Putting Some Thunder into Your Message

A lot of the items we have talked about in the past weeks are similar to other items offered by the various manufacturers.  Duplication is the most sincere form of flattery and in the ad specialties industry it happens all the time.  It is nearly impossible for a manufacturer to spend the dollars required to patent every product they come out with as so many will be failures they would all go broke trying to keep a thumb on every product they launch.  As a result usually within six to nine months of a product becoming a success there will be an instant duplication of ideas. 

This is true with the Big Thunder Tote which was the first polypropylene tote in the non-woven category to arrive a few years ago.   The product comes from Bag Makers out in Illinois and enjoyed a meteoric rise in the industry.  Due to their smaller size they were able to slide through in the shadows for about a year before the larger players in the industry figured out how hot a product it had become.   There are many knockoffs but as of yet none have supplanted the original in sales or following among customers.   The only issue with the original was the size, some customers felt it too large and there was an immediate need for an item at a slightly lower price point.   Along came the Little Thunder Tote which trims a few cents off the original but is also considerably smaller.  This fits the profile of the type of item that would be given out at a convention where massive quantities are given away.   Both of these totes are made from polypropylene but Bag Makers has taken it a step further by using recycled materials in the bag.  Although technically they would fall below the threshold to be considered “recycled” which is usually 50% the fact that they contain some recycled content is admirable.  By using these materials in lower quantities than 100% recycled they guarantee the same durability and long lasting capabilities of fresh products.   They took a slightly different approach with the Ultimate Series Tote Bag in using non-specified or origin unknown original material but in building a pseudo product that fits between categories.  This item can be used as a shoulder bag, a regular tote or even a carry-all.  They have hit it out of the park in popularity and have an impeccable reputation within the industry and among  loyal customer base.

It is good to see so many manufacturers rolling out new products for the spring as the news continues to deteriorate in the U.S. economy.  Retail sales fell flat in March which is no surprise to any of you that own shops that deal directly with consumers.  What is very concerning about this number is the proximity to tax refunds.  Many will already have gotten refunds if not directly from the taxing bodies they may have used front services from H&R Block and others that put the money up for the return at a huge annual percentage rate.  Either way that money should have been flooding into the economy in March and was not.   Usually Earth Day and the associated increase in economic activity surrounding the awareness of Earth Day help to spur some sales.  Alas it would appear we too are reflecting on the good times now gone and that growth in the economy as a whole will be slow as our economic miracle continues to be a mirage.

Reflecting on the Good Times Long Gone

Having enjoyed the company of many good friends over the last forty eight hours I felt I should take a minute to offer a retrospective of the prior months.  As we gather for the holidays we are often able to get a multi-generational perspective of the way things are in the world today.  What was clear after these discussions is there is no promoting the current state of affairs as anything but negative.  Whether the person doing the talking was a senior citizen or a senior in high school there are endless tales of great misfortune.  High school students face ever increasing fees for everything from sports to books and senior citizens face dwindling retirement funds and increasing health and energy costs. 

I do not ever remember things being this difficult for so many people.  I remember times when certain industries would be effected.  In the 1970’s and 1980’s the textile industry first moved out of the northeast and then out of the country in the 1990’s displacing thousands of workers.  In the 1980’s the electronics industry left the United States in favor of places in the Far East.  In the 1990’s our call center jobs began to vanish and by this decade our financial sector jobs are getting the boot and moved overseas.  In addition regions are suffering from “near sourcing” where jobs are moved to other parts of the country where the costs are lower.  Even in the promotional products industry this is happening.  One of the largest online providers that heavily promotes “Made in USA” products is actually shipping hundreds of jobs to the Philippines.   Unknown to customers chatting with their respective reps they are buying “USA” made goods from a company that just outsourced jobs overseas!  There just does not seem to be that next magic bullet, that next Microsoft to employ thousands like IBM once did, like the textile, electronics, shoe, automobile and other industries once did.  The financial sector almost met the criteria but as we later found out those jobs were built on a pyramid with a very weak foundation and as a result the jobs have vanished.  Vacancies in New York City are at record highs as financiers flee the region.   Strange and sad times indeed.

