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10
Mar
2010

How promotional products influence brand recognition

radiolab.orgWNYC’s Radiolab — a fantastic podcast — had a fascinating short this week called “Do I Know You?” about people with a delusional disorder called Capgras.

A woman suffering from Capgras comes home to find a man sitting in her living room, wearing her husband’s clothes and containing all his physical features, but who, to her, simply is not her husband. In actuality, he is. But she can’t shake the feeling he’s an impostor.

Click to find out about how our brains manage recognition, and how promotional products enter in…

Posted by Admin in Brand Identity and Corporate Logos, 1 comment
09
Mar
2010

Promotional EarthSmart Products for Earth Day

There is only one circumstance in which we cannot offer our famous 24-hour Rocketship Service: when the item is out of stock. This is exactly why I am writing about Earth Day more than a month in advance; I do not want anyone to miss out on this great opportunity for functional and unique Eco-friendly promotional EarthSmart products!

It seems these days you can get a “green” variation on just about any product imaginable. Just thinking about some of the items I use on an everyday basis, I jot down notes on a recycled notebook with a biodegradable pen made from corn. When I go to the grocery store, I stash my purchases in a tote made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Even when I need a caffeine fix, I sip from a biodegradable Evolve tumbler.

But the “green” trend has evolved much further than the standard popular items. In the office, you can feature your loved ones in photo albums made from bamboo and grow a plant at your desk. And if you need to leave your desk for a meeting, just hit the Computer Power Saver Button to effortlessly put your computer to sleep . When entertaining guests at home, you can yell at them to put their sweaty drinks on coasters that are 51% recycled . Even while you are traveling the world, you can safely keep your passport and other travel documents in a recycled passport wallet. Continue reading →

Posted by Admin in Recycled Promotional Products and Green Initiatives, 0 comments
08
Mar
2010

Barbie – The Ultimate Promotional Toy

Tomorrow, March 9, marks Barbie’s 51st birthday (though she doesn’t look a day past 22). Yes it was 51 years ago that “Barbie” – named after her creator Ruth Handler’s daughter Barbara – was first presented at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries since its debut, despite plenty of controversy and lawsuits that have tried to deface this cultural icon. But, alas, Barbie has prevailed through the decades, enchanting the lives of little girls everywhere and helping to boost many other noted brands as a promotional toy.

From Oreo cookies to Christian Louboutin high heels, read on about some of Barbie’s most noted promotions:

Posted by Admin in Cool Promotional Products We Love, 0 comments
05
Mar
2010

The cutest promotional product for the spring (in my opinion…)

Okay, so don’t get me wrong, the Slap-On Promotional Watch is still super hot. But I have a new favorite product obsession to tell you about this week. It’s the Kikkerland Grass Charging Station.

What could be better than a having a high-quality charging station to store your miscellaneous electronic devices in? Storing them in a charging station that looks like a little patch of grass!

I know what you’re thinking. A charging station covered in grass? I know it seems crazy, but how great is it to literally bring a little patch of (not quite alive) greenery indoors?

Continue reading…

Posted by Admin in Cool Promotional Products We Love, 2 comments
04
Mar
2010

Promotional Marketing in Action: Birthday Benefits

pink.polkaEverybody has one. As kids, we count the days until they arrive. As we grow older, we begin to anticipate them less and less. You know what I’m talking about… BIRTHDAYS! Today happens to be mine (I’m the big 2-3!), and I am still young enough to actually enjoy the festivities that accompany this special day.

“Birthday marketing” is a clever marketing ploy adopted by many companies because – no surprise here- it works! According to a 2008 study, 75% of participants stated that receiving a special occasion card, like a business birthday card, with a discount would increase the likelihood that they would conduct business with the company. Everyone wants to feel special and loved on his or her birthday, and letting customers know that you value their loyalty is a great way to ensure their continued support. Gestures as small and simple as sending a direct mail piece with a coupon, brief note, and maybe even compact promotional products will achieve the desired effect and encourage repeat business.

