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.

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. 

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Check Out This Interactive Image of Obama’s 20lb bag of Promotional Gifts and Giveaways

By Fausto Mendez

    The White House held a Correspondent’s Party with People & Time Magazine at the end of April, and as usual, businesses from all walks of life were eager to get their swag in front of the House’s top brass. 

    The above image of Obama’s 20lb swag bag from the Time/People WH Correspondent’s Party is making its way around the Web this week, courtesy of the Washington Post. There’s a ton of stuff to check out, and it might even give you ideas for your own promotional giveaway campaign. Hover your mouse over the image to reveal red markers (dots), and when your mouse hovers over the red markers, it reveals some basic details of the promotional giveaway. 

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

Finished Work: Jumbo Tote Bag for the YMCA

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.

    The YMCA of Somerset Hills reached out to us this week for a low-cost, high-quality and lightweight promotional tote bag. It’s a rather simple project, and the Y’s imprint is a mere one color. Still, we’re excited and honored to serve such a well-known and established organization, such as the YMCA. 

    Promotional tote bags are some of our hottest sellers, and this one is made of eco-friendly and non-woven polypropylene. The bag opens to reveal a ten-inch gusset, and its face measures 13”  x 15”. A removable insert for the bottom keeps it sturdy and flat when lifted off the ground. The reinforced handles measure 20 inches from one end to the other, so this promotional tote is rather easy to carry. 

    Our clients love to hand out promotional tote bags at industry events, trade shows and corporate meetups because most attendees don’t bring bags to these events, but it’s pretty common for businesses to offer attendees informative media, free gifts and promotional giveaways. Of course, two hands can only hold so much. As a result, people really appreciate a nice tote bag, and if you flood the event with your bags (so that your logo is visible no matter where people look), you WILL make a lasting impression on the attending 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.

#DIY Promotional Giveaway: Super-Easy Themed Envelopes / Note Holders

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 promotional gift with a super easy-to-make themed envelope or note holder. 

    This DIY project is so easy, it’s hard to write at any length on the concept. In fact, Sweet Tidings managed to explain the whole project with a simple photo (seen above) and the following caption: “cookie-cutter cut-out note holder.” Basically, you use cookie cutters to cut folded, colored paper. The key is to cut right at the folded edge so that it folds open like a greeting card. The fold also enables it to stand upright, which is a pretty cool feature if you’re trying to make someone feel special or appreciated. 

    You can use the same process (with bigger cookie cutters) to make a larger version, though I’d hesitate to call it a note holder at that size. It’s more like a greeting card. 

    If you’re planning a promotional giveaway or promotional gift basket, I highly recommend mixing in a DIY gift, such as this one, to further impress your target. Promotional gifts are very common in the realm of business, but few individuals think about adding a personal touch to a promo. In this case, you can use the note holder as a way to deliver a fun, appreciative note, or you might just use it to identify the recipient. I’m sure there are more interesting ways to mix these into your promos; you’re only limited by your creativity.

    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: Plastic Handle Bag for KSPR ABC of Springfield, MO

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.

    We’re honored that ABC affiliate KSPR of Springfield, MO reached out to us this week for a fat stack of plastic handle bags. This inexpensive promotional item is currently item #668032 in our catalog, and they come in a variety of solid colors. The handles feature a fold-over, reinforced, die-cut design, and the front and back faces measure 12” x 15” with a depth of three inches. 

    Promotional handle bags function perfectly as custom gift bags (that hold other promotional giveaways), and they maximize brand awareness at industry events, retail stores, souvenir stores, music festivals, cruises, concerts, hotels, tourist spots and any place or event where members of your audience linger around each other for significant periods of time.

    AnyPromo is the low-price leader and one-stop shop for customized promotional products and personalized promotional products, and with a catalog of over 40,000 products, we guarantee you will find the promotional supplies that you need to launch the most effective promotional campaign - no matter your circumstances or budget.

    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.

DIY Promotional Giveaway: Chocolate Bouquet

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 promotional gift with a homemade chocolate bouquet.

