Scavenger Hunt is on!!

I am pausing from the convention series for a moment to announce a new competition! A fan sent me these pics, they were covertly snapped on an NYC subway.

A random sighting of UPG's bag in a bag!

To help prove the efficacy of promotional products, United is announcing the 'See Our schwag, Win a Bag' competition!! (I know you are excited about this)

How it works:

-See any United Print Group promotion out in the world, take a picture, send it to me, win.

-It Cannot be your item that you asked someone else to hold while you take a picture. (no cheating)

-Send in a picture, and the location of the sighting.

-Make friends with the person holding the item, and thank them for helping you win a new CAR! (...shaped stress reliever), and a bag, tote, or backpack (or 2) of my choosing.

Thanks for playing, send in those pics!

Reusable Bag Maintenance

I recently came across this article in Newsday about Reusable Shopping Bags. The article mentions that bacteria can grow in the bags when they are stored folded for hours and days before they are used again (the study was done by the plastics industry, big surprise). So I thought it might be appropriate to talk about a few things you can do to keep your bags fresh.

-Make sure that the meat and poultry that you buy are sealed well. Even wrapping them in another containing bag to ensure that there is no leakage.

-When you are done using the bag, turn it inside out and hang it up until the next time you use it. The reusable bags that I go shopping with are hanging on a hook behind my door. They are never folded up and shoved in a drawer. Especially if I use them to hold foods.

-Try to have some bags that you use for groceries, and some bags that you use for everyday items.

- If the bags smell funky, its not a big deal! Throw them into the wash. To dry; turn inside out and hang to dry.

If you have other tips about keeping fresh bags, send a comment!

You may just want to LOOK smarter

So because of these economic times, I've had to cancel my subscription to the New York Times. It is ok though, since I never really read the thing anyway. Actually, the Time's main function in my life was to help me look smarter. Which it did. When I would bring the paper onto the subway, even unread, I would get stares of admiration at the thought that I would be enjoying such a high-end publication. All bets were off as soon as I would try to open the thing and do the classic refold, only to drop the paper all over the subway floor. This would dash any hopes I had to impress people with my intellectual ability.

So in lieu of the paper and ink version of my intellectual status, I am now carrying the free bag that I received with my subscription. This contains; My peanut butter sandwich, my copy of The Queens Ledger news paper(no folding issues here), and a slew of the Recycled Pens that UPG has been using as our self promo.

The bag itself has a nice design and a beveled bottom for holding... Probably a newspaper. As far as the handles go, I like the look of them, but if the bag has some weight to it the metal ring handles induce arthritic pain in the hands. The colors are good, and the embroidered logo looks nice too. And there is a nice little zippered pocket on the inside.

Magic Promotion!

OK, fine, it's more like physics. But your sales will increase like magic. You will achieve top-of-mind awareness like magic.

Anyway that you slice it, this collapsible bag that fits into another bag, that is actually attached to the first bag is a damn good promotion. It may seem confusing but that is because I'm speaking cryptically.

We all know that bags provide the best Cost Per Impression at about $0.004. And the convenience of having a bag that you can easily carry around in your pocketbook, or even on your key chain (note the handy carabiner) will easily add to the usability of this bag in particular. Check out the more detailed pics in the Picasa album.