Interestingly, the list doesn’t change much from year to year. The innovation comes through on the application…. adding a twist on an old idea works well!
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.
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.
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!
Marketers are always looking outside their walls to see how other marketers are bringing their brands to life. With this comes lots of opinions as to what is right, what is not right, what you would do, what you wouldn’t do, how far you would go…
At times you may find yourself wishing that you didn’t have the brand guidelines or the long approval process. That you could just go with it.
You are the brand manager, marketing manager, marketing director, general manager – shouldn’t you be the one to make the final call? You could well be the closest person to the brand. You are the person in the company that protects every inch of that brand.
Then you find yourself having a conversation with yourself about whether the loss in time due to the lengthy approval process is worth the loss in motivation, brand exposure, speed to market? Who are we protecting the brand from? People in the business or people outside the business. Given the volume of brand and messages in general, are we overthinking the details versus the objective and impact?
H&M and Kenzo, now that’s an interesting collaboration. I wonder if it was in the Kenzo brand guidelines?!!
And then you see examples of a brand execution that feels far from right!! You think – what, why, how did that get out the door? The realisation or reminder that positioning and guidelines play a vital role in building brand surfaces.
The art of marketing…. Finding the best way to simultaneously cut-through, resonate, be efficient, stay on brand, keep to budget and evolve. That’s when it pays to talk with someone who gets it – brand plus execution – and knows how to get it right.
Marketers are always looking outside their walls to see how other marketers are bringing their brands to life. With this comes lots of opinions as to what is right, what is not right, what you would do, what you wouldn’t do, how far you would go…