Promo's space

As the economy slowly begins to grow the competitive marketplace has changed dramatically since the recession began.  Dozens of your closest competitors are likely out of business, many others have had massive layoffs.  Few are strong and much like your client base there have likely been dramatic and permanent changes.  With the employment picture still continuing to be cloudy there are likely new faces for which you have to make your new first impression.

 

There is no better way to let your customers know of the products and services you offer than to create a PDF and put it onto a flash drive which you deliver to them.  Better yet brand the drive so they know where it came from and some will even recommend putting your personal information on the logo.  The Click USB Flash Drive V 2.0 2GB is one such drive that has a lot of space for your files, family photos, financial data and more and has the added bonus of being very small and easy to carry.  For a more dramatic flare try a multiple function unit like the Slender Flash Pen with Laser Pointer V 2.0 by Sourcery which has a long distance laser, 2gb of flash space and also a fine writing instrument all built into one piece.  Items from sourcery tend to be a little on the pricey side but the Laser Pointer LED USB Flash Drive V 2.0 incorporates all of the same features from the laser pointer to the USB flash drive for a lower value point.  For the most part the manufacturer will allow for a file upload which can be a PDF or just about any other type of file.  As always we recommend you screen these files for viruses before sending them off to thousands of users even in the case of customer sent data. 

 

The data today on the financial state of the economy was a bit less optimistic as the hangover from the CARS program begins to take shape.  It is going to be a long slow recovery despite whatever day to day variations take place.

It has been quite some time since we last updated this space primarily due to the whims of the business world and schedules.  We did get some feedback that users appreciated our discussions of releases as they became available so we have decided to resume regular updates here but will focus on general issues versus releases.

As the normal course of business is beginning to resume we believe we will have more time to provide relevant updates.

 

One of the hallmarks of this current downturn has been that many businesses have looked to cut back budget while still being able to get their message out.  This opens the door for the Gemline Writer's Pad to take a prominent position on the desk of every marketing manager.  Providing the best of all worlds in both a unique branding opportunity and the functionality of a writing pad stamped with a logo there are few more functional gifts.  The Primary Writing Pad looks the part and gives the feeling of a more prestigous item but in reality it runs around the same.  Both are made from the finest simulated leather which have greatly improved in appearance and similarity to real leather over time.  In both cases the writing pads are the standard sizes and can be replaced later on by the end customer.

 

What will be difficult this fall is keeping sellable inventory.  Suppliers cut back so much during the recession they are ill equipped to handle what should be a reasonable expansion.  This is going to lead to a lot of issues with orders not shipping in time this fall.

Backpacks have always been the ugly cousin of the promo industry.  The technological innovations always lagged well behind market forces and what you ended up with was a mess of products none of which kept up to their retail counterparts.  A few years back the invidual manufacturers tried to come on scene with some newer and more innovative products but they were mostly a failure.  This year there was a huge push towards better products including those that catered to the TSA friendly crowd as well as those that were designed for larger laptops.

 

The Wenger Mega Compu-Backpack falls into the second category with a staggering 17" carrying capacity.  Keep in mind those critical words "most" as not all laptops will fit in every bag.  Some manufacturers have beefed up their offerings among them Dell.  Always when in doubt ask for a sample to make sure the shoe fits so to speak.  This particular bag has all the signature Wenger features right down to their branded components.  The airflow mesh system that they use is excellent and from personal experience I can tell you it works in the heat to keep you and your stuff cool.    The Wenger Sport Compu-Backpack will only hold up to a 15.4" laptop but it looks sweet with a logo plastered on the front pocket.   The blue accents are permanent and really make lighter colored logos pop out from the pocket.   With a huge amount of storage and a neat and orderly compartmentalization to the backpack it is one of the best on the market.   For those looking for more modern looks the Wenger Tech Compu-Backpack likewise holds the same size laptop, has the airflow system and like the previous item has a detachable cell phone pocket.   This brand has long been a hallmark of quality from their tools and knives and now their luggage and business accessories.

 

Nobody needed to hear it from the Federal Reservere Chairman, the economy is on the rebound.  Although it is still subtle at this point there is no doubt economic activity is picking up.  Without a major and damaging outbreak of the much publicized flu very little should be on the horizon that could derail the stronger growth period.  Slowly but surely we are hearing reports of stronger business and we expect this will continue as we head through May with the third quarter potentially even offering some real economic growth.

