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Your Police Agency Can Build Bridges With Promotional Products

Saturday, March 19th, 2011
Promotional fridge magnets

Promotional fridge magnets are an excellent choice!

Connecting with the local community should be the goal of any domestic law enforcement agency. Your department may have been thinking of campaigns to help strengthen the relationship with your community and promotional items should not be overlooked as a tool for this.

Promotional gifts are a fun and  powerful way to spread just about any kind of message. For your next public relations campaign it would be a very good idea to look in to what kinds of promotional items are available to convey your message of safety, empathy and compassion.

Some ideas for that will be discussed in this article, but for complete information it’s best to talk to contact our sales office at 01642 782455 or simply browse our site.

Part of your public relation duties most likely include visiting schools to talk to the pupils about law enforcement and what role it plays in their lives. You can get your message past the normal attention span of a ten year old by handing them something they will like, such as a promotional stress toy. There are many forms that your stress ball can take, such as a bespoke badge-shape.

The youngsters will delight in squeezing your promotional stress toy and the message you choose to have printed on it will not likely be forgotten anytime soon.

Promotional water bottles can carry your message of good faith and harmony while helping to keep you community hydrated during the warm season. The promotional sports bottle can be made from both virgin and recycled materials and manufactured in many different colours. The ample printing area allows your department to fully convey its message in a very noticeable way.

Your officers can carry a supply of promotional water bottles to hand out to anyone they see fit, or they can be handed out at any public relations event that your department participates in.

A promotional fridge magnet can be an essential tool to ensure that there are open lines of communication with your community. The promotional magnet is very inexpensive and is a promotional item that most people will put on their fridge as soon as they arrive home with it. Imprinted on the promotional fridge magnet should be all emergency phone numbers as well as non-emergency numbers for contacting your department.

Small gifts such as these and other kinds of promotional products can be just the thing to break the ice between your department and its assigned populace. Before you plan your next public relations campaign or event, make sure that you check in to having the right promotional products to do the job.

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Promotional Stress Toys Can Colour More Profits In Your Painting/Decorating Business

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Home remodeling has not seen as much of a dip in business as other areas of construction, and if your decorating business is thriving that means you have been savvy with your business and perform the quality work that keeps you busy.

Here I would like to show you an excellent way to promote your business that is both inexpensive and attention grabbing.

Promotional stress balls are one of the newer introductions to the promotional product industry and also one of the most successful. These small, squishy toys come in over 1,000 stock shapes and can even be manufactured in the custom shape of your choice.

Hand someone a logo printed stress toy and it is likely you will see an immediate smile, followed by the curious kneading of this fascinating object. People love getting advertising stress toys and will keep it for months and even years.

Compared to most other promotional gifts, the logo printed stress ball has one of the highest retention and longevity rates, and with your company information brilliantly imprinted upon it your stress toy will continue to market your service long you give it away!

Stress toy shapes for the decorating industry can be the obvious, such as a stress ball in the shape of a paint tin- a brilliant colour dripping down the sides and your company information emblazoned on the side.

A promotional stress toy can be made to resemble a painters brush that has just been dipped in an attractive paint color. Maybe you would prefer a promotional stress reliever made to resemble a painters pallete.

To stress the fact that you have been in business for so long your promotional stress ball can be manufactured in the shape of a granite rock to represent your longevity and commitment to keep providing your excellent service for years to come.

Promotional stress toys have the ability to advertise your decorating business for a long time, but only if you are selective about the quality of the promotional stress toy that you choose.

This begins with the type of promotional product supplier you choose. Some suppliers are only concerned about being the cheapest, and this kind of attitude will result in an inferior product that will not get the same great results.

When choosing your supplier of promotional stress toys make sure that they will be able to explain to you the difference in quality and printing processes that separate the desireable stress toys from the rest. Insist on samples so you can see and feel the differences for yourself.

Get started with the process of marketing your decorating business with promotional stress toys by calling a few suppliers and asking basic questions. Once you have established your supplier of choice don’t hesitate to place your order- get the process going today and start seeing the results you want in the near future.

