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Open enrollment (OE) is one of the biggest—if not the biggest—initiatives for the HR department. In most cases, they’ve prepared all year, from choosing the insurance plans to getting the portal ready. But there’s one final step left to be done: Raising awareness of open enrollment among employees and getting them to make their selections in time.

Staging your OE communications plan around a theme is a great way to grab employees’ attention and inject a little bit of fun into benefits season. Here are seven of our favorite open enrollment themes:

#1 Sports

Ready, set, enroll! Kick-off open enrollment season by choosing one sport (or several) to theme your open enrollment campaign around. Football is a good choice since the season will be well underway by the time open enrollment rolls around. However, basketball, baseball, soccer and tennis are also popular options that will appeal to a wide range of employees. Sports-themed giveaway ideas include:

• Sports stress balls
• Customized baseball caps
• Custom Koozies

#2 Music

Rock en-roll your way through open enrollment with a music theme. Choose a genre like rock or pop or pun off classic bands that are sure to appeal to your employee demographics. Take your open enrollment on “tour” to each department and encourage HR employees to dress like their favorite rock star or folk musician to add a little fun to festival season — sorry, we meant open enrollment season. Music-themed giveaways include:

• Branded headphones and custom earbuds
• Bluetooth speakers
• Koozie® Chillin’ Bluetooth® Speaker Cooler

#3 Outdoors

Getting outside is associated with being healthy, making this open enrollment theme a natural fit. This is a particularly good theme if you live in an area with a lot of natural parks or work at a very outdoorsy office. Encourage employees to “choose their destination” (i.e., benefit plan) and to “assemble their equipment” (i.e., paperwork) before embarking on the journey of open enrollment. HR recaps can serve as trail guides, coaching employees through the OE process — ranger vests and hats not required. Outdoor-themed giveaways include:

• Custom emergency kits
• Promotional water bottles
• Personalized camping chairs
• Custom vests (including the best vests for men and best vests for women)

#4 Vacation

Open enrollment is kind of comparable to planning for a vacation. You have to research a lot of options and choose the best one for your budget and needs. HR reps can act as “travel agents”—or, for a more modern twist, travel influencers—helping people to book their benefits before the season is over. Of course, a vacation theme also ties into taking time off, giving you a natural opening to highlight how business gifts, like promotional sunglasses or branded beach balls, can enhance employee appreciation . Vacation-themed giveaways include:

• Promotional sunglasses
• Branded beach balls
• Promotional towels

#5 Movies and TV Shows

Has a particular movie or TV show dominated the office water cooler chatter lately? Let that be the inspiration for your next open enrollment. Try to choose a popular option, like Succession, so that even people who haven’t seen it will still understand what’s going on. Bonus points for any puns you come up with based on the title — Breaking Benefits, anyone? Obviously, appropriate giveaways will vary based on what you pick, but some options include:

• Movie snack box
• Remote control stress reliever
• Two Gallon Popcorn Tin

#6 Games

Can you win the game of Life — er, open enrollment? Choose a popular board game or card game and update it to fit your open enrollment plan. Game shows such as Jeopardy or Family Feud are also great choices and provide an excellent chance to educate employees about their benefits options through the game itself. Giveaway ideas include:

• Desktop toys & games
• Promotional puzzles
• Custom-branded playing cards

#7 Health and Wellness

If none of these other open enrollment themes resonate with you, you can’t go wrong with a simple health and wellness theme. Health and wellness ties directly into OE season and gives you a great opportunity to encourage healthy choices among your employees. In fact, many companies offer a benefit credit for healthy behavior, such as not smoking. Health and wellness-themed giveaway ideas include:

• Performance t-shirts 
• Health and wellness swag
• Medical stress balls

Transform Open Enrollment with Pinnacle Promotions

Incorporating a creative and engaging theme into your open enrollment strategy can make the process more enjoyable for employees. Engaging and creative themes can make the open enrollment process more enjoyable and drive higher participation rates. 

These unique themes can help your HR department connect with employees on a more personal level, making the open enrollment process not only informative but also enjoyable. Ultimately, the goal is to create a positive experience that encourages employees to actively participate in choosing their benefits.

