Custom Imprinted Eraselets: Fun-ctional School fundraising product!

My wife gets full credit for finding this fantastic product!  Custom imprinted Eraselets are essentially eraser bracelets!  With the silicone bracelet still growing in our industry (I should know, I'm wearing two as I type) the Eraselet is a perfect off-shoot that is made specifically for kids to use in the classroom.

Made in the ole USA, I have placed the custom imprinted Eraselets in to several programs, including the Atlanta Silverbacks, who used it for giveaways at youth soccer games, to Gwinnett Science, who is using this for their Science Fair program, to Alabama's Safe Routes to School program, promoting awareness of walking safely to school.

Here's a video of how this unique eraser bracelet works, try this out for any of your back to school promotions!

Breast Cancer Awareness: October awareness products!

Breast Cancer is a serious disease that affects 1 in 8 women over the course of their lifetime.  That's not a pretty number for anyone to see, and although the death rates have been decreasing, finding a treatment is no closer to reality.

Organizations such as the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen have done a lot to help raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer, and branded products have been a focal point in raising money.  In that regards, there is an opportunity for brands to show their support for continued research and awareness, plus show that their employees' health is an important issue.

Check out some of the items we have for your Breast Cancer Awareness efforts:

Fundraising: Why not use promo products?

My wife found an interesting site that was leveraging t-shirt sales to help raise money and awareness for seven areas in our world that need help:  Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, Hope for peace, house the homeless, quench the thirsty, teach people well, and save the Earth.

Noble causes, but as is always the case - it takes money to help in these seven areas.  So, Project 7 created a storefront that sells branded t-shirts, mints, bottled water, coffee mugs and iPhone covers to raise funds for select non-profits.

We have found that promo products that have utility - Tervis Tumblers, Nalgene water bottles, T-shirts, and coolers are great items to look at for schools, non-profits and awareness programs.

Monday Motivation: Paying it Forward

I watched this article last week and thought that it really embodied what we as Americans really hold dear to our hearts.

This is about overcoming extreme adversity, collaborating with others to achieve goals, and maintaining the tenacity and discipline to get the job done.  But, more importantly, this is about the human spirit helping others in need.  I know how hard and humble it is to know that you need help to sustain, and how gratifying it is to see people rise to the occassion and offer a helping hand - or organ.

Folks, it is a monday and I'm sure we're all just trying to get it going this week.  I offer up this as a way for all to stop and think about paying something forward to someone - be it a small token or what Ernest did below.  We as Americans are the most charitable people in the world, and its a beautiful thing indeed when you help another soul - Pay it Forward folks, and have a great Monday.

So... Does Swag really work?

Look around your desk - I'm quite positive you will find a branded item somewhere near you.  Be it a pen, coaster, mousepad, USB drive, Coffee Mug, water bottle, sticky note - these dern things are everywhere!

So what!  I have some company's logo on my stuff, that doesn't mean anything to me!  I just like the thing they gave me.  I hear that all the time in what I do - it's just trinkets and trash/Swag/Tchotchkies/junk...

Au contraire my friend!  A recent study shows that branded items do in fact impact a targeted audience in a tangible way!  More importantly, it left favorable, long-lasting impressions upon recipients.  Here's the figures:

PPAI research shows:

• 88 percent recall the advertiser on promotional products
• 85 percent have done business with the advertiser after receiving a promotional item
• 83 percent like promotional products
• 81 percent keep them because they are useful
• 53 percent use promotional products once a week
• 47 percent keep them for more than a year

For you Marketeers - that's good stats!  Promo items may not be glitzy, but they work.  for more info on the study, read here

What are the Top Brands in Non-Profits?

We all know that the non-profit world is very competitive, and to get your name out there, well is challenging to say the least. Here's a list of brands that really got their names out there in 2012. Some of these are household brands, and some are a bit surprising in their rankings and trajectory to the top.

Read More

Positive Friday: Marvel Comics' New Superhero

This story came across my desk the other day, and really showed what an impact a company can have on  just one life.  When a four year old, who is hearing impaired, told his mother that Superheroes don't wear hearing aids, it prompted his mother to write Marvel Comics.  Well, Marvel Comics took this note and created a Superhero that answered this boy's complaint.

What's remarkable is how quickly Marvel took to this cause simply out of responding to one of its customers remarks, and yes showing real empathy and emotion, which is rare for a company.  The result is a PR coup for what is seen as an "old school" media.

Read more about this, and see how empathizing with your customers can pay off for you.