As you probably know, there is a scare about the BPA (bioethsphenol-A) which leeches from many of the traditional sports water bottles which have been on the market, particularly the old Nalgene polycarbonate style. This has made stainless steel water bottles one of the hottest items in the promotional products market. From a promotional perspective, I think of them as comparable to an apparel item, but better—they are almost infinitely reusable, giving your message long term exposure. When/if they are finally discarded, they are 100% recyclable. The stainless steel ones, unlike the aluminum which are also available, don’t add a funny taste to the water. A color coordinated caribiner is a nice added touch, making it easy to attach to a belt or purse. Over the last several months, it has been hard to keep stainless bottles in inventory, so there could be long lead times. If you need them quickly, it’s worthwhile to check inventory with your supplier before ordering.

This has been tote bag week. For the fourth year in a row (or is it 5?) I produced totes for the Essence Music Festival. This year they ordered 3500 Leeds tote bags. Since it’s basically a reorder, there was nothing special about printing this, just the logistical challenge of getting 3500 imprinted tote bags from the Leeds factory in PA to the New Orleans Convention Center. They were delivered yesterday.
The School of Visual Arts in NYC was looking for totes that are environmentally friendly, and made in the USA so that the shipping doesn’t create a huge carbon footprint. They also wanted bags that the male as well as female students would utilize. We came up with an organic cotton drawstring backpack that is manufactured in the USA by our production partner “Sport Systems Custom Bags.” We are imprinting 1400 of them for the students’ return in August.
The California Labor Federation wanted messenger bags made in the US in a union shop. They were also on a budget. One of our production partners is a union shop in Ohio, & they had the perfect item, just $12/each for 600. We’re on a tight deadline, and they expect an order within the week for 20,000 bags for a major corporation, so they moved us to the front of the line & are knocking these out immediately.
All in all a busy but extremely satisfying week!

At the recent Promotions East in Atlantic City, PPAI Board Chair Stan Breckenridge made the following points, as summarized by Gene Geiger:

Promotional products
• Are cost-effective.
• Are not intrusive. Rather they are welcomed by the recipient.
• Deliver a positive, powerful and personal message.
• Fit every budget. Company names, logos and slogans can appear on anything from packs of gum to crystal vases.
• Offer endless versatility. Promotional products can be used to motivate, reward, remind, persuade, introduce, advocate or even protest. They can promote ideas, products, companies, people, places, organizations or causes.
But one of the biggest advantages of promotional products advertising is that it is multi-dimensional and reaches all the senses. It can be seen, heard, touched, smelled and even tasted.

That is why, in the last four recessions here in the US, promotional products sales have increased!

I’m always late, except when I’m early. I bought Microsoft too late, & sold Google too early. I played a lot of poker in college, & I was good—but let’s just say it was well before poker’s current ubiquity & huge prize money. I started a company which sold recycled office products in the mid 80’s—anybody remember Earthy Recycled Office Products?

And now I’m blogging. So chances are, to mix my media, blogging has jumped the shark.

Nevertheless, I hope to share with you some of the interesting projects that cross my monitor. The business is promotional products, which is to say marketing.