Promotional Products

Betsy Kirby, Director of Promotional Product Division at The Allied Group
bkirby@thealliedgrp.com |  401.946.6100 x3251

They call me "The Allied Shopper" (maybe they even call me other things when I am not around =)!  I manage the Promotional Products Division for Allied so I get paid to do one of my favorite activities: SHOP! My other favorite activity is cheering on the New England sports teams! 

Clients put me to work on a daily basis looking for that "perfect" gift to hand out to clients, prospects, employees and creating on-line corporate stores.  Some people call them Trinkets. Giveaways. Tchotchke's. Freebies . . . Call them what you want but always remember they are a key to a complete marketing effort. Showing off your brand on a shirt, coffee cup or golf ball can be a great way to "stay in front" of your clients on a daily basis!
 

So you're searching for the promotional items that your customers are going to use very often? How about trying something that clients will use every day? That is what you can have with promotional calendars.

For Promotional Imprinted Products and Calendars - Click Here

With a whole assortment of customized calendars available in different styles and shapes, you can get people to lay eyes on your company logo on a daily basis. All you have to do is pick the right calendar for you, depending on the function that you want it to provide for your customers, and you have branding gold on your hands. Let's take a look at some of the best types of promotional calendars available so that you can select the ones which will generate the best exposure for your company. Keep in mind that the earlier in the year you order custom printed calendars the better, since every day that passes is a day less that people will use your calendar for that year. 

Ordering from The Allied Group in December can get your name in front of the client by January 2012!

To start, promotional wall calendars are probably the most popular type of calendar that you can use for your branding campaign. The calendar is perfect for any home refrigerator or office cubicle, and people tend to rely on them heavily while planning their monthly appointments. The wall calendars feature a large box for every day of the month where recipients can write in all of their important notes and reminders. They usually fold open into a spread which has the calendar month on one page, and a full-page image on the other. The images are tied in by a theme which may include anything from scenic views and animals, to automobiles or gardens or you can use custom photos with your product or a a specific theme.  One fantastic thing about these promotional wall calendars is the fact that your imprinted logo will appear at the bottom of every page, so people will see it every time they refer to it. Wall Calendar.

The next type of customized calendar that you can use to promote your brand is desk calendars. These are different than the wall calendar in the sense that they do not hang on a wall; they stand upright on a table or desk surface. They are a bit more professional-looking, and operate by flipping the pages over the top of a spiral binding. The promotional desk calendars are typically smaller than wall calendars, and do not have a box for each day of the month to write things in. These calendars still offer your company the same daily branding exposure; it just comes in a different style and function. Desk Calendar.


You might be thinking that plenty of other companies in your industry are using customized calendars to generate some good advertising. In this case, you can separate yourself from the competition by distributing some custom planners to your customers. These planners are different than promotional calendars in the sense that they give the recipient much more mobility and convenience in maintaining their daily appointments. The custom planners come in a checkbook-like style and can be easily carried in any pocket or purse. Each page breaks down the day into an hourly basis so people can get as specific as possible with their planning. None of the other customized calendars will allow you to do this. Planner calendar.


Need help distributing your calendars and marketing materials?  The Allied Group can help with our Fulfillment Services.

Recognizing your employees is something that every business owner and 'boss' thinks about. Unfortunately it can be costly and saying "Nice job!" just doesn't always cut it.

According to a Maritz Research study, employees who participate in employee recognition programs at work are five times more likely to feel valued, 11 times more likely to feel committed and seven times more likely to stay in their jobs. That's pretty noteworthy considering on average it can cost an employees yearly salary to replace them.

Below are a few ways of using cost effective promotional imprinted products to ensure employee retention - even in today's economy.

1. Give winners a choice. Hold a sales or customer success contest and let the winners choose from a selection of prizes so that they get what they really want - even more rewarding. Include usable and trendy promotional product ideas like solar-powered charging stations, customized iPod skins and cool watches with features like mini flashlights.

2. Award lapel pins to top achievers. Think Hard Rock cafe and Friday's. Some employees have so many pins they can't even fit them on but they are proud to wear them. 

