Bankers Advertising Articles

Promotional Products Work! – Utilizing the Power of Promo

October 20, 2021

Utilizing the Power of Promo

People around the world love promotional products and have been connecting with them for a very long time. In fact, the first known promo products were commemorative buttons from 1789 when George Washington was president. In 1886, Jasper Meek, deemed “The Father of Promotional Products,” started using burlap bags to promote small businesses.

With such widespread and enduring appeal, it’s no wonder that promotional products are so effective when it comes to creating exposure, engagement, and a lasting impact. No matter the size of your business, there’s nothing more powerful and effective than putting your brand in the hands of consumers or employees. Promotional campaigns are a personal, cost-effective way to help you not only reach your target audience but do so in a meaningful way that keeps consumers coming back for more.

October 20th is Promotional Products Work! Day, and we can’t think of a better time to celebrate the many ways promo products can help you to connect with your audience.

Let Us Count the Ways

So, how exactly do promotional products help brands get noticed and connect with customers?

You’re invited: Promotional products are the only advertising welcome in spaces and places that no other advertising medium can touch.

  • Fun Fact: Promotional products are ranked the most effective form of advertising across all generations.

Surprise & delight: Customized, personalized, tech-savvy, and highly targeted promotional products are the No. 1 most effective form of advertising to inspire action.

  • Fun Fact: Promotional products draw up to 500% more referrals than just a review.

 

Staying power: With more recall than all other advertising media, 90% of promo product recipients recall the brand and 80% keep items for over a year.

  • Fun Fact: Consumers are 2.5 times more likely to have a positive opinion of promotional products over internet advertising.

Inspire purpose: Impact a highly targeted audience through a social, intellectual, educational, and entertaining form of experience and engagement.

  • Fun Fact: Nearly 100% of consumers say they are willing to go out of their way to get a promotional product.

Get in touch: Promotional products are the only advertising medium that touches all five senses, and the only medium people can touch!

  • Fun Fact: A single promotional item averages 344 impressions per month.

Let us help you make promotional products an integral part of your marketing today!

 

Uncategorized — Dawn Toney @ 11:30 am

Fall in Love with our Fall Favorites!

October 13, 2021

Our Fall Guide came out recently, and we hope you’re as excited as we are to peruse the new items and classic product trends of the year! We asked our team what their favorites are and here’s what they said!

#HAPPYWAX Outlet Plug-in Wax Warmer Kit (pg. 6) – This plug-in warmer comes in a nice box that includes one wax warmer and two scents. The silicone wax dish makes it easy to pop out the old wax and put a new one in. I think this item would be suitable for almost anyone. Who doesn’t like a soft scent in their home or office? With the low minimum of only 12 pieces, you can’t go wrong.

Sales Manager Melanie Lamb

#100927-100 R & R Sound Machine (pg. 6) – Looking for “something new”? Well, look no further, this is the perfect new gadget. Relax and unwind with 24 soothing sounds to bring calming energy to any environment. This sound machine includes 6 various white noise options, 6 fan sound options, 12 soothing nature and calm-inducing sounds such as crashing beach waves, the ocean, crickets, rain, thunder, birds and so many more. My grandson has something very similar to this that he has used since he was born. I make sure that when he comes to stay with me, the sound machine is the first thing they pack. It is awesome!

#BX910-XX Glidewrite Pens (pg. 18) of the Guide is by far one of my favorites. Not only does this smooth writing pen have a Techni Flo super-low viscosity ink for easy writing but it comes in 14 fantastic ink colors. The ink color matches the trim and latex-free grip. Match your logo color with the ink color for a little pizzaz.

#IT175 Light Up Your Logo Cable (pg. 13) – My charger that I loved finally bit the dust. I loved it because I knew when it was lit up, I had everything plugged incorrectly. The #IT175 Light Up Your Logo Cable caught my attention because the logo lights up when charging. It includes the USB-to-USB Type C, Duo 5-Pin Lightning and Micro USB Cables. It features a 10’ cord which is wonderful. I can plug the cord into the end of my couch and easily use my phone. The cable reaches to furniture nearby to set the phone on when charging overnight. Very nice piece!

Sales Manager Brenda Thurness

Great gift for those employees working from home.

#FB8103 Day Trip Lunch Bag (pg.21) – I chose this item because I was interested in seeing what it was like. This lunch bag is a bigger size with a top zip main compartment, two front pockets and a side mesh pocket. The size is very nice, and I love all the pockets. The #SM-2225 Wheat Straw Utensils to Go Set fits nicely in the zipper pocket. This would make a great employee appreciation or Christmas gift.

Since Holiday Season is just around the corner the two gift boxed items from Evans caught my eye.