As credit continues to contract at historic rates consumers are being left on ice and so with that are manufacturers all over the country.  There is an old motto of "if you cannot beat them join them" which is paraphrase from an old proverb.  The point being use coolers as we move towards summer to carry your message.  Now more than ever it is imperative that you provide your customers with products they will actually use in their daily lives.  Every item you can give to the recipient that they can turn around and reuse is incredibly important.

 

With the warmer days directly ahead try a cooler for your next gift item.  Particularly function ones such as the Drawstring Koozie Kooler which has tremendous storage capacity, a neat little drawstring and a couple of different color combinations.  It has some stylish looks but is not quite as cool as the Koozie Kooler Tote which can be used as a wet/dry tote or a full out cooler.  Everyone loves this type of item as I have seen people using similar items as diaper bags down the beach.  The same can be said of the Smiley Koozie Lunch Sack which is weather tight enough that odors are virtually eliminated.  These are all genuine Koozie items from the largest and most respected manufacturer of coolers in the business.   I still do not know why they use cooler versus kooler but it is something they have always done and probably always will do.   They carry the same naming conventions over to the cheap stuff such as the Collapsible Koozie Bottle Kooler which has some flare to it with a metal carabiner.  That will add to the shipping cost but all is good in the end.

 

In an earlier entry I talked about the car insurance credit programs from Ford among others.  They continue to expand on them with some companies now offering up to a few years of guaranteed payments.  It seems insane and impractical that any insurer could properly value the risk.  I imagine in another year or two we will be reading about insurers failing as a result of these programs.  As I talked about in quality promotions the key to success I cannot quite figure out why they are going this route as this is not something they will ever be able to get away from, customers will now always expect these types of guarantees.  

 

It seems we are about to head right back down the garden path when it comes to making risky loans.  With Hyundai, Ford, General Motors and others now announcing similar plans designed to guarantee payment if the guarantor loses their job we have the makings of the next credit debacle.  The problem being we know that the program has been succesful for Hyundai in terms of getting people to buy cars but are they attracting people that have a higher risk of defaulting?  We will not know for at least six months but my guess is Hyundai and now General Motors will notice sharply higher default rates on the new loans.  What is even worse is the promise that there are no negative reprucssions if someone walks away from their car under this program which only promotes the negative behavior.

 

With the summer travel season upon us it is a great time to use promotional travel bags as a giveaway.  Granted they are fairly expensive for a simple tradeshow but they are usually a hit with customers and therefore should be considered if you have a customer you want to appease.  We particularly like the Wenger 24" 4-Wheeled Spinner Upright among other bags in the Wenger line.  You are a little limited in what you can do in terms of decoration but again the focus is on the travel aspect and almost all of these bags will travel very well.

 

The economy took a bit of a hit again today with some seriously negative housing data from Case and Shiller showing record falls in value.  There is not much that can be done at this point other than promoting a brighter future which NAR continues to do.

The economy is just beginning to show strong signs that it is stabalizing and perhaps even beginning to rebound.   As the economy comes back to life it is important to promote your business daily.  Studies have shown one of the more affordable and longest lasting promotions is the use of a carefully selected and well decorated promotional item.   Today we will discuss several promotional products and in future articles discuss the importance of properly decorating your items.

 

USB drives have been a staple of the promo industry for years but we finally now have a recycled flash drive in the EcoFlash USB Flash Drive which is made from 100% recycled material.  Be aware that not all business users can use these items as some companies specifically restrict the possession of any type of storage media in the workplace.  Make sure you check with your potential customer!  Tote bags have always been popular and the Tempo Recycled PET Sling is made of US Certified post consumer recycled materials.  What does US Certified mean?  Well the manufacturer is providing a certificate of insurance which insures that all of the materials are certified to be recycled.  It is not a certification of sourcing and customers need to be made aware of this.  The Owl Recycled Deluxe Compu-Messenger Bag also carries the US certification for recycled goods and can host a 17" laptop.  Custom laptop bags continue to be a hit with customers but it is incredibly important to make sure the bag you choose will fit the recipients computer.  Many laptops are now running 16 or 17" screens and therefore the majority of laptop bags sold should be in that size range.  The Owl 100% Recycled Deluxe Compu-Backpack can also hold a 17" laptop and has the neat feature of allowing access in either the messenger bag or backpack configuration.  Both of these bags feature tons of access and storage of goods and both are made from entirely recycled materials.  With Earth Day coming up time is running out to get your recycled items.  We are currently running a promotion with our logo placed on the Owl 100% Recycled Deluxe Writing Pad and have enjoyed tremendous success.