The season has since passed but as we discussed in the article about rebounding your business there is only so much you can do to improve the current situation.  Until the economy begins to show positive growth all businesses are fighting for a dwindling customer base.  This leads to inherent cannibalization of the core business and is a detriment to all.  All other things being equal that leads to a shakeout and eventual destruction of involved businesses which could mean outright closing or mergers and acquisitions.  Finding low cost mechanisms to gaining business such as custom koozies as we head towards the warm weather should be a prime concern.  Let’s face it with so many out of work there will be a lot of time spent sitting around beaches and pools this summer.  A padfolio may fall flat while something like a Koozie Picnic Basket may hit the target.    Keep in mind you may be able to hit two birds with one stone as you reach potential customers and potential employees.  During down periods many companies have learned to expand their talent pools with vigor as it is a lot easier to hire someone of a high caliber during these markets.  We heard of one company recently giving away a Metal Koozie Can Kooler to anyone they interviewed at a recent job fair in New Hampshire.   News coverage showed mostly cheaper items being given away but reports from the show indicate the koozies were gone in a flash.    I prefer the Adjustable Koozie Can Kooler as with the velcro backing it fits just about anything including the odd shapes and sizes you often find at your local convenience store, health club or even fast food joint.   Even many of the new beers and energy drinks are coming in such odd sizes and shapes the traditional coolers just do not get the job done.

I think a lot of what happens in the next few months will ultimately be dictated by energy prices.  No matter how hard the speculators try they have not been able to keep prices up as there is just no support in the demand numbers.  Although this is a blessing and a curse as the drive towards more energy efficient vehicles is muted right now it is more important to get the economy firing forward.

When Going Green Goes Bad

We recently reviewed the new Belkin surge protector that was supposedly going to reduce our electrical bill and have all sorts of other green features.   After about a week of use we sadly have to report it does not work as advertised and is in the end a glorified overpriced traditional surge suppressor.  The Belkin Conserve line works on the premise of having an RF remote that allows the customer to shut off a series of outlets at the end of the day.  This would therefore cut power to those outlets eliminating any standby power.  The problem is the remote is terrible and no matter how many times we switched channels and synced the two units they would only work together once before failing.  We literally tried perhaps thirty times and only had the remote work five times.  Therefore I can only say that at this point it is not a unit we’d recommend. 

In the meantime the Scripto brand has made its way to the advertising specialties industry.   Scripto has a long history of providing high quality goods and services in the consumer sector which has now been crossed over to the business sector when a major industry vendor began to carry the line.  Custom Scripto items are now available which includes a full complement of pens, jotters and the trully unique bundle sets which offer one of the best values in the market.  The Scripto Writing Pad Bundle Set comes complete with both a seventy page paper pad and a decorated Scripto pen which is not something you will see very often at these rates.  The materials are rugged and durable and although they do not carry with them the same grace as leather products they are still an exceptional piece with impeccable quality.  The Scripto Journal Bundle Set also comes with a journal with paper and a customized pen.  The Journal tends to be the more economical choice but both are available in a range of colors and options.

The marketing spin continues on the economy and in the financial markets.  Despite some recent good news from major banks it does not appear a recovery will be coming anytime soon.  Instead of the 1990’s version of the soft landing what we are instead witnessing is a continuation of the soft fall.   During these times we are noticing an uptick in green marketing which we discussed in an earlier piece about teaching kids to be eco-friendly.

Surge Protectors Now Going Green

While out at the local hardware store today I came across a new power strip that has a remote switch that allows it to be powered down when not in use.  The model from Belkin runs around $40 at the local hardware supercenter and boasts significant reductions in energy costs.   Taking a closer look at them and actually buying one I can say they are a snap to install and work as advertised.  Without seeing a few months worth of electric bills detailed it will be difficult to tell how much energy is actually being spared.  I am contemplating purchasing a watt meter that will tell me exactly how much devices such as desktop computers use when not in use. 

