Category Archives for Products With Punch

You CAN Judge A Book By Its Cover

Creative packaging can set your company and your brand apart from all the other marketing clutter competing for the attention of your customers.  Like savvy advertising campaigns, inventive packaging for your promotional product will capture the attention of the recipient.

One clever way to present a direct mail piece is this double-door book style mailer that is digitally printed on the entire sleeve and shrink wrapped for worry-free shipping.  Pens, flash drives, and flashlights are a few of the items that can be inserted into this packaging, and with the generous space available for printing, presenting your information in an original way is limited only by your imagination.

As pointed out in a March, 2012  Forbes  article on the value of direct mail marketing, “physical media” – AKA direct mail – leaves a ‘deeper footprint’ in the brain …” than those media vehicles of the digital variety.  And in today’s competitve world where first impressions are often the ones that count the most, when allocating marketing budget dollars, innovative packaging options should be an essential part of the total investment.  In this case, judging a book by its cover is a good thing!

(Image via Bentcil)

Good For The Corporate Soul

Rewarding and motivating employees should be an ongoing, ever-evolving priority for all corporations, regardless of the number of associates or size of the budget.  If we assume that most enlightened management teams understand this important fact of corporate life, then the only question left to ponder is what types of incentives are just as satisfying to give as they are to receive.

For many in today’s new workplace reality of working longer hours with less support staff and higher stress, the gift of wellness is a perfect solution. When taking care of business also means taking care of employees’ health, the opportunity to select a relaxation massage, facial or sauna from the local spa facility represents a progressive view of how to build an incentive program for today’s workforce.  These programs can be as simple as enlisting the services of a professional massage organization that will come on-site and provide chair massages for ten to twenty minutes.  Highly focused therapeutic neck and shoulder therapy during an employee’s break will reduce aches and pains, which can only help increase morale and productivity.

But whether a relaxation package is part of a more sophisticated reward program, or just a one-time gesture of appreciation, it’s proven that when employees thrive, businesses thrive.  So it makes perfect sense that what’s good for the corporate soul is also good for business!

Go Fly A Kite

Kites have probably been in existence for over 25 centuries, with people of all ages flying them 1,000 years before paper was invented.  With its universal fascination and the irresistable exhilaration of using wind to defy gravity, the kite is a perfect product to showcase a summertime corporate campaign or event.

Today’s kites can be eco-friendly, made from silk, bamboo struts and cotton string with full color photographic quality images, or a 3D shape inspired by a company logo, musical instrument, tech tool, or almost any other form that brings life to the marketing message.  The quality of the image could easily tempt the recipient to hang this iconic teathered aircraft on a wall as poster art,  but more than likely the call of the outdoors and a gentle wind will persuade women and men … young and old … corporate exec or stay-at-home mom to go fly a kite.  Just be sure when they do, it’s your corporate message that’s soaring!

(image via The Art Kite)

Road Warrior Sidekick

Responding to emails on the road shouldn’t carry the risk of mistakes because of fat fingers!  The stylish and popular iPads make it easier to stay in touch, but it’s difficult for many people to work on a touch screen keyboard.  For those users, a Bluetooth-activated keyboard is just the ticket!

Ultra-thin and lightweight, the Island-style keyboard with built-in wireless Bluetooth capability is a high-tech accessory that will quickly become the must-have item for corporate travelers. It’s easy to use with a built-in rechargeable battery, and the special HOME screen allows for one-touch access to a variety of applications.  To advertise your company’s understanding and appreciation for technology, a corporate logo can be added to the aluminum cover as an effective reminder for the recipient, and anyone else within visual range of the dedicated road warrior.

Encourage and support ease of communication with this tech tool the next time you’re considering an employee recognition award or customer appreciation gift.

(image via Pingline)

Books + Business = !!!!

Beautiful books with incredible photography are as appropriate in business as they are in our personal lives.  And when the book’s content is tied to the theme of the annual sales meeting or business conference, the message will be carried home and shared, instead of being passed over to the stack of handouts waiting for trash day.

Coffee table books, travel guides, celebrity cookbooks, health guides and the wide selection of self-improvement publications that offer professional advice on all manner of business skills can all be customized with informative insert pages, calendar of events or a simple logo.  The subject of the book can help support the theme of the meeting, or it can be used as part of the supporting materials for the wrap-up.

