Category Archives for Trade Tips

Eat More Salad!

oil.vinegarAccording to Statistic Brain, the #1 New Years resolution in 2014 was losing weight – and coming in at #5 was staying fit and healthy.  With no reason to believe the 2015 resolutions will be much different than last year, it makes sense for corporate marketers to consider healthy food options for one or more of their 2015 promotional giveaways.  Either as a single gift, or as part of an ongoing campaign directly aimed at the consumer interest in staying healthy, it’s time to take a look at some of the healthy food choices that offer logo branding.

  1.  Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Set:  There are several choices, but one of my favorites is a set of bottles that are uniquely shaped to sit on top of each other.  The top bottle can be deep etched and hand painted with the corporate logo.
  2. Trail Mix:  With a variety of packaging options like cello bags, aluminum tins, tubes, and champagne bottles – all of which offer full color imprints – trail mix is an easy way to give a healthy snack in a quantity that fits either the trade-show crowd or your top customers.
  3. Clif Bar:  The Clif Bar is a widely recognized energy bar that provides organic snacking to your active audience.  With the option to offer a full color imprint on the outside of the wrapper, your company will get the credit for thinking of a convenient food gift that’s good for you.
  4. Organic Fruit & Foods:  Seasonal organic fruit and other organic foods like sparkling lemonade and hearty trail mix can be packaged in a variety of ways and delivered to your top customers or valued employees with a foil logo seal.  Your company’s focus on healthy eating for the entire family will be noted and appreciated.

Healthy food gifts are one of those well-considered promotional and incentive items that are gender-neutral and guaranteed to delight every recipient with a delicious start to the New Year. The next time you are considering a corporate giveaway, take some time with your promotional products provider to taste-test all the enticing food options – it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

 

 

Ready, Set, Grow!

motivationWhen the tree is down and the holiday festivities are behind us, you want your sales team to be ready to hit the ground running.  And while every company counts on the consistent high-performers, it’s time to design a plan that will motivate every single person on the team.  Through a fun, goal-oriented culture you can engage the reps, increase morale, and drive the numbers.

Incentives range from a hand-shake, to on-the-spot rewards, or in many cases, to a formal program format with predetermined benchmarks and on-line award redemptions.  Department budgets, size of the team and revenue goals all play a part in determining the best way to customize your incentive program.  But every approach should be creative and considerate of the age, gender and interests of the individuals.  Below are few ideas on how to keep the sales spark alive.

  • Make it personal.  Recognize the employee in person, not through an email.  Make a point to do this in front of peers, customers and/or the company executives.  Get the family involved by sending a note home, or inviting the spouse to a personal “thank-you” lunch with the employee .  Whichever method you choose, don’t keep success a secret!
  • Friendly competition.  Issue points for various selling activities:  number of client calls in a day; increasing the YTD customer pipeline; or signing a new order.  Post the points on a leader board, and at the weekly sales meeting give a gift card to the leader in each category.  Of course, signing a new order would earn a higher value card than increasing the call rate, but this reward system gives every person on the team a chance to win.
  •  King (or Queen) for a day.  Turn over the next sales meeting to the week’s top performer.  Allowing that person to discuss the pipeline report and ask questions about upcoming projects gives them a chance to show their aptitude for understanding the opportunities being discussed and providing peer feedback that the manager can’t offer.
  • Tools of the trade.  The company has likely provided a cell phone and laptop for working on-the-go.  But how about a new tablet for presentations?  or high-end sound-cancelling headphones for the plane ride? or even an activity tracker so these high-energy individuals can feel good at the end of the day about the number of steps they take to make the sale.  The selection of awards can be on display in the sales department, and every month (or quarter) the highest producer can claim his or her prize.

At the end of the day, money is what motivates salespeople and their comp plans already provide for that.  But to keep the momentum throughout the year, it’s important to celebrate the small victories by recognizing the courage and tenacity it takes to be successful.  Whether the recognition is verbal, written or in the form of award merchandise, show your sales team you “get it”!

Paying It Forward

yellow stripesThe cost of distributing a branded giveaway can only be justified if there is a measurable ROI.  Questions that should be asked and answered range from the cost-per-impression of the item to the length of time a recipient keeps the product, and even what happens to the gift once the customer discards it.  Fortunately, the Advertising Specialty Institute performs a lengthy study every year to give us the answers to these types of questions.

Branded merchandise remains less expensive per impression than most other forms of advertising.  In fact, the only form of advertising with a lower CPI (cost-per-impression) is internet advertising. But with advertising specialties, the investment is modest, more targeted and allows for much greater level of interaction with consumers than other forms of advertising, like TV, magazine and newspaper ads.

Another benefit of using promotional merchandise to market your brand is the staying power of those products.  Some items, such as calendars, can stay around for the entire year.  Other types of merchandise, especially health and safety products, last for 4 to 6 months.  Outerwear and USB drives hang around for over 8 months, and drinkware, bags, caps, office accessories and shirts last over 6 months. And if the recipient chooses not to keep the item, 63% give it to someone else.  So you get double-duty impressions from one item.  Compared to a 30-second commercial, that’s a lot of bang for your buck!