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Inexpensive Promotional Gifts- Light On The Budget, Heavy On The Impact

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

You may be tempted to spend a great deal of money on a marketing or branding campaign with the idea that the more money you spend, the better the result.

This is not always the case! For a few hundred pounds there are many promotional products that will do a better job of promoting your brand than thousands of pounds spent on print or other types of traditional advertising.

Promotional gifts are a marketing item that will not only effectively put your name in front of your desired audience, but will put your message in their hands as well.

It will take some research on your part to determine the kinds of promotional gifts will work best for your particular market. Promotional pens have been known to be particularly effective promotional items, and therefore are very popular with most every kind of business, club or charity.

By choosing this promotional gift you are throwing your entry into a very populated ring, and it would do your organisation best to choose a promotional pen that is unlike any that you have seen before. When it comes to promotional gifts, you want to give out an item that will stand above its peers.

Promotional pens vary greatly in quality, and spending more does not necessarily translate to a pen that will be used more than it sits in a drawer. Insist on samples before you order so that you know that your promotional pen represents the quality you want to convey.

Promotional fridge magnets and keychains are other low cost promotional items, and once again your target audience has been bombarded with them.

Choose innovative shapes and printings to ensure that your promotional gift is the one used most often.

Promotional stress balls are very popular giveaway items that can represent your product or service in the most personalised way possible. There are hundreds of standard shaped promotional stress toys available to represent most any industry, or you may want a custom shape that is all yours- perhaps a rendition of your unique product or a three-dimensional version of your company logo.

Promotional water bottles can be purchased for a very reasonable price and have a fantastic area for printing your company information and mission statement.

Speaking of printing, one thing that is important to note when designing and ordering your promotional prducts is the size of the print area. Avoid the urge to cram as much text as possible in to your promotional products available print area, especially the smaller items such as the promotional pens and key rings.

Too much text on a small area will be hard to read, it’s best to limit text to one or two lines on these kinds of items. A good promotional product supplier will be experienced in designing promotional materials and will be able to guide you through the entire process of choosing and ordering your promotional gifts for maximum effectiveness.

Get started today by getting in touch with and learn more about these and other low-cost promotional gifts that will be the most beneficial to you and your organisation.

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Do You Make These Promotional Merchandise Mistakes At Trade Shows?

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Promotional merchandise is an integral part of trade shows. It can be used as an icebreaker to introduce prospects to your products and services, and also promotes your brand when people use the products later. But are you sure you are getting the most out of the items you use? Be sure you are not making these common promotional merchandise mistakes.

1. Displaying Promotional Items Unattractively

Are you displaying promotional gifts to your best advantage, or just throwing them on the table? People “scan” the stands as they walk through, and will stop at a display that is engaging, and creative. Grouping things like pens and stress balls by colour, or arranging them in interesting containers makes your stand look more professional, and draws traffic to you.

2. Not Customizing Your Promotional Items To The Clientele

To get the most out of promotional gifts, you’ll need to provide quality products that people will use daily. It’s true that everyone uses pens and notepads. But people also love to take away more specialized, functional items.

If your business caters to professionals, provide products that they will keep on their desks like calculators, rulers and sticky notes. If you are targeting tradesmen, technicians or outdoor workers, offer gifts that will be used in a shop or workroom like tape measures, box cutters, insulated mugs and hats.

Remember that your name is on the product. Items that are used and looked at daily will give you the best return on your investment.

3. Not Using Items That Promote Your Stand

Are you using products that can promote traffic? Pens and small items can’t be seen on the trade show floor. Bags, hats and promotional t-shirts will expose your logo to a room full of people as people carry and wear them. If you don’t offer these products, you are letting an opportunity get away.

4. Not Using The Items Yourself

Wearing your on promotional clothing says you believe in your brand. Unless you are required to wear professional or specialized attire, wear a logo-printed polo shirt or hat. Your logo should also be on your lanyard or messenger bag. Why use generic items when you have the opportunity to promote your brand?

