Finished Work: Laser-Engraved Pocket Knives for BioDiesel

    Our partner AnyPromo.com is a promotional products retailer/supplier, and the company’s graphic artists love to show off their #finished work. This is just another design of the many, many designs they finalize on a daily basis.

    Today, we’re shipping out a set of promotional pocket knives for BioDiesel: America’s Advanced Biofuel. The Kansas Soy Bean Commission reached out to us this month for their newest promotional giveaway, and - as always - we’re more than happy to serve another beautiful customer.

AnyPromo’s Low Prices and High-Tech Services Win the Order

    We were chosen to produce these beautiful knives for a few reasons, mainly because of our low prices. But we also have some of the industry’s most advanced and most precise laser machines right here in our warehouse. As a result, we often have more control over our laser engravings than our competitors.

    For example, if you were to purchase this knife through another company,  the available imprint area on this item would not include the tall side of the casing, where the cloud at the top of the BioDiesel logo sits. We can push the limits of the imprint area because we remain in complete control of the engraving, which is not possible with our competitors because they don’t own their laser machines. They rely on third-party engraving companies to do the work for them.

Your Custom Pocket Knife in a Variety of Colors and Sizes

    This custom, promotional knife comes with a gift/retail box, and it’s available in a smaller, three-function size and a larger, 13-function size. You may order any size in either metallic blue, metallic pink, matte black or shiny steel - as long as supplies last. So get your orders in because the vendor that supplies these knives won’t send us any more as of today!

+ Order the Small Three-Function Pocket Knife

+ Order the Medium Seven-Function Pocket Knife in Black or in Silver

+ Order the Large 13-Function Pocket Knife

    If you encounter trouble ordering for any reason, please, shoot us a call at 1-877-368-5678. As you know, websites aren’t always reliable, so we always have an in-house staff at our California location that is ready to serve you (during the weekdays, of course).

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

3 Smarter Promotional Giveaways for Trade Shows, Expos

By Fausto Mendez

    At massive trade shows, like CES in Las Vegas, promotional giveaways have morphed into an art form as companies from around the world aim to outdo each other with more effective giveaways, and it’s become clear that the best promotional campaigns are more creative, utilizing a strategic combination of products, messaging and distribution.

    Below, I list three (smarter, more effective) promotional giveaway ideas that can apply to most trade shows. We haven’t seen these ideas out in the real world - not exactly as we present them here - so they might give you the winning edge over the guys at the next both. 

Flash-Drive Bracelet as a Contest Entry

    We’ve seen wearable flash drives at CES and other press-heavy shows, but they are almost always used to distribute basic information, like brochures and links. These are especially popular with companies that target reporters because they make it easy to deliver press shots, link lists and other important details while allowing the reporter’s attention to stick to whatever’s more important. This is a pretty smart tactic, but you’re limiting the bang per buck if you stop here. 

    Remember that the main goal of most giveaways at any trade show is to act as a billboard for your brand, so you should design your campaign in a way that keeps these bracelets on your targets’ wrists. One way to do that  is to launch a contest around the bracelets.

    As you hand out the bracelets, tell your targets that one of your employees randomly delivers prizes to people that wear the bracelets on the show floor, but you won’t know who or where he is because he’ll be dressed like everyone else.

    Make sure that you have the prize on display at your booth to tempt your audience. Of course, the more valuable the prize, the more likely that people will wear it, so it’s probably better to hand out a few big prizes than many low-quality ones. Still, there may be situations in which your target audience might prefer an inexpensive prize. For example, condoms might be a very popular prize at SXSW.

 Promotional T-Shirts, Tote Bags or Backpacks as Coupons

     This idea can work for any trade show where you aim to sell to attendees, and all you need to do is print a coupon on your promotional shirts, tote bags or backpacks, preferably next to a very large version of your logo and slogan.

    The key is to hand out shirts away from your booth and to require the customer to wear the promotional item during purchase in order to redeem the coupon. As a result, attendees will put it on and later walk to your booth to make the purchase. The result is crowds of people wearing your logo and buying your stuff; of course, that’s assuming you have a product that people want. 

