Welcome to the Blog for Professionally Personalized! Discover how to expand the identity for your business and get it's name out there. " 'Cause getting noticed is only logical".

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Advertising To Get Noticed December 31, 2008

"Advertising is the very essence of democracy. An election goes on every minute of the business day across the counters of hundreds and thousands of stores and shops where the customers state their preferences and determine which manufacturer and which product shall be the leader today, and which shall lead tomorrow."- Bruce Barton

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Promotional Products the nuts and bolts!

We all have promotional products in our homes, offices, desks, drawers, and even our purses, but what exactly is a promotional product?

A promotional product is defined as an item that is used to promote a product, service or company program including advertising specialities, premiums, business gifts, awards, prizes, or other imprinted or decorated items.

Promotional products are a big part of the advertising industry, actually its more than a 19.4 BILLION dollar industry, this is according to the 2007 PPAI estimate of promotional products consultants sales. This is an annual study that is conducted by researchers at Louisiana State University and Glenrich Business Studies.

The industry has grown at a tremendous rate over the past 15 years, in 1993 the promotional products industry was 6.2 billion dollars, now that is still a lot, however the industry has more then tripled in 15 years. Now that is telling you something. Companies are recognizing how important promotional products are to their business and they are realizing that they need to integrate them into their advertising and marketing campaigns.

So do not miss out, start out small hand pens out to your customers, just get your name on a promotional product and get it into the hands of a customer or potential customer. You will see the return, history is not wrong, promotional products work!

Advertising To Get Noticed December 30, 2008

"Advertising is the poetry of Capitalism."- Michael Maynard

Monday, December 29, 2008

Advertising To Get Noticed December 29, 2008

"What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form."- David Ogilvy

Friday, December 26, 2008

Advertising To Get Noticed December 26, 2008

"What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form."- David Ogilvy

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Advertising to get noticed December 25, 2008

"The death of advertising? I think that's in the book of Revelation. It's the day when people everywhere become satisfied with their weight, their hair, their skin, their wardrobe, and their aroma."- Jef I. Richards

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Advertising To Get Noticed December 24, 2008

"The business that considers itself immune to the necessity for advertising sooner or later finds itself immune to business."- Derby Brown

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Advertising To Get Noticed December 23, 2008

"Advertising is salesmanship mass produced. No one would bother to use advertising if he could talk to all his prospects face to face. But he can't."- Morris Hite

Monday, December 22, 2008

Clothing Makes the Person

You see them everywhere...imprinted t-shirts, hats,aprons,jackets, sweat shirts and sweat pants and all with a creative design. Think about every shop or restaurant you go into and start looking at the employees, most of them are wearing some sort of item with the company logo on it. Its a way of the company branding themselves as well as protraying a professional appearence, it also makes the employees look unified. It's also a great idea to give your clients items to wear that has your logo on it. Either something as simple as a hat or T shirt will keep your clients wearing them long after you give them away and giving other people the opportunity to see your logo, it's like having your customers advertise for you, for FREE, and we all LOVE free!

So think about for your next promotional campaign. Wearable apparel is one of the most popular types of promotional product. Think about different types of apparel, like jackets or even footwear to really make your message stand out from the crowd.

Advertising To Get Noticed December 22, 2008

"In our factory, we make lipstick. In our advertising, we sell hope."- Peter Nivio Zarlenga

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Choosing Promotional Products that Fit Your Business

Thousands of promotional products exist, from the commonly known pens, mugs, calendars, t-shirts, and key chains, to ones you might not have even thought of, such as candy wrappers, tools, coasters, or sports equipment. Along with each selection of promotional products also exists choice of colors or design at various quantities and pricing. Using your marketing plan, you should be able to easily choose products that will fit your identified marketing opportunities whether it is a trade show or a special occasion as well as how many products you need and how much you can afford to spend per item.