Finally, and I believe most importantly, promotional items sway consumer opinions.  The study shows half of the people who received a branded giveaway had a more favorable opinion of the advertiser who gave it to them.  And, even more impressive, 63% of the people who received a piece of outerwear with a logo had a more favorable opinion of the company.  If we can agree that consumers who have a positive opinion of a company will be more likely to buy that firm’s products or services, then promotional items have proven to be a good investment.

As always, the exact product selected for a marketing promotion or an incentive gift definitely matters and will affect the outcome of the program.  But with careful consideration of the audience, the right promotional item at the right price will provide a solid return on the corporate investment.

How Brands Make A Good Impression

blk bag

Ultimately, the goal of all marketers and advertisers is to improve brand visibility.  The newest Advertising Specialties Industry Impressions Study provides statistical evidence of the power of promotional products in improving the number of impressions a brand captures.

The number of impressions a product makes is derived from multiplying how long a recipient has the product to how many people they come in contact with each month while using it.  In the U.S., bags generate the most impressions (5,772) of any item measured in the study.  This makes sense, since bags are most often used in public places.  But what about all those caps, pens and t-shirts that your company gives as a way to increase brand exposure?  See below for some insight.

  • Caps:  3,136 impressions
  • Writing Instruments:  2,805 impressions
  • Outerwear:  2,650 impressions
  • Shirts:  2,450 impressions

Of course, number of  impressions is important, but every corporate marketer wants to know which items are most likely to drive new business.  According to the Survey, nearly 4 in 10 consumers who received a product from an advertiser they had not done business with said they were more likely to do business with them in the future.  The rundown on which products had the most positive effect on new business is listed below.

  • Outerwear:  53%
  • Health/Safety:  51%
  • Desk/Office Accessories:  44%
  • Bags:  40%
  • Calendars:  39%
  • Shirts:  37%
  • Drinkware:  36%
  • USB Drives:  33%
  • Caps/Headwear:  32%
  • Writing Instruments:  29%

Increasing the number of brand impressions and selecting a promotional product that helps to drive new business are only two of the many things to consider when purchasing the next branded giveaway.  In my next post I’ll shed some light on which items sway opinions, which are likely to be passed along and how long those products are kept by the recipient.  After all the evidence is presented, it will be hard to deny the power of promotional products!

Designed To Stand Out

BackStrap-Black-PhoneEvery brand should have a twist in order to be heard over all the other brand noise in the marketplace.  Whether it’s with a catchy advertising jingle that you can’t get out of your head; a fun-loving quirky spokesperson, like Progressive’s hugely popular “Flo”; or high-design merchandise like the Apple products, companies looking to appeal to their audience on an emotional level should always be looking for that edge.

Fortunately, when it comes to distributing branded giveaways, stand-out designs don’t always mean expensive price tags.  Furthermore, product designs that get noticed for one company aren’t necessarily the same types of products that a different audience would appreciate.  As always, when choosing a great item for your next promotional gift, consider the audience and the brand message you want to convey, with a design that is fresh and a cost that makes sense for your budget.

I’ve provided a few examples of practical products that also offer creative design elements.   And, of course, all items have room for a logo imprint.

  • Phone or tablet backstrap:  Provides protection from surface scratches while giving you a place to hold cards or documents.
  • Silicone speaker amplifier:  Boosts sound on a smart phone up to 200% without external power source while holding the phone for easy media viewing.
  • Wireless activity tracker:  Count steps, calories, nutrition and sleep with a wrist device or less-expensive clip-on unit.
  • Custom notebooks:  Build a notebook with a custom cutout shape, insert pages, clip-in bookmark, usb pocket or dozens of other custom options.
  • Performance fabric t-shirt:  Moisture wicking, anti-odor technology changes the game for the next tee giveaway.

Great product design comes in all shapes, colors and sizes.  Those products stand out because the designs are fresh while their intended use still makes sense for the recipient.  It takes a little more time to be creative, but it’s worth the effort when your customers takes notice!

 

Your Brand And 3 Ways To Say Thanks

thankyouThanking customers and employees for their loyalty and support can be tricky business.  Showing appreciation in a way that is meaningful to the recipient takes thoughtful consideration of the appropriate gift, as well as the time to present it with a personal approach that makes practical sense.  After all, delivery of an appreciation gift will be much different for the employees of a national company than it will be for the customer base of a small graphics firm.  But in either case, the item and the distribution can be crafted, at any budget level, with a more personal approach that will be remembered long after the year-end festivities give way to the New Year.

