BIC Closeouts — October 2010
Big savings on BIC’s closeout products. A nice variety of promotional pens and a few other BIC items. Several products are discounted by more than 50%! View our BIC Savings Promo here (PDF 783kb).
Monthly Archive: October 2010
Most Popular College Sports Promotional Products
With thousands of college football fans celebrating the the 2010-2011 season, the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), has released a list of the most popular college-themed promotional products to help any fan root their team to greatness. Tangible advertising used to promote products, services or companies, promotional products can be found almost anywhere and in virtually any form, even game day giveaways.
Whether they’re handed out by event staff or hurled into the stands by a team mascot, fans young and old can’t get enough of their team-themed freebies. These promotional product MVPs range from wearables to noisemakers, hand fans to foam footballs. Among the most popular game day giveaways are:
- Shirts, hats and other wearables
- Noisemakers
- Rally towels
- Lanyards
- Magnets and decals
- Posters and signs
- Water bottles and cups
- Mini footballs and basketballs
- Branded stress balls
- Key chains
Businesses small and large also approach college sports with the same fervor and excitement as fans. In addition to handing out branded products at games and tailgating events, they often send staff, vendors and other business associates team-themed products. The most popular options include:
- Stadium cushions and folding chairs
- Wearables (t-shirts to watches)
- Lanyards and key chains
- Golf tees
- Car decals and bumper stickers
- Phone covers and related tech items
- Coolers
- Umbrellas
- Calendars and magnetic calendars
- Pens
- Pennants
College sports bring a very large and diverse mix of fans together. It’s not surprising then that everyone from insurance companies to telephone service providers jump at the chance to get in the game. Next time you’re cheering on your alma-mater or just lending your support to an underdog, take a second to look at the name on your koozie or rally towel, you never know when they might come in handy.
Source: PPAI
Custom Chocolates Make Excellent Corporate Gifts
A great way to get a prospect’s attention? Custom chocolate gifts. Few gifts will deliver the impact of chocolate. It excites the senses like nothing else. You’ll be the talk of the office when you drop off these tasty treats. And there are so many options available that you can certainly create the perfect gift for your next promotion.
My favorite is the Two Pound Executive Gift Bar. It’s a lot of chocolate, and can be custom molded with your logo and promotional message. Available in milk chocolate, dark chocolate or as a two toned (milk and dark) chocolate bar.
Another one of my favorites are the premium truffles in a beautiful gift box. Or the chocolate covered cookies. Or the chocolate covered nuts. Or the chocolate bars with custom wrappers. Yum.
Click here to view just a few of our available options. You’ll be glad you did. And so will your customers!
Top 10 Uses of Promotional Products
People often think of promotional products just as something used by the marketing department. But promotional products have many uses beyond typical marketing. We often work with multiple departments within a business including human resources, public relations, sales, and yes, marketing. Here’s a list of the top ten uses for promotional products.
Top 10 Uses of Promotional Products
1. Brand Awareness
2. Tradeshows
3. New Customer / Account Creation
4. Public Relations
5. Employee Relations
6. Not-for-Profit Programs
7. New Product / Service Introduction
8. Employee Service Awards
9. Customer Referrals
10. Internal Promotions
Learn more about promotional products from our Promotional Products Fact Sheet.
Halloween Bags Make a Ghoulish Promotion
The midnight hour is quickly approaching, but there’s still time to order custom imprinted Halloween bags. My favorite is the Orange Frosted Pumpkin Shopper. Features a smiling jack-o-lantern on one side with educational safety tips on the back. Your logo can be imprinted above the safety tips. Includes black soft loop handles. The bag is 10″ x 13″ x 5″. A great giveaway to parents and children alike.
We also have an assortment of plastic die cut handle bags available in orange, white or reflective silver. Halloween promotions are a fun way to promote your business and safety at the same time.
Putting Your Logo on M&Ms
My favorite candy? Yep. You guessed it. They’re M&Ms. I just love them. Plain. With peanuts. All the cool colors. Anytime. Anywhere.
And I was even more excited when I found out that we could now sell M&Ms custom imprinted with your logo. Tons of colors to choose from so that you can pick the perfect assortment of colors for your next promotion. And custom packaging is available as well. Your next promotional campaign is sure to be a hit when you include customized M&Ms with your company’s logo.
Click here to view our M&Ms catalog with all the juicy details! (Approximately 8MB PDF but it’s worth the wait.)
Do you know the history of the candy? This is from Wikipedia: Forrest Mars, Sr. founder of the Mars Company, got the idea for the confection in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surrounding the inside, preventing the candies from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941. Production began in 1941 in a factory located in New Jersey. One M was for Forrest E. Mars Sr., and one for William F. R. Murrie, President of Hershey’s Chocolate. Murrie had 20 percent interest in the product. The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate which had control of the rationed chocolate. When operations were started, the hard-coated chocolates were made in five colors: red, yellow, brown, green, and violet. They were served in a cardboard tube (similar to Smarties). The practicality of the candies during World War II caused an increase in production. During the War the candies were exclusively sold to the military. In 1948, the cardboard packaging was replaced by the black cellophane packaging. In the same year Mars bought out Murrie’s 20 percent stake. (Read more here.)
Maple Ridge Farms
Can you believe the holidays are right around the corner? We have many great ideas about holiday gifts for your customers and employees. One of our favorites? Maple Ridge Farms. We’ve worked with them for years, and they’ve never let us down.
Some of my personal favorites include the gourmet brownies and cookies gift baskets, and the gift boxes with nuts and chocolates. Maple Ridge Farms offers an incredible variety of edible treats and presentation choices ranging from wooden gift boxes to towers. And not only do they have tasty treats, they have ham, cheese and assorted gift tubs.
Follow this link to their online catalog for tons of great ideas, then just give us a ring and let us know what you need!
Glow in the Dark Flying Snow Monkey
I am so pumped. Imagine the excitement, when out of the dark comes the Glow in the Dark Screaming White Snow Monkey. A promotional item sure to catch their imagination and attention. Why monkey around with boring promotions, when our Flying Shrieking Monkey will help your message soar?! Shoot it across the room and it screams back at you!
Click here to open the full sales literature (145kb PDF).
To see my original post about my Flying Marketing Monkey, click here.
2010 Holiday Catalogs Have Arrived!
Looking for some great gift ideas for your customers, employees or prospective clients? Well look no further. We’d be happy to send you a copy of The Gift Book 2010. This catalog features hundreds of promotional products and corporate gifts at many price points. Just a few of the products featured include custom wine bottles, holiday gift tins, chocolate boxes, desk accessories, clocks, photo frames, watches and art glass. Fill out and submit the catalog request form to get your copy today!