A new car with a big red bow? A baby? A service member returned home from duty? A t-shirt representing your favorite band? We want to know what is your idea of the perfect gift!
Last year, we wrote about the best gift you ever received. The post, and the accompanying contest, was a smashing success. So much so, that we wanted to do it again. This time, we want to know your idea of the perfect gift! Take a picture of your perfect gift. Upload your pic to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #PPPerfect gift to be entered for a chance to win our awesome prize pack.
[Tweet “I entered for a chance to win @PinnaclePromos The #PPPerfectGift Holiday Contest. You can too!”]
Hush Puppies was looking to increase sales of Hush Puppies shoes in the Fall for their WeatherSmart campaign and in the Spring for their Commuter campaign using a gift with purchase. The Pinnacle programs team worked closely with the fabulous group at Hush Puppies to develop just the right products to help Hush Puppies make the right impression with their value-added items.
“Hush Puppies helped the world relax… but it took a bit of work to get there. The history of Hush Puppies is rooted in comfort innovation – from the first casual shoe with Worry-Free Suede® to the many patented technologies that make shoes more comfortable and lightweight. From the beginning, the revolutionary use of Scotchgard® leather protector, added during the tanning process, made Hush Puppies leather scuff, stain and water resistant and changed suede footwear forever. Water beaded up and rolled away, leaving feet dry and the suede soft, supple and looking like new. Hush Puppies made “worryfree” a benchmark of its shoes and its brand attitude. In the 1980’s, Hush Puppies combined “computer modeling, biomechanical design and state of the art shoe crafting” to introduce the Hush Puppies “Body Shoe®” and ushered in the walking shoe era.”
The long, storied history of innovation at Hush Puppies set the bar high for quality and unique product offerings!
Solution
Pinnacle provided our client with IdeaKits featuring product ideas that would speak to the campaign messages. • For WeatherSmart Campaign, we designed a fashion-forward folding umbrella that would appeal to the retail distribution channel. • For Commuter Campaign, we designed a fashion-forward keychain and introduced a clever, new & unique product called the PopSockets(R) for a mobile technology accessory.
Pinnacle managed the production and distribution of these 2 campaigns to Hush Puppies’s nationwide retail channels. We also held available leftover inventory on these items that we then re-purposed for Dealer Incentives (WeatherSmart) and to tie into a Social Media Campaign Giveaways (Commuter).
Result
Pinnacle not only was able to manage and execute the projects successfully for the US, but also for the UK and Canada markets. In addition the retail partners responsible were very impressed with the drive in sales and appreciated we were able to integrate into their distribution network without any hassles.
FLEETCOR is a leading independent global provider of specialized payment products and services. It serves 500,000 commercial with millions of cardholders across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa and Asia.
FLEETCOR was given the last minute authorization to order products for their upcoming Sales Incentive Trip, only four weeks away and in the Dominican Republic. They were looking for high quality products that met their branding guidelines but were on a tight deadline.
Solution
Since time was of the essence, Pinnacle created an IdeaKit in less than two hours, recommending products that historically have been successful and would deliver internationally in a timely manner. FLEETCOR selected six items for their event: The Starphire Glass Award, 5”x 7” Embossed Tropical Frames, Superior Weight Colored Beach Towels, Suncare Kits with added lip balm, the Alta Triton Water Bottle and the Riviera Striped Tote.
Since this order was shipping internationally, Pinnacle worked directly with a major global logistics provider and the client’s hotel to ensure delivery would go smoothly. We learned, however, after the items had landed in the Dominican Republic, that the logistics company was unable to make the delivery. Despite the significant setback, we worked with concierge at the hotel and hired a taxi to pick up the packages from the airport and drive three hours to make the delivery. The items arrived at the recipients’ hotel rooms that evening.
Result
FLEETCOR was extremely pleased with the outcome of their order, despite one item not clearing customs. FLEETCOR declared this to be the nicest collection of products that they had ever given away at a sales incentive trip. And, the Pinnacle and FLEETCOR teams were able to work together to select the perfect promotional items to help the client Make the right impression™.
This is the time of year that our thoughts turn to gifting. Gifting can mean many things for businesses: either holiday gifts to customers that have done business within the past year, or gifting to recognize employee year-end achievements. Companies are starting to look at purposeful, appropriate gifts for the audience and for the season.
Recognition vs. Year End
Gifting at this time of year falls into two main categories: Recognition and Year-End. Recognition gifting is usually based on merit awards or department/company profitability. Year-end gifting is that gift which is given to employees or customers to thank them for service or loyalty throughout the year. You need to start at the beginning and decide exactly what type of gifting you will be doing this season. And if you are like most people, our guess is that you will be doing both!
Seasonality
The change of seasons affects the type of gifts you might be giving this time of year. It is time to update company uniforms, anyway. You may have already begun the switch from short-sleeved, pastel polo shirts to heather-colored henleys. You may have begun the switch from windbreaker to fleece-lined zippered jacket.
When gift giving, you can use this change in apparel to express your appreciation. This Melange Fleece Jacket is a great seasonal piece that won’t break the bank and makes a functional, attractive vehicle for your logo.
