The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

Well after much work we have almost finished the revamp of our primary Promotional Gifts website. Unlike the Promotional Gifts Store which features numerous product collections and thousands of promotional goods, we wanted the Redbows website to go back to its roots. We wanted to provide a source of the cheapest promotional gifts available and those considered essential for most marketing and promotions managers. Hence the new name for the Redbows website – the Essential Gifts Store. What we have done is made the website display our lowest cost and most popular promotional gifts including pens, mugs, mousemats and many others. We have also added seasonal best sellers such as our chocolate advent calendars. We will add more collections and promotional merchandise to this website over time and see how effective this latest approach is to serving our clients.

Personalising promotional pens takes some planning. Now personalised pens are one of the most commonly seen corporate gifts around. We supply thousands to organisations, businesses, charities and clubs across the UK. Aside from choosing which promotional pens to run with (plastic, ECO plastic, wooden, mechanical, multifunction, ballpen, rollerball, inkpen and so on), there are several other factors that need to be taken into account. Primarily, what to imprint and where to put it! Seriously, the limiting factors that come into play with promotional pens are that you can imprint on the barrel and sometimes the pen clip itself. Given that there is a limited print area for both of these, combined they present a large area for promtoing your organisation and contact details. The key is to draw out the area on paper and then consider what to print where. A lot depends on your marketing message length and the length of your website address if you want to include this. Most clients seem able to strike a good balance, and with the right choose of imprint and pen colours to achieving a striking combination. It all just takes a little planning if you want to achieve the best personalisation.

How often do we act global but go local? The internet provides everyone with a global information search facility but how often do we then search out a local supplier? The point is we like (and possibly still want) local service and that personal touch when it comes to even commodity purchases. This was all brought home to me the other evening whilst watching Pretty Woman. Remember the scene when she fails to get service in a high class boutique, then returns the next day saying ‘you work on commission right? Big mistake, big, huge….sorry I have to go now, I’ve got shopping to do.’ So what has this got to do with promotional gifts? Well people still buy from people. When it comes to promotional gifts it does not matter how much we automate the quotation and buying process. People like to speak to a professional gifts consultant and make sure that they are going to get the service they want, with a dedicated project manager looking after their every need and making sure their promotional products arrive to time, and as intended. Part of the issue for a company like Redbows is the size of the ranges we supply. Take our pens, coasters and mousemats. Your’re talking 1000 plus products, all within a similar price range, with similar specifications. This can be daunting for a client and the main reason why they want to talk to someone who knows the ranges inside out and can guide them to the right product for their need and budget. I am pretty sure other industries are very much the same. Yes, we are turning into a world that will purchase on-line without seeing a physical product or sales person but for some products and merchandise I can see full automation will be a way off, if ever.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the office over the last few days. It strikes me that we do a pretty good job in providing information to clients but sometimes some of it is so obvious that it can fly over anyones head. Price breaks are a great example. Promotional gifts are priced according to volume. The more you buy the lower the unit cost. Our printers work on price volumes and break their prices at set quantities. Taking a pen from our promotional pens range, like the Panther Extra Ballpen, as an example; this pen has a particular price break between a quantity of 250 and 500. The 250 unit price is higher than the 500 and vice-versa. So if you want a price for a quantity of 350 what do we charge? Well the until you get up to 500 or over, the 250 unit price applies. It really is that simple. Another example can confuse this relative simpicity. Suppose you have a 1 colour imprint and want 1000 pens, all of the same type but with different coloured trims. Provided the pen is the same you can order 250 of 4 colours or 500 of 2 colours. The set up and origination charges apply to the imprint itself. Once the ‘jig’ is set up to run, the colour of the trim is irrelevant. The next issue is that we only publish a few price breaks on the Promotional Gifts Store. Our back office systems contain several more levels and outside these our project planners get involved to provide the most economic solution possible. Simples. Meerkats.

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.

So the other half came back from Barcelona and the Catalunya Moto GP last week and for once he managed not to get sunburnt. I put this down to the welcome pack he received which included (thank goodness) a baseball cap. Now he has quite a selection of caps and hats but never remembers to pack one. So I got to thinking about corporate events this summer and what to suggest to clients to include in their welcoming packs. The thing is, if your event covers a conference and then some sort of activity – you always manage to remember to include pens and paper pads, but there is so much more in the world of promotional gifts to consider. For example in addition to branded baseball caps, you could consider a lightweight backpack bag, and perhaps some branded lip balms and clic clac mint tins. We can even provide branded flip-flops and beach chairs. So if you are holding a corporate event this summer, remember think of it as a PR activity, which can generate a substanstial amount of goodwill. Besides having everything planned like clock work, companies also get remembered for providing those extra little ‘goodies’ that make the whole event that little bit extra special.

Yesterday being Father’s Day I was wondering if we should have an International Promotional Gifts Day? Why you may ask? Well there are two aspects to consider. Firstly, days such as these are intended to recognise the unsung heros and take the time out to reward and recognise them. If you consider staple promotional items like pens, mugs and mousemats then all too often they can become the unsung heros. Part of the issue is that they play their roles well but at a subconscious level, reinforcing brand names and marketing messages whilst providing a more explicit function. Secondly, ‘promotional gifts’ are international by their very nature and are part of a global supply chain. There are very few promotional items these days that are soley sourced (components and materials), manufactured and supplied within a single country, without crossing international boders and supply chains. Just a quick afternoon thought….whilst washing the lunchtime dishes with the males in my house enjoying a snooze and the British Grand Prix.

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.

A recent study within the medical world has identified something within the promotional gifts industry that we have been citing for a long time. The New York Times article reported that medical school students offered pens and mugs promoting a particular drug had a more favourable attitude towards the item than did students from other schools where such gifts are banned. The actual research first appeared in The Archives of Internal Medicine and suggests that no gift is too small to have such an effect. Off course we have known this for many years within the promotional gifts industry but it is nice to see some actual scientific research in a non-marketing specific industry demonstrate this fact.

I would like to bet that paper usage has increased over the last 30 years exponentially and at a rate aligned to our adoption of computer systems and IT in general. Off course at Redbows our environmental policy is to reduce waste and recycle where ever possible and it is nice to think that perhaps some of our shredded paper finds its way into other promotional products. Such items could generally include all manner of promotional paper pads and block mates. The important point is that we are recycling and trying to make sure that our paper wastage is as small as possible. On the other side of the paper supply chain off course we also offer promotional pens and pencils with an ECO bent. Our environmentally friendly pens and pencils are made from a mixture of sustainable materials like FSC certified wood, vegetable matter or recycled plastics and other materials.