5. Not Testing Your Promotional Items

Before setting the items on the table for prospects to pick up, be sure to give them a trial run. You don’t want to give pens that don’t write or items that break easily. Don’t wait until the products are in front of prospects to find out they don’t work.

By Dan Toombs

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Promotional Gifts – Which are the Best for Trade Shows and Exhibitions?

Monday, January 17th, 2011

I was on the new Q&A social networking site Quora the other day and found a question very similar to the title of this article. I didn’t like some of the of the answers. Many people were insisting that gimmicky gifts were the best. A few even said that exhibitors should leave their promotional pens and mugs at home as they are old hat and boring.

Many studies, however, have shown such advice to be very bad advice!

You see, independent studies are done regularly for different organisations within the promotional gifts industry. All of these studies have shown that it is in fact the ‘boring’ gifts that get the best results.

Why?

Because they are useful products that we all require often.

One Quora member even answered that he once received a cap with a place for two beer cans and straws from which he could drink the beer from his hat.

Great. I love beer. But isn’t it a lot easier to drink it from a glass – cold? Such a gift – though fun to give away is a gimmicky gift and these promotional products have very limited promotional lives.

Give me the boring gifts any day. The products that I will want to own and use. These are the products that I could be using for months if not years.

Think about it… When was the last time you ever threw away a promotional mug. Pens may get lost from time to time but good quality pens could write for years. Mouse mats, USB flashdrives, decanters and picture frames are all examples of promotional products that can sit on a person’s desk for years promoting your brand.

Will that beer hat be around that long? I rest my case.

There are three things to consider when purchasing promotional merchandise for an exhibition;

1.) Are the gifts useful?

Look for gifts that will get used. These are the gifts that will promote your business better and longer. Products such as promotional pens, mouse mats, pen pots and other stationery products are just some of the gifts that work very well.

2.) Could you better target my customers with gifts they will really love?

If you know your customers well, you may be able to find gifts that will suite their needs better than the most popular gifts such as pens, mugs and and clothing. Builders will always have a requirement for tape measures, torches and thermoses for example.

3.) Are the gifts of good quality?

It is often difficult to see from a picture in a catalogue or online the quality of a product. As for samples if time allows to ensure that you are purchasing promotional merchandise that you will be happy to give your customers.

By Dan Toombs

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Promotional Gifts – Clothing – 3 Things to Avoid – 3 Things to Do

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

There is no doubt about it… Promotional clothing gets a brand noticed. Printing or embroidering a logo onto a polo shirt, jacket or cap can promote your business for months if not years. People love to wear the logos of businesses they know and respect. Each time they wear your logo they are essentially walking billboards for your brand.

Having been in the promotional gifts industry for over 20 years, I would like to offer you a bit of advice so that you can get the most out of your promotional clothing.

Avoid:

1.) Avoid purchasing directly from a catalogue. Let’s face it – a shirt looks like a shirt in a catalogue. There is no way to check if for quality from a picture. Believe me, quality can vary greatly.

2.) Avoid poor quality clothing. Would you like to wear clothing that doesn’t feel good to wear or loses its shape after washing? Your customers will throw away such cheap garments and your promotion will go away as well.

3.) Avoid Rush Buying. There is no point limiting yourself to those garments that can be personalised in a hurry. If you allow yourself a few weeks before your promotional clothing is needed, you will have a much larger selection to choose from and you could even save on the unit cost.

Do:

1.) Ask for printed or embroidered samples. This is the only way you can check not only the quality of the product but the personalisation quality your supplier can achieve. It also allows you to check sizes which can vary from brand to brand.

2.) Consider the use of your promotional clothing. If you are purchasing shirts for your customers, one each is fine. If you are purchasing polo shirts for your employees to wear on a daily basis, you will want to order at least three shirts per person.

No one wants to get home from work and have to do their washing every day.