More promotional marketing ideas and chatter below the fold…

Posted by Admin in Seasonal Marketing Ideas, 2 comments
03
Mar
2010

I’m endorsing the X-One Promotional Mug

I’ve mentioned on here before that I’m a fiend for podcasts, and one of my regular shows is Slate’s Culture Gabfest. Each week at the end of the hour-long podcast the group goes around and endorses a film, book, article, other podcast, or anything else they have recently discovered and love. I started following Roger Ebert on Twitter, for example, due to one of these endorsements (Dana Stevens’, I think).

So in the tradition of endorsements, I’m going to recommend my latest favorite drinkware item, the X-One Promotional Mug.

My endorsement below the fold…

Posted by Admin in Cool Promotional Products We Love, 0 comments
02
Mar
2010

Bandanas, Yawns and Logo Apparel: Athletes’ Pre-Game Rituals


The Olympics ended Sunday, but for avid speed skating fans a few questions still remain to be answered. For one, why did Apolo Anton Ohno keep yawning before races? Was the most decorated American Winter Olympian in history tired? Bored?

No. After watching a post-race interview with Ohno, I can confidently say the American short track speed skater was neither tired nor bored. The yawns relax his facial muscles and help him prepare for competition, Ohno explained. Also helping him prepare for his outstanding performances were his music, headphones and signature bandanas, which he wore fervently for each event. As most sports fanatics know, Ohno is certainly not alone in his pre-game rituals. The question remains as to whether or not these superstitions actually influence an athlete’s performance.

“It’s very helpful for players to have consistent rituals, both for pregame preparation and during competition,” said Mary Fry, an associate professor at University of Kansas, Lawrence in the Department of Health, Sport, and Exercise Sciences. “Rituals help athletes maximize their performance under pressure. Without rituals many athletes have a tendency to speed up or slow down their regular play, making them more susceptible to making errors.”*

As Fry explains, rituals help athletes to get into their zone. And this theory doesn’t just apply to Olympic-level or professional athletes. Despite my lack of coordination, I have been playing in an adult dodgeball league for the past two months. Every Saturday at 1 o’clock, my teammates and I faithfully arrive at the local gym, ready to dodge, duck, dip, dive and…. Dodge. This weekend, we took third place in the championships and I think our success was due in part to the logo apparel we wore routinely for every game. Our pink shirts, imprinted with the league name and company sponsors, helped the team look unified, feel more confident and thus perform better.

We might not be ready for the Olympics, but we’ll take logo apparel and a bronze medal any day!

*as quoted in an article by Nicolas Roesler in the Daily Kansan
Posted by Admin in Sports News and Stadium Giveaways, 1 comment
01
Mar
2010

The Next Big Olympic Fad Since Promotional Lapel Pins

For some strange reason, back during the summer Olympics hosted in Atlanta in 1996, an extraordinary collecting frenzy broke out, and people everywhere were buying promotional lapel pins like they were going out of style – not that they were ever actually in style. I too fell victim to this craze and now have a drawer full of Olympic pins that I am crossing my fingers will one day be worth more money than I paid for them. An estimated 63 million pins were sold in Atlanta during its games – yes, 63 million –  an insane number that even prompted the running joke that pin collecting should be included as a 29th event.

Continue reading →

Posted by Admin in Sports News and Stadium Giveaways, 0 comments
26
Feb
2010

TV & Twitter: As inseparable as a promotional mug and coffee enthusiast?

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that more and more people are watching television while simultaneously accessing the Internet via their computers and mobile devices. I’ve personally been using my tech tools concurrently ever since I got my first computer. I pretty much couldn’t do my college coursework without my Word doc open and my TV tuned in to my favorite show of the hour. I guess something about the organized chaos has always helped me focus. I guess that’s weird, but I digress…

With the continued growth and popularity of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, users across the globe are connected to their social networks at nearly every moment of the day. Email, instant messaging, forums and profiles are now just a click away via your computer or smartphone.

While your security settings and preferences help to protect you, your content and your private data, it is no secret that every tweet, status update, comment, “like” and wall posting from each and every social media outlet is documented and logged. These stats are then being used to measure the engagement of users, and have even been used to gage the overall “attitude” of the nation.

