Posts Tagged ‘Turnkey Promotions’

Not just another… Wellbeing Product

Wellbeing products are somewhat ubiquitous these days. You’ll see them lining the walls of a pharmacy, perhaps stuffed in next to the Cadbury’s or even right at the checkout to prompt a last minute ‘Oh gosh I forgot about X’s birthday’. The ever-presence is for a good reason though. They’re an excellent gift idea, having a universal appeal and a price range that lets consumers pay a little or a lot whilst still getting a presentable, quality product.

Everyone likes to be pampered. Everyone likes to smell nice and feel detoxified. Consumer engagement is very high with wellness products and it’s only getting higher. With the recent surge in popularity of wellness and spirituality, more natural products such as diffusers are seeing a high adoption rate and their place in the gift market gives them an even broader reach.

Smelling great and getting comfy can be done on a budget with wellness products, and the potential for customisation and creativity is strong. Diffusers in particular can be tailored to a variety of tastes, or perhaps more accurately smells. As Promotherapy, a producer of sensory promotional products, puts it:

‘Marketing isn’t meant to be bland and boring, it should engage all the senses.’

The results are scientifically proven too. Our senses are tied to our memories, and positive stimuli that engages some or all of our senses can invoke a strong emotional reaction, as shown in a recent study carried out by the National Institute of Neuroscience in Turin, Italy.

https://www.livescience.com/8426-brain-link-sounds-smells-memory-revealed.html

Certain types of diffuser have even been shown to increase house prices! Driving up asking prices by as much as $100,000! Now that’s a strong smell.

https://www.realestate.com.au/news/does-a-scent-sway-buyers-during-an-inspection/

So don’t underestimate the power of these seemingly simple products. By effectively utilising wellness products (smells in particular!) you’ll see your brand retention and engagement improve spectacularly!

Not Just Another.. Beanie

Winter is on the doorstep. Head protection from extreme weather is a necessity… for how many weeks of the year, all depends on where you live and how often you travel to cold climates.

From another perspective, head attire can have nothing to do with protection, but more to do with a personal identity, statement or association. Celebrities known for wearing a beanie in the summertime include: Robert Pattinson, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, David Beckham and Liam Hemsworth.

Here are some different ways you can wear a beanie, thanks to instyle.com.au:

  • Take a casual approach – team up with a pair or sneakers
  • Patterned beanie – Wear with block colour outfit
  • Work the tones – Compile your outfit on different tones of the one colour
  • Dress up your beanie – Wear with a tailored coat and Knee high boots
  • Off-duty model – Match with leather jacket, skinny pants, and sneakers.
  • Play with Texture – A fluffy beanie with a fluffy jacket.
  • Stripes – Beanies with stripes.

What are some other interesting facts about beanies:

  • There is a world record for the most beanies worn at once. One hundred beanies, by a man in New York, in 2016.
  • It’s believed that the first beanie dated back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
  • 1990s, the beanie increased in its attractiveness, becoming a favorite accessory for skaters and snowboarders

So we get that beanies have been around for a long time and are super popular, both in winter and summer. So how can you make a branded beanie work? There are lots of fun and cool things you can do with beanies: animal designs; full colour images, branding or messaging; ear warmers; visors; or even a pompom on top. It also comes down to your brand personality, message and the theme/event you are tapping into.

Lots of brands do caps and visors, so why not try something a little different. Beanies are a great way to tap into the millennial market; if you want to go for the grungy / anti-social movement; and also the adventure tourism market (involves exploration or travel to remote exotic areas) – a market which is expected to grow by 20% in the next 5 years.

Not just another…. Cap

Brand Experience

Experiences over Products – What does this mean for your brand?

Brand Experience

According to Euromonitor International, “There is a fundamental shift in consumer values towards experiences over things that bring happiness and wellbeing, with spending on experiences like travel, leisure and food service to rise to US$8.0 trillion by 2030.”

Millennials are driving this change:

  • 91% of Australian Millennials (aged 18-34) attended a live event, ranging from entertainment-focused experiences like concerts and beer festivals, to more cause-related events like marches and rallies.
  • 81% said they would choose to buy an experience rather than something desirable, ahead of their Gen X (35-45) peers at 72%.

So what’s shaping the experiential economy, they believe the growth is derived from (according to Eventbrite a Event Platform):

  1. People crave interactions off social media – Four out of five millennials say that attending live events makes them feel more connected to other people, the community, and the world.
  2. People are looking for a new perspective – In a world where the today’s headlines are yesterday’s old news, in-person events provide the opportunity to connect and gain perspective.
  3. Our cultural climate is shifting – A high percentage of people believe it’s essential for people to come together in person to promote positive change
  4. Millennials are starting families – Seven in 10 (69%) of both younger and older millennials attend live events to challenge themselves and escape everyday routines. Their interest in attending events doesn’t lessen once they start families.
  5. Livestreaming is making experiences more valuable – According to Facebook, people spend more than 3x more time watching a live video than a recorded video.

