Energy is the key component to getting any kind of work done making this solar backpack a perfect tool for the professional on the go! The backpack allows you to charge all of your portable devices. A charger kit includes: USB adapter, USB charger, AC adapter, 3600 MAH battery and multiple adapters for charging iPad, iPod, iPhone, Blackberry and most other smartphones.  The solar panel stores up to 5 hours of energy with just a few rays of sunshine or any direct or indirect light. Not only are you being energy efficient, but you also have the ability to be efficient with your daily tasks.

To make things easy at the airport, the bag is checkpoint friendly allowing you to breeze through airport security.  The bag is constructed of rugged, ballistic and ripsock fabrics; it also features rugged adjustable shoulder straps with overbuilt padding and a grab handle.  The front zippered pocket has a multi-function organizer which is a great place for your phone or other electronic gadgets.  The large main compartment holds up to a 14-inch laptop and a special pocket for a tablet making this backpack comfortable and convenient. Prices are as low as $150 and include your company or school’s logo.

Take a tour of this cool bag now with this product video!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRvEmnyx2V4

Happy Earth Day! Well not quite yet… but April 22nd is fast approaching.  For over 40 years, Earth Day has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. What better way to celebrate and promote Earth Day, than with seed paper that explodes into a vibrant garden of wildflowers? Bullpen’s seed paper is 100% eco-friendly and guaranteed to actually grow.

Don’t wait for Earth Day to utilize seed paper in your marketing.  This Spring, there are many opportunities to “grow” your company or non-profit with this green idea. Below are our best-selling seed paper products.  Many of these products include new stock designs for easy and ready-to-go high impact promotions.  Please let our sales team know if you need pricing, samples, templates  or want to discuss how to sell seed paper.

Reasons to use seed paper this Spring:
-         Creates a lasting connection when seed paper is planted and tended

-         Handmade in USA in solar-powered building

-         Dozens of stock designs to choose from

-         100’s of stock shapes, formats, colors, and seed mixes for complete customization

Contact Bullpen to make your green ideas a reality.

The sudden surge in prices has alarmed manufacturers, who have been passing on the higher costs down the line.  Bullpen, who produces embroidered and silk screened cotton apparel and tote bags as some of their many logo-ed offerings, has been keeping a close eye on the situation.  “The mills that we purchase everything from woven shirts to t-shirts have steadily been increasing prices over the past several months,” says Colin Hageney, president of Bullpen.  Adds Hageney, “We are starting to see retail prices in the malls increase and it will get worse after the holiday season.”

Bullpen suggests the following to our clients:
-  Prepare your marketing budgets for cotton increases.  It’ an unfortunate reality that you will need to prepare for.
-  Order your apparel/tote items early, and if you order the same items throughout the year, order more than you immediately need. We are happy to hold the stock if you have storage issues.
-  Consider blended products or cotton alternatives.  For tote bags, there are many nice alternatives we can recommend.

Bullpen has recognized that giving is on the rise as the U.S. economy struggles to rebound from 2009.  The start of Christmas and the gift-giving season is fast approaching.  We will be focusing our attention on gifts that have more sustenance – gifts that do, in fact, give back.

We are working tirelessly with our factories to develop ways for companies to give for charitable reasons, as well as promotional needs.  One initiative is the Hope and Green Grass collection of promotional products that display your logo.  10% of the revenue from Items purchased in this collection will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and American Forests, respectively.  Giving a gift that gives back creates such a wonderful culture within a company both internally with employees as well as external clients and stakeholders.  It shows a compassionate heart of a company that is not only looking out for its bottom line, but looking to help change the world in a small but important way.

To see the Hope and Green Grass collection, contact Bullpen today at 713.652.2030 or email us here.

Some days you need to get out of the office for lunch. But, sometimes you have those days when you are so swamped at work that bringing lunch from home is necessary. Instead of bringing that nasty paper brown bag that has leaked remnants of food onto your desk and seat, use the brown bag that serves a dual purpose. This bag keeps your meal healthy, and when it gets a little battered, you can recycle it. When have you even been able to recycle an actual bag? Not very often I’m guessing. Bullpen marketing is now offering this Brown bag which is made of laminated material, is water resistant, has a fully insulated interior and cleaned with only one nice swipe of a wet cloth.

This might seem like a regular bag, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Whether you want to reward your employees, give a little something to customers, or show off this affordable asset to the environment at fundraisers or private functions and events, this bag will encourage all who receive it to keep working hard, keep up support, stay green, and maybe even cut down on fast food.

You can buy this item as low as $2.28 with an imprint area as large as 4″x 4″. It has an open front pocket, a contrast carry handle with 5″ drop heigh and the bag dimensions are H 11″ x W 5″ x D 7.5″.

Posted by: Colin Hageney

The first time I ever saw a bottle of Voss Still Artesian water, I was in downtown Chicago for a board meeting. The sleek cylinder bottles were magnificent, lined up at attention down the middle of the long table. They were beautiful to look at and intimidating to touch—leaving no doubt that they were an expensive luxury item. It wasn’t until later that I discovered that Voss water is from a glacial fed aquifer in the wilderness of southern Norway. What’s wrong with the water in Chicago that they felt the necessity to ship water around the world? More marketing fluff: “Voss is recommended to accompany fine wines and food and is the closest thing to pure H2O on the planet. A sip of Voss is like drinking fresh air.”