 Mugs, Tumblers or Cups for Access to Free Coffee, Alcohol or Water

    Promotional mugs, tumblers and cups are some of AnyPromo’s hottest sellers, but if you hand someone a free cup, you’re not pushing your campaign to the max if he hides it in his tote bag right away. As a result, your best bet is to offer free drinks to attendees that have your mug, tumbler or cup in hand. 

    Whether you offer caffeinated drinks, alcohol or water depends on your specific situation, but the goal is to create a buzz of “that brand that is giving everyone free drinks if you just use their cups.” Furthermore, you can use the opportunity the catalyze important conversations with individuals that may be interested in your product, brand or cause, and the cup will serve as a friendly, non-intrusive ad after the show. 

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

Bring Your Own Lunch Recipe: Single-Serving, Instant Brownie #BYOL

By Fausto Mendez

    Every week, we suggest a fascinating, unique and delicious dish that is easy to make or reheat at your office lunchroom. This week’s #BYOL recipe: Single-Serving, Instant Brownie.

    I know what you’re thinking, “Technically, this is not a lunch recipe.” And you’re right. This post is for an instant desert, and for #BYOL posts, we usually do a main course, sometimes coupled with a side or two. But we’re not prudes around here. I’m sure you enjoy a sugar boost at work as much as the next guy/gal, so I present to your our first #BYOL desert recipe. 

    As usual, the idea is to present a recipe that is easy to make or reheat at your office lunchroom. Unlike past #BYOL recipes on this blog, you actually make - instead of reheat - the brownie at work, so the beauty in No. 2 Pencil’s brownie recipe is its freshness. As a result, you should prepare the mix at home, and when you’re ready to eat, simply throw it in the microwave.

Step 0 - Gather Your Brownie Ingredients

+ One decent microwave

+ One ramekin or a small microwaveable cup

+ Two tablespoons butter

+ Two tablespoons sugar

+ One overloaded tablespoon of light-brown sugar

+ 1/4 Teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

+ One pinch of kosher salt

+ One egg yolk

+ Four tablespoons of flour

+ One tablespoon Hershey’s unsweetened coca powder

+ Two overloaded tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Step 1 -  Melt it Down

+ Melt the butter in your ramekin or cup, but don’t let it boil.

Step 2 - Stir it Up

+ Add the sugars, salt and vanilla to the butter. Stir.

+ Add the egg yolk, but do not add the egg white. Stir.

+ Add the flour and cocoa powder. Stir.

Step 3 - Apply Some Heat

+ Top off your mixture with some chocolate chunks.

+ Microwave the mixture for about 45 to 55 seconds. Do not overcook it! Microwaves can easily overcook food. Plus, a slightly undercooked brownie is preferable, in my opinion. 

Step 4 - Enjoy

+ I recommend being selfish, and eating it all to yourself. Like a territorial lion, you should lunge at any coworkers that approach you during this feeding session. But don’t be too selfish; share the recipe!

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

3 Copywriting Tips Supported by Scientific Research

By Fausto Mendez

    Copywriting is very much an art, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t hard science behind some of the principles used by more successful writers. These scientifically-backed #copywriting tips should graduate your game to the next level, no matter your skill level.

    Teaching copywriting is difficult. You can only lay some ground rules that point people in the right direction, and most tips and advice are merely opinions based in anecdotal evidence, relentless practice and educated guesses. So it can be hard to know what works and what doesn’t. Thankfully, Gregory Ciotti put together a list of seven copywriting tips that are supported by some level of scientific research. We summarize three of his more useful tips below.

1. Leverage an Emotion That’s Already There.

+ Tip: Find an emotion that your target often feels, and make them feel that again. Don’t tell them what to feel. Like a novelist, the goal is to craft copy that leads them to that place on their own. Then, mix your message into that good emotion.

+ Science: Mirror neurons can make you feel what you see. It’s why men cringe when they see another man get hit in the balls. Make your target relive the emotion by showing them a scene that takes them back to it. The emotion makes your message more attractive and more memorable. 

2. Don’t Sell Money. Sell Time.

+ Tip: Even low-quality brands hardly advertise their low prices. It’s something stores do for brands, but you almost never see a brand thumping its chest about its absurdly low prices. That’s because it doesn’t really work. Time is a more precious resource, so sell good times, not good prices. Miller’s slogan (“It’s Miller Time”) is the perfect example. 