1. Knowing this what can we do about it when it comes to branding:

  • Create experiences. Start small if you have to. Some ideas to get you thinking:
  • Tasting testing before purchase. Mezzina do a great job of this.
  • Offer classes. The Sydney Fishing School has done a great job of this. Now we are seeing cooking classes pop-up everywhere.
  • Collaborate with a partners to hold an event – We are seeing this happen more and more. You split the costs whilst cross-leveraging your audience.
  • Demonstrations. They have been around for a long time, and they continue to pull a crowd. But it’s not an ordinary demonstration… people want theatre. So give them theatre. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money, it may just mean that the demonstrator is highly entertaining.

2. Crossing over to the virtual world. Real estate agents, particularly ones selling off the plan dwellings are using virtual technology to enhance the buyers experience. It completely changes what you can deliver to a customer – without being limited by your location.

3. Bring your product to where the people are. Race days do a great job of this. You can go and have your make-up and hair professionally touched up, and not have to the leave the race course.

4. Social Media… make it seamless, make it effortless, make the audience feel like they couldn’t possibly not share this experience with their online friends.

5. Branding – Every brand has not choice but to have a level of coolness. Even if it’s a daggy cool brand. Over emphasising your positioning, so your customers, get it and embrace it, because they want to create a ‘by-association’ run off-effect. If I am in this place, experiencing this, then this says something about me that I want others to also know.

We cannot go past the inclusion of promotional products to help you create a deeper more engaging experience for your customers. People love tactile things, they love to touch, and take something away with them. Whether it’s a hat at a sporting match, drink bottles at a running festival, showbags at a conference, T-Shirts at a music event, USB’s after a presentation. Consider how you stretch the experience and the memory to continue beyond the event… this is something promotional products can definitely help you achieve.

Inductive Phone Charger

Not Just Another… Charger

Inductive Phone Charger

Running out of mobile battery has climbed ahead of death and public speaking as our biggest fear! How life has changed!!! This is a bit of a joke, but there is a thing called “low battery anxiety’. An LG Survey revealed (sourced by Daily Mail Uk):

  • 90% of us panic about losing power on our phones
  • 32% of us will drop everything to head home and charge phones

With the current battery capacity compared to the power required to run more complex apps at faster speeds, our batteries are running out a lot sooner than they ever did.  

Phone charging Technology continues to improve. With wireless charging becoming the latest must have.

What’s so good about the inductive wireless charger, is the charger transfers power from a charging device to a receiver without a cable. On top of that, you can brand your own wireless inductive charger, as a means of reducing ‘low battery anxiety’ for your customers or staff.

Phones that have wireless charging:

  • Apple iPhone: 8, 8 Plus, X
  • Samsung Galaxy: S9, S9+, Note 8, S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, Note 5, S6, S6 Edge
  • LG: V30, G6 (US version only), G4 (optional), G3 (optional)
  • Microsoft Lumia: 1520, 1020, 930, 929, 928, 920
  • Google Nexus: 4, 5, 6, 7 (2013)

Benefits of a wireless charger:

  • Safe way to charge your phone
  • Easy to charge by placing your phone on the charger
  • Never have to find the right cable for your phone.
  • Can listen to music and charge your phone at the same time

Not just another.. USB

Promotional T-Shirt

Not Just Another… Promotional T-Shirt

Promotional T-Shirt

The trusted t-shirt first debuted during the Spanish-American war between 1898 to 1913. They were worn under the Navy uniform and to the delight of all the t-shirt fans, undergarments they did not remain.

The prices people are willing to pay for t-shirts has blown out in a big way. This isn’t a new thing. A Run DMC Adidas t-shirt, produced on the back of the 80’s hip hop music movement had willing fans spending $13,000 on a DMC (in collaboration with Adidas) concert t-shirt. A 100% pure cotton t-shirt, round neck-line, short sleeves. Made for comfort… and made for value! T-shirts as an investment strategy, something to think about??!!

So what’s so appealing about the t-shirt:

  1. Easy entry level – to design, manufacture.
  2. In Australia – we are in t-shirts 9 months of the year – so usage is high.
  3. It crosses all demographics and socio-economic groups.
  4. It provides high-end brands to produce less expensive products to reach a wider audience, though still charge a premium.
  5. The versatility of the t-shirt – can be dressed up or dressed down.
  6. T-shirts are becoming increasingly ‘all occasions’ socially acceptable.

