Everybody Loves Free Stuff

Fun without Logos

And, for even more fun, let's bring things around full-circle. From fun with barcodes, to fun with logos, to fun without logos. In this case, the folks at Debranded Home are trying to help people...debrand their homes. While the stickers they sell are a little pricey for my blood, the concept of buying bulk, avoiding nasty chemicals and using bottles that aren't branded is appealing. I could totally make it through my shower in the morning sans marketing and branding. Debranded Home also has some good tips in their how-to section on alternatives to chemical cleansers and body products. Especially useful because lots of natural and organic products actually ain't. (via The Dieline)

Fun with Logos

Mashups: they're not just for mixing The Beatles with Jay Z anymore. It was perhaps inevitable hat someone would do a bunch of logo mashups. After all, the Web 2.0 versions of corporate logos were a big hit. Add a creative bar code and your branding will be on fire. (via Brand New)

Fun with Bar Codes

Why not start your Monday off with a little bar code fun? Being in the logo products business, we work on one of the little things that adds up to a brand's personality. Packaging design is one, taglines are another. Brands pay a lot of attention to logo design, so why not pay a little attention to the bar code? Chances are, for any consumer product, both are on every package you sell.

Making Promos that Match

I just wanted to highlight this photo of a promotional notebook and promotional paper clips done for Google, because they looks go great together. Google has a somewhat challenging logo to begin with. Although it's simple, it has five colors, which means to match items you need to find ones that can be printed in five colors (or full-color). Beyond that, it's important to find items that look good together and make sure and make sure your logo size is proportionate both to the items and to the other items. One hint: if you're doing multiple items of similar size, make all the logos the same size, even if it could be a little bigger on one of the items.

Gym Promotes with Exercise Device

Here's a pretty unusual promotional product, created for a gym in China. It was sent to members, with the message "don't give up halfway." Using promotional fitness products is increasingly popular in the US, and not just amongst fitness clubs. Promotional pedometers, water bottles and all types of sports and fitness equipment are used by all types of companies to encourage healthy activity. Even classics, like the jump rope are coming back in style.

Apple Fans: Hairvertising and Crochetvertising

I know we've discussed headvertising before, a couple times in fact. But that, like wristvertising, involved brand tattooing. Hairvertising just involves the hair, which turns out to be a fairly versatile promotional tool itself.

Of course, some people prefer working with animal hair, spun into yarn. For those who tend to be more crafty, do-it-yourself types, particularly knitters and the like, handmade logo gear may be more your style.

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Schwag

The title of this blog post made me chuckle: Throw Me the Schwag! No Time to Argue!, and yes, there is a whole mess of Indiana Jones promotion in our near future. Incidentally, the original whip used in the movie is apparently valued at around $30,000. But you can buy one not used in the movies for under a grand. According to the producer's site:

The 450 series bullwhips, our own production, were used in the Indiana Jones movies. This whip, as the No. 453 8 ft. length or the No. 455 10 ft. length, became an icon when it was so skillfully woven into the story by Glenn Randall, the stunt director for the first movie. It became a recognized part of the Indiana Jones character, and an ongoing factor in maintaining the suspense of the story. Equally as important the association of this whip with these outstanding movies led to a resurgence in interest in whips in movies, stage performances, and in sport whipcracking. There are now large numbers of Indiana Jones fans, many cracking whips.

Indeed.

The Icevertising Cometh

It seems like only yesterday that someone invented foamvertising using modified snow blowing machines, and now the new icevertising age is about to begin. Below is a new device that can make perfectly spherical ice cubes without time-consuming manual chipping. Basically, you can take a regular ice cube, put it in the mold and it melts into a perfect sphere, or soon I imagine, an icy logo. The machine exists because in Japan, serious connoisseurs of drinks on the rocks prefer spheres because, having less surface area, they melt more slowly.

More info at Trends in Japan, where they said this: "Contrary to what you might think, bartenders in Japan consistently take home top honors at global competitions, not because of their flashy antics or strange new concoctions but because there is an intense devotion to making simply the best drink, of which perfect ice is an obvious component."

Logo Know-how: Design for Promos

Below is a sample corporate identity design I found on flickr, probably done for inclusion in a designer's portfolio. What I really like about it is that the logo is presented on a variety of promotional items in addition to the typical letterhead, envelope and business card. My guess is - even though snail mail is probably declining as a part of business communications and promotional product use is increasing - many companies and agencies neglect to take this into account when designing a corporate identity. In our experience, it is not uncommon to find large, sophisticated companies that have detailed branding guidelines for print and web that don't have something similar for logo merchandise.