+ Science: Customers are willing to pay more for good service, which means they are generally more concerned about quality than price. That doesn’t mean lower prices can’t help you outsell your competitors, but it does mean that you’ll have to convince your target audience that your lower prices don’t mean a reduction in quality as well. Focus on the quality of the product. The low prices market themselves.

3. Don’t Avoid the Counter Argument

+ Tip: Your product, service or brand is not the answer to your target audience’s every problem. More importantly, there is usually a clear argument against it. Don’t ignore the opposing argument because it will be recalled by the target when you present yours. As a result, it’s best to tackle those opposing viewpoints head on. Think about it: Pepsi doesn’t ignore the existence of Coca Cola, not even in its own ads. Apple doesn’t ignore the existence of Windows, and I’m sure you’ve seen car commercials that feature the competitors’ products. 

+ Science: Psychologist Charlan Nemeth tested two styles of debating, one that acknowledged the opposing viewpoint and one that didn’t. Of course, the arguments that did better are those that didn’t pretend there is no opposing viewpoint. That’s because when you’re “real” with your target audience, they are more likely to trust you, and when you answer their questions, they don’t have the opportunity or the desire to find answers elsewhere.  

   Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

Finished Work: Vinyl Slap Bracelets for iKon Lounge

By Fausto Mendez

    Our partner AnyPromo.com is a promotional products retailer/supplier, and the company’s graphic artists love to show off their #finished work. This is just another design of the many, many designs they finalize on a daily basis.

    New Jersey’s iKon Lounge just put in an order for red vinyl slap bracelets, customized with the night club’s famous logo. Though they didn’t share with us how they’re going to use the bracelets, we can imagine several  possibilities, such as tickets to an event, an indicator of membership, a coupon, or a VIP marker.

     These promotional bracelets measure about 9.5” x 1”, and they are available in a variety of colors. They cost about $0.66, depending on the quantity ordered, and the print itself features one color. When you slap these bracelets onto your wrist, they automatically and securely close. They are often used as children’s toys for that reason, but as iKon Lounge illustrates, you are only limited by your creativity. 

    Promotional items like these take advertising to a whole new level because they convert customers to walking billboards for your brand, cause or organization, so take the opportunity to one up your competitors with an out-of-the-box promotional campaign. Need help finding the best promotional giveaway for your specific situation? Don’t worry, our experienced customer care reps are only a call away. 

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

Download this Free Font: Hand-Drawn Letters (15 Fonts)

By Fausto Mendez

    Finding the best #free fonts isn’t easy (except when we post them here), but it’s always good for business to have some extra out-of-the-box fonts on hand. That’s why we spend an hour or so per week searching the Web for its best-kept-secret fonts.

    This downloadable set of free fonts feature a hand-drawn style as if they were sketched in colored pencil prior to being digitized. It’s a pretty neat style, and the fonts could really add some out-of-the-box flavor to your marketing copy, whether it’s destined for an advertisement, product packaging, promotional giveaway or other marketing tool. 

    As usual, the best font for any situation depends on a variety of factors, but if you find yourself itching for artistic, hand-drawn letters, you know where to find it. Download the fonts at Sincerely Peachy, or get ‘em straight from the source via the below links. 

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

Bring Your Own Lunch Recipe: Honey & Lime Chicken Skewers #BYOL

By Fausto Mendez

    Every week, we suggest a fascinating, unique and delicious dish that is easy to reheat at your office lunchroom. This week’s #BYOL recipe: Honey & Lime Chicken Skewers.

Like many full-time workers, I don’t have much time for complex recipes that require a lot of effort, but I do enjoy a delicious as much as anyone else. That’s why I love this recipe for chicken skewers, posted at Kitchen Meets Girl. It’s easy, delicious and doesn’t cost much to make. I paired it with a side of white rice, though the recipe itself doesn’t recommend any sides. Now, let’s get started. 

Step 0 - Gather Your Ingredients

+ three tablespoons of soy sauce

+ two tablespoons of honey

+ one tablespoon of veggie oil

+ (juice of) one lime

+ two garlic cloves (minced)

+ one to two teaspoons of Siracha

+ red pepper flakes

+ two tablespoons of cilantro

+ one pound of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. 