It may be tempting to consider purchasing another padfolio or writing journal for the next employee retreat, but consider that buying a book may be a way to ignite the reader’s imagination, and therefore drive more creative contributions at work.

(image via National Geographic)

Bright Idea

We hear the term flash drives, and jump drives, and thumb drives …  but whatever you call them they remain the greatest tech tool for anyone who owns a computer.  From classrooms to boardrooms, the hard disk has become nothing more than a quaint curiosity, while a flash drive can be seen hanging out the side of every laptop in the room.  Large purchase quantities open up endless custom design possibilities … wouldn’t it be fun to receive one that looks like the e-trade baby?   But even small orders can demonstrate an original idea with the ever-expanding choices of stock styles.  At the next recruiting event, forget about another backpack or padfolio, and give away a memory stick pre-loaded with all the fun company facts those candidates may have forgotten but wont’ see on your corporate web site.

(Image via Leeds)

Stick It

In a high tech world where we need an advanced education just to turn on our tv’s, it’s good to know there are some things that are still functional, easy to use and (yes, it’s true) FUN!  Who hasn’t used the classic silver duct tape to hold an old book together or close up the hole in our favorite duffel bag?  As often happens in the world of promotional merchandise, this timeless fix-it-all tool is now available in several colors with custom packaging and imprinted core.   Every company has a message that can benefit from the reinforcing directive of “stick with it”!  This is one item that will go home with the recipient, and shout that message from every dripping pipe, wobbly stool leg and, amazingly, the leaking ductwork that started this craze to begin with!

(image via Duct Tape Promotions)

Thin Skinned

We talk, text and constantly check our social media pages so we’re sure not to miss the latest posts on our favorite team’s playoff game or last night’s Gossip Girl episode.  In a world where one third of US adults own smartphones for communication, web surfing and most any mobile office task, it only makes sense that it could be a high profile bulletin board for any brand logo.

The graphics can be lean and clean, or bold and brassy, but whatever background you choose to highlight your company logo, this modern-day billboard will bring your brand to life.  Colorful, easy to apply and removable, thin vinyl skins for laptops, tablets and phones will be the item all the other exhibitors will wish they thought of to draw in the crowds at the next trade show or recruiting event!

(image via Decal Girl)

Drink Up

Regardless of how many beverage beakers we have at home or in the offfice, we always seem to want one more for the road.  Our favoite national coffee house chain made the acrylic straw tumbler a must-have obsession in 2011 with it’s ability to keep cold drinks cold without spilling, and the added bonus of a reusable plastic straw that never bends, breaks or pulls out of the lid.  This is a much-improved version of the timeless soda fountain cups.

Now, the saavy corporate event planner can take this idea a step further with interesting cup designs and creative packaging.  Why not fill this peppermint straw cup with red M&M’s imprinted with your company logo?  Or stuff it with a red t-shirt in support of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement in February?

The recipient will not only appreciate your obvious command of new product trends, this will become their favorite way to hydrate, giving your brand more bang for the “promotional buck”!

(image via Leeds)

Bag Lady

Building on the earth-friendly trend to recycle, reuse and reduce, the demand for reusable bags is greater than ever.  Regardless of where we go, we see more people (yes, that includes men) using the bags they got from the grocery store, the department store, and every other store that is working to build their brand through the purchase of inexpensive polypropylene bags with their brand emblazoned on both sides.  While these bags are easy on the corporate budgets for large give aways, there are a multitude of more creative options for those hard-to-impress key customers.

One of my favorite choices in this category is the BUILT brand of neoprene bags and totes.  Chic, stylish and functional, the recipient will gladly substitute this bag for any of the dozens of grocery store totes in their car trunks.  The wet suit material stretches to accomodate far more than just the essentials, which of course will include your latest marketing materials highlighting the new 2012 products and services they can’t live without.  Company logos can be applied to keep your name front and center, and many other complimentary product choices in this line can be given later to support an ongoing continuity program.

This one will certainly be the icing on the cake for your most discerning clients!

(image via BUILT)