3.) Insist on quality products. Your promotion will only last as long as your clothing is worn. I like to think of promotional gifts such as clothing by their cost per impression value.

The additional cost for quality clothing will be insignificant if you consider the cost per impression. If a cheap jacket is thrown away after a couple months of use but a quality jacket is worn regularly for years, which offers the be value for your money?

Top quality garments to do not need to be expensive! You can find excellent quality clothing online at a fraction of the cost you will find in printed catalogues.

By Dan Toombs

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Promotional Gifts – Eco Friendly Products – 3 Things to Avoid – 3 Things to Do

Saturday, January 8th, 2011

There is little doubt that eco friendly promotional gifts are becoming increasingly popular. Compare the promotional gift catalogues of five years ago to those that are printed now and you will see there is a much larger selection to choose from. There are a few things you should consider, however, before placing an order.

Not all eco gifts are as eco as you may think.

I have been in the promotional merchandise industry for over 20 years. In this article I would like to offer you advice that will help you to get them most out of your eco friendly promotion.

Avoid:

1.) Avoid purchasing off the catalogue page. Many eco promotional products are manufactured in China. Many look the same when printed in a catalogue or featured online but they aren’t. The quality can vary greatly.

2.) Avoid rush buying. There are a lot of eco friendly gifts that can be printed a delivered in just a few days. That said, if you rush buy you will be limiting yourself to those products. Allow yourself a few weeks before the products are needed and you will have a much larger selection of gifts to choose from.

3.) Avoid low quality products. There are a lot of them out there. Promotional gifts – whether they be ecologically friendly or not – do not work if they are in the bin. That is where low quality products generally tend to end up.

Do:

1.) Ask for samples! Why not? You can not possibly test the quality of a product without physically holding it. Any good supplier will be happy to send printed samples of their products.

2.) Consider what you are trying to communicate. An ‘eco friendly’ promotional gift that is imported from China is not as eco friendly as a product manufactured near you. Also understand that some eco friendly gifts are not as eco friendly as they may seem.

Some promotional products manufacturers have eco products in their range that are manufactured from only 20% recycled plastic, for example.

3.) Order eco friendly promotional gifts! There are some really exciting new eco products out there that your customers amd employees will love. I personally really like the water powered desk clocks and the solar radios. There are also some really nice promotional pens, note pads and organic clothing just waiting for your logo.

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Promotional Gifts – Printed Clocks – 3 Things to Avoid – 3 Things to Do

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Promotional clocks are some of the best business gifts for promotion. Think about it… Whether your clock is on your wall or your desktop, you look at it regularly. Even in this day and age with the time displayed on your computer screens, it is still essential to have a good clock within view.

I have been in the promotional gifts business for over 20 years. I would like to offer you advice so that you can get the most out of your promotional clocks. There are a lot to choose from so have fun searching.

Avoid:

1.) Please avoid purchasing off the page. Clocks are nice gifts. Most clocks for promotional purposes are manufactured in China. Many look identical in catalogues but are actually manufactured by different factories. The quality can vary greatly!

2.) Avoid rush buying. You do not need to look for long to find promotional clocks that can be printed and despatched in as few as five days. The demand for express printed gifts has grown substantially over the years and the industry has responded favourably.

That said, you will have a much larger selection to choose from if you allow yourself a few weeks. Many gift clocks need to be specially printed on the face while others are made to order.

3.) Avoid purchasing low quality, cheap clocks. There is no point giving your customers a clock that feels and looks cheap. Promotional clocks can sit on their desktops for many years.

If they do keep your clocks for years, the price per impression is greatly reduced. The price difference between a cheap clock and a good quality clock is insignificant when you consider the cost per impression.

Do:

1.) Order samples! After all, there is no other way to quality check a product than to physically see and hold it. Any good promotional merchandise supplier will be happy to arrange this for you.

2.) Allow yourself plenty of time. You will be happy you did. Multi colour logos and even special printing can be achieved when you order early.

3.) Order promotional clocks! Whether they sit on the desktop or hang on the wall, these eye-catching and needed products will promote your business for the long term.

