Promo With Purpose Today » Promotional Products Ideas

New Promotional Clothing All In Pricing and Decorating Options

Editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:00:37 +0000

PromoWithPurposeShop.com, a shopsite of Thorne Communications LLC, has just added a collection of promotional clothing that features All In pricing for custom polos, jackets, sweatshirts and more. An image link to an electronic “flip-book” style online catalog featuring available styles is available on the PromoWithPurposeShop.com home page under Promotional Clothing.

The All In pricing includes the run charges for imprinting in one location using ANY type of decoration method available for the item chosen including: laser, deboss, full color transfer and traditional embroidery. (Set up charges, shipping and sales tax are additional.) Plus, there are no extra charges for larger sizes (e.g. 2XL).

These innovative and upscale decorating methods give promotional clothing a true retail look. The following videos illustrate:

Laser (Click to view on YouTube)

Deboss (Click to view on YouTube)

Full Color Heat Transfer TrueEdge Technology (Click to view on YouTube)

Embroidery (Click to view on YouTube)

“We know how frustrating it is even for us to compile quotes for custom decorated apparel orders. It’s even worse for customers who are shopping completely blind online,” says Heidi Thorne, president of Thorne Communications LLC. “With the new All In pricing model, all parties on the order know exactly what the price is. We’ve taken the guesswork out of the buying equation. Add in these cutting edge decorating techniques and we think we’ve provided the best one-stop source for promotional clothing.”

With this new program just recently being developed, direct ordering online is not yet available. However, PromoWithPurposeShop.com customers can simply connect through the shopsite’s Contact page to begin the ordering process.

About Thorne Communications LLC

Thorne Commmunications LLC has been in the promotional products marketing business since 1999. The company’s president, Heidi Thorne, has been in the sales, marketing, advertising and public relations business for over 25 years, including a decade in the hotel and trade show industries. She is also the author of six books on marketing topics including the T Shirt Printing and Promotional Clothing Buyers Guide, available in paperback, as well as for Kindle and mobile devices, on Amazon.

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4 Greener Decorating Techniques (includes video on debossing)

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Thorne Communications Debuts New Greeting and Party Supply Website

Editor — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:00:01 +0000

Promotional products marketing company, Thorne Communications LLC, has introduced a revamped greeting and party supply website featuring Carlson Craft products. The new website address is ThorneCommunications.CarlsonCraft.com

The new site features easier navigation, grouped around categories of products, including:

Weddings
Graduations
Baby
Parties (Anniversaries, Showers, Theme Parties and more)
D-I-Y (Do-It-Yourself papers and supplies)
Holiday

“We were so excited to hear about the changes Carlson Craft was making to the ecommerce platform. It makes it so much easier to find the products you want,” says Heidi Thorne, president of Thorne Communications LLC. “We’re also glad to see the addition of D-I-Y supplies. Many of our clients want to be more creative and customize what they send to select individuals. This gives them an opportunity to shop for these high quality supplies online without having to depend on inventories at local craft stores.”

The site will continue to be updated with new products as they become available. Customers can complete their order, from start to finish, online. For those who require more customized assistance, a customer service team is available by phone from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), at 1-877-290-8487 or 1-507-386-2320, using code RVD30.

Customers who were ordering custom postage stamps from the previous site will still be able to do so until the new site is updated with this offering. The link http://bit.ly/CustomPostageStamps should be used for the stamps until further notice.

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ThorneCommunications.CarlsonCraft.com

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Popular Promotional Products by Political Party Report Published

Editor — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:00:39 +0000

Thorne Communications LLC has just published a new report on promotional products retention by political party titled, Popular Promotional Products by Political Party: 2013. Based on findings from the 2012 Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) Global Advertising Specialties Impressions Study, the report reviews promotional items that have high ownership and recall with the over 5,000 consumers surveyed worldwide in various metropolitan markets. Additional data on ownership rates by political affiliation were also done for the United States. Report author, Promo With Purpose Today editor, Heidi Thorne, then interprets what the data means for political candidates and those that are doing marketing for them.

Markets discussed in the study and this report include: Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver. However, since the focus of this report is on major political parties within the United States, this will only apply to United States markets.

“Many people don’t take into account ideological differences when selecting promotional products for political campaigns,” says Heidi Thorne, author of the report. “Having a good idea of what works for various political groups can help create a more successful promotion… and, we hope, more votes.”

