Promotional Products & Marketing Blog

It’s no doubt some Americans have gotten lackadaisical about their fitness—more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, according to the CDC.

Nike is determined to do something about it. The company unveiled a clever way to get folks moving by giving them no other option—it removed actual seat bottoms from park benches and customized the backs with the Nike Run logo.

It’s an effective, can’t-miss way to promote health and fitness, while still promoting the Nike brand.

If snatching seat bottoms from park benches isn’t your thing, spread your message of health and wellness with promotional products.

Promo know-how tip: Logoed athletic apparel, workout gear, water bottles and more are useful to recipients at the gym or on a jog, and they show your brand’s commitment to health and fitness.

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You know how to get your body ready for the beach: eat right, squeeze in some exercise and nab the perfect swimwear.

But what about your promotions—are they ready for beach season? Consider this: About 75 million Americans are heading to the beach this summer. These sun-seekers represent a gigantic, sunscreen-slathered market to get your message across.

Beach resorts, travel agencies and cruise lines have a prime opportunity for giving guests logoed beach items, but they’re not the only ones. Any business can benefit by giving their customers promotional beach items they can use while playing or relaxing in the sun.

Memorial Day is the kickoff to summer, which means beach season is drawing near. Try these 10 beach products to add a little surf, sand and sun to your next promotion.

1. Beach balls. Take an unexpected route and use these for company picnics, birthday parties or concerts.
2. Beach mats. Make sure to find one that’s water- and sand-resistant to keep your logo vibrant.
3. Beach towels. Logos pop against a crisp, white background, but tropical colors are irresistibly fun for beach towels.
4. SPF lip balm. Protect your customers’ kissers with promotional SPF lip balm in an array of tantalizing flavors.
5. Beach bag. Help beachgoers corral their logoed beach items with a promotional beach bag. Multiple pockets are ideal, especially ones sized for water bottles.
6. Sunglasses. Hop on the aviator sunglasses trend for a promotional gift your customers can use in any season.
7. Beach buckets and toys. Promote your brand and playtime with logoed items for kids. Many beach toys double as bath toys, so you get twice the exposure with parents.
8. Sunsceen. Look for promotional sunscreen with a carabiner clip for easy attachment to a beach bag or tote.
9. Water bottles. Promote hydration with a logoed water bottle. Try packing some promotional sunscreen or lip balm inside for an easy beach kit.
10. Coolers. Wheeled coolers are best for shuttling drinks from the car to the coastline.

Promo know-how tip: Logoed beach items are fun, useful and perfectly on time for the summer season. Score some sizzle with our hot summer specials happening now!

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According to a 2009 study, CEOs who don’t play golf are paid 17% less (on average) than those who do! Golf has long been considered a favorite sport of business professionals, buy why? Julian Small, CEO of Wentworth Golf Club in London, has a few ideas. First, golf is a sport that accommodates players of every age – even frail 65-year old bosses can get it on the action without taking health risks. Secondly, thanks to the handicap system, players at different skill levels can still enjoy competitive matches against each other without embarrassment. The third reason, and maybe the most important, is that golf isn’t exactly the most action-packed sport in the world. This means in a four-hour game, most of the time can be spent talking business, with short breaks to actually, you know – play the game.

Small also thinks that golf can be a good judge of a person’s character. The best players are those who perform well under pressure, stay even-tempered, and think strategically.

With golf season starting to ramp up across the country, your business has the opportunity to reach golf-loving business professionals in the places where they are making their biggest decisions: on the green! Here are a few best-selling promotional golf gifts that span the gamut from budget-friendly to “wow!”

Custom golf tees are great for smaller budgets or companies trying to reach large audiences. This simple accessory is a must-have in any gear bag, and is comparable to giving out inexpensive logo pens in a corporate office environment. They are cheap, useful, and used often. Imprint your company name and contact info so that clients remember your business during every one of their golf outings.

Logo golf towels are a nice mid-range gift for golfers. These towels come with a special hook that allows you to affix the towel to your golf bag where it will be on display all day long. Golf towels are used to clean balls, clubs, and wipe that stray bit of sweat from your forehead during tense matchups. They are available in a variety of colors to match your corporate color scheme, and provide a large space for your logo or marketing message.

