And Now the Nuts and Bolts and Seams
It’s good to know where bags stand with current regulations and sustainable options, but once you get past mil requirements and responsibility trends, you need to look at the style of bags and who you are selling them to. So here is a handy style and market guide for 2013.
COLORS
Mahoney mentioned that Pantone’s Color of the Year has an influence on popular hues for bags. “Emerald is the color of the year, so I expect to see more color options in bright greens,” she said. “I believe it was tangerine last year, so oranges, too, and then nonprofit signature colors such as pink and teal are in demand.” Duffy added pinks, limes and bright blues. “Bold colors continue to be a popular choice for 2013,” he said.
IMPRINTS
Duffy said choosing an imprint option is simple: Go with full-color. “For the best marketing results, full-color imprinting is the way to go,” he said. “While many bags are imprinted with a straight-forward, one-color imprint, how many end-buyer marketing programs are actually designed for just one color? Very few,” he pointed out. “The use of vivid colors and bold designs can really get eyes on the marketing message.”
Mahoney agreed, noting the popularity of colorful screen prints. “Screen printing euro tote style bags is also a new way to get multiple colors and tight registration but on a lower 300 piece minimum,” she said. She listed other imprint trends as well. “Depending on the bag style, the trend has been towards ink, with screen printing and flexography still being very popular,” she said. “This works for cotton, nonwoven and paper shopping bags.” She added foil stamping as another option for shopping bags.
If your client wants something that stands out more than full-color, Mahoney and Duffy suggested full customization in the form of all-over imprints or complete bag design. “Designing a bag from scratch-from dimensions to imprinting to design elements-offers a truly distinct marketing impact and lets the end-buyer create a very specific, tailored, and robust marketing presentation,” explained Duffy.
MARKETS
Promotional programs with a variety of products are wonderful. You take a pen, a towel and a T-shirt, imprint them with some jazzy logo and give them out to customers to celebrate the millionth Facebook like or a 50-year anniversary. But you know what would take that promotion to the next level? A bag to carry those imprinted wares. “Bags and totes fit in almost any category,” stated Mahoney. “My recommendation would be to tailor the product to the need,” she added.
According to Duffy, the biggest need for bags is for fundraising. “We find that bags are very popular for fundraising programs. Whether it’s for a charity, school, community group, or nonprofit, bags are a low-cost item that can yield great results,” he said. He listed health care, education and local businesses as the top targets for fundraising bag sales.