It's important to know what your end goal is when ordering promotional products. If your goal is to get people back into your store, then you need to give them an item that will require them to come into the store, or maybe send a coupon that they redeem in the store for a promotional item. For example a car dealership could send out keys asking customers to come into the store to see if their key starts the engine to a brand new car. Or maybe a coupon is sent out and the first 1000 customers that come into the store get a free T shirt or some other product.
If the goal is just get your name out there then you want to give out something that people are going to use on a daily basis so they see your company name every day.

Choose products that are appropriate for your industry as well as something your audience would enjoy. A pizza place that is looking for something to hand out to customers would do best with handing out a magnet with their contact info on it, because those magnets will go on people's refrigerators, and when they get home and are hungry and don't feel like cooking they be looking at the refrigerator and call the first number they see. Its about thinking who your target audience is. Imprinting your selected promotional product with your message or logo will be a powerful marketing tool in the hands of your potential customers.

Be sure to work with a professional promotional products consultant, because they have the knowledge and the information to help you pick the best products for your business and your audience.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Advertising to get noticed December 19, 2008

"Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and beliefs."- Leo Burnett

Thursday, December 18, 2008

7 ways to keep your business moving forward!

Here are 7 tips on how to keep your business moving and shaking and most importantly growing with promotional products!

1. Make your business card work for you long after you leave, by putting your info on a pen. You company message will be used and seen for many each and every day. Pens are an inexpensive and effective way to get your name out there.

2. Be Generous! Remember to give two of everything, one for your customer and one for them to give to a friend. Magnets or calenders work great for this, because they are both useful and inexpensive.

3. Thank your customers. Give them a gift that they can use everyday that is nice. A keychain or nice ballpoint pen in a nice gift box works great for this. Its a great way to say Thank you for doing business with us and we cannot wait to work with you again!

4. Remind customers to reorder. Place a calculator at near the bottom of their box of items so as they are running out, they will find a calculator with your contact info on it and they will remember to reorder, because they can use the calcultor to figure out how much stuff they need to reorder. Also keep track of how often they need new products. If you know a company goes through 500 pens in 3 months, then contact them after 2 months and start reminding them to reorder so they are never out of promotional products.

5. Prompt Action. Offer a coupon for a discount, and put an expiration date on it. People want to use coupons before they expire.

6. Create traffic. Offer a free gift with purchase. If you have a store, put a sign in the window.

7. Increase company awareness with wearable products. Hats, T shirts, and jackets are walking billboards. Wear your logo at the next lunch or networking event that you attend. Not only are you branding your self, but you are showing your customers what you do. You can make walking billboards for your customers as well. Also it shows loyalty in your company and product, you are proud of what you do.

Advertising to get noticed December 18, 2008

"Advertising: the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it."- Stephen Leacock

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Advertising to Get Noticed December 17, 2008

"The most truthful part of a newspaper is the advertisements."- Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

How to know if a product is cost effective

As it has been discussed promotional products are a great way to advertise while not spending a lot of money. Promotional proucts are the most cost effective way to advertise to your business and services to potenital customers as well as show your appreciate to your current clients.

Just to give you an idea of how much more cost-effective a quality business gift can be, here are a few examples, along with some actual math to demonstrate the concept of "cost per impression," or CPI. The cost of the product, divided by the average number of days recipients tend to use the gifts will yield the cost per impression.

Cost of Product ÷ Average # of Days in Use = COST PER IMPRESSION

The average cost of a custom printed pen, for instance, is $3 when you buy a few hundred. The average number of days the pens are in use is about 60, $3 divided by 60is just five cents per impression. So the average cost of reminding your customers, prospects and employees what a great company you run is just 5 cents. Compare that to a TV commercial or a yellow page ad in the phone book. Its a no brainer, spend your dollars on promotional product and you will get a tremendous value for your promotional dollar.