By injecting some fun and creativity into the process, you can turn open enrollment season into an exciting and memorable event for everyone involved. Don’t miss the opportunity to make your open enrollment campaign stand out and leave a lasting impression on your employees. So, go ahead and pick the one that resonates with your workforce, and make this open enrollment season a memorable and successful one!

At Pinnacle Promotions, we are your go-to promotional professionals who can assist your HR department in creating customized promotional programs. Through our custom program creation, we can help with open enrollment efforts and enhance the onboarding experience. Contact us today at 877.300.2007, and let us help you make your next open enrollment season an absolute success.

This article is part of a series highlighting retail brands that can be imprinted with your company logo.

When it comes to drinkware brands, there’s no lack of options. From YETI to Tervis to RTIC and many more, high-quality tumblers and water bottles are always popular choices when selecting custom drinkware.

But if you’re looking for a custom drinkware piece that’s a little different, try BrüMate. Created by Dylan Jacob at just 21 years old, all BrüMate products are made from triple-insulated stainless steel. That means they really do keep your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold. 

What also sets BrüMate apart are their lids. A lot of drinkware pieces claim to have leakproof lids, but what they really mean is that their lids are leak resistant. Your drink isn’t going to splash out of the bottle if you hit a pothole in the road, or if you’re going for a brisk walk. However, turn your water bottle completely upside down and it’s a different story. However, many of Brümate’s lids are different. All the products in their MÜV Collection have BevLock™, a 100% leak proof locking lid with a magnetic closure.

In addition to high-quality products, BrüMate also puts a large emphasis on sustainability. Over the next 12 months, BrüMate has committed to making all of their lids out of Tritan Renew, a plastic that’s made with 50% recycled material. By doing so, they estimate a large impact on diverting waste (over 15,000,000+ single use plastic bottles) to landfills.

Pinnacle Promotions carries all types of custom BrüMate drinkware including tumblers, can coolers, coffee mugs, canteens, and more. Here are some of our favorites:

The BrüMate Hopsulator Trio 3-in-1 Can Cooler is perhaps our favorite. BrüMate calls it the most versatile can cooler in the world and for good reason! It fits all 16 oz. craft cans, comes with a freezable adapter for 12 oz. cans, and can be easily switched into a pint glass. The push-lock gasket keeps the can secure and easy to remove when you’re done. The non-slip base ensures your drinks stay put.

The BrüMate Toddy Coffee Mug is part of the MÜV Collection, which means the lid is 100% leakproof. This 16 oz. mug is super versatile and can be used for both hot and cold beverages. And did we mention that it’s 100% leakproof?!

If you’re looking for something different, the BrüMate Fifth Liquor Canteen is a good choice. The triple-insulated drinkware piece is made out of stainless steel and will keep your drinks chilled for over 24 hours. At 25 oz., it holds a full fifth of liquor and the cap also doubles as a 1.5 oz shot glass. Don’t drink alcohol? That’s okay, this product works well with any cold beverage.

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While BrüMate might not be on your radar quite yet, it’s definitely a brand worth paying attention to. Give us a call at 800-351-4226 if you’d like to learn more about BrüMate or any other of our 10,000+ promotional products.

This article is part of a series highlighting retail brands that can be imprinted with your company logo.

Vineyard Vines was created by two brothers, Ian and Shep Murray,  in the late 1990s. Stuck in their corporate jobs, they wanted something different – they wanted to bring the casual feel of summer into the office. 

The brand began with ties (the “vines” in the name refers to the way a tie can feel around your neck). The brothers decided to make high-quality ties that were still fun and fashionable, using preppy colors and whimsical styles. 

The iconic pink whale logo was introduced in 2003. Inspired by trips to Martha’s Vineyard (the “vineyard” in the name), the smiling whale was meant to inspire customers to live the good life.

In 2004, the brand expanded beyond ties and introduced items like apparel, bags, and hats. They opened their first store (in Martha’s Vineyard, obviously) in 2005 and, as of 2021, there are 120 standalone stores, as well as merchandise in Nordstrom, and other smaller stores such as Mast General Store and Palmetto Moon.

