapping out your entire promotional campaign lets you see all the planned events and to start to consider the merchandise and giveaways you will need to order during the year. Instead of going for last minute deliveries, you could then start to work with a promotional gifts supplier like Redbows to ensure you get the best possible prices and deliveries – when you want them – during the year. This is not a contract order but a way of building a relationship with a gifts supplier in much the same way as you would with any other marketing agency. How this works in practice is that you will place orders for bulk promotional items such as the stock merchandise that most companies use – pens, mugs, mousemats and flashdrives – but your gifts supplier can then also make you aware during the year of trends (and what’s hot) and make suggestions for the latest appropriate gifts for your events as they appear on the market. People talk about the 80:20 Pareto rule. Well in this case you could say that 80% of your gifts will be the stock merchandise items and 20% more unusual gifts. It will be the latter that could really set your company appart and help to generate outstanding sales results in 2009. The important aspect to all this is communication and the forming of a unique products supply relationship that goes beyond mere client and supplier. Gifts marketing is as much an art as it is a science.