Advertising to get Noticed December 16, 2008

"Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret...to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink."- Leo Burnett

Monday, December 15, 2008

The top ten list- Professionally Personalized style

So we have learned that promotional products are all around us, and in these hard economic times most companies and business professionals immediately think the best way to save money is to cut down on their advertising. Unfortunately, the have it all wrong! Everyone spends money to advertise when they are busy and making lots of money, but no one keeps advertising through the rocky times to keep business coming in. The great thing about promotional products is that there are so many different items in so many different price ranges, that there is something for every one's budget.

People always ask me who my biggest clients are, and who I do the most business with, the answer to that is that everyone is a potential client, anyone who is looking to get their name out there can utilize promotional products.
But there is the top ten list of the industries who buy the most promotional products:

1. Education
2. Financial Services
3. Health Care
4. Non profit Organizations
5. Construction
6. Government
7. Trade/Professional Associations
8. Real Estate
9. Automotive
10. Professional Services (legal, accounting, etc.)

If you industry is not on this list that does not mean that you should not order promotional products- there is a place for promotional products in every business, so don't let your business be left out in the cold.

Advertising to get noticed December 15, 2008

"Advertising is the principal reason why the business man has come to inherit the earth."- James Randolph Adams

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Advertising to Get Noticed December 14, 2008

"The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time."-Thomas Jefferson

Do people actually use promotional products?

Everyone one has promotional products sitting on their desk, or in their purse, or in their house. Promotional products are all around us, the next time you pick up a pen, look at it, I guarantee it will have a company's name or logo on it.

Promotional products have been proven to be the most successful type of advertising, even more successful then TV ads, or billboard advertisements.

73% of people who had a promotional product said they used it at least once a week, and of that 73% 45% of people used their promotional product once a day, and over half of all people who have promotional products will keep that product for at least a year. A year! That is a long time, that is your company logo in front of your potential customers for 365 days. Where else can you get that kind of exposure for the price that a promotional products costs?

The key to making sure that your audience holds onto your promotional product is making sure that it is a useful product. If your audience is bankers or loan officers, give them something that they would use in their jobs everyday, calculators, pens, highlighters, or calenders. It would not make sense to give them a Frisbee, because they are not going to use that on a everyday basis, its going to get stuck in a drawer, you want it on their desk where they can see your info and use it everyday and think about how they should call your company for their needs. Because they don't have to go online or look in a phone book for a phone number they next time they need the service you provide, all they have to do is look at their pen, or their calender, or their calculator and pick up the phone and call you.

So order your promotional products, you do not have to spend a lot of money- just get a useful product for your target audience and get it into their hands.

Visit us at http://www.professionallypersonalized.com/

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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Why order from a promotional consultant?

With so many websites offering promotional products online, why should you order through a local company?

1. You are dealing with a recognized seasons business professional who adheres to the professional and industry standards.

2. Promotional Consultants understand the big picture. They are not just order takers, promotional consultants provide a marketing direction. Consultants can help you clarify your objectives, provide consistency, and integrate your promotional products into your marketing programs. Promotional consultants can become a valuable part of your creative team.

3. Promotional Consultants can offer a wide array of new products. Consultants are exposed to a great deal of ongoing education that allows them to know of new and exciting products. Consultants are also able to offer those to you at the best prices available. When you work one on one with a consultant you can rest easy that you are getting the best and newest products available at the best price.

4. One word, EXPERIENCE. Plain and simple promotional consultants know what works and what doesn't. They can offer the best products for your business to help you reach your marketing goal.

5. Promotional Consultants understand technology. Often times with promotional products different types of imprinting are used. Consultants know the best imprinting processes to use of specific items. Consultants can also offer advice when it comes to artwork as well as providing you with samples, so you know exactly what you are getting.

6. Best Prices. Promotional Consultants have strong relations with vendors and are able to pass along the best prices available. They are also able to pass on quantity discounts and pass along specials that are being offered on specific products.

7. Helping you with a distribution plan. Promotional products do not mean anything unless your products are passed out to your customers. Promotional consultants can help devise a timely and efficient plan to distribute your new promotional products.


4.