3. Don’t leave out the little guys. Suture maker Hephicon celebrated 50 years in business with a huge outdoor picnic. The company awarded logoed anniversary watches to every employee, from top executives down to the maintenance man. That can make each and every employee feel special.

4. Reward brilliant ideas. Periodically ask for suggestions with whatever you may need help with and reward the best ideas with logoed merchandise or gift certificates. 

5. Create your own recognition awards. Choose from custom items, crystal creations and inspirational trophies. Even better, have an award (like a custom bobblehead) created exclusively for the employee you want to reward.

6. Don’t be afraid to get a little goofy. The most popular performance award at Synovus Financial Corporation is a tacky pink flamingo with a bow tie that employees proudly display in their cubicles. The flamingo award comes with a free lunch, $100 cash and a paid vacation day, but employees say the bird is the real prize.

After a while you can run into the same ol' same ol' and you run out of ideas about what to do with your promotional products. Keeping creative and innovative is key and following these easy tips should help you move forward.

Bring In The Experts
Being stuck is an awful feeling but you don't have to be without promotional product ideas for long. Another common mistake is to be overly protective about your novel idea for a product or program. At the earliest possible time you should have your design or composition reviewed by an associate, faculty member, consultant or other trustworthy knowledgeable advisor. You don't always have to disclose critical details so you can protect your idea from copying, and very often a reviewer can give you surprisingly good guidance.

Focus On The Practical, Useful, Needed And Beautiful
Very often inventions and other creations start out answering to a major need or a broad interest. Then the project morphs into a personal passion with little or no market value. Make sure that your promotional imprinted products are items which economically fills a real need and which looks attractive to potential buyers.

It can be hard - you (and your prospect) know that your company has the best product or service but your prospect still isn't sold. It takes more than just that to get the sale. Dianna Booher of Booher Consultants recently wrote about communication and how to click with clients and potential customers.

Consider these eight tips when communicating with someone and try not to rely solely on how good you may think your company is.

Consider Your Demeanor— Boring is not the same as Sincere
Create flair and drama as you present a new idea, product or service. If you don’t feel passionate about your proposal, neither will your buyers.

Distinguish Between Agreeing And Understanding
Agreeing and understanding have similar symptoms—smiling, nodding head etc. Make sure your buyer knows that you’re communicating that you understand as opposed to agreeing.

Use A Positioning Structure Rather Than A Pitch
Canned and formula presentations primarily make a product pitch. A positioning presentation, on the other hand, focuses on how your organization and your product or service differs from the competition—how it uniquely meets the buyer’s needs or situation.

Never Just Walk Through Your Proposal—Give a Guided Tour
If you walk through your proposal, your buyers will beat you to the end every time. In fact, your proposal will compete with you for attention. Instead, carefully select which parts of your proposal to present orally. Then refer buyers to a specific page only after you make your key point about that page.

Ask What Your Buyer Knows Rather Than Tell What You Know
The question, “What do you know about my organization?” allows buyers to give their perceptions. You then can fill in the gaps, clarifying and correcting, if necessary.

Tell Failure Stories
There is power in telling case histories about clients who didn’t have stellar success with your product or service—if the reason for their lack of success was due to their own decision making, not your product or service. Telling about failures of other product users adds credibility to your success stories. One caution: Keep it generic. Don’t use names with failure stories.

Make Statistics And Facts Experiential
People digest numbers with great difficulty. Be sure to do all you can to help your buyers understand the numbers.

Prefer Understatement To Overstatement
It’s always more effective to let your prospect “add to” what you’ve promised rather than “discount it” because it seems too good to be believable. Present the range of results you have achieved and can document. Generally, it is better to promise only the minimum gains. Otherwise, you set up your client to be disappointed. If the minimum gains are worthwhile to them, maximum gains will be the extra that makes them long-term fans.

So to avoid that same blank look of disengagement in a buyer’s eye, keep these communication keys in mind.

