The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

Well the other day I actually had a field visit from one of our international promotional gifts suppliers. It was actually great to be face-to-face with someone from a global manufacturer and merchandise supplier – a company with whom we normally only correspond and communicate through voice comms (mobile and telephone) and email. When you strip any relationship down, it always distills to the basic of how much you ‘connect’ with that person. We live in a world where all too often the inputs we require to ‘connect’ are missing. Even with video conference calls, video cams and software packages such as Skype, nothing makes up for meeting face-to-face. At Redbows we also try our hardest to have some ‘banter’ with all our stakeholders and clients, and try to establish a meaningful rapport. Not because we are sales people but because we just ‘love to be loved’ and connect. After all even a promotional gifts consultant is human. Nothing can digitize that. And what about the supplier? Well, I am now inspired to push more promotional pens and paper pads business their way – their rep or road warrior or whatever is the most politically correct term these days – was lovely! She also loved her Blackberry and was keen to let me know how it saved her time and helped to de-stress her day. I can see that iPhone getting that little bit closer.

Well this June our promotional gifts blog is two years old. Boy that means we have been writing thoughts and ideas down for 24 months. So a big thank you to everyone at Redbows who has contributed and even authored the odd post here and they. During this time our blog has been imitated by many, hacked and plundered for it concepts and content. However, we remain vigilant and look forward to being creative and doing what we do best – effective promotional marketing for ourselves and our clients.

Well we have had quite a week updating our environmentally friendly collection of ECO gifts for 2009. There was much to add this year and we will be building on this collection as more suppliers provide ECO alternatives to their standard products. What constitutes ‘environmentally friendly’ to us is that the products are either manufactured from some sort of natural, organic or recycled materials and/or are biodegradable, or are powered from an environmental source – such as water or solar power. It will be interesting to watch this collection grow throughout the year. A personal favourite of mine is the ‘Thank You’ plant. Dale Carnegie wrote in his book ‘How To Get On And Influence People’ that using a person’s name is one of the sweetest sounds to them. Well getting a ‘Thank You’ is also a big plus in my book and these days there are not often enough opportunities to do so – so ‘Thank You’ to all our clients and suppliers and everyone at Redbows this week who helped us to finish on such a high note.

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.

The internet is proving to have another major effect and this is on the environment. As websites like the Promotional Gifts Store become more sophisticated they offer visitors an electronic catalogue which can be browsed anywhere in the world. Apart from great content all the website needs is superb navigation and search facilities – something we trust our Gifts website is becoming known for. The effect on the environment is massive in terms of CO2 emmissions and deforestation. So what will we do in 2009? Is the end of the paper-based Redbows Promotional Gifts Catalogue as we know it in sight? Probably is the simple answer. Another factor affecting the decision on when to end the catalogue is its ‘updateability’. With over 6,000 products to manage (and many more we could add) we probably update around 20% of our items on a regular rolling basis. No printed catalogue could expect to keep pace with such changes and removing them will help us all move towards becoming Carbon Neutral.

You know the count down to Christmas is upon us when Google searches for Promotional Advent Calendars and Promotional Xmas Chocolates increase. Advents Calendars are a wonderful gift for the holiday festivities and can create a great deal of goodwill in the lead up to them. What most people do not realise is the print process itself. Most calendars are produced on large print runs using complex machinery that is capable of changing the imprint during the run. This maximises print volumes and gets clients the lowest possible unit costs. So, when thinking about whether to order your Advent Calendars remember to find out the last print run date. For most suppliers this can be very early in November. Remember to also think about whether you are going to hand-deliver them or send them out by post. Advent Calendars can be part or fully personalised, as can their packing and post cartons. Most suppliers have a range of standard designs you can call on and for a small sum a Design Studio or Creative Agency should be able to provide you with a fully customised design.

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.

We have to be careful when jumping onto a bandwagon. I think it was Tom Peters who said if you ‘see a bandwagon you probably missed it’. Everyone is going ECO gift mad these days and on the Redbows Promotional Gifts Store we provide a fair selection of environmentally friendly gifts ourselves. However, we have learnt to look up the supply chain to check out the green credentials of our suppliers. For example, everyone uses paper pads or sticky notes in offices these days and the idea of recycled ones seems ever so cool. But think about it – what was the impact of the recycling/production process on the environment that actually produced them in the first place? It is almost as though what we actually need now is some form of control and stamping or grading of ECO products to show just how environmentally friendly they are.

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.

I am being very green this week and looking at what we can do at Redbows to reduce our environmental impact. We are working on ISO 14001 as a management system and this really does get you to look at your business as a whole. An interesting website for anyone interested is Envirowise. This organisation provides free information to businesses in practical ways to increase profits and reduce their environmental impact. In a recent FSB survey 40% of respondents wanted advise and guidance to get them onto the right path. Off course it takes one small step to go ‘Green’ and at Redbows we like to offer ECO alternative gifts wherever we can. The survey also provides the insight that 41% of respondents bought products that were environmentally friendly. Perhaps ECO Gifts will appear in the 2008 Google Zeitgeist after all.