Posts Tagged ‘Promotional Ideas’

Operation Color Splash

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

Posted by: Suzanna Morin

Want to add a little colorful splash to your workplace? Because as we all know, it can be a little bland at times. Now, I’m in no way suggesting a complete remodeling of the place with an obnoxious color palette splattered around, but I am going to provide you with small, but significant, solution. Reward your clients, co-workers, or just yourself for any occasion with the Stemz Flexi Flower Vase to brighten the environment with those exquisite flowers you’ve been wanting to purchase.

This is no glass vase that you have to cart from home, bring to the office, and maybe even accidentally break. This is a vase made of soft and flexible PVC material to replace that annoyingly heavy (and possibly pricey) glass vase. It arrives in flat form and as you add water for those beautiful flowers, the vase will begin to stand on its own. The form of this special vase makes it easy to store, as well as simplify shipping to that client(s) or co-worker(s) you wish to spoil with this clever accessory.

The Stemz Flexi Flower Vase is as low as $1.79 and comes in red, purple, neon pink, black, and green with a clear upper body; it also comes in solid blue. The size of the vase is 10 9/16” h x 5 11/16” w and the imprint area is 4”h x 3”w. The vase comes in a white envelope so that it’s ready to be mailed.

Hoppy New Year! (Preparing for Chinese New Year)

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Posted by: Colin Hageney

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important and longest of the traditional Chinese holidays.  We will be entering the Year of the Rabbit, year 4709 according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar. While February 3, 2011 is the actual day of Chinese New Year, companies shut down from roughly January 25 through February 15.  During this period, China presents the world’s biggest human migration: millions of people traveling to their home place to celebrate the new year with their families.

Importing promotional products from China becomes very tricky as China will be completely paralyzed.  Most Chinese manufacturing companies will be shut down for the holiday. This means that the month of February is lost for making shipments. For large overseas orders, lead times will be extended.  For smaller orders, most items can be made domestically.  Please keep the above in mind when planning your inventory needs.  Contact your Bullpen Marketing representative to help minimize the effects of the Chinese New Year on your promotional product orders.

Just Because You Can Print It, Doesn’t Mean I Can Stitch It

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Posted by: Jane Swanzy

Bullpen Marketing does everything from print and web design to imprints and embroidery on promotional and apparel items. However, just because a logo looks good on paper or on a website, doesn’t mean that it’ll translate to a sewn medium. Here are some rules to keep in mind to keep expectations in check and ensure a quality embroidered product.

Rule 1: Thread has density, ink doesn’t – When you print a design, the ink is flat, and doesn’t take up space. Thread has dimensions, it needs to wrap around the material, and it takes up space. A very dense design won’t reproduce well in thread, since there won’t be enough space for all the details.

Rule 2: Small lettering won’t be legible – As a general rule, lettering should be no smaller than ¼ inch. The optimum size of the letter may also depend on the font you choose to use. You may need to experiment with different fonts to find the minimum size for any lettering done in that font.

Rule 3: Gradients and shading don’t reproduce well – Variegated thread may be a way to get around some shading issues but, as a general rule, designs with shading or fading or gradients won’t reproduce well as embroidery. Solid color designs work best.

Rule 4: Bad artwork results in bad embroidery – The better the work that you start with, the better the finished product.

Rule 5: Ink color and thread color aren’t the same – The colors in a printed design may not be exactly duplicated by the thread used to embroider the design. Even with a PMS number you may not get an exact match since there will be variations in color between ink and thread dyes.

Rule 6: The material being embroidered also matters – Embroidering on fleece is different than embroidery on a polo shirt is different than embroidery on an oxford and so on. When determining if a design will work for embroidery, you should also consider on what fabric it will be embroidered.

Promote Your Business this Holiday—NOT Theirs!

