When designing your logo, keep it simple. The main objective of a logo is so the general public can easily recognise your brand whether it’s on your printed stationery, your website or promotional merchandise so if your logo is going to look very inconsistent on your various promotional marketing materials then that’s going to be a problem. Reduce this hassle by starting out with an easy to reproduce logo.  

Bear in mind how your logo will look like when imprinted on promotional products. How will your logo look like on a golf ball or a pen with a small imprint area, how about when it’s embroidered on staff uniforms?  Many designers are great at what they do – designing and kudos to them. However, very often they are not aware of imprinting techniques which will affect how your logo will look like on promotional merchandise. In turn, many businesses, particularly small businesses without their own marketing department are unaware of this very important aspect.

Ask a promotional marketing consultant’s opinion BEFORE approving the logo from your designer.  Complex logos with too much text, highlights and colours are going to be difficult for certain imprinting methods on promotional merchandise and will result in an inconsistent look plus more money out of your pocket.  Do your own research on what sort of logos companies are using in your own industry and assess if your logo “speaks” to your target audience. Run your logo past a few of your prospects or current clients and see what they think of your logo.

We’ve seen it too many times, beautifully designed logos which are not practical for imprint on promotional merchandise. Think of the successful brand names – Nike, Coca-cola and IBM and you’ll see that their logos are very simple, no fancy or complex graphic artwork yet they are excellent memory triggers.  If your logo doesn’t fit the bill then perhaps it’s time for a rebranding of your logo.

It was a mad rush at PromosXchange in June with sales peaking and rush orders being sent out with everyone eager to pay less tax with higher spends on promotional products. It looks like the global financial crisis has cleared for most businesses. Now that things have simmered down, we’ve managed to take a deep breath. But it doesn’t end there. I don’t know about you but here at PromosXchange, we’re already planning our marketing and promotions for the coming financial year. It’s better to plan your promotional products campaigns in advance so you know where you sit with your promotional budget for the year.  Having more allowance with turnaround time for your promotional products is a great benefit to you as you can save up to 40% on your merchandise when you opt for offshore production which has longer lead times. But that puts more money in your pocket, so why not?  

If Rihanna’s umbrella song is anything to go by, umbrellas are definitely the in thing to have (still can’t believe they made a whole song about umbrellas!). Advertising using promotional umbrellas is a practical and great way to promote your organisation. Other than in Rihanna’s hot umbrellas video, umbrellas can be seen at all different types of outdoor functions where large numbers of people come together such as sporting events, the races and festivals.

Umbrellas are a great way to show you care and protect your customers and employees, and the imprint area on umbrellas allows you to notably display your company logo. Moreover, an umbrella is one of the most useful promotional products that will be used over and over again so you’ll be sure to get the maximum exposure for your brand name. Some companies actually re-sell their promotional products including promotional umbrellas. These companies benefit from the profits and free advertising of their brand name.

At Promosxchange, we offer a variety of promotional umbrellas to suit your needs.  There are different types of umbrellas such as Folding Umbrellas which are perfect for storing away in concealed places, Long Handle Umbrellas and Golf Umbrellas which are bigger than the conventional umbrella. At Promosxchange, we offer screen printing and digital transfer of your logo on umbrellas.  

Speak to our promotional products consultants at our Melbourne head office to find out how you can effectively market your corporate logo on promotional umbrellas.

We sometimes get customers who are confused about who’s who in the Promotional Products Industry. Here’s a quick run down on the 3 common roles in the promotional products industry:

1. Promotional Consultant (Distributor): The Promotional Consultant also known as the Distributor is the middleman who is in touch with the promotional products industry and can offer the Buyer creative solutions and advise for their promotional campaigns. They have strong links with a range of wholesalers and a strong understanding of the industry’s processes. Some Distributors may also do some of the imprinting processes in-house. So the Distributor is an important resource for advertising houses, marketing professionals, businesses and organisations.

2. Supplier (Wholesaler): The Supplier is a promotional products company that directly manufactures, imports, imprints or otherwise produces the promotional products. They do not deal with the general public. They only offer their services and products for sale through Promotional Distributors. Beware though. There are Distributors who claim that they are wholesalers offering direct from factory prices when in fact this is furthest from the truth. When you compare their prices, you’ll find that they are retail prices not wholesale prices.