The report includes a number of surprising statistics including:

One promotional product that all three major political factions agree on.
Which political parties exhibit a preference for low tech or high tech.
The party who’s retention of one ever-popular promotion trumps even the national average by a whopping 12 percent.
The party who owns the fewest number of promotional items it receives.

Only items with retention value are reviewed. Campaign specific items such as signs, buttons, brochures, etc. are not included.

The report is available as a free download to email subscribers to the Promo With Purpose Today blog.

Current subscribers: Will receive a special email with a link to download.
New subscribers: Click here to subscribe OR enter your email address in the form below.

Promotional Products Samples: How to Get Them

Heidi Thorne — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:00:41 +0000

Got a great comment in from one of our Promo With Purpose Today email subscribers: The most frustrating thing about promotional products purchases is to find a way to get samples as the catalogue cannot do justice to a lot of the products. True, but your promo distributor may be hesitant to send them to you. I’ll explain why and discuss how you can get the promotional products samples you want.

I’ll agree with the subscriber in that looking at catalogs often does not give you an accurate representation of what the product looks like in real life. It’s not that the photos are bad or misleading. It’s just that the products are usually shown as close-ups and isolated on a blank background which makes it difficult to assess how it is size-wise when held in your hand. For fabric products such as T shirts, it is almost impossible to tell how the fabric feels from looking at a photo. Colors are also tricky since lighting in a photo studio can vary from that in a home or office. So really the only way to make a judgment call on a product is to get a physical sample.

One popular “sample” method used these days are virtual samples. What your distributor will do is place your logo on a photo of the item you’re considering and send it to you so that you can get an idea of how the product will look when finished. Virtual samples are helpful, especially if you’re considering several items and want to narrow the field. Then order physical samples for those that are mostly likely to be winners.

Let me dispel a myth right off the bat. Promotional products distributors, except for maybe the really large Internet retailers, rarely keep a huge inventory of samples on hand. Why? Because there are so many products out there! In one database alone, there are over 750,000 different product SKUs (yes, that’s three-quarters of a million). So while most distributors have a personal stash of popular samples from their primary suppliers, they will rarely have the exact sample you’re looking for on hand… even if they have it available for sale on their website.

So what your distributor needs to do is order a physical sample for you from the supplier of the item. But here’s the rub. While many suppliers are very accommodating when it comes to samples, I’ve found that most do charge for them. So, in turn, your distributor may charge you for the item you want. Additionally, they may charge you for the freight to send the item to you. Some may ask you to pay for the sample upfront OR they may roll the cost of the sample into your final invoice when you actually place the order (might be included in “shipping & handling costs” if not separated out). Except in cases where an expensive sample would be sent to you for review only, samples are non-returnable.

You might be thinking, “Well, isn’t that a distributor’s cost of doing business?” Technically, it could be. But if every client wanted a sample on every order, or if every client who’s are just thinking about ordering wanted one, your distributor would be running at a loss very quickly. Trust me, I speak from experience in this area! The cost for a small plastic promotional item, plus freight, can easily run me up to around $10 per sample sent when all costs and processing are included. I’ve even had situations where I sent samples of expensive jackets for review only. Customer didn’t return them on time and I ended up spending about $300 in samples. Ouch! Then they didn’t even order after that. Double ouch!

Not every order will require you to request promotional product samples, but these do:

High Cost. If the item has a high per piece price (such as awards or expensive leather goods), it’s usually a good idea to secure a sample for review before investing a large amount of money in them.
High Quantity. Doing a large run, say at least 5,000 or more? Better check it out before you end up eating the cost of a large order for an item that’s not what you expected. Suppliers for large quantity orders may also require you to pay for a production sample (they imprint with your logo artwork on just one piece) for approval prior to doing the actual run.
Custom Products. You will not get away without paying for a sample here! Distributors and the suppliers manufacturing the order will not run your order without your approval on a production sample. As well, the costs to custom develop products (such as mold fees) are paid upfront and are non-refundable.
Unsure of Quality or Suitability for Your Project. Always order a physical sample if you feel unsure about any promotional product you’re considering. Just be prepared to pay for it. Let’s just call it insurance.

So how should you go about getting samples?

Contact your promotional products distributor direct. Some may offer the ability to order samples from their websites. If not, look on their Contact page to either email or phone them to get the process rolling.
Inquire about both virtual and physical sample options. The virtual could be used initially if you are considering several items and want to eliminate some candidates. Then order physical samples for only those that show most promise.
Once your distributor receives your final sample request, it may take a few days to fill your order, plus shipping time, to get it in hand. Do not expect overnight service unless you expect to pay for it. As well, the sample may be shipping direct from the supplier which could mean anywhere from 1 to 5 days of shipping time in the United States, depending on your location. So allow at least 1-2 weeks to get your sample with normal turnaround.