For the most important occasions, milestones, and business relationships, you need to pull out the big guns. This custom leather golf shoe bag is guaranteed to wow any true golf fan. This quality gear bag keeps expensive shoes and other accessories in good shape, and it looks great while doing it. Putting your logo on a top-tier golf gift like this one is going to associate with your brand with quality, class, and attention to detail.

For more great promotional golf items, don’t miss our 2012 Top 10 Golf list!

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As we slowly transition from winter to spring, it won’t be long until your umbrella becomes a constant companion!

As Brazil’s SummerVille Resort expertly demonstrates with their latest campaign, it’s a great idea to tie your promotional products in with seasonal trends and weather. That means with rainy days and spring showers on the horizon, now is a great time to stock up on promotional umbrellas.

SummerVille Resort took the idea of using custom umbrellas one step further than most companies normally do. Instead of just imprinting their company name and some contact information, they transformed the inside of the umbrella to look like a gorgeous blue sky. Now, when people are grumbling about spring rainstorms, SummerVille can promote themselves at the perfect time.

Wouldn’t you rather be looking at the clear blue sky in Brazil instead of dark grey storm clouds? It’s a tempting offer and a great visual promo.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about license plate-vertising lately. Here in New York (official ePromos headquarters!), the state released a new license plate design on April 1st. Fast forward four months to present day, and people are still buzzing about it! The striking gold-colored plates have been a well-received change, and it’s still hard not to notice them when you’re driving around.

All of this focus on the new plates got me thinking about vanity plates and custom license plate frames as a promotional medium. Billboards and radio spots have helped companies advertise to motorists for years, but these avenues are usually too expensive for many small and even medium-sized businesses.

If you’re looking to promote your brand to a captive audience of drivers, promotional license plate frames are the way to go. These inexpensive items are the perfect place to put your company name, phone number, or a web site URL where it will be seen by countless people on the road. These plate frames are obviously an ideal choice for car dealerships, mechanics, and any other businesses that work in the automotive industry. Forget billboards and radio – for cost-effective car marketing, use license plate frames or personalized bumper stickers for your next promotion!

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Here’s a really well-done campaign that makes use of lots of different things to “fire on all cylinders:” a guerrilla street event, promo invitations, and even an interactive tournament to get people involved. The event took place in Canada and aimed to raise awareness of Italy’s World Cup Qualifier. Judging by the video it looks like they did a great job getting people involved and informed.

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To promote the idea that their dog food makes pets strong and healthy, Iams had custom frisbees designed to look like 10kg weights. The frisbees were then given out at dog parks where many happy mutts proudly became four-pawed slobbering billboards. Why should humans get all the free stuff, anyway?

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Soon, every available surface on the planet will be covered with some form of advertising. So far, the process has taken about 4.5 billion years, but it started accelerating rapidly after humans developed civilization. In this post, we explore some of the surfaces that have recently been advert-ized.

First, we have the garage door, which is transformed to make it look like there is an Audi inside. Previously, most garage doors were simply painted with no advertising content, often the same color as the rest of the house.

Next, we have the baggage claim belt. This surface has been used as an advertising medium in the past, but to date we have not added advertising to every single one. This is a particularly valuable advertising space because travelers stare mindlessly at it for long stretches of time.

Finally, we have the climbing wall. As you can see, this surface is ideal for advertising acne medication. Simply design a background that transforms the hand and foot holds into pimples. This not only serves a crucial advertising function, but it also makes rock climbing practice immeasurably more enjoyable. Keep an eye on this space for our ongoing coverage of advertising being added to every possible surface on earth!

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Lays promotes the idea that their potatoes are “grown closer than you may think.” While this is a totally cute, eye-catching installation, I will need a little more convincin’ before I believe that Lays are somehow local. I’m not sure why they would even bother going after the relatively tiny people-who-care-where-their-food-comes-from market. I do find it reassuring that they apparently use at least some potatoes in their potato chips.

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The best storefront ever, this one goes to eleven. I mean, if you’ve got to have a building anyway, why not make it a giant version of your product?(via Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That!)

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