Step 1 - Prepare the Marinade

+ Make the marinade by combining all of the ingredients except for the chicken.

Step 2 - Marinade the Chicken

+ Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts. Turn the breasts to coat the back. Let them sit in the marinade for an hour or so.

Step 3 - Grill & Consume

+ Grill over a medium-high flame for six to eight minutes per side.

+ Eat. You’ll probably eat it all, so you may need to make a second batch for tomorrow’s lunch. Keep the recipe on hand!

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

How SoBe® Used Promotional Giveaways to Go Mainstream

By Fausto Mendez

    John Bello used promotional giveaways to grow his beverage brand, SoBe®, from a niche set of bottled drinks to a mainstream phenomenon that PepsiCo eventually bought out. Today, he’s building up new brands with strikingly similar marketing strategies. 

    Promotional giveaway campaigns work. Need proof? Just ask John Bello, founder of SoBe, which he sold for $370 million, and the architect of SoBe’s wildly successful promotional campaigns. How’d he do it?

Promotional Products 

    Bello leveraged the power of promotional products and a fascinating and unforgettable logo. Combine the two, and you have a series of high-quality promotional products branded with SoBe’s iconic lizard. Here’s how it went down.

    His team would deliver a box of promotional giveaways, such as keychains, to as many SoBe dealers as possible, and the SoBe dealers would hand out the branded products to SoBe customers. The SoBe customers are already fans of the product, and the iconic lizard logo is beautiful and striking enough that it can be appreciated on its own. So the giveaway has two main effects.

Customers as Brand Ambassadors

    First, it makes the customer feel appreciated, and in the customer’s mind, it creates an association between those positive feelings and SoBe (and sometimes the store itself). That effect makes SoBe more memorable, so the customer is more likely purchase SoBe products in the future. The store owners tend to appreciate the free marketing as well. 

    Second, the customer would wear or use the promotional product in his or her day-to-day life, and the eye-catching lizard logo would attract others’ attention. As a result, the product becomes a conversation starter for the customer’s friends, family and acquaintances, and this introduces the brand to new fans.

Rinse & Repeat

    As Bello continued SoBe’s relentless promotional campaign, his effort slowly paid off as the brand grew to mainstream proportions, but he’s not one to take too many days off. After selling the company to PepsiCo, Bello launched a new beverage brand, and he’s using the same proven marketing strategies all over again. 

    In similar fashion, the new company’s logo is often sought for the mere fact that’s beautiful. “Part of the trick is having cool giveaways and a cooler logo,” says Marketing Officer Bruce Burke. The second half of the trick is getting those products into the hands of the target audience.

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com.

Recipes to Boost Focus & Mood in Meetings: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread #RBFMM

By Fausto Mendez

    Pitching to a hungry audience is shooting yourself in the foot, so bring along some tasty treats - preferably sugary stuff - to boost everyone’s focus and mood. It WILL make a significant difference in the success or productivity of your meeting or pitch. This week’s #RBFMM sugar spell: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread!

Our favorite #RBFMM recipes tend to deliciously mash up two separate concepts, such as cinnamon rolls and cheesecake. That’s because, in a business setting, you definitely want to impress your meeting’s attendees. It makes your meeting that much more memorable. They will always remember that meeting as “the one where I tried a cinnamon-roll cheesecake for the first time.” If you’re making an important pitch, the incoming sugar high could be the difference between a success or a failure. 

   Anyway, let’s bake something. You can thank Recipes Quick’n Easy for original recipe. 

Step 0 - Gather your Ingredients

+ Filling: eight ounce pack of cream cheese, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar, one tablespoon of flour,one egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

+ Bread: 1 2/3 cups flour, one teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, one cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup canola oil, two large eggs, 1 1/2 cups sugar, one cup chopped pecans or walnuts. 

+ Glaze: one cup powdered sugar, two tablespoons half & half, one teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts. 

Step 1 - Mix & Preheat

+ Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. 

+ Grease and flour two 8” x 4” x 3” loaf pans.