In late 2021, Vineyard Vines was introduced into the promotional products space. Pinnacle Promotions was chosen as part of a select group of distributors authorized to sell branded Vineyard Vines merchandise. Options include promotional polo shirts, branded tote bags, embroidered baseball caps, and more. This is a great opportunity to purchase high-quality merchandise imprinted with your logo…and a pink smiling whale, of course.

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Sources:

Cain, A. (2016, September 28). Brothers share what it was like quitting their corporate jobs to sell ties on the beach and cofound Vineyard Vines, a company worth nearly $1 billion. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/brothers-who-founded-vineyard-vines-reveal-why-they-quit-their-jobs-2016-9

Wordsmith, L. (2021). The History of and Story Behind the Vineyard Vines Logo. Retrieved from https://moneyinc.com/vineyard-vines-logo/

Bertoni, S. (2018, April 29). How Vineyard Vines Built A Giant Brand Without Raising A Penny Of Equity. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2018/04/10/how-vineyard-vines-built-a-giant-brand-without-raising-a-penny-of-equity

Promotional products are an excellent way to advertise your brand while showing appreciation for your clients, customers, and employees. According to an ASI Study, 85% of people who receive promotional products remember the brand who gave them their swag. The same ASI study also found that people keep these products for an average of a year, which means your logo will be seen time and time again.

There’s no doubt that using branded merchandise is a cost-effective way to promote your business. By working with Pinnacle Promotions to create and maintain a company swag store, you’ll be able to take all the stress out of your promotional product management.

Here are the Top 5 benefits of having a company store:

Benefit #1: Ability to consolidate and control your spend

If you are part of an organization that purchases a large amount of branded merchandise, you’ve probably dealt with a variety of issues including rogue employee spend, products from different vendors that don’t quite match, or spotting your logo on a product you know would NEVER be approved. 

With our company store solution, you’ll be able to set budget and spend allowances, have control over purchases, and even set up automated manager approvals.

Benefit #2: Reporting capabilties

No one wants to spend their time digging around in their marketing closet, only to find that they never reordered those company logo pens, or the only t-shirts left are size XXS. Maintaining sufficient reporting is necessary so that you’ll always be aware of your exact inventory at any given time. 

With our company store solution, you’ll have access to a reporting dashboard that is accurate, accessible, and intuitive. You will also receive a comprehensive purchasing summary for both online and offline spend. Pinnacle Promotions also conducts quarterly business reviews to discuss store and product performance.

Benefit #3: Efficient time management

While sourcing the best promotional products can be fun, it’s also extremely time consuming and not all vendors provide the same quality of product. 

With our company store solution, you can be assured that your orders will be accurate and the products will be high quality. 98% of orders ship in 24 hours.

Benefit #4: No more dealing with logistics and warehousing

In addition to sourcing products, packing and shipping them can also be extremely time consuming and sometimes confusing.

With our company store solution, you’ll be able to leave that all behind. We will pack and ship your merchandise, send automated order confirmations, and take care of supply chain management.

Benefit #5: Improved employee engagement

As evidenced by The Great Resignation, maintaining good employee morale is extremely important for retention. A gift of appreciation can go a long way. 

With our company store solution, we can offer awards that recognize distinguished performance, provide brand name apparel and merchandise options, or even create a completely custom reward portal.

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Take control of your brand and your spending, access creative solutions, and get the right product on time, every time with an online custom store. Let us help you customize your solution. Contact us at 877.796.3397 for more information.

Year after year, our top selling promotional products include pens, tote bags, apparel, and water bottles. But alongside the timeless classics, there are some products that become extremely popular for a short amount of time and then they are forgotten.

Now that’s not to say that your promotional mix should only include products that stand the test of time. Not at all. According to the Advertising Speciality Institute, the average lifespan of a promotional product is about a year, which is plenty of time to capitalize on the current trends.

Our best-selling product in 2021 was a promotional mask. With the uncertainty that goes along with a global pandemic, we don’t really know if masks will join our list of classic products, or in a couple of years, we will have forgotten how popular they were.

That’s the thing about a trend, some, like power banks or wireless speakers, enter into the market and stay there, while others go the way of the Ben & Jerry’s flavor graveyard.

As we end the year, we thought we’d pay tribute to some of the promotional products that were once extremely beloved, but whose popularity has waned throughout the years. Maybe they’ll come back as retro one day, you never know.