The unit comes with a remote control that mounts to the wall via removable tape.  The remote allows for switching the unit off when not in use.  There are two plugs available for continuous power which works well if you have a DVR that you need to have powered at all times.  This way the TV can be powered down and all the audio visual components while the DVR is able to continue doing what it does. Although the box shows the wall unit mounted with screws the Belkin models come with dual sided tape that easily comes off the wall if you decide to move it.  The color scheme they used in designing the switch is such that it matches most of the existing switches someone would have on the wall at their home or office.  In the wall mounted unit it functions as a simple on/off switch but it can also be carried around as a remote.

The Belkin won the Best of Innovations award in 2009 from the International CES and is available in almost any home center or retail outlet.

Naming Your Product Is Serious Business

The demise this week of Life on Mars from ABC is a perfect example of how critical the choice of a name can be to the success of your product whether it be a television show or tote bag.  Life on Mars had an all star cast of characters and an exceptional storyline but like millions of other viewers I never tuned in until after it was already cancelled thinking it was some type of science fiction show.   Although the shows eventual finale this week did shed some light on the idea behind the name I am going to guess most viewers and potential viewers had no clue. 

The major automakers have already gone through the name game and paid the price.  Ford released a car in Brazil that was slang for a lady of the night.  Buick just recently released an SUV in Canada that translates loosely into a word synonymous with self gratification.  As soon as these blunders were released changes were made but only after great costs were incurred.  In the promotional products industry of today we continue to witness the excessive use of long, unwieldy names that are so close to other products within the line customers end up confused.   The Marathon Sport Bottle  is a prime example of this confusion.  Many customers believe this model is somehow for use in marathons when it is just another sport bottle free of harmful chemicals (the ones we at least know about today).  The Horizon Sport Bottle also conveys no great meaning and the BPA Free is actually a potential negative in the naming convention.  The manufacturer is unwittingly bringing attention to a problem that may not actually exist and in any case is drawing attention to something consumers have come to execpt which is that their drinkware is safe.  Remember the promotional products industry always lags the retail industry.  Consumers have been exposed to “BPA Free” for almost two years at their local stores.  The Swinger BPA Free Sport Bottle certainly has an interesting name to it.  In this case it refers to the sliding key slot at the bottom of the bottle but the name itself has so many questionable connotations one has to laugh thinking about how they came up with this name.   As an example of redundancy the Contour BPA Free Sport Bottle repeats the main tag line by reiterating the same basic product facts.  It leads to excessive confusion, when customers ask for the product do they ask for the BPA model or earlier non BPA model?  Why not just switch names to a new product entirely to eliminate confusion?  Product numbers were changed but the name remains the same as they say.   You can check out more examples of the issues with the BPA Free Sport Bottles and the associated naming cluster.   All of the products on that page are BPA free, many are earlier model retreads that were re-released with safer materials but carry the same branding.  It is and will continue to lead to confusion among customers as they try to figure out which distributors are offering which product as the older BPA products are being phased out.

We talked about Growing Through Difficult Economic Times more than three months ago.  Since then almost three million have lost their jobs with many of those being potential clients.  You can see even more examples of challenging product naming in Certified Recycled Promotional Items Hit the Streets.   We’ll go into more detail over the weekend.

Biodegradable Drinkware Making A Mark

For the very first time 100 percent biodegradable and environmentally friendly drinkware is being offered in the corporate markets.  Up until this point recycled items have been available but the widespread availability of items that freely degrade in landfills has been virtually non-existent which is disconcerting given that the Promotional Products Association International reported in their most recent survey that somewhere near fifteen percent of all promotional items sold in the industry were drinkware related.  That amounts to several billion dollars a year in sales which left the door open for serious development of environmentally friendly items in this category.

