Promos in Japan Part 2

It is important to always consider your target demographic when choosing which promo you should be giving away.   If you have ever read my blog before, I'm sure that you already know this - and you're probably sick of hearing me say it-.  Here at United Print Group, we love listening to our clients.  It is how we are able work together to figure out the best way to increase brand awareness, and boost sales.

On my recent trip to Japan, naturally I grabbed all of the promos that I could.  Specifically whilst strolling through the city of Nagoya in the shopping district of Sakae, I picked up a couple of items:

These are packets of tissues.  Clearly, they are a useful item.  But what are these packs of tissues even telling me?

This one seems to be for a pachinko  arcade.  Arcades in Japan are ridiculously awesome, by the way)  This piece was simply a small packet of tissues with a full color insert.  Not the highest quality.  Its bright and cull of cute characters (it is from Japan, after all), but the poor print quality is mildly unsettling.

 But what the heck is this pack of tissues promoting?  The branding is printed directly onto the plastic tissue container.  and the quality is way better than the paper insert.

There is printing on the front and back.  There is plenty of room for info on this promo piece, but who would take the time to read it all?  Not me (not like I could read it if I wanted to, anyway).






So what is the point of all of this?  It is really easy to give out a promo that you know works because 'everyone else is doing it'.  When you work with United Print Group, it's about more than just an effective promotional product.  It's about connecting with your audience in a specific way.  Not just
catering to anyone with the sniffles who might need a tissue.

Japanese Promotional Products

Promotional Products are ubiquitous.  In our daily lives, we rarely pay attention to how many promos we interact with.  That is part of the beauty of promotional products.  We are constantly interacting with, and taking note of, brands who provide us with promos.  And all in a subtle and useful way.

This is not a uniquely American phenomenon.  I recently returned from Japan and I did my best to procure as many promo items as I could.  When you cannot read the language, this can be a rather tricky situation because I  didn't always know what the promos were touting.  So I was in a bar when I spotted this one:

The Japanese are infamous for their love of smoking.  This lighter (I have no idea what the website they are telling me to go to is, and I don't intend to find out- especially on my work computer-) is a great promotional product for Japan.  Most cigarette smoking goes down inside bars, restaurants, and special smoking sections of buildings.  Whenever people gather to smoke, someone always needs a light.

This, like most promo products in Japan has a QR code.  The best way to drive people to your website is to give out something that is often used and shared.  The QR code enables someone who is borrowing your lighter to visit the website without having to steal the lighter!

Are you a world traveler with a collection of foreign promos??  Send in your pics and I will feature them on the blog!  There might even be a gift reward for the participants!

Classic Promo's + Technology = The Echo Temple

When you speak to Promotional Product companies about technology, most will tell you about the most recent USB drive that they have done.  Or the automatic USB desktop back scratcher that they can send you a sample of (OK, this one doesn't actually exist...yet).

But, when an event marketing company in NYC needed promos for a high tech, innovative, interactive music display, they came to United Print Group.  Without getting into the boring technical printing details (there are plenty), I can tell you that event sponsors: Kyocera and Virgin Mobile were quite content with the outcome:




The Echo Temple from MPC on Vimeo.

Learn more about the whole project at: http://echotemple.tumblr.com/

Learn more about Virgin Mobile Free Fest: http://virginmobilefestival.com/

3 Reasons to Avoid Buying Your Promos Fom The Internet

I have recently been inspired by a slew of horror stories that people have shared with me about shopping online for Promotional Products.  Here are 3 of the most common troubles that I've heard about when people order online, and most importantly, the solutions.

- Buyer Beware

There are tens of thousands of promotional products.  If you ever try searching for a pen on one of these websites, you can get up to 80 pages of search results, no fun.  The beware part comes in when your order arrives and the pen that shows up does not look at all like the pen that was on your screen.  The pen may have looked like mahogany, but you found out the hard way that it was a cheap plastic imitation, and it doesn't even write well.

The solution: A conversation.  When we talk with our clients, we always ask them who their target market is.  You can feel comfortable knowing that if you want to impress people with your awesome pen, you will end up with an awesome pen, not a plastic imitation.

-It Was the Cheapest Option...  At First
Many online promo stores will boast that they have the lowest prices.  And that can seem to be true, until the bill arrives.  I recently heard tale of a lady who went online because the prices seemed to be better.  Little did she know that the special price that she saw advertised was for the red pen, not the blue one of the same style that she needed.  And by the time she paid extra for the laser engraving in 2 locations, she ended up spending way more than the advertised price.  That is just downright deceptive.

The Solution: Once again, a conversation with one of our specialists here at United would have cleared all of this up in an instant.  Do we claim to have the lowest prices?  No, we don't.  But we are competitive.  And most importantly, our client's invoices don't surprise them.

-A Day Late, and [many] Dollars Lost:
I cannot keep track of the number of times that someone has come to me days before an important event because their on-line store could not accommodate their time constraints.  Yes, you were able to save twelve cents per pen for your trade show giveaway, but what does it matter if the items show up even one day late.  Even after just one day, you have already lost out on potential revenue.

The Solution:  You guessed it, call United and talk to us about your time constraints.  We will go over a list of items with you that we know that we can produce in time for your event.  We wouldn't sell you something that you cannot use.

Don't Let The Holidays Sneak Up On You!

I know it's only October.  I know the weather has been really, really nice.  But, if you have not started thinking about your Holiday 'Thank You' gifts, now is the time.

Saying 'Thank You' is important.  We all have those clients who wait every year around this time to see what they are going to get as a Holiday gift.  I cannot say enough times how advantageous it is for you to give your client or prospect something tangible.  The holidays are a great reason to once again get your name in front of your prospect or client.  Give a good gift now, and be remembered the whole year.

Need help?  Need advice?  Don't even know where to start??  Call us, we'll help you in every stage, from Concept to Completion.

Dreamy Event Promotions

We recently worked with Sally Golan at Social Exposure Media on her event the Dreamside Pool Party.  United provided Sally with 200 Rubber Ducks.

The blue ducks even became the backbone of the social media hype campaign, complete with a 2 part blog, Facebook fans, and I think the duck even had a twitter feed?  By then end of the campaign, she had well over 500 rsvp's to her party.  And everyone was excited to meet "Charlie the Duck"

Having a crazy party and need that one thing that will stand out?  Call United.  Along with Corporate swag, Golf outing giveaways, and start up swag, United loves working with party planners and event managers.  Think of us when you need that special something that stands out and you need it in a rush!

Red Cross, Non-Profit, and Charity Swag

Working with an organization like the America Red Cross of Greater NY is inspiring and uplifting.  We have recently had the opportunity to provide them with some swag with serious importance.

The sweatshirt doesnt have a lot of copy printed on it, but it doesn't need it.  These sweatshirts went to people who needed them.

And then something happened in my personal life, the lady who lived below me left her stove on.  Her apartment caught fire that quickly came up the walls and made a mess of my apt.  It was amazing how the Red Cross were on the scene almost instantly to help me out.

They wrote a blog post about my story:
http://changinglivesstorybook.blogspot.com/2011/06/they-genuinely-want-to-help-people.html

So here is my post to them.  Thanks!!