Final Note

Promotional printed or engraved clocks are an excellent way to promote your business or organisation! People rarely throw them away which means you are bound to get and excellent return from your investment.

By Dan Toombs

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Using Twitter and Other Social Networks to Promote Your Blog

Saturday, January 1st, 2011


Social media is a powerful tool that allows bloggers to get in contact with one another and build important relationships. These connections are essential if you’re wanting to promote your blog through social media, so it’s important to forge open and supportive relationships with others in your niche and your audience members.

Your blog will be more successful if it is focused in a particular niche and if you follow what others in your niche are doing. For example, if your blog focuses on the niche of promotional gift items, you should search for people on Twitter who are having conversations about things like promotional pens, keychain gift items, or promotional business gifts. This is a great way to find some of the people who are likely to be interested in what you’re writing and who you can also learn from. Follow some of these people on Twitter, send them a “hello” tweet, or use a direct message to introduce yourself.

It’s helpful to use a similar strategy on sites such as Facebook or Twitter to get in touch with your audience members. By searching for people who are interested in the same topics and who are following other bloggers in your niche, you can increase the size of your audience. However, you should always be sure that you’re providing value to the people you’re messaging. Avoid sending spam-like messages that only tell people about your site. Instead, you should read the person’s Facebook profile or some of their recent tweets to get an idea of their interests, and then tailor your message to something you read. By showing people that you are interested in what they have to say and then recommending a specific post on your blog that relates to it, you can develop a human relationship that will inspire them to check out your blog.

After you’ve begun to network through Twitter, Facebook, or your social network of choice, you should continue to develop the relationships with those you meet. When you establish these relationships, you can begin sharing one another’s work to your own audiences. Again, it’s essential that you always focus on providing valuable content to your readers, so only share links that they will truly find useful. When you link to material from other bloggers, they will notice the hits coming in from your link and will be more likely to mention you or your blog. You’ll be amazed by the increase in traffic!
By Dan Toombs

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Successful Business Blogging Begins with a Good Title

Monday, December 27th, 2010


“All Marketers are Liars” by Seth Godin is one of the most popular tomes on the subject of advertising. Funny enough, the author admits right in the introduction that the title is a bit of an exaggeration, explaining that marketing isn’t about lying but about “telling stories”, and that “All Marketers Tell Stories” isn’t nearly as powerful a title.

The title of a blog post, similarly, can make or break the popularity of the blog itself. Imagine if you’re in line at the movies and you see two different films playing, “Flight 457″ and “Snakes on a Plane”. Samuel L. Jackson explains in interviews that he lobbied against that alternate, dull title simply because it just wasn’t very good from a marketing perspective. “Snakes on a Plane” is silly, but immediately descriptive, powerful, catchy and it proved to be a real ticket-seller.

Your title is how you make your first impression. You want it to be capable of jumping right out at the reader from a list of blog posts. Here are a few key ingredients to a great title for your next blog post.

It’s Incendiary

If a blog post is controversial, you can bet that people from both sides of the fence are going to click on it. It’s a bit of a cheap gimmick, but as long as the tone of the actual post is moderate and reasonable, you can get away with an incendiary, controversial title without being called out as a crazy extremist. This is possible even when it comes to, say, computer products. A title like “Are Macs Garbage?” is going to get more clicks than “Macs Are Useful But They Have Some Flaws”.

It’s Catchy

The shorter the better. Simple as that. “Catchy” is all about strong words and short sentences. Think about some of your favorite pop songs. “Billie Jean is not my lover” is catchy, even nonsense words like “Inna Gada Vida” can be catchy if they’re short and memorable. Keep it short, sweet and powerful.

It’s Immediately Descriptive

Just like “Snakes on a Plane”, you want people to know what this blog post is about before they click on it, or else how are they going to know that they actually want to click on it? Marketing is all about letting people know that you have what they’re looking for. Descriptive keyword happy titles work wonders.

By Dan Toombs

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