#4970 Whistler Stainless Steel Tumbler with Gift Box. (pg. 23) – includes an 18 oz. Stainless Steel tumbler that is double wall vacuum insulated. It has a splashproof flip lid and is sweat-resistant. The tumbler is available in seafoam, black and blue. It keeps your drinks hot or cold for hours. The price includes a 1 color imprint on the top of the box which can be left-center, center, or on the flap and the tumbler comes with a one-color imprint on one side, two sides or a full wrap.

#2312 Bamboo Slide Lid Container Gift Box Set (pg. 12) – This Gift Box Set features two round salt boxes which have magnetic closure slide lids to ensure a tight seal. These would be perfect for storing spices in the kitchen, office supplies such as push pins, paper clips and rubber bands on your desk, or keeping bath salts near the tub. These come in a printed recycled gift box. The price again includes a 1 color imprint on the top of the box which can be left-center, center, or on the flap and laser engraved on top of the containers.

This set can be drop shipped. Contact us for more information!

Both sets would be ideal customer appreciation, employee recognition, years of service, or anniversary gift. The tumbler would also make a nice meeting gift.

Check out our Fall Guide here and contact us for more information!

Uncategorized — Dawn Toney @ 2:08 pm

The coolest promo? You can never go wrong with sunglasses!

June 25, 2021

You can’t deny the unassailable cool that comes with donning a stylish pair of shades — and with your branding on the stem or lens, you can be part of the fashion-forward statements of all your fans. But looks aren’t the only benefit. You’ll be offering protection from a whole host of sun-related eye damages; UV damage can cause macular degeneration (a leading cause of age-related blindness). The sun can also be to blame for eye cancer and the sunburn-like photokeratitis.

Designer Karl Lagerfeld is quoted as saying, “Sunglasses are like eye shadow: They make everything look younger and pretty.”

Hand out an accessory that completes any look. We have a multitude of options. And remember to wear your shades this Sunday, June 27 — National Sunglasses Day!

Advertising,Branding — Genevieve Trainor @ 8:52 am

The Scoop

June 15, 2021

Sales Manager
Melanie Lamb

During my travels last weekend, I decided to test out a couple of promotional items.
The first was the back-of-seat airplane pocket. This item was nice but would be even nicer for longer flights. It fits over the tray in front of you which will provide a clean surface to eat and work on. Once the tray is in the upright position, it serves as a nice organizational piece. Great to store your phone, earbuds, books, etc. during your flight. When your flight is over, it easily folds up and is ready to use for your next flight.

The next item I put to the test was the Traveling Organizer Set. I was only going to be gone for one night, so I had to pack very sparsely. I thought I would try rolling my clothes up and putting them into the travel cube and lo and behold, they fit!
This was easy to pack into my backpack and kept everything all together. I used the smaller one to pack my snacks. Again, it kept everything all together and not scattered throughout my bag.

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Marketing,Promotional Products — Melanie Lamb @ 8:46 am

Four Trends to Watch this Fourth of July

With thanks to our friends at KoozieGroup!

More than three-quarters of consumers typically celebrate Independence Day with cookouts, picnics, fireworks, parades, and travel. In 2020, fewer people attended community gatherings and instead opted for at-home celebrations to feel safe and adhere to guidelines put in place due to the pandemic. Even though the parties looked different, those who celebrated still spent an average of $76 for the holiday.

The upcoming Fourth of July holiday offers an excellent chance for you to connect with your patriotic audiences (especially those who are already planning to spice up their celebrations with red, white, and blue swag) and celebrate your own patriotism as well. Check out four trends that are heating up for summer’s biggest holiday to help align your promotional campaigns with what your customers want.

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Blog — Genevieve Trainor @ 8:34 am

Send customers into summer prepared!

May 28, 2021

The Surgeon General says that more than one out of every three people in the U.S. get sunburns every year. Dermatologists recommend protecting your skin with SPF 30 sunscreen, which blocks 97 percent of the sun’s UVB rays. Show your concern for clients and staff with branded sunscreen, available in a variety of dispensers with ample imprint area! Pair it with some supercool shades and they’ll be ready to take your brand to the beach!

Speaking of the beach, read on to learn more about the benefits of reef safe sunscreen.
(Click image to expand.)
Protect their skin and our planet!

Branding — Genevieve Trainor @ 10:38 am

New Year’s Revolutions

December 29, 2020


 
Everyone has a horror story about a New Year’s resolution: a diet that was broken before the leftovers were gone; an exercise routine that tanked at the first snow; the novel that languished in the back of your mind for months until the creative impulse faded. And this year, everyone likely has a horror story about 2020 as well. We’ve all felt pressure to learn a language, take up a new hobby, “be productive” with all of our supposed downtime during pandemic lockdowns.
 
[[Insert slow clap for those who have actually achieved something like that here.]]
 
For the rest of us, why follow disappointment with disappointment? I say we scrap the New Year’s resolutions this year and go with New Year’s revolutions instead.
 
