Promotion, Marketing & Advertising

Another SES Conference & Expo is almost in the books. After four days of keynotes and cocktails, you likely have some big plans for digital marketing awesomeness.

Don’t let those big plans fall to the wayside like a pile of conference name tags. Here are six things to do after SES to maximize all your newfound inspiration and ideas.

1. Create a summary of SES New York.

Don’t dive into the expense report and unread e-mails right away. Instead, pull together a report of your SES experience. Colleagues and partners can benefit from your newfound knowledge.

2. Start an action-item list.

Inspired by a campaign or idea? Put it into play by creating an action list. The worst thing you can do is let all that great knowledge get forgotten.

3. Book a brainstorming sesh.

Get your team together as soon as you can (as in Monday) to review lessons learned at SES. The material is fresh in your mind, so talk about it while it’s hot.

4. Fire up new friendships.

You know those cool new peeps you met at SES? Give them a call or reach out via e-mail and social media to see how they’re doing. It may lead to some exciting opportunities.

5. Connect with keynotes.

Love what a particular speaker had to say at SES NYC? Say so by sending a tweet or e-mail. It’s a way to set yourself apart from other attendees and thank them for contributing to a great event.

6. Blog about SES.

Your marketing blog is a great place to re-hash lessons learned from SES and also share about your experience. Get writing though—the sooner you post, the fresher and more relevant the content will be for those who attended.

If SES was a tremendously busy and beneficial event for you, use what you learned to dominate your market. Don’t let that knowledge sit in a notebook.

We all know the adage, and for marketers, those April showers are a great reason to promote with custom umbrellas.

Take Victoria’s Secret, for example. The women’s wear, beauty and lingerie retailer is offering a free umbrella with a $65 purchase. Not the typical frilly underthings or sparkly lip gloss – simply a seasonal gift-with-purchase for shoppers. How very smart and refreshingly different.

Promotional umbrellas are timely, functional, and something shoppers can use (maybe even immediately) to promote the Victoria’s Secret brand.

Custom umbrellas also make great business gifts this time of year. Pop open one of these styles to get huge brand exposure when those April showers roll in:

Promotional compact and folding umbrellas.

Your business can come to the rescue when thunder rumbles—these conveniently sized umbrellas are perfect for tucking in a purse or backpack. They’re offered in a variety of colors, materials and arc sizes to make a bold statement.

Promotional non-folding umbrellas.

Options abound with stick promotional umbrellas—you can promote with styles that are windproof or vented, or styles that feature an automatic open or even a light-up shaft.

Promotional patio umbrellas.

These jumbo-sized umbrellas aren’t just ideal for patio dining at bars and restaurants—they’re also great advertising at the beach, sporting events, street fairs and community events.

Rain or shine, custom umbrellas get your logo seen. Even in a crowd of people, there’s no missing the huge imprint on a promo umbrella. If you’ve been thinking of a clever, useful customer gift for springtime, give logo umbrellas a twirl.

Promo know-how tip:

Expand your messaging by imprinting on multiple panels or including a case with your custom umbrellas. Let our Brand Consultants help you select the right umbrellas for your budget and promotion.

If you’re a marketer who hates QR codes, you don’t know what you’re missing. QR or Quick Response codes, those square, garbled-looking images readable by smartphones, are being scanned in unprecedented numbers.

About 120 QR codes were scanned every minute during the last quarter of 2012, according to research from ScanLife, a global provider of cloud solutions. That’s almost six times the 24 codes scanned per minute during the same period in 2011.

QR code scans jumped 300% in 2011 over 2010—and that number will only continue to rise.

comScore research indicates that as many as 53% of American adults own smartphones—and they’re scanning those codes to access anything from loyalty programs to contests.

Research also shows that most people (70%) scanning QR codes are male and that they tend to be older than 25 (three out of four are 25+).

Don’t hate on QR codes. People, who more than likely are in your target audience, see them and scan them. When used properly, QR codes are a bridge between you and your audience, connecting the online world with the offline world.

Before you make your own QR code with ePromos’ free QR code generator, follow these best practices:

• Ensure your QR codes serve a purpose—they should always bring some kind of value to your audience.
• Always consider where the QR code will be printed—you want people to notice it.
• Make sure your QR code is scannable—that means nothing smaller than one inch square.
• Don’t make your QR code a surprise—always tell users what they can expect when they scan. Tell them if they’ll get product reviews or a coupon, for example.
• Test and track your QR codes.

Promo know-how tip:

QR codes are meant to be a shortcut, so don’t over-complicate them. The goal is for people to scan, take a quick action and be done. Make your own QR codes now, or give our Brand Consultants a call for help.