The season of awards and gifting can be an expensive one. Not because of the item itself necessarily, but because this is the time of year you are giving in volume. But, don’t let price influence you to not make the best decision possible. You can provide larger quantities of gifts without having to over-extend yourself. Gift for the home or desk accessories are always a nice treat. Our Corporate Gifts category offers a variety of options across several price points. And don’t forget, gifts given in trade or businesses are tax deductible in part or whole.
Make the right impression™
Lastly, this is the gifting opportunity to help you make the right impression. You might be sending a gift to a customer who only orders from you once a year, and you want to use this gift to encourage repeat and increased business. You might be rewarding that employee who hit their sales goals for the first time ever, and this gift will help you reinforce a spirit of success. Either way, you can make the right impression with your gift initially and then get residual value from that gift all year long based on its usability and visibility in the life of the recipient.
However you plan to gift this year now is the time to start thinking about it. Your budget should include the actual gift, packaging and presentation, and fulfillment (packaging labor, shipping costs, etc.). Take a look at some good-better-best options. And, if you weren’t already thinking about gifting for recognition or year-end…maybe you should.
Tell us: What is one of the favorite year-end gifts you have ever received? What is one of the worst?
Auburn or Alabama? Bears or Packers? College football of NFL? Gas grill or charcoal grill? Hot dogs or Brats? Group section seating or corporate suite?
Corporate picnics were good in the summer, but this is football season! And, it is football-tailgating season. So no matter what team your organization roots for, tailgating and attending a fall football game is always a fun corporate event and great for team building…as long as your team wins!
We polled our account teams and some of our customers and here are our picks for the top must-dos for the corporate tailgating event:
1. Keep the drinks cold!
2. Clean up after yourself!
3. Support your team!
4. Keep the fans warm!
6. Stay connected!
7. Stay safe!
8. Be loud!
We want to see your pictures! If your organization does some tailgating this season, share your pics with us of your team supporting your team! Post them to our Facebook wall.
“This was great! Got some ideas for future promotional items that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.”
This is just one of the quotes from people who attended Pinnacle Promotions Atlanta Idea Expo ’14. The event happened on September 17th, and was the first of its kind for Pinnacle. We invited area clients, and some clients from farther away, to spend the day at our new offices.
We invited 12 vendors to bring their best presentations, samples and ideas to share with our customers. Guests moved through the offices with a passport, showing destinations and directions for experiencing what each vendor had to offer. At the end of the day, we invited our guests to sign the back of their passport and drop it in a drawing for an iPad. Just for attending, guests were entered to win any number of prizes throughout the day including compu-backpacks, men’s and women’s all-weather apparel and even a golf bag.
Throughout the day, guests were welcome to stop at any one of the five educational sessions. Session topics included Holiday Gifts, Apparel, Case Studies, Company Stores and Social Media. The Apparel and Social Media sessions proved to be the most popular among the attendees. Ideas were flowing fast and fierce!
Guests left Pinnacle with goody bags full of samples and new information about smart products that they can use to promote their brand. They were able to complete sample request cards to get specific samples sent to them at their office for a closer look. They were able to leave with the experience of having spent the day with their co-workers or Pinnacle account teams. And, they were able to leave Pinnacle Promotions with sneak peeks into what promotional items are new and unique for 2015 as well as great ideas for ways to use popular branded items to gear up their team, reward employees or expand their audience.
Click to see more pictures from our event. If you attended the event at our offices, please stop by our Google+ local page and leave a review about your experience! And, stay tuned for news and information about our next great event!
We see it all in the promotional products industry. We’ve seen clients order everything from the traditional promotional stick pen to the custom mug with a brass knuckles handle. There is a perfectly good use for even the most eye-catching promotional products. Here are a few of our favorites:
1. The Kikkerland Cranky This completely functional promotional product with imprint area on the key, doubles as a business card holder. This product was recently purchased by a software development company. Think clever? Think techy? Think geek? Think software development company.
2. The Lung Stress Ball This lung shaped stress ball is a fantastic awareness product. November is COPD Awareness Month and these would make a perfect personalized giveaway for events. The key to awareness product is impact and functionality. The better suited the promotional items, the better the opportunity for engagement and return on your investment in the form of participation and donation.
3. The Hot Rod® Vent stick Looking for the pine tree air freshener? We’ve got something better. This stick air freshener glides right into the air vents of the car. Brand the end, the most visible part of the product. This product can be used for the local car wash as a giveaway for patrons. It makes the perfect swag bag item for a large car show. And, can be branded and sold in auto parts stores to turn perfume into profit.
4. Umbrella Plus This promotional umbrella doubles as a chipping target. When you see this umbrella in it’s traditional position, it looks like your average umbrella. Except for two, dog ear holes on top. Do they go up? Do they go down? Actually, when the umbrella is inverted they serve as golf holes for chipping or putting. We don’t have to tell you that this makes the perfect golf outing prize or branded with the club or league logo and it becomes a fabulous country club self-promotional item for sale in the pro shop.