Promotional T-shirts to promote your business, brand, product, message:

Is a very good idea. If you put thought into who will be wearing it, the design, the quality and creating a tee that they want to keep wearing versus storing in the bottom of the drawer. The initial costs per person may be high if comparing to other communication mediums, but the engagement opportunity could far outweigh this. Not only is the person completely engaged with the t-shirt and consequently your brand, but the number of people they cross paths with whilst wearing your t-shirt can create many more impressions of your brand for years to come. Then you can go further to social media, if they are posting images wearing the t-shirt, this will further grow your reach.

The catch is – relevant message, good design, good quality.

Quality says just as much about your brand as does the design and message. So don’t surpass such an important component.

T-shirt fabrics details

  • Combed cotton – Fine brushes are used to eliminate short strands and straighten fibers, making the fabric stronger, softer, smoother and perfect to screen print.
  • Jersey – A stretchy knit typically made from cotton or a synthetic blend, it’s very flexible and comfy.
  • Organic Cotton – Cotton grown with minimal fertilizers and pesticides. Usually softer and more expensive than treated cotton.
  • Pigment dyed – A coloring process that coats the outside of the fibers, it can create a faded, worn-in look.
  • Polyester – Maintains its shape well and resists shrinking and wrinkles. Traditionally polyester is non breathable unless moisture wicking / cool dry treated making the fabric pull heat and sweat away from the skin for rapid evaporatio out of the fabric.
  • Polycotton – generally a polyester and cotton blend.
  • Rayon – A breathable man-made fibre made out of trees, cotton, and woody plants. Has a silky hand, yet wrinkles. Also called viscose.
  • Bamboo – tees made from bamboo fabric are beautifully soft, sustainable, easy to straighten, dye and the fabric has a splendid colour effect of pigmentation. Can also be known as rayon.
  • Rib knit – A ridged pattern that creates a thick, structured garment with a lot of give – usually this fabric can be used around the neck and sleeve to provide more structure.

Some of the list of t-shirt fabrics was sourced from: https://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/sweaters-tops/t-shirt-fabric

Where is the t-shirt made?

Look for the WRAP accreditation label. Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education.

Do your homework and/or work with someone who has a sounds knowledge of the ins and outs of global manufacturing, so you receive the right product for your business – particularly if your business/brand chooses to align with ethical and environmental compliant business.

Sensory Marketing – Next Level Engagement

“In his 2005 book Brand Sense, branding expert Martin Lindstrom argued that those that invest in multisensory branding are likely to have a loyal customer base.” https://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/multisensory-branding-immersing-all-five-senses

A book written more than 10 years ago and we are glued to our digital screens more than ever. However, we are seeing consumer trends move from material to experiences.

A ‘Smells and Emotions’ study of 1,000 people by psychologist Silvia Alava, found that people remember 35% of what they smell and only 5% of what they see. And that 85% of people said happy moments were recalled with certain smells.

So how does a brand tap into the senses? How can you taste or smell an App for example or an online brand, or a charity?

We find ourselves in an environment that has a lot of noise. Yes we might be able to reach our audience, but will they remember you/your brand? There are more brands, more products, more messages, more channels. A creative problem awaits us all, which means brands to survive need to think outside the status quo and become more adventurous and continue to test a variety of applications to connect with their customer.

We are seeing online stores, like Amazon create pop-up shops. Fashion stores creating café experiences, fragrant collaborations across all industries, non-food brands opening restaurants, car brands selling apparel….

Champagne is a classic 5 senses product – smell, touch, sound, sight, taste. A magical moment that brings all your past celebratory moments in one. A lot of Coke’s ads have been based on how Coke stimulates the senses. When this happens, I don’t know about you, but it takes me right back to childhood summers and no responsibility.

We are not all in the space of creating a restaurant dining experience for our brands, but if we were to think about the 5 senses, what would our brand sound like, taste like, smell like, sound like, look like?

A promotional product campaign can take this knowledge and apply it to create an experience, a strong alignment with your brand where there is not just reach, but also recall.

Why Promotional Products Work?

Australian marketers spend more than $1.34billion on promotional products each year …. despite the growth in digital marketing spend.

“69% of advertisers said promotional products increased brand interest and 84% it created more favourable impressions of the brand itself.” Australasian Promotional Products Association.

Why promotional products still work for the marketer?

