National Umbrella Month

As long as I could remember, the best part about March was always that it contained my Birthday.  I went on believing this for years ...  how foolish of me.  The best part about March is obviously that it is National Umbrella Month. 

And how appropriate!  If you are anywhere in the tri-state area, just look out side.  It's raining c's & d's out there.  My favorite part of a heavy rain (other than that destinct smell that fills the air on rainy days) is, of course, checking out people's promo umbrellas.  I saw some great ones this morning; some for financial institutions, some for social media platforms, and even one for Puerto Rico.  I guess if you pull out that Puerto Rico imprinted umbrella on a crummy day like today, you and those around you suddenly feel the need for a vacation to a warmer and more tropical climate.  Well, it worked on me.

Vegas Convention

Next week is the industry's big, big show in fabulous Las Vegas!! I will be there all week, and I will be thinking of you, my reader, as I go from aisle to aisle, finding the best, coolest, funnest, greenest, newest, and most unique items for me to blog about and for you to read about.

Looking for a special promotion this year? Do you have great marketing ideas swirling about in your brain, but you're not sure how to execute? Does your company only buy promotions that are forest-green in color? Now is the perfect time for us to talk! Drop me a line, comment, or email and I will be sure to bring you back some awesome samples that will tie your marketing campaign together like magic!

Let's start oh10 off the right way... By going to Vegas. Umm, that is, by going to Vegas and owning this convention!

Holder of Cards

This weeks' item came to me as a special surprise during my attendance at a networking event. A friend of mine just started out on her own to create what she has named: The Hispanic Network. I would say that there were almost 100 people at her launching event. And what an event it was! The networking was easy and the food was excellent. Maria really knows how to throw a networking event. She will be hosting more and more events in the future, so get involved.

What about the promotion? The faux-leather business card holder is actually the perfect promotion for a networking event. It is something that people are going to use if they are networkers. Hey, I actually saw some people using it at the event. This was a useful promotion.

The holder itself is ok. It's a little thin for my taste, it can only comfortably hold about 5 or 6 cards in either pocket. The imprint seems to be a little sloppy. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that the tag line; "Bridging the Hispanic Market and the World", is smudged in places. But, for something that you would pull out quickly at a networking event, the holder can look really nice (as long as it's only a fleeting glance). So this promotion serves as a reminder of The Hispanic Network LLC more so than an advertising piece. I don't think a person at a networking event would ever, by choice, show off a cheap-looking card holder. But as long as they use it, it will remind them to invite people to Maria's The Hispanic Network.

NY Jets Score Big With Promotions

I went to the NY Jets football game a couple of weeks ago when they played against the Buffalo Bills. If you saw that game, you know that they won based 100% on luck. I was leaving the stadium thinking that if they constantly relied on luck, they would never win another football game. Just then, I ran into a little bit of luck myself. On the way out of the stadium, they were giving away JETS promotional bracelets.



Not such a bad score, I've got mine hanging on one of my cube walls. If football-watching, beer drinking fanboy ruffians ever decide to wear a bracelet, I think it would be this one.

You can see more pics of the bracelet here.

Cost Per Impression (Plus Trivia!)

I was fortunate enough this week to have one of my fans come up with a great topic for me to write about. It is based on his own life experience. He likes my blog so much that his daily life is consumed by it! I think the rest of you should be just as devoted!

I'll share his email with you:

"I went to a ski movie premier last night in Portsmouth. corona was
there amongst other vendors giving away free things and like all the
college aged kids, adults were scurrying around snatching up swag. I
was astonished when I returned home and dumped my trickortreat bag out
onto the floor. I got lots of cool ski stuff and was not
disappointed, but take a look at what I found.
(Bottle openers!)
What do you think people will think about corona when they compare
their bottle opener to the thick, snowboard shaped one of
significantly smaller company Putnam Sports. Seriously, it's
ridiculous. I think it's to their advantage that the print on the
corona opener is so small you can't really tell what it says.

Aren't you impressed THAT is what I was thinking when I first saw those?!
Yay UPG!"


He attached this picture.

In this example, my buddy has touched upon a couple of very important factors.

1. Promotional products are just one aspect of a marketing campaign. Putnam Sports knows, and demonstrated this by appealing to winter-sportists with an item shaped like a snowboard.

2. The Cost per impression for promotional products is one of the lowest possible. In other words, if you divide the total cost of something by the number of people who see your name/logo/message, the cost will drop to below 1 cent per impression. But if the item is trumped by a better marketing campaign, you can loose a lot of of impressions. My fan's point was that; with so little effort demonstrated by Corona, it gave him a bad impression of the company.



Here is a Question, answer in the comment section or send me an email and you will be featured on the blog and we will send you a gift!

According to ASI, what is the average cost per impression for Promotional products?

Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Andy 'Rusty' K. of Boston Ma. For nailing last weeks question regarding the art on my business card holder.

Due to your extensive pop-culture knowledge, you will be receiving HubDude:



He is one of our friendliest high-quality USB hubs.

Thanks for participating, keep your eyes here for more contests and more prizes!

Motivation!

This week is WNYC's Fall fund raiser. As is typical with public radio fund raisers, they are offering thank you gifts to encourage listeners to donate. They have Logo'd promotional items ranging from umbrellas to coffee mugs; and don't forget the ever popular eco-tote.

Apparently, my pledge has earned me the Brian Lehrer '30 Issues in 30 Days' tote bag.




The value in this item comes from the logo on the bag more so than the bag itself. When I go to the grocery store, the bag will be an effective talking piece when I meet strangers who also listen to public radio and are environmentally conscious.