With the emerging analytical power and massive amount of data collected by these frontrunners of the world wide social web, we are now able to see the real-time thoughts, feelings, reactions and emotions of the collective social media universe. While we know how this info can be used, it is another thing entirely to actually see these results and their relation to other media channels.

The analytics team at Twitter did just this to gage audience excitement and opinion during the Super Bowl earlier this month. The study showed just how connected and active the social media community is even while viewing a hugely popular, televised event. The Super Bowl is known to be the most viewed television event of the year. This month’s, Super Bowl XLIV, however, became the most watched television broadcast ever with over 106 million viewers.

With this many people actively engaging with Twitter while watching TV programs, it will be interesting to see how this trend continues to develop. I personally predict that we will see this dependency grow exponentially over the coming years as more and more people trade up to smartphones and netbooks. Social media is already almost an addiction to some. I’d liken many diehard social media users to a caffeine addict… I mean, coffee enthusiast… and their favorite promotional mug. You don’t leave home without it, you keep in touch throughout the day and you can never really have too many or too much.

Will anyone really be able to simply watch traditional television with the draw of the Internet so readily in reach? Knowing now what kind of analytical information we can get from social media sites, I’d love to see what this study looks like for next year’s Super Bowl game. How will companies use this growing dependency to their advantage? With their widely popular advertisements during Super Bowl XLIV, Doritos definitely did. Google did too. And now they continue to reap the benefits of their multi-million dollar ads via chatter about their brands on the social media web. How will others capitalize on this research?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

Posted by Admin, 0 comments
25
Feb
2010

Toyota, Tylenol, and How One “Bachelor” Contestant Could Use Promotional Products in Her Everyday Life

vvvracerOn Monday night’s episode of “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All,”* Southern Belle and single mother Ella commented on the behavior of fellow bachelorette (and also the instigator of much of this season’s drama), Vienna, by saying:

“She would do and say things she would not think about before she did them. She may be sorry for them later, but then if you continue that after ‘I’m sorrys,’ it’s not going to fly.”

At the time, I paused and pondered Ella’s statement. Although perhaps not the most eloquently put version of a value that I have been taught from a young age, her honesty and simple interpretation of why Vienna lost her credibility were refreshing. “I’m sorry” can be a powerful phrase, but overusing it may cause the listener to become skeptical of the apologetic individual or party’s sincerity.

A recent BrandWeek article about Millward Brown’s list of “most trusted and recommended brands” brought to light a shining example of the impact of apologies in the corporate world. The list is based on the survey responses of over 20,000 U.S. consumers at the end of 2009. Tylenol, ranked 6th on the list, happens to have had numerous recalls over the years, including one in 2009, the year in which the data for this study was collected. Eileen Campbell, global CEO of Millward Brown, explained the company’s high ranking by saying, “Doing well in a crisis actually builds trust.”

Toyota, number 7 on the list, only began facing scrutiny in early 2010 regarding the safety of their vehicles, so I am curious to see how the established car manufacturer’s trust rating will fare among consumers in the future. Personally, I think Toyota’s crisis recovery efforts have been outstanding, and by admitting their lapses in quality assurance and promising to improve, they have already begun to regain the respect of many consumers. Think about how you react after you make a mistake: I know that I am overly cautious because of fear of repeating the same error. I guess only time will tell if Toyota will exhibit the same staying power as Tylenol.

As for Vienna, I think her actions have alienated the vast majority of Bachelor viewers, but hey, she still has a chance to get the guy! Maybe he will be more receptive to her apologies than Ella and the rest of her former housemates; if all else fails, she could try imprinting the words “I’m sorry” on promotional products as tokens of her on-going remorse instead of just saying them time and again. :)

* As many of my coworkers know, I tune into a variety of reality shows, from “Say Yes to the Dress,” to “The Real Housewives of ____” (you could fill in practically any city name/season and chances are I have seen the majority of the episodes), to, I’m almost ashamed to admit, “The Bachelor.” Although not the most mentally stimulating, hopefully this blog has proven reality tv’s capacity to teach valuable life lessons to unassuming viewers like myself.

Dana
Team Lead – Social Media

Posted by Admin in Current Events News, 0 comments