Last week, we brought you the inside scoop on promoting with custom candy. Now, we raise a glass to promotional beverages, a refreshing way to promote your business (and wash down all those sweets).

Imprinted drink mix packets make a splash in all kinds of varieties: lemonade, hot chocolate, gourmet coffee, iced tea and more. They put your brand in front of your audience, and they save people a trip to the breakroom or vending machine for a drink. The convenience is nice, and everybody likes saving a little coin.

There are lots of ways to hand out custom drink mixes, too.

• Give out iced tea, lemonade or fruit punch packets with custom-label bottled water at conferences or events.
• Tuck individual packets of coffee, tea or hot chocolate into custom mugs or tumblers for cozy customer gifts.
• Place promotional beverages in your company’s reception area and kitchen for a cost-effective giveaway for clients and employees.
• Add a message of appreciation to custom drink mix packets to thank staffers for a job well done.
• Keep a stash of promotional beverages to give customers while they wait for your services. They sure make a wait at the auto shop a little easier to swallow.

Promotional beverages are fun, flavorful and budget-friendly. Just think: Your brand can come to the rescue with a steamy mug of hot chocolate on a blustery day or a tall, sweet glass of lemonade during the sizzling summer months.

Custom drink mixes are a refreshing addition to your marketing, and they fit any budget. Jake’s back with some gulp-worthy promo drinks:

Promo know-how tip:

Make your promotional beverages part of a combo gift by including them with a promotional snack or custom drinkware. Our Brand Consultants can offer some clever ideas. 

Thinking about giving out custom candy? People love the sweet stuff. So much, in fact, that Americans are eating about 100 pounds of sugar a year apiece, according to Business Insider.

In 1822, it took people five days to consume the amount of sugar found in one of today’s 12-ounce sodas. Now, people consume that much every seven hours.

Sugary treats and eats are a way of life. Your customers crave something sweet like they crave their morning coffee. Custom candy lets you satisfy their craving while getting your business some great exposure.

Here are three things that might surprise you about custom candy:

1. It’s not just chocolate and mints.

It’s a Willy Wonka world when marketing with promotional candy. You can add your logo to a candy store of treats: gourmet jelly beans, cotton candy, gumballs, gummy bears, conversation hearts, candy corn, lollipops, licorice, sugar-free candies and more.

2. Candy colors are customizable.

You aren’t limited to stock shades—you can get candy in your corporate colors. Think about how slick it would look to hand out corporate-colored candies at a tradeshow, conference, golf tournament, or corporate event.

3. You can customize the container and the candy.

The candy wrapper isn’t the only place to spotlight your logo—you can also customize the candy itself. Before that piece of chocolate gets savored or that gumball gets popped, your customers get a good look at your custom logo.

Here’s Jake to show you more about custom candy:

Promo know-how tip:

Use custom candy to set the tone for your next event. Foil-wrapped chocolates exude elegance, while cotton candy or lollipops are pure fun.

We have to do a promo products shout-out to the people at TD Bank. They’re doing an outstanding job marketing with promotional products. Just check out their Facebook page—you’ll see everything from custom lollipops to dog bandannas promoting the TD Bank brand.

Their page proclaims a mission to “discover what it truly means to bank human again,” and their creative use of promo items shows that they mean it.

Here are a few promotional gems we spotted on their Facebook page:

TD Bank included the caption: “Don’t let a rainy day get between you and your TD Bank. Now that’s convenient.” Great service. Great promo umbrella.

TD Bank sends a welcoming message: “You look like you need a lollipop. Come in, we’re open!”

We love how TD Bank gives its promo items a personality: “Ahh … heading home after a great day at work.”

TD Bank’s employee (who’s wearing some great promo apparel) sparks conversation: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away. How do you stay ‘fiscal-y’ fit?”

TD Bank appeals to animal lovers with this promo: “Mr. Pugsley sure knows how to rock a bandanna!”

We also love that TD Bank is doing more than just handing out promo pens—they’re actually using them to engage their community. They asked Facebook fans: “What’s the farthest you’ve traveled with your promo pen?” The post got more than 3,000 likes, 800 comments and 100 shares. Fans commented that they traveled as far as China, Ireland and New Zealand with their TD Bank promotional pens.

People: This is how it should be done. Don’t just use promo products as handouts—tie them into your social media marketing. Take a cue from TD Bank and have some fun while you promote.

Promo know-how tip:

A great way to ramp up your social media marketing is by holding contests and rewarding participants with promo products. Talk to our Brand Consultants for some creative ideas.