    This DIY giveaway is perfect for courting leads that happen to be recent grads - especially masters and PHDs - since they might be moving up the corporate ladder soon. You might also send one to your clients’ kids if you’re close enough and not creepy about it. Top it off with some relevant promotional giveaways, such as a pen set or an iPad case, to add some brand boosting power to your gift. Don’t forget that the point of a promotional gift is to raise awareness of your brand in your target audience.

    Furthermore, you can adjust the design to fit a variety of themes, holidays and events. You are only limited by your creativity. Now, let’s make a chocolate bouquet.

    First, you should do some basic research to determine the best type of chocolate to buy. Some people really prefer dark over milk, and others love white chocolate. Some people love caramel while others prefer (or have allergies to) certain nuts. A little bit of homework goes a long way.

Step 0 - Gather Your Cooking Materials

+ Mini Reese’s peanut butter cups or a similarly shaped chocolate candy.

+ Square-shaped (not cubed) chocolate candies or candy melts (that you melt and reshape into a square). Reshaped candy melts work best.

+ Lollipop sticks

+ Mini M&Ms

+ Colored candy decorating pen

+ Flower pot

+ Styrofoam cylinder (that fits inside the flower pot)

Step 1 - Prepare the Cups

+ Insert each stick into the top of the peanut butter cup. You might need to make a hole with a toothpick before inserting the lollipop stick. This helps to keep the cup intact as you insert the stick.

+ Most likely, your hands are too warm for the peanut butter cups, so they are starting to melt. Place each of peanut butter cup right side up on a plate. Stick them in the refrigerator for ten minutes to help them solidify. 

Step 2 - Assemble the Hats

+ Use the candy pen as adhesive to stick the square chocolate onto the bottom of the peanut butter cup. Do not penetrate the square chocolate with the stick.

+ Sit the hats upside down for about ten minutes to allow the adhesive to set.

+ Create the graduation cap tassel with the candy pen, and use an M&M to create the button that holds the tassel onto the hat.

+ Arrange the caps within the flower pot by using the Styrofoam to hold them in place.

Step 3 -  Dress it Up

+ Use tissue paper (preferably cut into thin, long strands) to add some flare and hide the Styrofoam. 

+ Decorate the flower pot with a message or art.

Step 4 - Add Promotional Products that Raise Brand Awareness

+ If you’re using this concept as a promotional gift, you’ll need to add some customized promotional products with your brand logo on it. We have a number of suggestions below, but can also browse the AnyPromo No-Minimum section for products that don’t have to be ordered in bulk. Don’t forget to add your brand’s logo to any of these products.

+ Many grads have a laptop, and have developed some level of addiction to it. A promotional messenger bag for 11-inch or 13-inch notebooks would be a useful and long-lasting gift.

+ Some grads might enjoy a custom flag or vinyl banner customized with a band or sports team’s logo. 

+ If your target is a drinker, he or she might enjoy a corkscrew / coaster gift set. Writers or heavy note takers might prefer the leather notebook version.

+ Targets with business cards may enjoy a custom sculpture shaped out of their business cards and then placed inside a glass bottle. It’s a new take on the boat-in-a-bottle concept. From 18 wheelers to aircraft carriers, there’s definitely a sculpture that will appeal to your target.There’s even a sculpture of business man behind a desk!

    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. Thanks to Chica Circle for the pictures.

Finished Work: Promotional Cutting Boards for Milk Bone

By Fausto Mendez

    Our partner AnyPromo.com is a promotional products supplier/retailer, 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.

    Milk Bone® reached out to us for a promotional cutting board this week, and we’re honored to be approached by such a high-profile client. The above image previews the final design. This promotional product features full-color digital printing, so you’re not limited to by color and design. Check out the official product page for more details. Below, you can see a finished version of this cutting for another client.

    Promotional cutting boards are ideal for office lunch rooms. Visit clients and leads, and offer a promotional cutting board as a gift. It’ll serve as a friendly brand reminder, but it’ll also send the message that you really value this client and its business.

    In the end, you’re only limited by your creativity. The effectiveness of your promotional giveaway is dependent on your plan of approach as much as it depends on the product itself. 