Because of some of the unique challenges of using various imprinting methods (e.g., pad printing, laser engraving, embroidery), on a wide variety of items of different colors, shapes and sizes, this can be a big oversight and lead to inconsistent branding. Knowing what logo you will use when you only have a small printing area (like on a pen), or can only print in one color or what thread colors most closely match the PMS values of the colors in your logo are all great things to know ahead of time. Actually designing with these in mind will help you get the best results wherever you decide to put your logo.

The Cost of Memory

Moore's Law dictates that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on a chip is growing exponentially. A byproduct of that law is that the price of memory is falling quickly. Because USB flash drives are a popular promotional product, we're constantly re-pricing our flash memory items to offer better prices. The question is, how cheap is too cheap? Find out after the jump...

]]> I don't necessarily have the answer, and if I put down a number it would probably be wrong in a few weeks. However, there are a couple things to consider. First, definitely go for USB 2.0. The data rate is 40 times faster than USB 1.1, which is now basically obsolete. Second, not all flash memory is the same. Obviously, quality name brands are going to deliver reliable products. There are also non-name brands that produce high quality flash memory, often at lower prices.

Unfortunately, there are also suppliers who use low-quality flash chips that may be less reliable. Often these chips have less than the stated capacity because some parts of the chip are damaged, other times some chips may not work at all. In manufacturing, chips that don't pass quality tests are sometimes sold in bulk and then used in cheap usb products. These are not the chips you are looking for.

My advice? Look for a good deal, but be wary of a deal that sounds too good, and work with a supplier you trust.

Rangers Rally Towel

The rally towel is an interesting promo. Apparently, it dates back to a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. After what he thought was an unfair call, Coach Roger Neilson tied a towel to a spare hockey stick and began waving it as a sarcastic surrender statement. Neilson was fined, but the towels were a hit and a local businessman printed up and several thousand with proceeds going to charity. It's been with us ever since. Here is a surprisingly mustard-free, Sabrett-sponsored New York Rangers rally towel. It makes a great keepsake after the game, you can keep it with your Nathan's stadium cup and your Hebrew National clappers.

Target Wins Logo Showdown

Target triumphed in a recent Fortune Magazine battle of the logos, taking out Nike's swoosh in the semis and the CBS eye in the finals. Although I feel a little gypped that the winner was basically a circle inside another circle, it does look good on a reusable shopping bag. Perhaps next month Fortune can do a reusable shopping tote smackdown between target and IKEA.

Ten Cent Real Estate Promotion

Here's a cool ten-cent direct mail promotion that our CEO received. A Prudential Homes realtor sent out ten one cent stamps when the postage rates changed, along with a letter reminding past clients that if they know anyone looking for a new home in the area, she's always happy to get referrals. This is a great promotion because it's inexpensive, yet thoughtful. Plus, since most people don't buy new homes too often, it focuses on capturing referral opportunities, which is an effective way to utilize your customer base in real estate.

Rocking the Refrigerator Magnet

A recent Marketing Sherpa blog post talks about why you might want to promote with magnets, particularly if you're a niche ecommerce site. According to the PPAI, marketers spent $419 million on magnets last year, so they must have some benefits. Here are the basics:

It's inexpensive, only a few cents each
You can drop one in every package you send
For niche sites customers often don't sign up for email or newsletters because they are only interested in the product every once in a while
Even if your customers only buy occasionally, the magnet may prompt them to promote your product to others

Pizza parlors have known the value of promotional magnets for years, perhaps it's time for ecommerce companies to get on board as well.

Thanks for the Memory!

As we learn more about our brains and how they work, we find that memory is not as good as we think it is, and it's hard to get into someone's memory in the first place. In a recent interview with developmental molecular biologist John Medina, he had a couple things to say about memory. One observation was that our memories aren't like a recording device. The actual process for 'fixing" things into our memory is complex and poorly understood. He also mentions "elaborative rehearsal" as one of the most effective way of producing memories. Basically, you can improve the chances of memory by reproducing the environment in which you first were exposed to the idea. For example, if you're sad when you learn something, being sad when you try to retrieve that memory will help you remember it better.

This concept does much to explain the effectiveness of promotional products. As a tangible item that connects people to experiences, a promotional product can reinforce a message by recreating some of the original experience. Also, because they are often items we use regularly the message is reinforced by our repeated exposure as well as the fact that we experience it in the same or similar context each time.

Below is a chart I saw in an Advertising Lab post about how to optimally space media messages. The idea is that the optimal time to remind someone of something is right before they start forgetting it. Of course, if you're paying for each exposure to the advertising message, this is a good way to minimize costs while maintaining effectiveness. For a promotional product, it may be less important because the initial purchase cost typically gets you many impressions as long as the item stays in use.

Using both principles a marketer could come up with the perfect promotional item, something that gets used in the same context repeatedly, at an interval shorter than the time they would be expected to forget the message. Bonus points for getting a product they use in the same physical or mental space they are in when making purchasing decisions.