+ Start the filling. In a bowl, mix: cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg and vanilla. Mix until it feels pretty smooth, and aim for a “cream” texture. 

+ Start the bread. In a larger bowl, mix 1 2/3 cups flour, baking soda, salt cinnamon  cloves, ginger and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix: pumpkin puree, canola oil, eggs and sugar. Now, mix the contents of these two bowls together. Drop in your nuts for good measure. 

+ Step 2 - Prepare for the Bake

+ Empty half the pumpkin batter into the two loaf pans. Layer on the cream cheese, followed by the rest of the pumpkin batter.

+ Create a marble effect with the cream cheese by swirling a knife in the batter. The goal is not to mix the cream cheese into the batter; instead, the cheese should remain separate from the batter. 

+ Step 3 - Let’s Get Baked!

+ Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick into your bread and pull it out clean. 

+ While we wait for that to finish, let’s make the cinnamon glaze. Take all the ingredients for the cinnamon glaze and mix them together. Add more cinnamon to darken the glaze. 

+ Pull out your bread. Let it cool for ten minutes or so. Now, drop some glaze on that B, and drop in your nuts for good measure.

Step 4 - Assimilate

+ First, I should warn you that fireworks may shoot out of your mouth during consumption, so keep a fire extinguisher on hand. 

+ Once you have your extinguisher, grab some bread, and put it in your mouth. I guess you can save some for a friend or whatever, but I wouldn’t blame you for being selfish. Oh yeah, don’t forget to save some for your next meeting, or… never mind, you’ll probably have to cook another batch.

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. Brought to you by AnyPromo.com, the Web’s low-price leader in promotional products. 

Finished Work: Custom Notebook w/ Strap Closure and PVC Cover

    Our partner AnyPromo.com is a promotional products retailer/supplier, and the company’s graphic artists love to show off their finished work. This is just another design of the many, many designs they finalize on a daily basis.

    L3 Technologies of of McAllen, TX is purchasing a fat stack of custom, high-quality, 5” x 7” notebooks featuring a strap closure. With the cloth bookmark, this 80-page notebook is the perfect note-taking companion for any professional, and the PVC cover will help the notebook last well beyond the lifespan of the notes inside the book. 

    Though these books may be used internally, they are also the perfect promotional giveaway for past clients, potential customers, loyal partners and generous vendors that take note-taking seriously. The recipient would appreciate the high-quality, long-lasting nature of the notebook, but more importantly, your company’s logo and message should be often viewed by the owner of the notebook and everyone around him or her. 

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis. 

#DIY Promotional Giveaway: “Thanks for your Commit-Mint” Gift Bag / Gift Basket

By Fausto Mendez

    If you’re a fan of #DIY crafts for personalized gifts and promotional giveaways, you should consider adding a personal touch to your next giveaway with a “thank you” gift bag / gift basket that plays on the word “mint”.

    This project is an inexpensive bag or basket of mint candies and perhaps other goodies and gifts. The goal is to find some relevant words that end with “ment” or “mint”, such as: commitment, encouragement, involvement, investment, enjoyment, environment, development, meant, etc. The words should be related to the effort that the gift receiver did for you or with you.

    After you assemble your bag or basket of mint candies, you attach a note that plays on the word “mint”.

    For example, if you’d like to thank a client for being such a dedicated and pleasant customer, your note might say, “Thank you for your relentless commit-mint. I hope your involve-mint and invest-mint in our firm continues tomorrow and long into the future.” The more often you throw “mint” into the mix, the better the note.

    Beneath my Heart developed the concept with an excellent example of a thank you note that plays on the word “mint”; we suggest you check it out if you have an extra few minutes to spare.

    If you’re offering this gift within a business context, you can also use the opportunity as a promotion for your brand, product or organization. Depending on your situation, you should include product samples and/or a handful of promotional giveaways, customized with your logo and message. AnyPromo is the Web’s low-price leader for promotional products, and with a catalog of over 40,000 products, you WILL find the right product for your promotional campaign. From custom iPad cases to custom travel mugs, there’s a custom giveaway to fit fit any price point. 

    Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin, and stay ahead of the game with an occasional laugh and non-stop marketing & business advice, news and analysis.