Mouse pads have been very popular because they are a great desk top item so people see them every day. I like the hard surface mouse pads because they last longer, do not pick up lint that gets in your mouse, and the graphics really POP. Here are some very good specials from one of my favorite suppliers that does a great job printing in full color (four color process) . . . http://www.worldwideline.com/specials/pdfs/37656.pdf .

People love to wear hats, myself included. Here is a great special from one of my hat suppliers:

http://images.ebsco.com/pob/vpg/catalog/09HeadwearFlyer.pdf .

I have helped many clients set up programs targeting a specific area of interest. Some of these would include reduce safety, increase sales with existing clients, saying "Thank You" to current employees with service awards, and holiday gifts to show appreciation for business during the past year to name a few. Also, sometimes they only need one gift or a small number of gifts spread out on different price levels.

The simple solution is to use gift catalogs. I use this supplier http://www.certif-a-gift.com/ and they have some great information at their website.

The beauty of using gift catalogs is that the recipient receives the book and they can choose the gift that they can use and it is shipped directly to thier home. You don't have to warehouse any items and you are only invoiced for the gift after it has been shipped and received.

I was golfing at a local golf course last year with a very talented young golfer. He marked his golf ball and I think I could have seen the marker from Toledo it was that bright. After golfing I did some research and found the supplier that carried the product. They are made of a neon plastic and the plastic captures the light and it emanates on the outside edge of the ball marker. Here is a link to the product . . . http://www.teeline.com/ClientProductDetails.asp?action=1&ProductID=7&Category=4&HCatid=2 . I suggest having a fish bowl filled with them at the registration table for golf outings or buy some zip lock sandwich bags and put some of them in the bag along with your business card and donate them for each golfer's goody bag.

Summer is fast approaching and it is a great time to build "Esprit de Corps". Some of the favorite logo'd promotional products to give out to attendees are Frisbee Flyers (hard plastic and fabric), stadium cups, Koozies, Travel Mugs, T-Shirts, Hats, Visors, Hoodies, Beach Towels, hand held or battery powered fans, Insulated Coolers, and Folding Chairs. Here are some links to some of my suppliers that have some of these items:

http://www.keystoneline.com/
http://www.companycasuals.com/
http://www.glassamerica.com/
http://www.customcrest.com/
www.illiniline.com

So you want to do a direct mail to a small target market. The best tip I can give you is to make sure that you include a promotional product that adds a little bulk to the packaging. The "Bulky Package" will get opened because people are curious and they love to get gifts and surprises. I think it goes back to our childhood when we would buy a box of Cracker Jacks just for the surprise prize inside of the box. Do a test direct mailing and see if it works for you.

Yesterday I introduced you to the Scramble Pic, a hot new golf item. Here's another one, The Aqua Caddy http://www.aquacaddypromotional.com/ . The Aqua Caddy is a compact, portable, golf club cleaning device that attaches to your golf bag, cart or pull cart. Just add a little water to the Aqua Caddy before you start play and you can immediately clean your golf clubs after a shot.

It has a large imprint area of 3.5" x 3.5" on the top of the lid. Another great item that fall under $20 just like The Scramble Pic.

With golf season here many people are looking for a new and unique favor to give the all attendees at thier golf outing. If you are using a "Scramble" format there is a very cool item that makes picking up your ball extremely easy while sitting in your golf cart and it is called the Scramble Pic. Here is the link to my suppliers web catalog http://www.scramblepic.com/ . I like the one that is totally customizeable (yes, that is a word). Last year I purchased 2 samples to test them out. I played in a couple of scrambles so I gave one to each golf cart to share and use. I knew it was a great product when they didn't want to give it back to me at the end of the round!

Make sure that you choose the best decorating method for your artwork that will be printed on the item of your choice. Some items have only one decorating method like screen printing on golf balls but others like a portfolio may have screen printing, embossing, debossing, and embroidery. Don't assume that a traditional method is the best method.

The #1 category in the promotional product business is wearables. That would include items like Hoodies, Polos, Hats, T-Shirts, Jackets, Windshirts and more.

The hot (or I should say cool) material the last couple of years have been the shirts that contain the new moisture management material that wicks moisture away from the shirt. When the temperature is as high as your golf score these shirts really are great. They help to keep you cool and looking cool as well. I highly recommend them and when the humidity is high you will be saying "Thank You Peter" . . . . I guarantee it!

Go to http://www.companycasuals.com/PROMOTIONSASAP/b.jsp?id=991632&parentId=115
and check out some of the shirts that are marked "Dro Zone" or "Rapid Dry" or "Dry Fit".

On my post of 5/5 I talked about having your logo created in an eps or ai vector file artwork. Having that art file available will help tremendously when you need quick turnaround on an order.

Many suppliers have rush capabilities. A few of my favorites are www.bicgraphic.com, www.leedsworld.com, www.keystoneline.com, www.logomark.com to name a few.

The sooner you can start the process of discussing your goals and when you need the product in hand the better. Start 6 months out and we have access to most suppliers in the world, 1 month out and most in the USA, 1 week out and now we have narrowed the field dramatically.

If you need the product somewhere other than your office it is a good idea to save time and money ship the product to the event site instead of shipping to your office and then shipping to the event site or taking them with you.

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) assigns a name or a number for virtually any shade of any color. They also break this down into two areas of coated (shiny) and uncoated (dull). Any PMS color can be matched by most suppliers for a fee unless they are printing in 4 Color Process (4CP). The 4 colors used in 4CP are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (K is for Black). The new PMS books are great because I can look at a PMS color as it will look when printed in a spot color by itself which is a match but to the right of it will be how that color would look when printed in 4CP. Most color photos printed on magazines are printed in 4CP. Many promotional products like a screen printed T-Shirt that has individual colors (without halftones or photos) are printed one color at a time with spot colors. If you want to consistently brand your company colors it would be wise to assign a PMS color to each color in your logo and then have all of your collateral advertising and marketing materials printed in the same colors. Consistency is key and as they say in Hollywood "Image is Everything". Here is a link to a website that shows the PMS colors but I would not trust the colors shown as they vary from computer monitor to monitor . . . http://www.fmrincorporated.org/misc/PColorChart.pdf .

If you want to make sure that you are ready to go when you want to place an order for promotional products I highly recommend that you have your logo in the correct file format. That file would be original vector artwork in either an eps or ai file type. Also, make sure that all of the fonts are outlined and saved. This ensures that your artwork is "set in stone" and cannot be altered or substituted when opened in another version of software.

You cannot take a jpg file, copy it to the clipboard, paste it into a page in say Adobe Illustrator and save it as an eps or ai file type. It is still a jpg file and this is low resolution and is not able to be reduced or enlarged to the available imprint area on the item. jpg files are great for websites but not great for use with promotional products.

This is my first attempt at a blog. I'm hoping to share my knowledge and wisdom about the various ins and outs of the world of promotional products. Having been a high school art teacher and coach I still have a strong teacher inside of me and this will be a great way for me to allow my teacher side to vent.

I believe that promotional products are a great tool that can help with marketing, advertising and meeting planning to name a few.

Stay tuned or I should say tune in and I will try to cover various topics and products and I would love to have you ask questions or make suggestions for topics that you would like me to cover.