1. Plastic Wristbands

The plastic wristband dates back to the early 2000s when Nike came up with the ubiquitous yellow wristband as a fundraising item for Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation. It was based on the color of Armstrong’s yellow jersey. While the actual Livestrong Bracelet benefited cancer survivors, other charities and organizations took notice of the trend and made their own wristbands.

The fad lost momentum quickly in 2012/2013 when the news of Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal broke. Nike quickly removed their logo from the product, and plastic wristbands became a thing of the past.

2. Clip-on Pedometers

A healthy employee is a productive employee and increasing the number of steps you take is an easy way to increase your general health. Pedometers can provide a clear way of seeing exactly how many steps you’ve taken in a given day. The traditional pedometer was worn on the waistband of your pants and manually counted the number of times your hips moved up and down. Wellness-focused companies and employers often had contests to see who took the most steps. It was a fun way to focus on health.

While counting your daily steps is still something a lot of people do, the device they use is different now. When the iPhone was launched in 2010, along came digital apps that could track a person’s steps directly on their phone. Additionally pedometers like the FitBit, which is worn like a watch, were a more attractive option, and one that could also provide more data and connect digitally to your phone.

3. Selfie Sticks

Due to the increasing popularity of social media photo sites like Instagram and Snapchat, taking a picture of yourself was no longer considered narcissistic and instead almost became an art form. In 2013, the word “selfie” was named Word of the Year by the Oxford Dictionary and added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2014. 

However actually taking a picture of yourself required rather long arms. The Selfie Stick solved that problem by essentially becoming a tripod where the photographer attached their phone to one end of the stick, while holding onto the other. The camera’s shutter could be pressed by either a button on the handle of the stick or a separate remote.

According to the Global Selfie Stick Consumption Report, in the fall of 2014, Amazon sales of the selfie stick rose more than 300 percent. However, as they grew in popularity, they also grew in infamy. With people carrying around what amassed to large metal sticks, safety became a concern, especially in crowds. Museums, festivals, and places like Disneyland began to ban selfie sticks and their popularity began to decline. 

4. Fidget Spinners

Who can forget the fidget spinner craze? In 2017, it seemed like everyone wanted to get their hands on a fidget spinner (literally), but they were the most popular with school-aged kids. Fidget spinners were lauded as a way to help control boredom and provide stress relief. Some claimed that they could help ADHD, though that was never scientifically proven.  

Since they were primarily marketed towards children, safety became a concern with many cheap knockoff products on the market that presented a choking hazard. Additionally, instead of helping with concentration, fidget spinners became a major distraction.

Want to see what’s currently on trend? Check out our New & Trending page for all the latest fads. 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And it’s also one of the most stressful! While holiday shopping for your family might take precedence, don’t forget about corporate gifting. You may know that purchasing custom corporate gifts is a good idea in theory, the process can be daunting and time-consuming. Have no fear, Pinnacle Promotions is here to help with MyPromo PopUp – an online pop-up shop solution for the holidays.

So what’s a holiday portal? Glad you asked. Pinnacle’s Holiday Portal is an easy way to send logo gifts to your clients, customers, or employees. Here’s how it works in four easy steps:

1. Pick out your merchandise. You’ll be able to work with an account manager who can provide you with corporate gift ideas that align with your brand and with your budget.
2. After you’ve chosen your products, the Pinnacle team will create a custom online pop-up shop where gift recipients will be able to select their gift, input their shipping address for delivery, and enter any other information you’d like. The online pop-up shop can be custom-designed to match your brand, or you can choose from our stock designs.
3. Send us a list of your intended recipients, and we will have our in-house graphic design team send a branded email invitation, which will take them to the landing page so they can enter their information.
4. Pinnacle will handle all fulfillment, kitting, and shipping. Your corporate holiday gifts will be sent directly to your recipients.

Sounds good? Check out MyPromo Solutions for more online company store options or browse our Holiday Hub, the one-stop shop for corporate gift ideas. Or give us a call at 800-351-4226 and let us take the stress out of your holiday shopping this year. 

While you may be trying to find the perfect gift for Great Aunt Betty (harder to find than a PlayStation 5 these days), don’t forget about the corporate side of gift giving. Here are our top five reasons why you should send corporate gifts.

