The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

Well if doodling whilst you are on the phone is good why not turn to our promotional paper pads and blocks? We have been doodling here for years – you should see the paper pads filled with notes as we discuss our promotional items with clients. What we love most about the pads we use – which are generally the A2 or A3 type is that we have them logo printed and full of useful information such as calendars, dates, conversion ratios whilst still leaving plenty of room for – doodling! If you want to give your clients something really useful that will get your name onto their desktops then I would really recommend using this very innovative, time-tried promotional product. You can literally print what you want on them and off course use them as a mousemat as well.

We have seen a huge increase in enquiries from business start-ups so far this year. Two things we notice: more people are turning to the internet as a technology that allows them to quickly reach a large audience – either through Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising or good search marketing, and secondly that more women are looking to enter the business world. ‘Mumtrepreneurs’ is the new in vogue term. But what does this mean for our industry? Well from the enquiries we are seeing more clients are looking to purchase start up sets and small quantity/low cost promotional items like pens, mugs and mousemats. This is great news for companies like us and we are doing all we can to help these new start-ups and ventures, with special offers on selected items including small quantity run printed pens and free origination on promotional items like stress shapes and balls. There is no doubt that there is a general levelling going on in the business world but we hope that in our way we can help new companies take that first step into promoting themselves and getting their names and contact details out there.

I have yet to start Twittering – a term that I always associated with people having what I would call ’senior moments’ but I still love technology and the impact it can have on business. Whenever we change something on our website or add new products I am always very interested in the effect that takes place in new leads or conversions. Take our updated promotional bags range. Enquiries are going off the chart for these promotional items. I think that this range more than any other provides prospective clients with great options in terms of bag formats, styles and colours with the option for ECO environmentally friendly alternatives. Bags also offer greater advertising and promotional opportunities and off course they can be used over a very long time period. It just goes to show, whatever the promotional item you run with, make sure it really is going to offer something really of value to your clients – and you.

Research last year on the North American gifts market by PPB Magazine showed that the US spends a staggering US$6bn on promotional products. Now that’s an awful lof of promotional products. How are they  being used? Well the primary uses are to reward customers and generate goodwill. Coming in third is prospecting and recognising employee contributions.

For customers and prospects the facts show that organisations tend to favour those suppliers from whom they receive promo items. They do not mind the logos, imprints and slogans. Somehow the companies using promotional gifts get a far greater share of ‘mind time’ and create greater goodwill and loyalty than those that do not use such merchandise in their marketing. The same can be said for employees who also exhibit greater loyalty and productivity when rewarded.

So which corporate gifts work the best? Well it appears that even every day office items like promotional mugs and promotional pens are just as effective a larger or more expensive promo items. This is interesting research which supports many of our own findings in the UK market.

We live in a world that wants environmentally friendly ECO gifts but is there a price premium for such promotional products? A couple of years ago when ECO products were just emerging as a promotional merchandise alternative, ECO gifts did carry a price premium. However the pricing of all promotional items no matter whether it is a promotional pen made from recycled plastics or corn maize, is volume related. No only have the volumes of this type of promotional product increased but the manufacturing processes have become more efficient enabling lower manufacturing process costs. The real question therefore is not just is there a price premium but which ECO gifts are the most environmentally friendly? To answer this you need to look at the materials used in their manufacture, how they are reclaimed and perhaps also start to question the carbon footprints generated to bring them to market. For example, take promotional coasters using recycled plastics or reclaimed rubber tyres, where are they actually made? If UK sourced for a UK gifts supplier then they could be more ECO friendly than those shipped in half-way round the world from China. However, even with shipping costs the Chinese alternatives could be cheaper due to their lower manufacturing and labour costs. So when it comes to such ECO promotional products you have to balance price against the true ECO nature of the material reclaiming, manufacturing and shipping processes.