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Sticky Post It Notes Ideas to Engage Event Attendees

Heidi Thorne — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:00:18 +0000

Looking for an event activity that’ll really stick (literally) to engage attendees at your next event? How about using some Post It notes? Check out these ideas for 3M Post It notes used to engage audiences and employees around the world (NY Times): 3M Says ‘Go Ahead, Make Something of It’

Then watch the video from 3M to see Post Its in action:

Check out the 3M “Go Ahead” Campaign Video on YouTube

Inspired? Some Post It ideas that you can use at your next event:

Post It Picture Wall. One group noted in the NY Times article created a pixelated picture on a wall entirely composed of Post It notes in various colors. Make it a group project on a whiteboard or other smaller surface if a wall is not available. To spur the creativity and make the project relevant to your event’s purpose, give your group a theme for their picture project. You could even have multiple groups doing this and have some sort of contest. (See advice for posting on walls later in this post.)
Sharing Wall. As also reported, a “Who Inspires You?” wall was created in Cambridge, Mass., on an empty storefront to engage passersby. Come up with a relevant question to your event and ask people to submit their answers on a Post-It stuck on a wall. It becomes a centerpiece of the event that attendees will want to spend time reading. Actually, I saw something similar to a sharing wall at an event on motivation. However, they used non-sticky paper taped to the wall. (Ick!) But it was a focal point for the day’s activities!
Question Wall. Similar to the sharing wall, ask attendees what they might want to get out of their time at your conference. The answers might surprise you and be a good guide for the day’s activities and future conference planning. My friend Adrian Segar, of Conferences That Work, has a TON of ideas for this! Check out these posts:

Discover What Attendees Want to Talk About With Post It!

Purposeful Promotion. For the sharing wall and the question wall, use Post It notes that are branded with your event’s or company’s logo and contact info. They’ll be able to use them for the activity AND take them home, reminding them of the great experiences you offered. And even though they’re not made by 3M, I LOVE the Slinky sticky notes that provide a desktop toy that’s useful. Click here to see the Slinky notepads in action!

Important: Even though Post It products have removable adhesive that does not harm most surfaces, check with your meeting facility to see what wall would be best suited for this use. Adrian has some advice for this, too:

Post It notes are one of my favorite promotional products. Inexpensive, useful and people quickly run out of them. So you don’t have to worry about giving your folks the “same old” promotion. They’re usually looking for them!

Have more ideas for using Post It notes to engage attendees or staff members? Share with us in Comments.

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Free Report on Hot Promotional Products by Region

Editor — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:00:50 +0000

Thorne Communications LLC has just published a new report on regional promotional products use titled, Regional Promotional Products Hot List: 2013. Based on findings from the 2012 Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) Global Advertising Specialties Impressions Study, the report reviews promotional items that have high ownership and recall with the over 5,000 consumers surveyed worldwide in various metropolitan markets. Report author, Promo With Purpose Today editor, Heidi Thorne, then interprets what the data means for marketers.

Markets discussed in the study and this report include: Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver.

“Many people don’t take into account regional differences when selecting promotional products,” says Heidi Thorne, author of the report. “This is especially the case when people are planning for events that are being held in cities other than their own. Having a good idea of what works in various markets can help create a more successful promotion.”

The report is available as a free download to email subscribers to the Promo With Purpose Today blog.

Existing Subscribers: Will receive a special email with link to the report.
New subscribers: Click here to subscribe OR enter email in the blank provided here and click Submit.

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Online Clip Art: How to Avoid Getting Sued

Heidi Thorne — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:00:10 +0000

Image Source: Pixabay CC0 License

Ack! I get an inquiry from a new prospect for a promotional products project. Located a suitable product and then asked the prospect to send the artwork for imprinting. My heart sank to the floor… another online clip art headache to deal with. What was the problem? Actually, it had two problems and one of them could have become a legal issue.

First, the artwork was a bitmap (.bmp) file. These are usually such low quality that they cannot be used for imprinting. I know I’ve harped about this before in other posts. But it does need to be “vector” artwork to print correctly on a non-paper surface especially.

