A number of large companies love to celebrate back to school, so there is a lot of noise around this time, which makes it even more important to be creative and stand out from the crowd if you want to cut-through. Your products and services may not be specifically targeted to school age students, however, imagine the exposure of your logo to mums, dads, teachers and the future generation. Consider the following questions and perhaps you too could run your own back to school campaign.
Who is your customer – Mums, Dads, Children, Teachers, School Suppliers?
Why would they want to hear from you?
How can your product make their life better?
What is your message?
What channel would you use to get your message across?
How can you reach them?
Who would you close the loop, so they continue their engagement with you?
What will the customer feel about your brand after this experience?
A promotional product is a great way to get your message out there, especially if you do it in
a way that’s unique to your brand and is purposeful for the user.
Tote bags are a dime a dozen. If your brand doesn’t have a tote bag, there’s a good chance you have had discussions about it, or it’s on the to do list. And for good reason – it stops us using plastic bags. Good for the shopping, good for carrying your laptop in, good for the beach, good to take to events.
A good idea made better when the design or the intended usage matches up well with your brand positioning.
What we are liking are clear tote bags. A nice opportunity for brands that want to target people at events, as clear bags have become mandatory at a lot of big venues for security reasons.
So why not tap into this opportunity and leverage your brand engagement in a meaningful and useful way for your audience.
If you go to any office with a cake you are instantly the most loved person in the room. Particularly around 10.30am or 3.30pm. When people typically are thinking about food. It’s not time for lunch yet, but they want a distraction of some sort, and they are feeling food could help on both a physical and emotional level. Unfortunately driving around delivering cakes is not something we can do every day.
A hamper could be the way to go. Yes, there are a lot of daggy hampers out there, but there is also plenty of beautiful gourmet Hampers to choose from. Recently we produced a box of Truffles for a client. And for Christmas, you cannot go past a beautifully wrapped Christmas Pudding.
Whichever way you go, just give some thought to your customers and your business – finding that sweet spot between giving them something they want and something that reflects the type of business you are.
When you receive a gift that looks like it has been well thought-through, it’s a good moment for the receiver. You are impressed with the effort someone has gone to. Or the fact that someone knows you well enough to give you a gift that really resonates. A gift that you love so much you can’t stop talking about it.
That’s the receiving bit. Not that this is the intention of giving, but the effect of how a client will feel about you and/or your brand going forward.
So instead of giving for the sake of giving, give to create a moment or even better, many moments. That’s why well thought through branded promotional items that you gift to your customers and clients can really have an ongoing impact, and not become a one hit wonder… off their desk into the secret santa basket!
8 Step Process of Creating a Promotional Gift Experience
Who is the gift for? What type of person are they? What kinds of things currently resonate with them?
Think about your business / brand – Who are you? What’s essence of your brand and your brand values? Is there something that you are feeling increasingly passionate about?
Brainstorm with your Promotional Specialist to discuss the tried and tested and the latest and greatest, along with any other ideas you have.
A good promotional idea connects customer, business/brand, and the message – in a memorable way.
Strategic Design – Think beyond placing a logo on the promotional item. How can you create more for the customer through this experience?
Quality Check – Great design, poor quality promotional item – is not a good look. You want something to last more than 5 minutes. The ideal scenario is for the customer to integrate the promotional item into what they do. So they keep using, keep being reminded of you.
The packaging – Create the experience right through to the end. You want your customer/client to be excited about opening your gift. Anticipation is a beautiful thing. So don’t miss this opportunity.
If it’s a good gift, people will tell you and continue to talk about it. I have lost count of how many people speak to me about my Promotional Pens.
If you are looking for Christmas Gifts for your Customers/Clients I encourage you to start to finalise your plans to avoid missing your required dates.
The one time of the year that no matter how hard we pushed there is no way of getting around factory closures in Christmas and Chinese New Year.
Generally factories can be on leave 1 week prior and 3 weeks following the Chinese New Year which falls on Friday 16th February.
Dependent on what products you order, there could be a 12-14 week lead time. So to work through the holidays in the best way possible we encourage you to plan ahead by placing orders in no later than November.
Please do not hesitate to give us a call to work through the precise timing, based on the product, design requirements and your deadlines.
We are pleased to be awarded Finalist in the 2017 APPA Awards for Promotional Excellence. We attribute this award to our partners at StreetWork, for the opportunity to work with them in maximising the effectiveness of promotional products to help achieve their business and brand objectives.
The key to the campaign’s success was working with StreetWork with a long term vision, versus a short term project approach. This proved both beneficial for the results they achieved and for our ability to source and align products to meet their objectives.