 

Keep your end user in mind when buying the promotional items for your next giveway.  With laptop bags think bigger is better as in most cases it is.  With totes consider versatility, with flash drives make sure the target customer can actually use the flash drives.

 

Even though we're in the midsts of a major recession with almost all of the financial news being terrible there are still plenty of things you can do to improve your business.  There are dozens of small business advisors at your disposal including SCORE from the SBA and other local groups.   You can check with your local Chamber of Commerce of Lion's Club for additional resource information.

The World Series has ended, congratulations to the Phillies on a great season.  It is nice to see a team that hasn't won often pull through and win the big one.  The fans weren't exacly on their best behavior at games end but nobody was seriously hurt and property damage was minor. 

 

We just recently updated the site including a page dedicated to new promotional products which will be segmented to show the most recent 30 promotional products added to the site.  The list will continually rotate with products broken down by week and month.  We figure it is a good way to introduce the 2009 products and to follow the latest trend of multiple releases per year.

 

Catch us online at our new general marketing discussion hub.  We like the idea of integrating everything into one resource and also networking and sharing with our friends and suppliers. 

The season for giving away sport bags is upon us.  Duffels are one of those weird items that were once given away year round and suddenly began to become a spring and summer gift a few years back.   This is likely because they have transitioned from storage to more or less fitness bags.  We are now offering a full complement of promotional sports bags from the major vendors like Leeds.  

 

Among the favorites so far has been the Leeds Aqua 18" Sport Duffel which is reasonably priced and solidly constructed of 600d nylon.  The key this season has been overall price and so far the new bags are priced properly.  The Leeds Encore Speaker Duffel absolutely kicks it with some decent sounding speakers, average duffel capacity and all sorts of multimedia connectivity.   I have to admit it is a little expensive but when you look at what you are getting in a bag it is tough to complain.

 

We are not sure what to make of the Gemline Agility Sport Bag as it is definitely designed for the women in the audience.  The only issue with this type of design is it may not fit the needs of some organizations but the bags themselves are attractive.   Gemline makes the Gemline Advantage Sport Bag which runs right around the same price but is more gender neutral.   Really at near $10 all of these items are a veritable bargain compared to items even a few years back.

 

Ringing up the scale a bit are the High Sierra Crunk Cross Sport Duffel and Slazenger Sport 18" Tote Duffel which are both sure to be hits.  We really like the Slazenger product and expect customers will like it as well as it is another multi-use item.   The High Sierra product is beautiful but once again we wonder what the story is with the elaborate and overly complex names being used by some of these manufacturers.  All it serves to do is make it a little difficult for customers to figure out what product they are buying.

 

As the spring gently falls towards summer the focus will shift to more golf type items and beach gear.   With the slowing economy price should end up being an issue and we hope to continue to be able to lead the market.

With the economic news pouring in and almost all of it varying between horrific and horrendous it clearly is the worst of times for our economy.  So why the headline of best of times?  Because there are still opportunities even in a retreating economy for smart business owners.

 

We have found over the last few weeks that contrary to what most would expect pricing is not the most critical factor in making a purchasing decision.  Customers are looking for quality and care in service just as much as they are a low price.  We are finding that customers purchasing the Leeds Recycled Leather Ring Journal as well as all of our promotional products this week are keying more on overall value than absolute bottom line price.  Going forward and with the economy still heading into the tank it will be clearly more important to focus on value to the customer.

 

 

The promotional products industry has enjoyed strong growth over the last several years.   Historically speaking the growth  rate has averaged 4-5% with spikes higher or lower during that time period.  Preliminary reports from suppliers show a marked downturn in the months leading up to the new year which could portend a slump in 2008.

 

Our take on the state of the industry is that sales will level out in 2008 while margins shrink.  Customers are actively seeking bargains and as more and more business is conducted online customers have instant price checking capability.  We are finding on our promotional items store that price is important but more important is a strong customer service presence.  

 

As we move later into the winter we expect to see sales begin to rebound as the overall economy settles into a recession.