But this artwork had a second more troubling feature. In the background was a gray “watermark,” a marking embedded in the image that indicates this image had been lifted from some other website. Often as you’re scanning through stock photo and artwork websites, you’ll see this ghostly image on top of or behind the featured image. The watermark basically says “this is mine and you can’t use it (or I’ll sue you unless you pay the proper royalty).”

The prospect, of course, was trying to save money and just found an image they liked on the web. Apparently, they just right-clicked the image, clicked Save As and, boom!, there was their “free” artwork. This is one of those “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” situations. Because it is posted on the web does NOT mean that it is available for you to use on promotional products or anywhere else for that matter. Should you get caught, you might get off easy with a cease and desist letter. Or the artwork owner could seek damages in a civil lawsuit. This is especially the case with sports and major brand names and logos. Companies such as Disney have been known to go after even small companies for use of characters. Promotional product industry magazines often carry ads from major brands, such as automakers, advising what would be considered infringing use of their trademarks.

In all honesty, I was glad the prospect sent it with the watermark showing so I could tell it had been swiped. Otherwise, there would have been a chance that my business could also have been named if the artwork owner sued. As a side note, any reputable promotional products distributor will not knowingly imprint artwork, logos or names that they suspect are not owned or licensed by you. They’re not trying to be difficult. They’re trying to protect themselves and you, too. Okay, enough of the tough love.

What can you do to keep yourself safe with online clip art?

Use Royalty Free Artwork Sites. There are a lot of them! Personally, I’ve liked iStockphoto.com for years. You do have to pay for each downloaded image. Plus, there are some serious restrictions as you how you can use the images. But what I like about iStockphoto is that they will help defend you up to a certain dollar value should someone challenge your right to use an image for which you paid a royalty to use and you are using it properly. There are other royalty free sites with images that are free to use. A couple that I’ve just come across are Pixabay.com and Stock.Xchng. But do follow their usage guidelines.
NEVER Use Clip Art as a Logo. For non-photo clip art, it’s often tempting to use it to create logos. I’ve seen this done sooooo many times, especially by small business. Don’t do it! This is not an authorized use under standard usage guidelines–even if you’ve paid a royalty to use it–and you will need to get permission from the artwork owner for this extended usage which translates into more expense for you. Better to either use straight text of your company name if you’re just starting out OR pay a graphic designer to create a logo for you. Those are the only two ways around it. Read To Logo or Not to Logo?
Make the Investment. For small businesses, it’s difficult to shell out maybe a couple thousand dollars to get a great logo. As we discussed above, if budget is a concern, just use your company name in straight line text until you can afford your own logo. I waited quite a few years before doing so myself. But when I did invest in my logo, it was professionally done and I’ll be able to use for many years into the future. Read Tips for Hiring a Graphic Designer for Your Logo

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Can Promotional Products be Used for Training?

Heidi Thorne — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:21 +0000

Know what evaporative cooling is? Unless you’re familiar with the building management trades, you might be scratching your head. Simply it’s a device that cools through the evaporation of water. Oooookay, now how can you explain that to a group of people who may not understand? That was the challenge facing one of my clients. And here’s how we solved the problem using promotional products.

When the client called me, he mentioned that one of the ways that it was demonstrated was by licking the back of your hand. As it dries, the surface becomes cooler. Strike that due to the “eeewwww” factor, especially with cold and flu season in full swing.

Next idea he had was to use some sort of sponge and water bowls to wet the back of participants’ hands. Less gross, but sloppy nonetheless. And slopping water around electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones is never a good idea!

So what we came up with is to use pre-moistened, packaged and disposable anti-bacterial hand sanitizing wipes, labeled with the client’s logos. We could have also used a hand sanitizer spray, but the client liked the wipes better. Problem solved!

Beyond the practicality of the solution for this event is a powerful concept: Promotional products can become part of the learning process. Promo With Purpose in action! Let’s see why it works:

Assists with Demonstration. The promotion itself is used as part of the training event, not as a gift or afterthought.

Engages Multiple Senses. In addition to explaining the concept on the screen with yet another PowerPoint slide, using the wipes or a spray would engage attendees’ sense of touch. The more senses you can engage in learning, the more recall your message (and your marketing) can have afterwards.

Saves Money. While you may wish to provide additional gifts or giveaways, the dual duty that promotional products can serve for training eliminates the need for multiple promotions.

Got a tough concept that you think might have a promotional products solution? Share with us in Comments.