When it comes to promotional items the sky is the limit if you want to reward clients. Prices for promo items run from pence to several hundred pounds. All you have to think about is the quantity and your budget. Right? Well yes and know. You see there are certain promotional items that are the mainstay of the industry. These include pens, mugs, rulers, mousemats and coasters for example. Within these groups you will find a range of priced items and options but more importantly the opportunity to fine tune your marketing. You can choose promotional items that match the promotion you are working on and reach out to your target audience. Take promotional pens for example. If at an exhibition you are probably going to opt for a low-cost giveaway like a frosted pen but if you are running a direct mail campaign you may select a more expensive plastic pen. You may also decide to print on both the barrel and the clip for maximum impact (not always available on all pens). For an executive audience you may look towards a metal pen and pencil set, supplied in a personalised gift box. The point is that pens and these other types of promo items are not generic. Their selection requires a little more thought than just price and quantity,

Promotional products should be thought of as a key element within the marketing promotional mix. Such items fall below-the-line and probably lie somewhere between promotions and publicity activities. As a promotional investment they deserve as much consideration when it comes to market segmentation as any other form of marketing or advertising. What this means is that your chosen promotional items should be closely aligned with their target audience. Let’s take mugs as an example. There are many types of promotional mugs available including plastic mugs, ceramic mugs, earthenware mugs, eco mugs and travel mugs. When you use mugs for promotions you should choose a mug type and style that will make the promotional items valued, used and kept by the recipients. In an office a nice ceramic mug may be more appropriate than say a plastic or acrylic one. The design may also be important for example otping for a tall Latte Mug as opposed to a general coffee mug. For people outsdoors and travelling a travel mug with secure top and thermos characteristics may be more appropriate again. So when you have decided on your promotional product widen the discussion to consider which particular type will be right for your audience and promotion.

Promotional products are a broadcast medium just like any other print, radio or visual media. As such when designing the imprint you need to remember that there are certain key elements. Let’s start with the background. No we are not talking blue ones as in Star Wars but the materials you will be printing onto. When choosing the colour of your promotional product you need to ensure your logo will stand out. There is no point choosing a product colour that will clash with your logo and imprint. Sometimes if there is more than one colour in the logo you may decide to opt for a single colour print and one that will give a high contrast. Imagine the Redbows logo on red promotional pens and you can see that the red loops and name would not stand out. Then you need to think about the imprint itself. Try not to clash fonts and mix them up. A single font is always best for clarity, especially when the imprint area is fairly small as on a promotional pen or pencil. Then choose your imprint colour. As with your logo make sure this stands off the promotional item. Don’t let your marketing message get lost and make sure you make as much of this broadcast medium as possible.

Promotional keyrings are also known as keychains and keyfobs. Off course these are very popular promotional products and one of the lowest cost items you can find for merchandising and use as giveaways. One of the main impacts that these products can achieve is a daily reminder of your company and brand. There are also a wide range of materials available including plastic (acrylic), metal, leather and even wood. Now most gifts suppliers will offer a standard range that can have inserts or take an imprint directly onto the keyring surface. Some also offer a bespoke service where a custom shape can be manufactured. Gadget keyrings are off course more expensive again and here one has to think about budget and the features offered. So how can keyrings be used within your marketing campaign? Well it very much depends on whether keyfobs can be tied into the promotion off course. If they can, promotional keyrings offer a very unique, high quantity and low unit cost form of marketing your organisation. If you have a motoring, security or home-related promotion the link can be very obvious. All you need to do is make sure that your keyring will be the one your clients use for their home, business and car keys.

Well there is quite a choice to be had in promotional bags and nearly every product is available with some form of environmentally-friendly ECO variant. Let’s take the Tote Shopper for example. These promotional products can be supplied in plastic or cotton and sometimes even an organic or Fairtrade version. When it comes to choosing carrier bags the main question is one of longevity. Take a ‘bag for life’ and make it plastic and you can imagine that over time the handles will pull and stretch. If they are part of the bag itself, the actually manufacturing technique can weaken the design. A promotional bag that could provide longer service will actually be made from cotton. This has the advantage of being able to be repaired and patched off course but the imprint may not be as vivid. Our advice therefore is to apply the 3 golden rules of promotional merchandising – budget, impact, longevity – what is your budget, what impact are you looking to make and over what period. When you have these nailed down the choice of whether to go for a plasic carrier bag or cotton Tote shopper is easy.