StreetWork is a boutique charity that aims to help teens troubled by destructive influences and behaviour to turn their lives around through one-on-one mentoring. To read more about the fantastic work StreetWork does, visit their web-site http://www.streetwork.org.au/
Unless you need to grab a hat quickly to protect you from the sun, when attending to your garden, the choice in your ‘Cap’ wear is very intentional. There a thousands of hats to choose from. The quality varies significantly. So when choosing a Cap to represent your brand, choose wisely. Cheap cap, will mean less likely to be worn in public – because it doesn’t feel good and doesn’t look good. And therefore your leverage opportunity to creating awareness is substantially reduced.
When going down the ‘Cap’ path things to consider:
Material quality – does it feel good
Stitching – prominent or discrete
Durability – will it last a lifetime
Style – Visor, Basketball, SnapBack, all weather proof.
Colour – So loud you cannot miss it or too cool for school.
Branding – how big or how small
Ask yourself, what are you trying to achieve. The gift of a branded ‘cap’ is more than a gift. It’s a statement that someone is saying about themselves every time they wear your ‘Cap’.
A Cap is such a small item, and yet it can be so significant. If you get it right, it will be the ‘Cap’ that keeps giving back.
A brand for the future is a brand that concerns itself with sustainability. On the contrary, promotional items can help your business to become more eco-friendly. More sustainable. It’s about discovering the opportunity from investing in a promotional item. The opportunity in what can be gained, for example, what it will replace or improve, so you both you and the environment can benefit in the long-term.
The Oxfam Trailwalker had a target of reducing waste by $18K this year. One of the initiatives at this years event, was the sale of ‘KeepCups’ in replacement of paper coffee cups (that unfortunately cannot be put in the recycle bins). A great example of an organisation putting sustainability at the forefront of what they do – not just in the communities they help but in how they themselves behave.
The Environment is one area of sustainability, but there is also safety in the workplace and at work events. There are different requirements for different businesses, but using re-useable apparel (hi vis workgear) or apparel that has been produced with minimal, if any impact, to the environment and to the communities it is produced in, is a great step forward.
The thinking about leading or nurturing your brands sustainability, ties back to clarifying what your brand stands for? If your brand or business is looking for different ways to increase sustainability for both the business itself and the wider community, then I encourage you to request promotional items that can continue your commitment in this area. Don’t hold back in asking your supplier the questions around manufacturing, shipping, disposing, etc. This is what brings the value to the complete product.
If you are interested in finding out more about Eco-Friendly Promotional Products email: info@turnkeypromotions.com.au
Spring is here and already there are more people out and about enjoying the warmer weather and exercising their bodies to rid themselves of the Winter insulation, ready for Summer.
But what to wear? Athleisure wear of course!
The term comes from combining the word athletic and leisure. As the name suggests, Athleisure wear combines the streamline looks of athletic gear and the ease of use like leisure wear. Simply put, it’s apparel for the everyday and it’s also the fastest growing category … as can be seen by more and more fashionable retail gear like Lululemon, Fabletics by Kate Hudson, Lorna Jane and more.
The main qualities include:
– thin and light weight material
– bright colour ways / patterns
– polyester and cotton blends to give a bit of stretch and comfort while holding it’s shape, with maybe a little spandex.
The great news is there’s a range of styles available … customisation offshore or available locally where we can add your corporate logo … think of the number of impressions!
Tradeshows are a dime a dozen. If you have recently been to the ICC in Sydney, you will see that there can be up to five shows on any given day. This year alone, I have gone to over five tradeshows.
Tradeshows are a great way to engage with your current and potentially new customers in a way you cannot do online.
But it’s a show. It’s theatre.
The more theatre, the more engaging, the more customers to your stand, the better the opportunity for new business.
The same people are attending the same tradeshows year on year, it’s in everyone’s best interests for business and brands to continue to bring new life to their stand.
Here are our tips for putting on the show:
Each year start with a blank canvas – Open the door for some new thinking. How can we do it better than last year?
Communicating to your customers before the show telling them what they could expect when they visit.
Create space in your space. More room for customers. And the more customers on your stand, the more drawn to the stand will any passers-by.
Bring some fun. What are the fun spikes? This is good for both the staff on the stand and the customers.
Food is always a draw card. As long as it’s relevant. Having chocolates and snacks gets people, but it’s even better if the give-away has a direct association with what you do. Promotional products are a great take-home. If you take the time to create something that is too good to discard post the show, it’s a great opportunity for your brand awareness and consideration. Even better if you tie in a call to action.
Stand design… it’s worth the investment. It’s the difference between someone stopping or not. You want to stand out. What will it take for you to be up there with the best of the best.
Follow up! Get leads, add to your database. Then make sure you follow up and keep interacting after the show.
Energy is everything. Dynamic personalities that can speak to anyone and everyone and have fun at the same time. Find these people to work on your stand so you make it work hard, and get a great ROI.
Tradeshows are a dime a dozen. If you have recently been to the ICC in Sydney, you will see that there can be up to five shows on any given day. This year alone, I have gone to over five tradeshows.