A resolution is a commitment to maintaining a certain sameness — to persistence, steadiness, and consistency. But a revolution is a commitment to change. You can’t “fail,” because it’s a process, not a presumption. Every step you take is on the path to success, even during the times when you’re simply marking time.
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Marketing,Seasonal — Genevieve Trainor @ 9:43 am

Which Way Do We Go?

December 28, 2020

When stacked up against history, there are certainly at least a few moments we can point to as antecedents to our current era. But for most of us alive today, especially those out in the workforce, we have had no frame of reference for the kinds of radical changes our lives and businesses have had to go through over the past nine months. We may not all be in the same boat, but we are certainly in the same storm — and that storm has made our paths forward unclear.
 
So — as individuals and as businesses — we have had to become agile. Since the future became less predictable than ever, we’ve had to learn how to let each moment guide our choices. With our understanding of the novel coronavirus changing almost daily, with constantly shifting regulations and recommendations from national, state, and local authorities; with the needs and concerns of customers constantly getting rearranged — we have been standing on sand at high tide. We’ve had to learn to find new footing, repeatedly. We’ve had to learn to think in all directions at once, to be ready to choose the right course as it became clear.
 
In short, we’ve had to learn to pivot.
 
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Advertising,Marketing,Trends — Genevieve Trainor @ 2:17 pm

Pantone announces another two-color year!

December 11, 2020

A sunbeam cracks through the gray clouds above. You turn your face toward it, basking in its unexpected warmth and beauty.

Congrats; you’ve just experienced Pantone’s Colors of the Year for 2021!

For just the second time, the Pantone Color of the Year is in fact a pair of colors: PANTONE® 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and PANTONE® 13-0647 Illuminating (this happened previously in 2016, when PANTONE® 13-1520 Rose Quartz and PANTONE® 15-3919 Serenity were featured). The Pantone Color Institute, which has selected a Color of the Year since 2000, regularly forecasts and consults on color trends, brand identities, and the leveraging of color psychology and emotion in design.

Pantone notes on their website that the two colors are exemplary of the way that “different elements come together to support one another,” a mood that they found valuable heading into 2021. They emphasize Ultimate Gray’s “deeper feelings of thoughtfulness” and Illuminating’s “promise of something sunny and friendly.”

In color theory, yellow is considered the color of happiness and optimism. It is recognized as the most attention-getting of any color. In Hinduism and ancient Egyptian religion, it was the color most associated with deity. Interestingly, yellow’s negative associations fall into illness and caution, two ideas that certainly lurk in the background of the coming year as well. But overwhelmingly, worldwide, it is a color of creativity and warmth.

Gray is a color associated with wisdom and compromise. It’s a color of stability, but with an eye toward the future, with echoes of industrial design and smooth, sleek efficiency. It can also be considered a color of boredom and ambiguity or uncertainty, which are also ahead for us — but at its best, it is a color of reaching a middle ground, something that would be a welcome respite from the many different types of extremes we’ve experienced in 2020.

“The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude,” said Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman in the announcement of the colors. “Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted; this is essential to the human spirit.”

In marketing and promotions, teaming these two colors together will give your customers a sensation of a steady foundation from which to launch into a joyful positivity. They work together to make consumers feel safe and secure enough to be hopeful again—something that will be invaluable as we work to lift the economy as well as our spirits. Consumer confidence is going to be crucial to everyone’s experience of the coming year, and pairing Ultimate Gray and Illuminating in marketing opportunities can help to foster that.

“Emboldening the spirit,” the announcement reads, “the pairing of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 [Illuminating] highlights our innate need to be seen, to be visible, to be recognized, to have our voices heard.”

This is the perfect opportunity for you to listen to your customers’ needs and highlight both your reliable infrastructure and your willingness to cast your eyes forward to a better future.

Advertising,Branding,Marketing — Genevieve Trainor @ 1:29 pm

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part 5

November 13, 2020

Molly’s Top Fall Guide Picks!


 
Our staff is beyond excited about our current fall guide, which is loaded up with the very best in giving. Over the course of several posts, we’ll be sharing their favorites with you. Share your favorites in the comments!
 

VP Marketing
Molly Beavers

 Aeroloft Collection (pg. 14): I really like this bag series. They are made of lightweight, water repellent nylon. I like that they are not bulky and feature many bells and whistles. The biggest BONUS is they both come with a zip organizer. It is unattached, and it is a great item to keep cords, keys, travel documents, personal items, and more. It has four pockets and makes a great accessory piece for the duffel or backpack.
 
Exclusive America Mug (pg. 5): This item is back by popular demand — a mug Made in the USA! It has the America eagle surrounded by “The United States” and “America” deep molded into the base. This is a great item to showcase a patriotic message. (more…)

Advertising,Marketing,Seasonal,Staff Picks — Molly Beavers @ 2:09 pm

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