Maple Ridge Farms, Mosinee, Wis., in conjunction with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), is offering six of its best-selling food gifts in a promotion titled, “Help in the Fight Against Breast Cancer—Give Twice the Gift this Year,” from which a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Foundation. The promotion became effective Aug. 1. All pre-selected food gifts are priced exactly as similar items in the 2007 Maple Ridge Farms Catalog. Each gift will include a distinctive card that features the NBCF logo and details about the promotion. Special gift boxes designed for the program feature a rich, pink ribbon and
Read MoreSilent No More
IN AMERICA’S NOT-so-distant past, there was a time of blissful and quiet ignorance. Some would say the 1950s was the climax before the fall of this silent era. It was a homogenous time, when women were expected to be housewives and men breadwinners for the family. An individual’s role in this world was unquestionable and very clearly defined. There was charity, but primarily the kind that conjures up images of 1940s era black-and-white films, a women’s auxiliary and a cause that was to be triumphed from a distance, while wearing crisp white gloves. There were a great number of taboo topics, and if they
Read MoreEat Your Heart Out
FOOD SEEMS TO be a favorite topic in circles of every kind. It is discussed in boardrooms across the country and in bedrooms late at night. After reporting to work following a fun-filled weekend, one of the fondest memories is usually the dining experiences one had, or wished to have. It is precisely for these reasons edibles are stand-out promotional products. What better way to get people talking about one’s brand, products or services than by serving up irresistible food items? Distributors who take heed will have more than their fair share of the profits available with edible promotions. “Everyone loves food and candy,” observed
Read MoreThe Picture of Hard Work
WHEN IT COMES to office attire, individual style is something to be celebrated. Depending on the employer, stiletto pumps, ruffled blouses and form-fitting pencil skirts are acceptable corporate wear. However, there is something special—dare to say, desirable—about those businesses that maintain a traditional, uniformed dress code in a modern corporate culture that encourages individuality. Employees in these kinds of businesses tend to carry a certain decorum and professionalism about them—if not innate, perhaps deriving from their uniforms and what they represent. Think travel, hospitality, fine dining and automobile sales. It’s as if a uniform has the power to transform the most unlikely employees into
Read MoreDesign in Mind
THE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS industry is a hungry beast. It feeds on new ideas, designs and innovations. It is insatiable. One product enters the scene, only to be greedily consumed and fed to end-users in an endless attempt to set a logo apart from the crowd. This is hard work for suppliers of promotional products who must continue to fulfill a demand for products possessing nebulous adjectives, such as “new,” “hot” and the oft-cited “unique.” Many suppliers are left waiting to hear of new inventions, which can then be added to a line, but a few suppliers are taking a different approach. This rebel bunch goes
Read More0807_FSG_Intro
hile many people have attributed changes in temperature, increases in the damages caused by sunlight, loss of species and destruction of various ecosystems to pollution and human interference, there is another almost entirely undocumented and unstudied change in the world that is having equally devastating consequences: The speed at which time passes is increasing. While a year still contains 365 days, and a day 24 hours, somehow it diminishes, and there is less time in time. It may seem an outrageous claim, but evidence exists and is visible to everyone. Case in point: The holiday season is almost here yet again, and most people
Read MoreHoliday Time Flies
IN 1905 ALBERT Einstein published his theory of special relativity. The theory, which has since been proven correct by experiments, revealed one of the most startling truths about the way the world works: Time changes depending on who is observing it. It seems counter-intuitive when dwelled upon, but most people have experienced it in some way. Einstein himself described the phenomena to the masses with a quirky analogy. He said if a person touches something hot for a minute, it will seem like an hour, but if he or she sits with a lover for an hour, it will seem like a minute. “That’s
Read MorePharm Aid
FOR YEARS, PHARMACEUTICAL companies abided by stringent guidelines when marketing products directly to consumers—even describing the condition a drug was designed to treat was cost-prohibitive. However, in August of 1997, the Food and Drug Administration revised the rules. It wasn’t long before an evening of television was not complete without families frolicking free of nasal allergies, thirty-somethings rediscovering life after depression and Bob Dole telling the world how his marriage was reinvigorated. Good news for the pharmaceutical companies, but not for the promotional companies previously responsible for most of the industry’s advertising, right? Wrong. A decade later, the pharmaceutical industry continues to grow at an
Read MoreSanMar Expands Nike Golf Selection
SanMar, Seattle, is adding 15 new styles to its Nike Golf and Tiger Woods collections. New styles are featured in the 2008 Apparel & Accessories catalog and on the company’s Web site, www.sanmar.com. “Nike Golf has excelled in the promotional products and decorated apparel world,” noted Scotland Thede, corporate sales director for Nike Golf. Thede sees the growing potential of high-end retail names. “Nike Golf, Tiger Woods and SanMar have helped revolutionize the industry by demonstrating the power of universal brand recognition and innovation.” Since 2006, SanMar has been the exclusive supplier of Nike Golf in the imprintable apparel industry. New styles include sport
Read MoreTips of the Trade: Tagline lessons learned
By Ilise Benun, marketing mentor I was absolutely blown away by all the thoughtful responses to my last tip about taglines. More than 250 of you took time to vote (and comment) on our tagline options. (You can read that tip in the “Anatomy of a Tagline” series on the blog and find out which tagline we decided on here: www.marketingmixblog.com/blog/marketing-mix-series-anat.html) I also received this great tagline tip from Pamela Trow-Johnson at Art Passions Design, whose tagline is “For those that live their passion for art and design.” When crafting a tagline, ask yourself three questions: 1. Does the tagline reflect a benefit to
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