Author of more than 40 books, Dianna Booher is CEO of Booher Consultants, a communications training firm. The article above was written for Promotional Consultants Magazine and the full version of the article can be found here.

For more information on marketing strategy services and full service fulfillment, please visit our site.

Working with a promotional product consultant can lead to increased revenue. Business gifts used to foster customer goodwill and retention (retain) are the most common use for promotional items at 18.5%. Here are the top reasons to work with promotional products consultant...

Reason #1: Consultants are the experts in their field. There’s no need to spend all your time on the Internet or searching through catalogs - leave the hard work to the experts.

Reason #2: A great consultant goes beyond just selling products. To realize your goals, promotional products programs must be carefully planned, taking into consideration the audience, budget, the ultimate result to be gained. Sure you can buy products anywhere, but you want a solid plan and the goal in mind.

Reason #3: Professional consultants have access to vast product research resources, including an extensive database which contains more than 500,000 products. Have you really saved money if you get the mugs and they are not the right color? Is it worth the extra savings if you get the mugs and they are so breakable due to inferior materials that they are virtually unusable?

Reason #4: Consultants are in tune with the trends, including hot items and the newest products and processes. Many online services show you the promotional product ideas they want to sell; a qualified consultant will listen to what you want and help you find the right product for your needs.

Reason #5: Your consultant is more than just a salesperson. Chances are you will buy promotional products more than once in your life. Once a company uses a consultant, that relationship often continues for years—and even decades.

Reason #6: Personalized service is the role of a consultant. When going online, your selection is what the internet company determines to make available. When you work with a consultant, your selection is determined by your needs and goals, enhanced by the experience, creativity and recommendations of that consultant who has your best interests at heart. 

Reason #7: Industry consultants can offer experienced advice on how (and IF) to imprint items. You may have found the perfect key chain, but will your logo imprint on it? Will it be recognizable? Some things don’t work, or there might be something else that will work better.

Reason #8: Trained consultants can save you money in the long run. Many times, a price you see in a generic catalog or on the Internet does not cover many “hidden” costs involved. A consultant can help you avoid unexpected and unbudgeted costs by quoting the total price up-front.

Reason #9: Consultants will work with you to get your artwork imprinted properly. Say you want your company’s logo embroidered on a golf shirt. How do you ensure it will be done properly, and with the correct colors? A trained consultant can work with you to insure accurate transfer of your artwork.

Reason #10: Professional promotional products consultants can assist you in developing a workable distribution plan for your products. Distribution of a promotional product is as important as the item itself. Research shows that a carefully executed distribution plan significantly increases the effectiveness of promotional products.

If you know me at all then you know I love sports and I can be very competitive. One sport I’ve never gotten good at or been very competitive in is golf. In fact, when I golf with friends they spend as much time laughing at me as they do trying to count my strokes! For those of you more serious about your golf game and who would like to plan your own golf tournament I will be providing tips on how to run a successful golf tournament throughout March and April.

I suggest using a checklist: 

1) Send out formal invitations. The personal letter makes the recipient feel special. Send the invitation at least a month in advance to ensure a good turnout. Be sure to follow-up and ask whether the person is attending. Allied can help you with Post Card Mailing Services!

More tips to follow...

The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) conducted in-person interviews with business people in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London, Sydney, Toronto and Montreal metro areas regarding promotional products they had received. Respondents were asked if they received promo products in the last year and if they kept them and why.

Among wearables, bags received as a promo product have the highest number of impressions in a month, over 1,000. Males are more likely than females to own shirts and caps, while females are more likely to have bags, writing instruments, calendars and health and safety products than males. In fact writing instruments are used on average over 18 times per month - that's quite a bit more than bags (just under six times per month).

Companies that plan on distributing promotional imprinted products should know that decorating items that have special appeal to the end-user will mean the item gets used more often and held longer, extending the product’s life span and increasing the number of impressions it makes.

This is great information and proves that promotional products really do work - 60% of people who receive a promo product did business with the advertiser after receiving it.

To see some promotional product ideas, click here. To read the study in full please visit ASI's site here.