The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

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.

There has been much talk about how environmentally friendly bio-fuels are this week. After being heralded as the major breakthrough we need in alternative energy it appears that they are not as environmentally friendly as we first thought. Now, news like this appeals to my fun side and I was wondering if the day would come when we can take a few cuttings from desk plants to power our cars on the way home. Perhaps a little unlikely for now, but did you know that desk top gardens are well within your graps? That’s right, they make the ultimate eco gifts – branded desktop plants and herbs.

The promotional gifts industry is pushing hard to improve its impact on the environment. We have ECO product ranges using recycled materials and suppliers who have actively engaged in environmental management systems. I myself have come up with two simple ways that could affect the whole planet. Firstly, I think all car manufacturers should ask if you want a spare tyre when you purchase a car. I would just to love to know what percentage of vehicles actually suffer a tyre failure during their lifetime. I bet that more than 95% of spare tyres never get used and eventually are simply scrapped because the rubber has aged or the vehicle is kaput. At Redbows we actually supply promotional coasters made from recycled tyres.

My second idea concerns electronic gadgets supplied with chargers. How often do you end up with a box of redundant power supplies because you already have one – mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders are typical examples. There is a real opportunity here for manufacturers to capture some brand loyalty and make a real impact on the environment. Why not promote a generic supply (or supplies for different ratings) and offer discounts if you have a charger already ?

This year is going to be the year of the Green Gift, or ECO Gift or to give it a full title the Environmentally Friendly Gift. We are not the only industry being forced to move with the times and take a more responsible approach to our planet.

The other day I picked up a copy of The Big Issue and read with interest an article on Green Weddings. Research on the internet brought up some interesting websites for people who want to move away from the consumerist White Wedding to one with an ECO nature. Green Weddings is one of the first serving this new emerging segment and I am sure that we will see more of these types of websites offering all sorts of advice. What I did notice was a general theme of involving family members and guests in preparing for the weddings. I whole heartedly support anything that brings the family together back to what were once called ‘traditional values’ and a ‘family focus’.

Tom Peters said: ‘if you see a band wagon you’ve missed it.’ Well ECO gifts are turning into one as far as I am concerned. This week a new supplier phoned me who said that he had heard that I was one of the nicest people to deal with in the promotional gifts industry – go on smooth talker! Then he says that he has a load of ECO gifts coming through including Lanyards made from milk. Now STOP right there young man! Surely we are pushing the limits of what can be recycled in order to give a gift some USP – Unique Selling Points – of which I can think of very few for a Lanyard product made from milk.

These are a great addition to our ECO range of products. Made from recycled tyres these promotional coasters are available in round or square shapes and have the option for a 1-4 colour print. Off course the background colour will always be black. For this type of environmentally friendly gift the pricing is now bad either, and off course is volume dependent. I think that these type of gifts represent great value for money and in a more ECO aware world we are seeing a growing demand for products that are either made from recycled materials or can be recyled later. We already have pens, mugs, paper and other such products available in ECO format and I am sure that this will grow further in 2008.