Previous efforts had largely fallen flat with the majority of recycled and earth friendly items available either fragile or otherwise stunted in some way.  Very few were dishwasher safe and almost none were able to be used in the microwave.  That has changed with the release of the Evolve line from Norwood.   The Evolve Infinity Tumbler arrived in time for the upcoming Earth Day celebration and is priced in such a way that it is a suitable replacement year round.  Made from 100% biodegradable materials it is expected that it will totally disappear in most managed landfills within five years.  In addition the company is taking great pains to ship the entire line in an eco friendly way.  Although the offering is limited at this point, the Evolve Traveler Mug does extend the line into the auto market which is significant as that is a segment that was barely touched until the end of 2008.  All of the Evolve line is Made in the USA and totally BPA free.  Although the debate still rages on about the safety of BPA  is still greatly debated there is no doubt consumers have spoken with their dollars and are steering clear of all items containing BPA.  We thought the threat significant enough that we stopped selling all BPA containing drinkware more than two years ago and still refuse to sell BPA tainted drinkware.  Rounding out the line are the Evolve Sport Bottle 28oz which ships with a hand tag explaining the benefits of buying into the product line and brand.  The manufacturer has also taken the time to extend the printing options by adding rim and wrap printing at the same economical price.  This is a first from this particular manufacturer and a nice trend given the current situation.   For those on a more restrictive budget but still wanting a BPA Free drinkware the Evolve Sport Bottle is available in a 20 ounce format and comes in around a dollar with a single location decoration but as I mentioned Norwood is now offering additional optional imprints at both reduced rates and in some cases for no additional cost.

We like the trend towards not only providing promotional goods that are biodegradable as with twenty billion a year in sales the industry is huge and accounts for tremendous amounts of landfill waste.  We also like to see the environmentally friendly shipping options and would argue that by sourcing and manufacturing in the United States Norwood has gone a long way towards reducing the carbon footprint of the goods.  So many promotional goods, especially recycled goods, are manufactured in China from recycled materials bought in the United States and then shipped overseas only to be shipped back again.  The end price to consumers may be low but the footprint generated is enormous.  Hopefully customers will embrace these items which would certainly spur other manufacturers down the path of domestically sourcing recycled and eco friendly goods.

Previous entries such as Rebound Your Business During March Madness and Teaching Your Kids to Be Environmentally Friendly elaborate a bit more on some of the topics covered in this entry.

Economic Turmoil Provides Unique Opportunities

The news was startling today with prospects of failure at the Big 3 continuing to increase.  Equity markets responded by delivering a sharp downturn of over three percent after a rally that had extended for almost a month.  Oil traded down sharply today on the weak economic data falling below $49.  Overseas Japanese Industrial Output dropped by more than ten percent pointing to continued trouble ahead.

So with all the bad economic news and data where is the opportunity?  Everyone is back on their heals right now waiting for the next shoe to drop or glued to their respective televisions watching the terrible news.  You can use this time to get a jump start on your competition by choosing your promotional and marketing activities wisely.   Your competitors almost certainly have cut back dramatically on their marketing expenditures which means rather than the typical overload of incoming promotional goods anything you send at this point may actually get some attention.  Instead of receiving five or ten promotional gifts a day there are many reports that marketing executives are receiving next to nothing.  In short any effort you make in this regard will carry more weight than it would have a year ago with intense competition in place.

Executives can always use a promotional writing pad.   Whether they use it themselves or pass it off to a family member or coworker it will get used and can be paired with pens such as the Mailer Click which offers a good combination of reasonable price and exceptional value.  If you buy the product from the same manufacturer you can usually get a discount on the pen and also get them inserted for a small fee.  If your budget allows the Cityscape Leather Writing Pad could certainly make a great impression.  Made of pebble grain leather this particular item has the distinct look, feel and smell of leather.  Taking a slight slide down the price scale is the Impulse Writing Pad has the distinctive wrap around which can house an optional pen but also provides a distinct look that is rare in this type of writing pad.  The few that do have this look tend to be extremely expensive so this item provides the option at a fantastic value.  At the lower end of the price scale but still providing fantastic value and appearance is the Gemline Deluxe Writing Pad.  Made from the atypical faux leather it can be combined with a logo pen and provides unprecedented durability and affordability in one package. 

The Promotion Marketing Association has several upcoming events some of which may be in your area.   If your business is slow now is a great time to expand your education and potentially link up with clients and future coworkers.  Many of the regional marketing associations have multiple trade shows in the spring.  Your best bet is to use the various search tools to find these groups and check their schedules for the upcoming weeks.  With attendance down at most shows you should be able to get a ticket even at the door but pre-registration is always best.