    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: The Wine Cork Bulletin Board & 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 gift basket with a bulletin board made of real wine corks. This concept is perfect for any wine-loving lead at the targeted company of your choice, and you’ll have to down a few bottles to make it happen. It turns out you’ll finally have an excuse to drink on the job!

    When courting leads with promotional gifts, you’ll need to up your game if you want your gift to make a memorable impact. Stress balls and mugs are great, but they can only go so far. Attract leads with a high-end or DIY promotional giveaway as the main course, and add in some stress balls and mugs (with your logo) on the side. That’s how it’s done. 

    In this case, we’ll put together a wine-cork bulletin board, but because it’s often difficult to add your brand’s logo in a tasteful way to a DIY gift, we’ll bundle it with traditional promotional giveaways to add some brand-boosting power to the package. 

    The wine-cork bulletin board is a pretty basic project. You don’t need much, and you can easily finish it in less than 24 hours.

Step 0 - Gather Your Materials

+ Glue Gun

+ Paint

+ Frame

+ Wine Corks

Step 1 - Paint the Frame

+ Start by painting the inside of the frame (where it would normally hold a photo). Wine corks are inconsistent, so you might have small cracks between some corks. A black background fixes this problem. 

Step 2 -  Assemble the Corks

+ Glue the wine corks onto the frame - horizontally or vertically. Try to use corks with a consistent width and height for best results. 

Step 3 - Spice it Up

+ The bulletin board itself is a wonderful and memorable gift, but it doesn’t do much to boost your brand on its own. You want the frame to be associated with your brand - at least in the mind of the targeted recipient. Do this by bundling the bulletin with a promotional leatherette wine box. Make sure to pack it with your client’s favorite wine, so do your homework first. Don’t forget to add your logo to the wine box for best results.

+ Next, you’ll need a handful of cheaper (but useful or fun) promotional giveaways to maximize brand awareness. To stay within the theme of wine, order a couple of custom promotional champagne bottles filled with classic candies. To round out the gift basket, mix in a promotional mug, a stress ball and a high-end notebook. Get as creative as you want. AnyPromo sells over 50,000 promotional products. Don’t forget to add your logo for best results.

+ For the cherry on top, I suggest a personalized pen set made of maple or rosewood. In this case, you would add target’s name instead of your brand name for maximum wow. 

    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: T-Shirts for El Segundo’s Run For Education

    Our partner AnyPromo.com is a promotional products supplier/retailer, 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.

    El Segundo’s Run for Education 1K, 5K & 10K runs just happened over the weekend, and we were honored to be a sponsor of the festival. AnyPromo supplied the staff and runner shirts for the students, parents and teachers involved. Check us out on sponsors list printed at the back of every shirt.

    This marathon illustrates the power of promotional apparel. When everyone at the event is wearing your shirt, you can’t be missed. Check out the staff shirts below.

    At a more commercial event, you might also print the biggest sponsor on the front of the shirt to gain more exposure, but this non-profit event was all about the children. So we didn’t do that. In any case, the rear is prime real estate too. Not everyone’s looking at your front, after all.

    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.

Marketing in the Sun: Promotional Giveaways for Summer Events and Outdoor Venues

    Our partner AnyPromo.com is a promotional products supplier/retailer, 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.

    Brands attending events at outdoor venues can really benefit from a smart promotional giveaway campaign, so I highly recommend stocking up on a variety of outdoor giveaways, such as sun glasses, hand sanitizer and SPF-15 chap stick.

    Low-cost giveaways like this often have a big impact at concerts, music festivals, hotels, beach parties, raves and outdoor bars. People tend to be in a good mood - probably a not-so-sober mood - so the products often have a strong emotional impact despite the fact they’re rather low-end products. That’s because a lot of people forget to bring along these basic items, so they really appreciate it when somebody, such as your company, solves this problem for them. Your brand can really benefit from that positive and memorable association.

    Other effective ideas include: water bottles, color-changing cups, tumblers and tote bags. AnyPromo is also running a sale on custom beach balls this month, so you can choose from an assortment of outdoor promotional items that can really boost your promotional efforts. By the way, the products in the above picture are brand-spankin’ new, so they’re not on the AnyPromo.com website yet. Call 1-877-368-5678 to order. 

    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.