5. Biodegradable Sweatshirt Water Bottle Because every water bottle needs a hooded sweatshirt, right? As fun as this cooler cover might look, the advantage of this product is the reusable BPA-free water bottle. The large imprint area on the bottle cover makes this product perfect for your corporate picnic or fraternity or sorority-tailgating event. The tickets to the Florida State Football game pictured here are not included! ;)
Some of these branded products might not immediately come to mind for your event or organization. Some of these customizable products might even make you say “WHAT!??!” But then again, some of these promotional items are so creative the sheer shock value provides an unforeseen return on your investment. These promotional items keep your brand top of mind long after the initial engagement and remind your audience of your unique ability to bring something to the table that sets you apart from your competitors.
Do you have a picture of a branded item that made you say WHAT!?!?!?! Tell us about it here or post it to our Facebook wall.
Everyone is talking about it! The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The challenge was started by golfers on a television show called the Morning Drive, and brought full-circle when golfer Chris Kennedy challenged his cousin and connected the challenge to fundraising for ALS research. The challenge has helped to raise almost $95 million dollars this year, whereas the ALS Association raised just over $2 million dollars in all of last year. The Pinnacle Art department was recently challenged, and they performed their own ice bucket challenge. (Watch the Pinnacle Promotions Ice Bucket Challenge HERE)
If your organization doesn’t have the notoriety yet of the ALS challenge, there are things you can do to generate awareness for your cause or event with the use of promotional products. And, when thinking about awareness products the first question you should ask yourself is, “What do I hope to accomplish with this promotional item?” Most of our top promotional products fall into one of three categories: Giveaways, Prizes, For Sale.
Here are some examples of products our clients have used for Awareness events, and the categories in which they were used:
Giveaways
1.
Awareness RIbbon Keychain
2.
Debossed Silicone Wristband
Prizes
1.
Max Performance Smartphone Armband
2.
Bottle for a Cause Custom Water Bottle with Silicone Bracelet
For Sale
1.
Ribbon Car Sign Magnet w/ Custom Imprint
2.
Neon Fruit Infuser BPA Free Water Bottle 24 oz.
3.
Die Struck Sandblasted Lapel Pin
Brand the right promotional product for either a giveaway, a prize or as a for-profit item, you can put your event or cause logo on an item that can extend the reach of your message. Use the branded items to share your story, to start a conversation or to raise money. Awareness is the ultimate goal even if you aren’t using an ice bucket to get your cause out there.
Do you have a favorite promotional product from an event or cause? Share a picture with us on our Facebook page at facebook.com/pinnaclepromotions.
‘There’s no such thing as bad publicity’ – Phineas T. Barnum
That’s not completely true. In today’s crowdsourcing environment, a positive public image is vital. Businesses are competing for an ever-dwindling mindshare using all tools at their disposal. Which means that the value of the credible, qualified customer review is higher than it has ever been before.
Trustpilot is an online-review platform for ecommerce businesses that boasts more than 7.5 million reviews on its site, representing businesses in more than 16 countries. One of the key value-adds of the platform is its relationship with Google that lists Trustpilot reviews in the Google Seller Ratings. Unlike other crowd sourced or location-based review options, Trustpilot is regulated and cannot be “gamed” in the business’s favor. It is entirely customer focused, customer controlled.
Pinnacle Promotions uses Trustpilot for its customer review program. And, we are so very proud to accept the first-ever Trustpilot Customer Milestone Award. In July, the company recognized Pinnacle Promotions for collecting more than 500 reviews. Of those reviews, the majority are five-stars.
“We are honored to be the first recipient of the Trustpilot Customer Milestone Award, the party was fantastic. The entire company got to celebrate this achievement together over cake, cookies and champagne. We take our customer experiences very seriously and it’s great to know there’s a company out there that does too and is willing to recognize those that do. Thanks Trustpilot.” – Justin Hutchinson, Director of Inside Sales at Pinnacle Promotions
Trustpilot threw a party for the team at Pinnacle to celebrate this momentous occasion when they selected their top ten favorite reviews and had them framed and presented to the team during this company-wide event. Read the Trustpilot blog post, here.
Pinnacle strives every day to provide a high level of excellence in products and service. We look forward to continued positive relationships with our customers. Thank you, Trustpilot, for recognizing Pinnacle and this groundbreaking achievement!
Not putting your brand name on the door of your business is the same thing as not using a promotional product. The price of NOT using promotional products all but guarantees people will forget you.
The Advertising Specialty Institute, a leading promotional products association, releases an annual impressions study. ASI breaks down the effectiveness of promotional products against other types of advertising, by product, and by demographic. Every single study type drives home the high-value effectiveness of promotional products.
Here are the top 5 ways to not use promotional products to guarantee people forget you:
1. Don’t put your brand logo on a promotional pen that people find in their kitchen drawer, on their desk or in their purse.
3. Don’t put your logo on a shirt or customized uniform to ensure no one thinks about you when you see it in a crowd.
4. Don’t put your company name on a reusable tote bag that you give out at a tradeshow and no one will thank you for not helping them carry all of their show swag.
5. Don’t put your restaurant logo on a custom mug, on the menu or on the café door. Why do you want people to remember where they at that delicious meal that time?
