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.