By Doug Stern, www.marketingprofs.com I wish I had a nickel for every time a marketing director asked the elevator speech question: “What if someone asks, ‘What do you do?’ and you have 20 seconds to answer? What do you tell them before the doors open and one of you gets off?” Since professional service providers tend to spend a lot of time in their head, they’re ready to pitch at the slightest glimmer of interest from another human being (prospect). The brain is the default filter for everything. Lawyers, for example, might offer an elevator speech along the lines of “I add value to
Read MoreNew Tuscany Collection at IMC
Looking for fashionable personal and business accessories in finely crafted special Italian material? International Merchandise Concepts’ (IMC), Agoura Hills, Calif., new Tuscany Collection offers the same luxurious, buttery soft feel usually found in some of today’s finest leathers. “[Our] goal with the Tuscany Collection is to continue to offer items with a high-perceived value, yet represent a real value to our distributors and their clients,” said Wendy Simons, vice president of sales and marketing. The Tuscany Collection currently features a lined-page journal, passport cases, luggage tags, a business card holder, a checkbook cover and a jotter. Pricing runs from $6.83(c) to $14.92(c). As part
Read MoreLabel Art Enhances Online Ordering Service
Label Art, Wilton, New Hampshire, has announced the availability of its newly enhanced online ordering service. Customers can use the service to place catalog orders, upload artwork, view proofs and track order status 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The system also offers an automatic notification of shipment when the orders are complete. For more information, call (800) 258-1050 or visit www.labelart.com.
Read MoreKosher Products Available at Captain Foods
Captain Foods, Edgewater, Fla., recently introduced a line of kosher products. Complete with Orthodox Union (OU) certification, the world’s largest and most widely recognized kosher certification agency, Captain Foods offers the following products in its Kosher Products Line: its entire stock of honey, four flavors of cayenne pepper sauces, two flavors of habanero pepper sauces and jalapeno pepper sauce. OU has 600 Rabbinic Field Representatives worldwide that ensure the strict standards required for kosher food production are met. The agency certifies more than 400,000 products produced in more than 6,000 plants in 80 countries around the world. For more information, call (800) 749-5047 or
Read MoreDoctor, Doctor, Give Me The News
ZINC TABLETS TO bolster the immune system. Calcium pills for osteoporosis. Iron supplements for producing hemoglobin. Beta-keratin because people always mention it on television, even though no one knows what it is. Multivitamins with vitamins A, C, D and about 200 different kinds of B. Anti-histamines. Anti-histamine blockers, just in case those anti-histamines get out of control. Vitamin E. Ephedra. Fluoride. Ginseng. And that’s just what people take daily when they are well. An apple a day doesn’t cut it anymore. As understanding about the human body increases, so too does reliance on the medical industry. What is healthful today may be harmful tomorrow, and
Read MorePut It On Plastic
IN AN ERA where “charge it” has become not just a saying but a way of life, it’s not surprising that plastic cards of all kinds have found themselves at the top of the totem pole as profitable and enduring consumer products. To that end, some promotional products suppliers have adopted their own, increasingly popular version of the coveted plastic card—promotional gift cards. Promotional Marketing sat down with Watson Nichols, senior communications manager at Atlanta-based InComm and Steve Pruitt, vice president of marketing and business development at Midland, Texas-based Teraco for an in-depth look at this new wave in gift-giving.
Read MoreT-shirts that Sizzle
CONVENTION AND COUTURE collide often in the fashion industry, and where the clichéd can be seen, chic can be found fleeing the scene. It is rare for something to simultaneously be hip and popular; that common articles can also be cool defies the laws of fashion physics. So it is all the more surprising when one of the most blasé, traditional tops becomes the standard for an industry. Yet across the board, T-shirts are having their spot on the catwalk. As the shirts themselves change and their place in society becomes more prominent, a different kind of T-shirt manufacturer has taken center stage. One that
Read MoreMail This!
Anyone who has attended one of the large trade shows knows the scene well: A long aisle of carpet covering a concrete floor; booths flooded with distributors and suffering a drought of people to answer questions; and little hand carts, blocking every turn and tripping attendees. The “beeping” sound of scanners creates a strange techno-music soundtrack on the show floor as distributors are scanned at each booth for catalogs to be mailed later. These are the trials and tribulations of trade shows in the promotional products industry. In a recent e-mail newsletter, the editors of Promotional Marketing addressed a concern voiced by some suppliers. Many
Read MoreOn Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
Whoa—let’s slow down. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? While salespeople race to snatch up the most promising and qualified short-term prospects that come in from any marketing-lead-generation initiative, nearly three-quarters of the leads that convert to sales are ignored. Why? Because salespeople are paid for winning the race for short-term sales, causing them to focus on the easy sales opportunities and to ignore the longer-term prospects. And because there usually is no process in place, the job of nurturing, managing and tracking the longer-term opportunities falls by the wayside. This lack of a lead-development process may be costing your organization
Read More0207_Blankets_intro
The American sports fan, like the American football player, has no regard for the weather. The game goes on at -7 degrees, and the fans come out to watch. The players approach the field in a plethora of padding and scientifically engineered safety devices. The fans come equally prepared, often with promotional products. Just as the helmet is perhaps the most important protection against head trauma for a player, so the blanket may be the most important protection against frostbite for the sports aficionado. Of course, blankets are not just useful for sports fans. Promotional blankets will warm the hearts and bodies of end-users on
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