This is the time of year that we take inventory of our projects from 2007 and choose which ones to enter American Marketing Association’s Crystal Awards (Houston Chapter). In the wake of last year’s success, we are trying to pick the best of the best. In 2007, we submitted two projects - Logo Design and Individual Promotional Product. Both submissions received Crystals.

• Logo Design - We entered our redesign of St. Pius X High School’s panther logo. The original logo was outdated and plain. The new logo better reflected the school’s personality and received student buy-in before roll-out

• Individual Promotional Product - Our pen-turned-USB-drive project for AMA’s M.planet Conference was a big hit. The USB drive was pre-loaded with all conference materials and fit inside the cap of the pen. Marketers received the pen in a silver-and-black alloy case when they arrived at the conference.

Each entry must have a detailed work plan that outlines the challenges, strategies/tactics and results of the project. Entries are judged on their marketing effectiveness. As AMA says, “It’s not a beauty contest.”

Winners and contestants will be celebrated at the InterContinental Houston Hotel, Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 6p.m. - 9:30p.m.

Check out past Crystal Awards winners.

Hello blogging world! All of us at Bullpen Marketing are so excited about this We Know Promo blog. 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. At Bullpen, we design and distribute impressive executive gifts, clothing, organic teas and food items, desk toys, and the popular pen-turned-USB-drive.

Our goal for this blog is really to get into what’s available in promotional products and how choosing the right product can boost your marketing campaign.

We will…

• Write about the latest and greatest products along with the good ole’ traditional ones
• Discuss what kind of audiences respond well to certain products
• Show you how promotional products support marketing campaigns

Please participate by leaving comments and joining the conversation. We welcome new ideas and your thoughts on our ideas!