Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

5 Tradeshow Tips & Tricks

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Posted by: Colin Hageney

It’s tradeshow season – time to rehearse because, after all, you and your company are on stage. We know that your plate is overflowing with 2012 priorities and we’d like to help you in any way that we can. Here are 5 tips that will help ensure that your tradeshow season is a success:

1. Size Matters
It’s important for your booth to be the right size for your company.  If your company is new to tradeshow marketing, you’ll want to start out with an inline 10’ x 10’ or 10’ x 20’ booth.  Get a feel for the pros and cons of these booths shelling out the big bucks for an island exhibit.  Generally, smaller booths get less traffic than larger ones – for three reasons – location, location, location.  Bigger exhibits are usually closer to the main entrance, centrally located and along the main aisles.  The biggest advantage of the larger (island) exhibits is square footage and height.  Some island exhibits are two stories, can include meeting rooms, have multiple kiosks, presentation areas and floor to ceiling graphics.  Smaller inline displays only allow for you to do so much.

More than likely, you exhibit at more than one trade show a year with the importance of some outweighing others.  At your main show, you’ll want a bigger presence while at others, you may only need a table top display.

The general rule of thumb is that you need to be at the trade shows your competition attends and that you need to be as big in presence—if not bigger.  More importantly, it’s important to determine what your goals are for the show and what you need to do to exceed those goals.


(more…)

Brand your love. Love your brand.

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Posted by: Robert Melvin

Brand your love. Love your brand. What does that really mean?

A brand in its purest form is a relationship with an emotional attachment. And that’s why we say, “Brand your love. Love your brand.” This is our mantra. It’s what we do and it’s what we tell everyone to do.

It begins with doing “the right thing” for your customers time after time, again and again. This could entail adding a requested feature to an existing product. Or it could result in extending the warranty of that product. It might mean that you publish a monthly e-newsletter, which includes information that helps your customers do their job better. It could be as simple as sending a handwritten thank you card or as subtle as widening the parking spaces in front of your office building.

If you’re successful at doing “the right thing” on a daily basis, you will gain respect from your customers. If you do this over and over again, that respect will eventually shape into trust. When your customers both respect and trust your company, there is a good possibility that this will turn into love. If you brand your love, there is a good chance that people will love your brand.

Brand your love. Love your brand.

See How We Roll (Up) In 2010!

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

banner1Banner stands are a quick, clean and simple marketing tool to use at trade shows, conferences or even in a retail environment.  Inexpensive stands combine functionality with attractive design, creating high visibility displays that can be deployed in seconds. They offer an outstanding solution for distribution of display graphics to multiple locations. Banner stands are lightweight (most weighing under ten pounds) and are delivered in a practical nylon carry bag for easy transport and storage.  They come in a variety of flavors (1-sided, 2-sided, scrolling, with lights, without lights), costs, sizes  and materials.  For a unique display experience, use multiple banners showing a common theme.  Bullpen can not only help you find the banner that’s right for you, we can create a design that freezes your audience in their tracks.  Contact Bullpen today for all of your trade show needs.

banner2

To logo? Or to let go?

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

bullpen-logos

You may have noticed the change in the Bullpen logo this year. As much love and respect as we have for the game of baseball (hence the bullpen reference) it was time to move on to something different while accessing areas for improvement. For instance, the way the old logo was laid out made it unclear to some that the name was comprised of 2 words, not one word bunched together. The narrow, horizontal shape was also sometimes limiting when it came to smaller imprint areas. Also, we wanted to move away from baseball analogies, so the flaming baseball would no longer serve a purpose. And finally, it was just about that time to freshen the brand, launch a new website (coming soon!), and get a little bit more sophisticated. And besides, it gives us an opportunity to write a blog post on the topic—logos ARE our business! Speaking of blog post…
(more…)

Yes, another cup…BUT A COOL ONE!

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Posted by: Colin Hageney

coffee-cupsCups and mugs are one of the last things that I typically recommend when people ask me for promo ideas. It’s one of those ubiquitous items that are so common in the promo industry… like pens or mouse pads…. Unless you have a cool design, it’s just another mug. Until now.

(more…)

The Branding Name Game

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Shack Shack Bo Back
Banana-fana fo fack
Fee-fi-mo-mack…

The Shack?

As most might have heard by now, RadioShack is rolling out it’s new name as, simply put, The Shack. When I first heard this (without seeing the spelling) I thought to myself “Did NBA star Shaquille O’Neil buy out their chain?” Apparently he did not. CMO of RadioShack commented that  “ [we are] contemporizing the way we want people to think about our brand.” As to say that no one buys radios anymore unless they transmit music from satellites in outer space, offer thousands of stations, are portable, digital and you need to pay a monthly subscription fee to listen to one.

(more…)

Watch out for the holidays!

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Posted by: Robert Melvin

The holiday season will be here before we know it. And few gifts say thank you more than a high quality watch.

Although these can be expensive, a watch will surely show your gratitude or appreciation.  The simple fact is that everyone loves a watch, and we provide many affordable options. You can spend as little as $10 or as much as $500. In any case, we will be more than happy to find you the perfect watch that fits your budget. We are always watching out for you.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Posted by: Robert Melvin

clapperIs it me or do successful television series share the same ingredients as a good brand?

Take one: a successful television series results from the continuation of positive thought. Continuation of positive thought is what keeps a brand selling.

Take two: the plot always thickens in a successful television series. As a plot thickens in a television series, so must the story you tell about your brand.

Take three: in a successful television series, the characters must grow. Likewise, the value that your brand offers must also grow.

(more…)

Two Cool School Ideas

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Posted by: Colin Hageney

Okay.  They really don’t have to be just for schools, but the first thing that popped in my head was school fundraiser. Each of these products is a new twist on an existing item and could be used for sport teams or sport themes. First item up—the sweatshirt water bottle.

This cool collegiate looking Bio-DPS biodegradable water bottle is covered with a hooded sweatshirt. The soft cotton material is fun to hold and has a front pocket to keep your stuff—great place for tickets to the game! Sweatshirts come in blue and white. Minimum order is 72. Price $7.77 with 1-color, 1-location imprint.

(more…)

Pantone on the Goe

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

Posted by: Suzi Senna

If you’re a business with a logo and brand colors, you’ve probably memorized your PMS (Pantone Matching System) numbers by now. Pantone is used throughout the world and was the first color system created for the purpose of reproducibility. So whether you were printing with Printer A or Printer B, your couldn’t-live-without-it canary yellow 102 or your beloved Reflex Blue would always turn out the same. Born from the genius of Lawrence Herbert in the early 1960′s, Pantone has been and still is the color standard of the world.

But as recently as last year, Pantone reinvented the (color) wheel with it’s new system, Pantone Goe (pronounced “go”).

(more…)