3. Advertiser (Buyer): If you’re a company or organisation who is buying promotional products from a Distributor for your promotional campaign than you are the Advertiser, also known as the Buyer. Sometimes a company outsources their marketing to a marketing consultant who deals on their behalf with the Distributor.

If you’re the Buyer, work closely with a Distributor who has strong links with renowned Wholesalers.

Marketing experts agree that embroidered company shirts enhances a company’s image to customers and prospects. Embroidered polo shirts especially are a mark of style. They are also versatile as they look good with pants and jeans. Wear them when you’re playing golf, at sports events, trade shows or simply use them as uniforms for your employees to look smart. Embroidered designs also last longer and are more durable in the wash. PromosXchange offers a large range of embroidered polo shirts from trusted Aussie promotional clothing brands such as Winning Spirit, Johnny Bobbin, Stencil and more. When getting a quote for embroidered polo shirts, ensure that you’ll be getting high quality embroidery as there are a lot of cheap threads on the market which do your embroidered logo an injustice. PromosXchange uses high quality German thread for embroidery on its promotional clothing so the embroidery won’t run in the wash or fade. Reflect your professional expertise today with classy embroidered polo shirts from PromosXchange.

Consider promotional products over cash rebates or discounts in your incentive programs. This is because tangible incentives like promotional products are identifiable as a reward for extraordinary behavior. Cash, on the other hand, is a satisfier, more than a motivator. Customers or prospects also mentally positively associate free gifts with celebrations while cash is mentally associated with paying bills and covering obligations. Free gift with purchase programs when executed correctly work a treat because promotional products are used daily by many people. Be it that free imprinted toy in a Mc Happy meal or the free printed pen with a magazine, logoed products are certainly used. Some logoed products even get used multiple times a day such as printed pens. According to a study by the Advertising Institute, 44% of respondents use printed pens at least once a week and 20% use printed pens more than five times a day. So if you’re looking to have your brand in front of your customer and prospects every day, promotional products is your answer.

Thinking hard about the right promotional products for your next marketing campaign? Are you debating whether to get attractive or useful promotional products? Well, before you go ahead and make up your mind, consider this. Customers or prospects are most likely going to cling onto USEFUL items for a long time. Promotional items like imprinted bags, writing instruments and apparel are kept longer due to their higher rating of usefulness. So don’t just choose promotional items based on looks. Remember your target audience and choose items that would be useful to them. For example, if the event is a conference, imprinted satchel bags would be very useful to the conference attendees and if it’s for a tradeshow imprinted tote bags are always a winner to keep goodies in. Below is a snapshot of usefulness versus attractiveness of a few imprinted products as found in a study by the Advertising Specialty Institute:

Reason for Keeping Item Useful Attractiveness

Bags 91% 34%

Writing Intruments 91% 12%

Other Apparel 89% 39%

Glassware/Ceramics 86% 26%

If you want to keep your brand name in front of your customers and prospects longer, then you have to embrace the promo power. Promotional products have longer staying power than other types of advertising. Just look around your office and home. You’re most likely to find promotional mugs, printed t shirts, stubby holders, desktop accessories all with the name of the advertiser on those items. Are you likely to chuck ‘em out? I doubt so especially when promotional products come in so handy like those promotional mugs you so often drink out of. I still have Geelong Footy Club’s promotional mug from the 90s and I think I’ll still keep it to cheers to their next premiership win which is hopefully not another 44 years away! According to a new study by the Advertising Specialty Institute, most people keep promotional products an average of seven months. Seven months…that’s even longer than the Footy season!

Keyrings are ideal for high impact low profile campaigns. The right keyring can class up your brand image. Their constant use provides great brand recall for your business. Keyrings also have a longer life span than most other promotional products as people tend keep their keyrings for years.

Choosing the right shape keyring and imprint makes a difference to the effectiveness of keyrings as promotional items. Engraved designs means that your logo won’t break away or rub away with time and use. For a classy look, go for a simple engraved logo/text on a metal keyring.

Use them as gifts to employees to boost their morale. Their small size also makes them ideal to mail out as corporate gifts to your clients. Their beautiful and classy look will distinguish you from your competitors and keep your brand name up there. A little expense goes a long way!