1. To show your appreciation
2. To surprise and delight your clients or customers
3. To make your employees feel valued
4. To stand out from the competition
5. To get your name out there

Show Your Appreciation

Customer retention is one of the most important aspects of any business. One of the easiest ways to keep your clients happy and retain their business is by showing your appreciation. This can be done in many ways: a simple thank you email, special exclusive offers, sharing photos of your customers on your social media accounts, and of course, a branded gift. 

Surprise and delight your clients or customers

Surprise and delight is a marketing strategy where customers are unexpectedly given something special just to make them smile (and remember your brand). The holiday season is a great time to try this strategy out. Though more than half of American companies do send holiday gifts, not all do, so a surprise gift in the mail can really improve relationships between companies and their clients. Improved relationships = more leads = more sales. Most companies spend around $75 on holiday gifting. Some of the more popular gifts include corporate apparel, food, and drinkware. If none of these are within your budget, try a $5 gift card to Starbucks, or a simply hand-written note.

Make your employees feel valued

While most of your corporate gifting budget may go to your clients or customers, don’t forget about your employees. The holidays are a great time to say thank you for all the hard work your staff has put in the past year. Not only will it help office morale, but studies show that business productivity increases by 31% when employees are happy. Additionally, according to a Forbes Magazine survey, 41% of people surveyed said that gifts have improved their employee retention.

Stand out from the competition and strengthen your relationship

You may think that your clients are completely loyal to your brand and your brand only, but chances are that they are constantly being bombarded by your competitors trying to gain their business. By sending corporate holiday gifts to current customers, you are essentially strengthening your relationship and helping them to feel a sense of gratification that they chose you in the first place. According to Indeed, businesses who develop long-standing relationships with clients are more likely to get repeat business and referrals.

Get your name out there

The great thing about promotional products is that they are beneficial for both the recipient and the brand giving them away. Two of the top reasons that people keep promotional products are when they find them useful and when they find them attractive. Choose a holiday gift that’s both! Try an embroidered blanket, a gift for the home, or a brand-name drinkware piece like RTIC or S’well. 9 in 10 people remember the brand on a promotional product that they’ve received. If people remember your brand, they are more likely to purchase again, so give them something special.

While it can be tempting to cut your holiday gift budget to save money, don’t do it! Holiday gifting can be a very important part of your sales and marketing strategy. Give us a call at 800-351-4226 and let us know how we can help you with your holiday gift giving. From product selection, to custom packaging, to drop shipping, Pinnacle Promotions is here to help this holiday season.

While wireless charging first came onto the scene around 2012, it really wasn’t until 2018 or so, when the iPhone 8 was released, that qi-enabled charging really became mainstream.

Sometimes new technology replaces old (ie: Bluetooth speakers, wireless earbuds, etc), but in other cases there’s a time and place for both new and old technology to shine.

Promotional charging devices are incredibly popular. As of February 2021, 85% percent of adults in the US own a smartphone. So it’s a no brainer to give them out as a promotional product. But do you choose wireless or wired? We can help you decide – just answer the following questions:

Do you want to charge more than one device at a time?

Go with wireless. A larger wireless charging pad can charge multiple devices at once.

Do you want faster charging?

Wired is the way to go. Wired chargers are 30-80% faster than their wireless counterparts.

Do you need to use your device while it’s charging?

We’ve all been there – phone is at 5% battery and you need to make a call. Only wired will work here. Using a cable to charge your phone while on it will slow down the charging, but is perfectly safe to do.

Do you want less wear and tear on your charging device?

Wireless for the win. No repeated plugging and unplugging will mean less damage to your charger.

Do you want a sleeker, more modern look?

Got to go with wireless in this case. There are no messy cables – simply put your device on the charging pad.

Are you looking for a budget-friendly option?

While all chargers come in a variety of price points, wired chargers are traditionally a less expensive choice.

Do you want to charge your device without removing its case or phone grip?

While there are some cases that will work with a wireless charger, many do not, so if you want to play it safe, choose wired.

Still not sure? An Account Manager can help you decide what’s right for you and your specific event. Just give us a call at 800-351-4226 or use our Live Chat or Contact Us form on our site!