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Posted by: Colin Hageney

At Bullpen Marketing, we are all about promoting your company and your brand… not some food brand. The aisles of Costco and Sam’s Club are already filling up with their holiday food gifts. It’s not even October yet! Gifts from the giant food companies are usually so emblazoned with their logo – HICKORY FARMS or HARRY & DAVID that the recipient has a hard time figuring out who sent the gift. Was it from the Hickory Farms, or from you?

Bullpen has a complete line of fresh food items and the first thing your employee or customer will see is YOUR logo, not HARRY & DAVID’s logo. You can even choose gifts that include desk accessories or other durable items bearing your logo.  Items that will generate goodwill for your company long after the gourmet food has been enjoyed.
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Gifts that Give Back

Monday, September 6th, 2010

Posted by: Colin Hageney

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.

Marketing Goes to the Dogs

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Posted by: Lauri Laufman

Years ago someone suggested I send out a company newsletter featuring my dog because showing adoration and love for my pet might just bring in more business. I immediately considered this to be intelligent and savvy advice.

Recently, the advertising community has realized how important pets are to their marketing efforts; and yes, pets are pitching just about everything these days. For example, the adorable and friendly Golden Retriever Duke represents Bush’s Baked Beans in a number of advertisements. Also, Griz the bear, Flip the dolphin and Jack the rabbit represent Frontier airlines, specifically on the tail of Frontier airplanes. Lastly, a marketing example which most of you are probably familiar with are the cows that promote Chick-Fil-A in the most clever ways.

You too can keep your brand visible via man and his/her best friend by purchasing a water bottle specifically designed for dogs. Not only is the 24 oz. bottle stainless steel with a roller ball, but it also provides a carabiner clip to hook on to your belt buckle, an easy twist-off cap and is BPA free. Imagine the visibility gained when one of your clients or employees is noticed with this fantastic bottle (with your brand on it) at your neighborhood dog park or at Discovery Green. Call Bullpen Marketing today to ask about this remarkable canine-specific bottle.

This item is as low as $6.99 and it comes in 6 different bottle colors including white and stainless.

You’re Covered 7 days a week, 365 days a year

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

How many times did you look at your calendar today? Once, twice—perhaps even more? On average, a person looks at a calendar 12 times a day, 84 times a week. After 365 days (366 on a leap year) that calendar will be seen at least 4,380* times! Now imagine if your brand or message were on that calendar. Your brand would leave a definite impression: 4,380 times!

As far as advertising your brand, it couldn’t get any better. Careful targeting, clear messaging and long-term visibility make these calendars a high-impact low-cost advertising tool compared to other media. Why else are these remarkably cost-effective promo items great?

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Work that Brown Bag

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Posted by: Suzanna Morin

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″.

Get Carded!

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Looking for a great employee and/or client gift and reward? Trying to break into younger, urban or international markets? Need to collect market research data? Want to stand apart from the trade show crowd with your give-aways?

We wouldn’t ask you these questions if we didn’t already have the answer, right? Right!

The answers all lie with our line of media cards. They combine the modern saviness of today’s digitally inclined technophiles with the freedom of choice all wrapped up in a small, easy to handle, easier to mail (and even eco-friendly, if you prefer) package.

Simply select the media that you (and your budget) are comfortable with. Choices range from ringtones, music downloads, phone time, movie tickets, DVDs, photo prints—just to name a few. The receiver of this gift card then has the option to select their choice of music, tones, movies…etc. Imagine! A promo item that’s suites the individual needs of your end-user.

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Chew on This!

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Are you looking for a promotional item that will have everyone sweet on your brand? Look no further. Did you know that Bullpen Marketing carries edible treats that you can brand? Whether on the packaging or the yummy goodness itself, make a lasting impression with some delectable delights. There’s everything from individually wrapped mints to small packets of candy and gum, bulk candy items and even custom chocolate bars. Don’t have much of a sweet tooth? There’s popcorn, nuts and pretzels—oh my!

Whether for employee or customer appreciation, trade shows, private events, place setting decoration—these deliciously sinful snacks are perfect for any occasion and budget. Need help deciding what’s perfect for you? Call Bullpen today at 713.652.2030 or email us here.