2011 Image Awards

Here's a little snapshot of us at the PPPC Image Awards on Monday night. It was a great night, with many fun memories that were made. 

Left to right: Leah Cormier, Irene Oseli, Melissa Quito, Tara Cline and Kyle Davidson.

Unfortunately, our team members Ginette Juha and Irene Cappuccitti couldn't be with us that night, but certainly were in spirit!

Do Promotions Really Work?

The proof is in the pudding! According to a survey conducted by the Advertising Specialty Institute:

• 84% respondents remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they’re received.

• 42% of respondents had a MORE favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving the item. And 24% said they are MORE likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they receive.

• 62% have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the item.

• Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps and bags.

• The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.

• More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for more than 6 months.

• Among wearables, bags were reported to be used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month. They also deliver the most impressions: Each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month!

• The average CPI of an advertising specialty item is $0.004; as a result, marketers get a more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media.

Now isn't that something? 

For the full report, click here.

What's Your Favourite Promotional Product?

Who better to ask than the gurus themselves?

Leah

"My favourite promotional item has to be sticky notes/flags. I always use them to leave myself notes, mark pages, and highlight items. It’s a multi-functional item, and when branded it leaves your logo front and center on your customer desk. It’s a win win in my eyes :)"

Ginette

"I think my new favorite promotional product is the notebook. With the prevalent use of calendars in our BlackBerrys and I phones, nobody carries a day timer anymore! But the need to keep notes during meetings, or to log my work on a project still calls for pen to paper. The notebook allows me to have all of the info in one spot (no notes on scraps of paper, which can never be found when I want them!). And the logo on the cover is prominently displayed every time I take it out at a meeting. Useful, AND with a long shelf life!"

Irene O

"I love a custom calendar, pre-printed with industry events and Holidays! It's helpful to help me plan out the year and stay on top of my game. I find them to be so useful that I have one on my desk, one on my wall and one on the master wall. Keep them coming! I can never have enough."

Kyle

"HMMM it's hard to pick a specific item that has really stuck out since I have been in a position to be buried in promo gifts since I was 10 [having been raised by promotional product gurus]!  I suppose my favourites are the ones I have had to earn by signing up for arbitrary credit cards or catching t-shirts that have been shot out of a cannons. I do have a nice collection of beer glasses from different sources.  I find beer tastes better out of a nice glass.  I got one from my old employer, Boston Pizza.  It has a gold rim around the top and some gold cursive writing I've still yet to read. As long as beer stays delicious, I will collect the glasses." 

Tara

"My favourite promotional item is a reusable stainless steel water bottle. They are durable, reliable and light weight which is great for work or to take to the gym! With a product like this it could be used daily, which means the logo is seen everyday. They are also environmentally friendly which is a huge bonus."

Irene C

I love the goofy laughing pens, I can't get enough of their laughs! Every executive should have one on their desk for those long days when they just needs to hear... "click here" . It also works great when you tell a joke that just doesn't go over as well as it did in your head *cue goofy laugh*"

Melissa

"Hand sanitizer is something that I will always stop and pick up at a trade show & happy to receive in any trade show bag. I keep one on my desk, one in my car and one in my purse (umm..not that I'm a germophobe or anything, ha!). It's nice to have during the cold season, after pumping gas at the station or before eating on the go. The best part is that when someone takes out hand sanitizer, it has to make it's way around the whole group right? Well there goes YOUR logo across the hands of 6 people each time I take it out (repeat as necessary)! It's inexpensive and leaves a lasting impression and product with your customers."