Custom Umbrellas Make Great Corporate Gifts.

If your Monday morning was anything like mine today; you barely made it in the door before it started absolutely pouring rain outside.  Rainy days like this one always remind me why I really enjoy working in the promotional product and corporate gift world.  We have literally dozens of umbrella samples strewn about the office at all times.  I am never stuck in the rain without an umbrella!

When you give the gift of a custom umbrella, not only do you reinforce your branding, but you are also giving the recipient something so useful that they will want to keep it as long as possible.  This works even better when the gift of an umbrella ties in perfectly to the message that your company is trying to send.   Take Rand for example:

Their umbrellas are covered in messages about 'stopping leaks' and list some of the services that they offer.  This is a brilliant way to use an umbrella as a gift and as a billboard.

United has umbrellas at all styles and  price price points.  Are you giving your clients something that they will use and keep this rainy season?

Unique Party Promotional Product.

Jello is delicious.  Vodka is delicious.  Jello shots are spectacular.

However, if you have ever been presented with a jello shot at a party, you know that you must either tear into the cup and use your oral dexterity to take the shot.  Or - at the cost of sticky fingers - do what is colloquially referred to as 'the finger scoop'.

If you have ever seen a delicious spread like this one:

You know you are in for a treat.  And your hands will probably smell like jello for a while...  (at least until your hangover wears off).

Not any more, folks!  With this new Promotional Product, your parties will never be the same.  Its called the Twist n' Shot.  And its less than $1 at about 1,000 pieces.

No more sticky faces or fingers.  Just twist the rim and your jello shot is free of any hindrances or obstacles. With a sleek imprint surface, your logo will look great and will probably be the only thing remembered the next morning anyway.

Sorry, Bill.

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/