Personally, when I sip my water, I like it to taste like… water.  The allure of Voss is that sexy bottle – which could be filled with vodka, gin or Costco spring water and still turn your ahead. Alas, a factory has captured that beauty and created a 32 oz. water bottle made from Eastman Tritan copolyester. Essentially, that’s a USA made material which is 100% Bisphenol A (BPA) free. It’s the good stuff. Safe stuff. It’s light weight with exceptional clarity and impact resistant. They didn’t stop after making a clear bottle, they extended the line with eight additional stunning colors.  Every time we show this bottle, it stops people in their tracks making an instant impact  – they want it and they want their logo down the side.  Just when I think I’ll never be surprised by a product, much less a water bottle… along comes something special.

Don’t settle for a boring water bottle. Do something special and wow your staff, clients or prospects for as little as $5.99 (for 144 bottles) with a one-color imprint. Call Bullpen today – this is a hot product and it’s tough to keep in stock.

Let’s fast forward to present day. While we’re no longer hunting buffalo in the wild, we are always looking for the most efficient and effective ways to do anything—particularly in the ways we use and consume. This is becoming increasingly vital in a day and age where we are seeing the impact of our waste. The recent “Green” movement has inspired many creative ideas to help minimize or eliminate waste altogether (while being stylishly fabulous).

Here’s where we introduce a brand new product: the Ship-N-Tote. This crafty patent-pending shipping gizmo not only eliminates the need and waste of shipping packing, it doubles as a great reusable gift for your recipient.

This eco-friendly mailer comes complete with a self-adhesive mailing strip and tough clear vinyl for protection during mailing. When the recipient receives the package, they cut the top of the package to retrieve the contents and then they can turn it inside out to transform it into a versatile, reusable tote bag. This is a great way to give your clients (or friends, business partners, donors) an unexpected gift, promote an eco-friendly way of doing business, and put your brand where people can see it—inside and out! Totes/mailers come in 2 sizes: a large 17” x 14” nylon tote and a smaller 13” x 16” poly non-woven drawstring tote.

We here at Bullpen Marketing are committed to living and conducting business in a socially responsible way. That’s why we’re always boasting about our eco-friendly products. To read our Green Promise, click here. For information about this or any other green promo product contact us at 713.652.2030 or email info@bullpenmarketing.com

Posted by: Colin Hageney

It’s that time of year when companies, schools and non-profits are looking for that perfect gift to give employees, clients, board members and donors.  With the current economy, budget-friendly gifts are a huge consideration. Gifts in the $5-10 range are being more and more requested. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a lower priced gift is the same thing as a “cheap” gift.  There are many lower-priced items with a high perceived value. Gifts that help people simplify and those that are homier are favorites.  Engraved key fobs, desk accessories, writing instruments, journals, drinkware, music, lotions, candles are just a few ideas.

If the economy isn’t a factor, tech items are hugely popular – digital frames with customized content are great gifts. Laptop bags, computer and messenger bags are very popular. A lot of our clients are looking for upscale versions of our bag items—with leather trim, checkpoint friendly, or thicker material.

One last tip…  Take advantage of end-of-year closeout pricing. Bullpen can help you find the best items that are on closeout but you have to be quick or they’ll be gone.

Visit Bullpen’s Holiday Headquarters for more gift ideas.

A famous Soviet comedian, in making fun of the blatant absence of consumer goods in Russian stores, called the common string bag, that all Russians carried, an “Avoska.” Avoska means “just in case” – just in case you can find something to buy you have a bag to put it in. The name stuck.

In America you need it just in case you are planet friendly, environmentally concerned, and don’t like plastic bags cluttering your closet. Much sturdier than a plastic bag, it easily fits into a pocket, or the most cluttered of glove compartments.

Capacity: a sack-full of groceries, an afternoon’s damage at the mall, and the whole family’s beach supplies.

Yup. It’s possible with the clothing line Alternative Earth by Alternative. These “freethinkers” (as they consider themselves) combine the fashionably hip with the socially conscious by using organic cotton, recycled polyester and rayon from naturally occurring polymers. They also use natural or low-impact dyes containing no toxic chemicals or heavy metals and wash methods that reduce water usage from traditional usage. But wait—there’s more! One percent of Alternative Earth sales go to charities such as the Wildlife Trust and the Gulf Restoration Network. Can’t you just feel the Earth-love?

The eco-friendly feature is just one aspect of the Alternative Earth line. The other? Incredibly well-designed and innovative casual apparel made to quite possibly be (in this girl’s opinion) the softest and most comfortable fabric you’ll ever wear. No compromises are made when it comes to the style, quality and fit of these chic products. From the Organic Tunic to the V-gan V-Neck, the “Fonzarelli” Eco-Verigrain Henley or the modern vintage Eco-Heather Hoodie. No matter which piece of clothing you decide to brand and make your own, it would certainly get plenty of attention and and not to mention, tons of usage. Whether you want to be seen as fashion-forward or socially responsible, you can make a statement and start a conversation with Alternative Earth. Check out styles, colors and sizes here or simply contact Bullpen if you have questions. And remember, when it comes to helping the earth, even the smallest change can make a world of difference.