The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

How do you save costs when it comes to promotional gifts? The easiest way without sacrificing quality is to examine your imprint closely. The higher the number of colours used, the higher the print costs. The lowest cost print method is screen printing and this is the norm used for the majority of printed promotional products. With screen printing, each colour is applied separately. The higher the number of colours, the higher the number of origination charges (and processes) required to apply the colours. So look closely at your logo and see if it can be reproduced as a single colour. Most Artwork Design Studios will be able to generate a positive or negative version of your logo (using a single colour) and this will give the most-economic print pricing for your promotional gifts.

Would a ban on promotions limit alcohol sales? This is a hard one to answer. The Institute of Sales Promotions just reported a survey completed in Scotland by Asda. The result was that removing or limiting promotions would not lower alcohol consumption. With Christmas rapidly approaching we have added personalised wines, beers and spirits to the Promotional Gifts Store but as a holding page to say we offer them, ‘let us send you more information’.  I guess this is our responsive approach and one that is more appealing in many ways to limiting promotions. We offer them, can provide them but you have to ask. Perhaps if we made alcohol less readily available in this country, controlled its consumption better and made retails, waiters and bar tenders more responsible for their actions in the sales process we would start to change our culture. In Italy if you are caught driving whilst drunk your car is crushed and the proceeds go to the State. In the US a bar tender can be prosecuted for selling you your last drink and the age for alcohol consumption is higher. And off course in France, wine is something introduced to young adults as part of the social process at dinner tables. Somehow we have to move from a nation of warm beer drinkers and I do not think we will get there by simply removing ‘BOGOFs’- buy one get one free and other promotions from alcoholic drinks.

What happened to the great British Summer? As we head to the autumn and start the second selling season in promotional gifts I have been making a list of what I think will be the top sellers in the coming months. Yes you guessed it – Umbrellas is top of my list. Promotional Umbrellas are a great way to advertise your company and you can rest assured that they are going to get plenty of exposure over the next few months. Luckily, for the British weather we have some very rhobust designs and some which can withstand the type of storms and weather that we are starting to see all to often here. The great things about supplying personalised umbrellas is that they are easy to personalise with a large imprint area and come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Perhaps they are the perfect promotional gift – especially this autumn.

I think everyone in the world knows the Olympic Games start today in China but how many people have made the connection with the date – 08th of August (08) 2008 (08)? To the Chinese certain numbers are auspicious – see this Wikipedia entry for more of an insight into the Chinese view on the numbers 1-9 – and it should come as no surprise that the games start on such a date. However, numbers and their significance do vary across the world and their role does help to demonstrate the way cultures, values and beliefs should play a part in the decision making process when it comes to choosing promotional products and campaign messages. We can no longer think mass market but must work on the niche segments. I firmly believe that this very approach will help to solve some of the under lying political and cultural problems that exist.

These new promotional air fresheners are a great little idea for in-car, hotel and home promotions. Available in a range of sizes and shapes, with attachment strings or thumb tacks, we have been overwhelmed with the fragrances and scents available. What’s really nice is that the card onto which these are printed is made from 100% recycled materials. Imagine a low-cost ‘always-on-view’ promotional gift which serves a practical purpose and is pleasant on he eye and nose! Think promotional air fresheners.

Have you started to wonder what you are going to do this year for promotional christmas cards? Well the Promotional Gifts Store can sort out all your Xmas card problems with its latest greetings card collection. The website provides detailed instructions on their selection and offers a range of image collections to choose from which can be downloaded as pdf files and viewed at your leisure. Off course to meet today’s client demands we offer both standard and environmentally friendly (ECO) materials as well as a number of different print options. My favourites are the personal ones that can have your name or details printed within the image using some advanced photo and printing techniques. I am sue these are going to be a winner this Christmas.

Well we are now believe it or not over half way through the year and it is almost time to start thinking about calendars and diaries for 2009. It is quite surprising how commonly used a desk diary is now considering that almost everyone drives Outlook these days on their desktop PC and PDAs. Calendars have always been a firm favourite in the promotional gifts field thanks to their guaranteed place on a wall or desk right within the ‘client space’ – 365 days a year. We have a very wide range on the Promotional Gifts Store and can supply a host of options include packaging and bespoke designs. Glamour calendars still make up a large percentage of those sold but you can still expect to see a wide range of traditional types.

So now the BOGOF (“Buy one get one free”) is getting a bad press and coming under attack from the UK Government as part of a crackdown on food waste. The ISP reviews this latest ‘initiative’ and presents a balanced approach from both sides. There is no doubt that we have to reduce our overall waste but within retail there is no such thing as a level playing field – retailers will and have to use any promotional means to differentiate their offering and retain/attract customers. The same has to be said of any organisation today and a strategic use of promotional gifts falls very much into this category. Gifts can be used to reward clients, as campaign incentives and to create brand awareness. At Redbows we just try to make sure that this is done as efficiently and effectively as possible, and within your budget.

Handy promo packs are a growing range for Redbows. With several combinations to choose from they are ideal for business start-ups and marketing campaigns. So why do they work? Well they meet the tests of any promotional gift in that they are easy to personalise, useful and offer value for money. Off course mat sets have always been quite popular but these latest promo packs offer rulers, keyrings, coastes, paperpads and mugs.

Golf competitions and tournaments are great promotional events but how do you make sure it is an absolute all-around winner for your clients ? Do you choose gifts for immediate impact or longer term brand investment ? Well our advice is to choose both. OK this may seem a bit cheeky but think of it this way – when your clients arrive at the golf course it is always nice to give them a small box of goodies, say branded golf balls and tees in a golf gift set for the day. Then give them something to take away after the dinner and you get a double impact. Consider a Crystal Award for simply taking part – something that can be put on display in their office or a novelty item like a golf putting set. Above all make sure your day is fun, with competitions around the greens, and remember to pay that little extra for brand pin flags and signs around the course.