As fall rolls in across the country, the leaves change to beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow, the weather gets cooler and the political mud starts to fly. One week until election day. Red states, blue states, leaning states, toss-up states – the mud is flying on the radio, TV, newspapers and direct mail. Over the last couple of days, I have received 18 pieces of political mail and 6 messages from various polling groups. You can’t watch your television without hearing the infamous words “this ad was approved by…”
In the crazy world of promotional products, a Dallas company introduced a new way to get the attention of the male population to vote – urinal screens. More effective than ACORN, this product lets you take matters into your own hands, aim and participate in the election process. Drink a couple of beers in your favorite bar and you can vote early and often. If you’re pissed off with the whole political process and unhappy with the two choices – you’ll probably want to visit the stall.
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and sat down only to find that there was no place to hang your purse? Leaving it on the table cramps the already small dining space that’s given, and just the mere thought of placing it on the bacteria ridden floor send chills up my spine. That’s why I was elated to see a clever little contraption that put’s and end to this problem. Behold the purse hanger!
This small, yet chic, little device not only keeps purses off of dirty floors, but can hold up to 15 lbs easily! And guys….this isn’t just for the ladies. This hanger is the perfect thing to keep your briefcase and laptop cases off of the floor during business lunches and dinners…. It is so small that you can throw it in your purse or bag and keep it there at all times. This is a perfect appreciation gift for employees, loyal customer, volunteers or yourself … Both chic and functional, this something that anyone would appreciate.
While in Austin for the 4th of July weekend, I visited the famous Oasis restaurant.
Because Austin is a city notorious for the thousands of college students, many of the bars and restaurants run drink specials and happy hours in order to bring in a crowd to enjoy their adult beverages. The Oasis is located on the coast of Lake Travis and has a menu in a moderate price range. In order to attract customers to their drink menu, many of the specialty drinks are served in Oasis logoed glasses that the customer can keep. With this marketing method both the customer and producer are satisfied; the restaurant is selling pricey drinks and the customer feels like they are getting a free souvenir.
Here are several examples of similar (and better) shot glasses that we can make for any company’s party promotion. The first one is multi-colored, the second one actually lights up, and the third is a mini beer stein!
How exactly does promotional marketing work? How can one item handed out have a trickle down effect making that cost of impression worthwhile? Is viral marketing related?
Personally I prefer to think of promotional advertising more targeted in that we provide ways to keep your message in front of those that count to you most. It could be recognition to an employee for a job well done just as easily as providing clients with a useful item that creates visibility for you in the process. Take for example an item that stays around for about a year…
Imagine your company name or organization’s message on a nice wall calendar and 50 of the 100 recipients put them up in their office or reception area. In addition to your recipient seeing your message repeatedly over the course of a year, all others who pass that wall will also see your message. In that it is being displayed by your recipient, it also can be interpreted as an endorsement of sorts.
Now, let’s go to the media… a little viral marketing and how differnt forms of advertising work together.
Which brings me to the fun of today’s blog… www.News3Online.com …and yes, we can provide you with banners and temporary tattoos (along with buttons, nail files and a myriad of other ideas) should you end up in the political arena yourself. After checking out the following, you too can enjoy seeing your name splashed around for “all” to see.
Humans have five senses… not including common sense.
In the promotional industry, we can keep your name and image in front of your target market using all of those senses. How many other means of advertising can stand on that statement?
For over 20 years I have heard a variety of other industry veterans tout this concept and today seemed as good as any to share it with you too; call it food for thought as the easiest example of sharing this with you is by having you envision your logo (or mascot) in chocolate.
I bet you have already decided if it is in white, milk or dark chocolate. Hold it and feel it’s smoothness but don’t let it melt in your hands? Smell the sweetness for a moment and imagine how it will taste. Hear the chocolate as you tear off the wrapper and break off a bite size piece. Pop it in your mouth and taste what you have been imagining since that chocolate was first visualized.
See it, feel it, touch it, hear it… taste it. Makes sense to you too now doesn’t it?
Lauri Laufman, MAS
PS - Ever see someone receive a leather item and in the process of “checking it out” put it near their nose and sniff it?
Every now and then I stumble across something that really makes me shake my head in disbelief. Are there really people in the world that overlook things like this??? And the answer is, YES.
Yesterday I bought some envelopes at my local Kroger grocery store. I try to buy “Made in the USA” whenever possible, and I saw a box with that little logo on the front. Hurrah! I had my envelopes! Bought ‘em. Marched out.
When I got home, I just happened to glance at the package. “What the…?!” It said “Made in the USA” on the front, and “Made in China” on the bottom. Officeworks is an Australian company that sells through national U.S. retailers. Perhaps their graphic designer was having a bad day…
…but alas, I can only sugarcoat stupidity for so long. Unfortunately for them, I can even capture the egregious error in a single shot. Somebody needs to administer the Federal Smack Down of the U.S. Government. ::wink::
Lesson learned: a company’s marketing needs to be CONSISTENT, especially when we’re talking about the panels of the same darn box.
Every time I have gone on a trip, somehow something manages to break in my make-up bag. I recently went to New York and for the first time all of my belongings were in one piece! I packed smart using my cosmetic bag from Gemline…
It has several compartments, including small cases that you can remove. There is also a mirror that is removable, which is very useful when you’re on the go. It’s about 8X6 inches, but can pack away a whole lot! It comes in ‘cranberry’ and black, which makes it appealing to both men and women who travel. This would make a great gift for any occasion.
It kept all my beauty necessities intact and organized. The bag made it easy to get ready for a night out on the town - a night where I later saw Vera Wang at Serafina’s and Cuba Gooding Jr. at Upstairs!
As a solution provider, when recently requested to come up with a safety related idea to tie in with a client’s awareness project the subject of personal identification theft protection came to mind since it has been in the news so much of late.
We get so much mail these days with personal identifiers on them. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could recycle all that extra paper and just remove those identifiers?
The solution utilized based on a $5 budget per recipient was a pair of scissors… but not just your ordinary desk style pair. Nope, these 7-1/2″ shears feature 5 stainless steel blades which allow the recipient to safely and securely destroy confidential documents and materials that should not be otherwise innocently tossed.
Client was not only thrilled to meet budget but the icing on the cake was their employees appreciation to the gift provided.
It doesn’t get any better than this. Opie Taylor pulling his red wagon through the streets of Mayberry. This retro cargo mover is big enough for business cards, paper clips, coins, candy, or a few crumbs of Aunt Bee’s tasty apple pie. Metal construction with rubber wheels provide durability and speed that would impress both Gomer and Goober Pyle. Pricing ranges from about $4.00 to $4.45 per wagon.
Like most people, I feel coffee is an integral part of my day. If you throw in a sunrise, I’m in heaven!
Check out this promotional coffee mug that mixes the comfort of your favorite hot beverage with a new-age, color-changing cup. Pricing usually ranges from $5 to $12 per mug. What a great gift for employees and clients!
Bullpen is a marketing services and promotional products firm. We can put your logo on just about anything. However, promotion is more than just printing your logo. There’s a strategy to picking the right products to promote your business. We design and distribute impressive executive gifts, clothing, organic teas and food items, desk toys, pens-turned-USB-drive, and more!