  • A way to position your brand, more serious, more fun, adventurous, innovation, etc.
  • It helps to grow your brands perceived value, through association, partners, etc.
  • If delivered correctly, you have a captive audience.
  • It can be an inexpensive way of engaging and connecting
  • It demonstrates brand creativity and effort.
  • You go beyond tapping into one of the senses and therefore have a greater opportunity of engaging and creating memory.
  • A lot of promotional products a kept and used by the receiver for years – creating engagement and personal memories with your brand.
  • The creativity used to get a response is the key to increasing profits and promoting your brand.

Why promotional products work for the customer

  • It’s physical. It tactical. People like to hold onto something. Evidence of this is all around us – people with their phones!
  • They provide customers with an added benefit – not just you advertising your brand.
  • If the synergy between customer, brand and promotional product is right, the customer will enjoy the association.
  • Customers feel special when they receive a gift. The acknowledgement of being a valued customer feels good.
  • Their impression of a company is more positive after receiving a promotional product.
  • They are more likely to do business with a company after receiving a proposal product

Not Just Another… USB

You can never have too many USB Flash Drives. It’s the one office product that never gets re-gifted, because you know how valuable it is to your working day.

USB has made our lives so much easier. Particularly given that a big part of life revolves around storage and convenient transferability of information.

They come in a huge range of shapes, sizes, colours, capacity and can be fully customised to your specifications.

The latest flash drives are super cool … you don’t have to stick to the stock standard anymore.

The latest trend is the OTG or On The Go flash drives that provide expanded storage for smartphones and tablets.  An OTG flash drive can be plugged directly into your Android or iOS smart phone to backup files, photos, videos and more without needing to be in front of a computer.  This way you don’t have to miss out on any experiences whilst out and about if you happen to run out of memory on your device.

However, not all USB Flash Drive chips are the same.  At TurnKey Promotions, we have staked our reputation on providing high quality products and only use a reputable technology factory providing A-grade chips sourced out of Japan.  We have had clients come to us after sourcing cheap ones with real issues such as viruses being spread, the memory not being as stated, slow read-write speeds and general dissatisfaction.

USB Flash Drives are a useful branded product that will still be in demand for years to come by your customers, staff and suppliers … providing your brand with continued impressions well into the future.

Here’s My Tip – Break the Year into Quarters

You have your strategic plans, your 12 month plans, now put this to the side and focus on what you can make happen in the next 12 weeks. Sometimes we stay in the big picture and forget about the small things that can make a massive difference. They also keep the ship moving. We just want to make sure that’s it’s moving in the direction you want it to go.

Here are some questions to get you thinking about how you can make small changes in how you approach the year and create an edge that takes you beyond what you produced last year.   

  1. What do you want to achieve for the first quarter of the year? Two things. Customer growth, Value growth, brand awareness, internal morale, database growth, etc.
  2. Now take it a little wider and look at the remaining quarters, what are the 1 or 2 things you can achieve in quarters 3 & 4 that will make for an impactful 2018?
  3. How can you build on the customer experience through-out the year? You might break it down into, as an example: Quarter 1 – Education, Quarter 2 – Inspiration, Quarter 3 – Participation, Quarter 4 – Reflection
  4. How can you increase your knowledge of your customer? What do you know about them, what don’t you know about them? How can you find the answers? By asking, social media, research, etc.
  5. Is there an opportunity to improve your communication to your customer? Is your customer interested in what you are saying? Do they look out for it? Does it add value?
  6. What can you do around your brand to keep it fresh, contemporary and relevant? A brand will continue to grow if you water it. So keep watering it. It might not need a lot of water, but it still needs water.
  7. What systems in your business need to be refreshed? Systems could range from how you launch products to how you work with your agency partners. Shake them up, in a good way, to see how you can improve on last year and ignite a new level of momentum.

Not Just Another… Notepad

Every man and his dog is doing or has done notepads. A long standing promotional product, that continues to grow. Year on year the notepad holds a top 10 position in the most popular promotional products. People still love stationery; despite being constantly tied to our phones. The great thing about the notepad is that you can make it work for your brand and your customer. It comes down to the type of notepad, the accessories you team it up with (e.g. pen or pencil), and the design. How and where you position your logo. What message do you want to convey to the audience? Is it a message that inspires and motivations? A message that people want to Instagram?  The target market is wide, so it’s just about finding the right style.

Some considerations:

  • Spiral, Stitched, Stapled
  • Hard Cover, Hard Backing
  • Lines, Blank, Grid
  • With Pen or Pencil
  • Material placeholder
  • Full Colour Print
  • Landscape or Portrait
  • A4, A5, A6, every and any size
  • Leather, Woven, Board

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