My favorite Unique Custom Pen

I picked up a pen from a bar recently.  This awesome, unique, custom pen jumped right out at me.

The pen itself writes splendidly.  I noted as I was leaving a generous tip and signing my check.  And the soft-touch coating on the barrel was a nice surprise.  But the beauty of this pen is the clicking action.  You see, the clicking apparatus seems to be designed after the new resealable top that the beer has recently adopted.

This Czech beer, Bernard, clearly has a handle on what makes a great and unique custom pen.  It's not like this is a pen that they picked from a catalog.  Barnard clearly had to design this pen from scratch and completely custom manufacture it.  Great work guys...  Now, I'm regularly pissing off my coworkers by continuously clicking away at this pen because it is so much fun to use!  

Now if I could only find a bar that stocks the beer so i can give it a try...

Tote Bags to Replace Plastic Bags. Time to Give a Great Promo Item.

Well, we here at United called it.  Reusable and eco-friendly tote bags are going to replace the ubiquitous bodega plastic bags.  Its happening slowly, but it is happening.  This particular article points to Toronto where, soon enough, plastic bags will be banned from stores all together.

Just like with getting rid of the penny - and in turn saving millions of Canadian dollars (commonly referred to as the Loonie)- our neighbors in the north are once again one step ahead of us.  Canada can no longer be called just "America's Hat".

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.