Gift-giving can be approached three different ways:

  1.   Merchandise:  This category of gift is a long-lasting reminder of the giver and is considered by industry experts as the most effective gift for increasing brand awareness.  The product choice depends on the corporate budget as much as the personality of the recipients, and the number of product choices can be overwhelming.  But with the help of your merchandise provider, the right gift at the right price is waiting.  And don’t forget to ask about special wrapping and creative delivery options!
  2. Cash:  This option is reserved for employee appreciation, rather than for the customer base (of course!), and is always welcomed at the time of year when most people will be doing holiday shopping for food and gifts that are outside of their normal household budgets.  While it may not improve brand identity in the marketplace, it will certainly help to increase morale with your most important brand ambassadors.  Just be sure to send a personal holiday note with the official notice of the cash award – everybody likes to know there are honest feelings of appreciation behind the gesture.
  3. Charitable Donation:  While giving to a non-profit organization in the name of an individual or organization is not often considered as a way to show employee/customer appreciation, it is a worthwhile option.   Especially for those firms that have a strong commitment to social causes and work with a customer base that understands and respects that, giving to a charitable organization that either you or the recipient chooses will help to avoid the dilemma of a “no gifts” policy while demonstrating your company’s pledge to support those causes.  A short note on quality paper stock is all you will need to deliver the good news!

Your brand is associated with those positive qualities that your corporate leadership deems important.  Say thanks to the employees and customers that support your brand with a gift that represents those qualities as well as the personality of the recipient.  Now is the time to decide!

What Are Corporate Buyers Buying?

product matrixWhen evaluating what may be the most effective product options for the next branded giveaway, it’s sometimes helpful to know what has been successful for other companies.  Fortunately, the ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) study of the market share of each product category is available every year as a summary of what was sold the previous year.  Most of the results are not surprising (sale of electronic items grew by 13% over the past two years), and others are a happy surprises (sales of sporting goods and leisure products jumped by 58% in the past five years).

Below is a summary of what’s hot and what’s not by percentage of sales:

  • Shirts:  19.7% (shirts accounted for approximately $4 billion of sales)
  • Writing Instruments:  9.7% (grew from 8.1% of the market to 9.7%)
  • Bags:  8.6%
  • Drinkware:  8.5% ($1.74 billion worth of drinkware products in 2013)
  • Other Wearables:  6.8%
  • Caps/Headwear:  5.0%
  • Desk/Office/Business Accessories:  5.0% (sales increased by 16% last year)
  • Calendars:  3.4% (sales dropped by 21% over past 5 years
  • USB drives:  3.4%
  • Health and Safety Products:  3.2%
  • Buttons/Badges/Ribbons/Stickers/Decals/Emblems/Transfers/Lanyards:  2.7%
  • Housewares/Tools:  2.6%
  • Electronics:  2.6% (sales from electronic items grew by 13% over the past two years)
  • Recognition Awards/Trophies/Jewelry:  2.5%
  • Computer-Related Products (except USB drives):  2.0%
  • Sporting Goods/Leisure Products:  2.0% (sales in this category have jumped by 58% in the past five years)
  • Automotive Accessories:  1.9%
  • Magnets:  1.6% (magnets accounted for $330 million worth of sales)
  • Books/Cards/Postcards/Stationery/Giftwrap:  1.6%
  • Textiles:  1.6%
  • Food Gifts:  1.5% (more than $300 million worth of edible promotional products were sold in 2013)
  • Personal/Pocket-Purse Products:  0.9%
  • Clocks/Watches:  0.7%
  • Games/Toys/Playing Cards:  0.7%
  • Gift Cards:  0.7%
  • Other Products:  0.8%

Branded giveaways are a proven successful tool for increasing brand awareness.  Knowing how each category of promotional products is trending provides valuable insight into the consumer trends that every company should track.  Stay informed, and connect with your customer using products that hit the mark!

Get In The Game

blanketIt’s September, and football season has started – time for the corporate branding team to get in the game!   Almost everyone has a favorite team – high school, college or professional – and many of those fans will find themselves at a game this season.  According to ESPN, every NFL team drove between 942,000 and 1,279,000 fans to their games in 2013.  Football attendance topped 50 million for the first time in 2013 for NCAA schools, and Friday night at the local high school stadium remains a favorite fall outing. Considering the vast number of fans and the snug seating arrangements in the bleachers, companies have a great opportunity to take advantage of the high visibility for any branded merchandise that is used by employees and customers at those games.

Imagine the possibilities:

  • Two-sided blankets that offer the warmth of fleece and a waterproof backing
  • Square, round or rectangle shaped stadium cushions to soften the hard, cold seats
  • Waterproof pouches for phones
  • NFL approved clear vinyl totes for all the essentials we have to carry through stadium security
  • Covered stadium cups for the pre-game tailgate party
  • Knit scarves and hats in the corporate colors
  • Rain ponchos for the inevitable inclement weather

All the products that make game-day easier for the football enthusiasts are appreciated and used all season long.  Get in the game! and consider these options when looking for a high profile seasonal giveaway for increasing brand awareness.