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Customized Football Jerseys Promote Your Team… and You

Heidi Thorne — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:00:48 +0000

This NFL football season is going right down to the wire to see who’s going to make it to the playoffs. So why not tap into that excitement by promoting your company while promoting your hometown team? Customized football jerseys and sports promotional items are a great way to do just that. Let’s look at how you can use them…

You might be wondering how promoting another organization, such as your city’s team, can help promote you. Being “America’s Game,” NFL football has a HUGE following. People love supporting their favorite teams. If you can provide ways to help them do that with pro football gear, you’re going to score points. Plus, around Super Bowl season, anything to do with the playoffs and the big game is attention-getting. Use that momentum!

How to Use Sports Promotional Items to Promote YOU:

Their Name, Your Gain. Customized football jerseys and football T shirts with your best customers’ own names on them can become beloved collectibles. You can bet they’ll remember who gave it to them every time they wear it.
Start a Conversation. Over the years, I’ve often used customizable pro football schedules to promote my company. Any time I handed them out to my customers in the trades, it would start a conversation about the Chicago Bears (or some other favorite team). And it was a really cheap promo, too, since all I had to do was attach my business card to the top of the schedule.
Super Bowl Surprise. Did you forget to send gifts or cards over the holidays? Send a Super Bowl surprise package in late January, one to two weeks before the Super Bowl. It could include snacks, custom or generic licensed NFL drinkware or gear, or maybe even gift cards to local restaurants that will be showing the game. Because it’s after the holiday bombardment of cards and gifts, your gift (and you!) will get lots of attention.
Don’t Get in Trouble. You love your home team. But don’t think that you can slap your team’s name or logos on any promotional item. That’ll get you into licensing trouble with the NFL. Use genuine NFL gear! On promotional sports schedules, often you’ll see just the city name and the schedule. Now you know why.

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Promotional Products in the Star Trek Age

Heidi Thorne — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:00:58 +0000

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve likely seen evidence of my love for all things Star Trek (especially The Next Generation for you Trekkies who are interested). One of my favorite gizmos from Star Trek is the replicator. In the far future, this could be an amazing tool for the promotional products industry, as shown in this YouTube clip from the Voyager series:

Watch Worf Gets a Quark’s Mug on YouTube

While this is sci-fi fantasy, a promotional products “replicator” is not to far off into the future, thanks to the miracle of 3D printing. Check out this video and article that appeared on the tech news resource Mashable.com:

Read Turn Yourself into a 3D Action Figure with 3D Printing on Mashable.com

This is going to be the biggest development coming in the promotional products industry. Here are the issues that implementation of this developing technology will affect:

Inventory Issues. With the possible exception of being out of material to load in a 3D printer, we’ll never have to worry about being “out of stock” on an item we want.
Customization to the Max. Over the years, I can’t tell you how many requests I’ve received for custom molded figures or custom designed products. Typically that means a large quantity into the 5,000 to 10,000 range minimum, high cost to create the design, custom molding a model, sometimes overseas production… it’s a major undertaking. And with the small business and events folks I serve, usually their quantity needed is less than 500, sometimes less than 100. It will all be possible, even on a small scale.
Timing. Need it turned around in a couple of days? Well, we have that now, especially with some of my amazing promo supplier partners. But with 3D printing, the only limitation is how fast the machine can crank out the quantity needed.
Onsite Promo. While the technology is not developed far enough to be placed on a desktop as inkjet printers are today, in the farther future, this could be used to “print” promotional products onsite at trade shows and events. No more boxes of unused and wasted promos sitting around!
Same Swag, Different Distribution. I know I may upset a few of my promo industry pals, but let’s consider the day when this 3D technology is ready for desktop use in a typical office. What role will promotional products distributors play in this future? And will there even be a role? In the transition period (could be years or even decades), distributors will be able to fill a consulting role as people learn to use the technology for marketing. Actually, this is not too much different than what has already been happening with the emergence of retail promotional product shopping sites online. Distributors have had to learn how to stay relevant by offering expanded marketing service to their customers.

What’s not clear is how on-demand “printing” will affect good ol’ standbys such as imprinted T shirts, glass and metal items. But I look at other industries where CNC (computer numerical control) machines can create custom metal parts. And from the Mashable video, it appears that ceramics or ceramic-like items are already doable. Fabrics? Well, that might be a stretch for a while (no pun intended for T shirts).

The bottom line is that 3D printing will fundamentally change the promo industry… forever.

See any other ways this will affect your marketing and promotion in the future? Share with us in Comments below. And for more promotional products news and tips, subscribe to our Promo With Purpose Today email updates by entering your email below and clicking Sign Me Up!

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