Adidas 2012

We're loving what Adidas 2012 has brought to the table. Fashion forward cuts and colours ensure your clients will wear these spectacular pieces on and off the green.

Top Row (left to right): 

Men's Climacool Formotion Solid Polo (Coast Blue)

Women's Climacool Diagonal Solid Polo (White/Black)

Women's Climalite 3-Stripes Brushed Interlock Top (Hibiscus)

Men's Climaproof Storm Soft Shell Jacket (Cinder Silver)

Bottom Row (left to right):

Men's Climacool Diagonal Solid Polo (Coyote Silver Grey)

Women's Climaproof Wind Level 1 Jacket (Hibiscus)

Women's Climalite Textured Solid Polo (Black)

Men's Climalite Textured Solid Polo (Deep Sea)

Goal Setting

At the start of a new month, I like to set a list of 5 goals. These goals are both personal and work related.

Get out the pen and paper people! We're about to make SMART goals.

SPECIFIC
When you are specific, you are much more likely to accomplish your goals! So how about we start with the W's? 

Who: Does this goal involve anybody else besides yourself?
What: What do you want to accomplish? 
Where: Where do you need to be in order to make this happen?
When: Now? After you accomplish another goal? In 2 months?
Why: Why do you want to do this? What will you get from this?


MEASUREABLE
How will you know when your goal is accomplished? Is it a certain date that you need to meet? A certain amount of repetitions of a weight? An increase in sales? Whatever you are measuring - be specific! Eg. 25% increase, 2 minutes faster, 2 inches gained. 

ATTAINABLE 
Make sure your goals are attainable. Visualize yourself completing it. How does it feel? You'll get there!


RELEVANT
Is your goal relevant to your life? Will it better it? Does it fall into line with your priorities and dreams? Your goals should make you feel good about yourself and being efficient and doing what you love.



TIME BOUND
Set a date of completion so that these goals don't linger on, undone. Remember to give yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete these! Otherwise, you will be left feeling unaccomplished. Feeling accomplished will encourage you to make this happen and allow you to be more efficient in the future. 


We could all use a reminder on how to set SMART goals once in awhile. 


Happy uno de Mayo!

Transportation

The transport industry is important to each of our industries. Not only is it a huge driving force in the economy, it also enables us to do business on a larger scale, delivers care packages to our loves ones that are out of a hugs reach, and our jaws even drop when our shipments make it to Africa in a matter of days.

A couple of us attended Truckworld in Ontario and it was booming busy! Besides visiting our customers, our favourite thing at the show was meeting the Mack Truck mascot. The show comes every 2 years, so we can't wait until the next one to see what is new out there! 

True Blue Branded Products

True Blue Branded Products: Like a great pair of jeans, these products are versatile, popular and reliable.

Click to take a peek at the interactive guide!

spotlight on: Tommy Hilfiger

I'm so excited that Tommy Hilfiger has entered the corporate market. With the nautical flare they are known for, Tommy speaks loudly to both the modern and the traditional which are under your umbrella. It is their first year, and I think they've done an excellent job at selecting key pieces that will work for your market.

Tommy Hilfiger Ace Polo

Tommy Hilfiger Clinton Shirt

Tommy Hilfiger Linton Jacket

Tommy Hilfiger Lionel Vest

Recommended branding is subtle, meaning that your clients and employees will wear this both on and off the clock, day and day again.

Let's give Tommy a warm welcome to our wonderful corporate world!

What do you colours say? Part Deux

Colours draw me in, my eye just seems to gravitate towards them - I'm sure yours does too. Which can only mean your clients does! Ahh logic on a Friday morning, nothing beats it.

Let's play with colour today!

my favourite new product! the softspout water bottle w/ a silicone sipper!

inspire nostalgia w/ Lifesavers!

custom microfiber cleaning cloth that screams whatever message you'd like it to!

sticky spiral book, a must have for the desktop

can't wait to wash my car in the summer with this custom sublimated chamois

a brave colour choice, compliments of Fila

mmmmmmm...m&m's....

this toy watch can spruce up the greyest of days and the blackest of outfits!

Your turn! What are your favourite colourful items this season?

What do your colours say?

click to enlarge

Ask us how to incorporate more colours into your branding (without even changing your corporate colours)! Promise, you will love what we have to recommend.

Wellness Ideas

Wellness Ideas: These branded products are perfect for wellness, healthcare and stress relief initiatives.

Logo Board Game

Working in the branding industry has made us much more aware of logos, and we spot them from miles away (we're so proud when we see your logos out there!). They're not just a part of OUR daily living though, they're a part of consumers everywhere! There's actually a new game out there called the Logo Board Game:

A lot of these logos give a nostalgic feelings (like how excited you'd get as a kid to open up a pack of Sun-Maid Raisons) which made us think that your brand can pick up on the nostalgic vibe too! Giving warm and fuzzy feelings to your customers.

What DOESN'T the Magic Answer Ball know?!

Custom mmmmmm&m's

The song "You take a piece from the bottom and you put it on top!" comes to mind...

I've still never figured this one out...

Everyone loves a promo spring!

Getting back on track

Food is the way to my heart. I let Halloween in to my heart - rather, the chips, when I came into the office and opened my desk to a drawer FULL of Lay's! I let them in alright, I can own it. So now I'm trying to get back on track. There are quite a number of products in the industry that can help me! I've narrowed them down to my favourites.

Food jar for our famous homemade soups.

Drink more water by adding fruit and herbs to the infuser!

This actually filters your water - awesome for the days when all you have is a tap.

Shake shake shake your protein shakes and keep smoothies smoothe.

Just big enough to pack my breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Nice & Naughty Lists

Ever since I was little, I've been a catalogue shopper. Enter internet. I become an internet shopper. So yes, I'm familiar with the Brookstone line. It has recently been introduced to the promotional market, so you can gift your Nice List with these memorable gifts which will be valued.

This bad boy actually rotates automatically & steams for EASY grill cleaning!

A revolutionary new lever-pull design that allows for effortless corkscrew removal. 

Just push to remove the caps effortlessly! A must for every household.

This ultra-thin travel speaker works w/ your MP3 player, smartphone, laptop and more!

And for those with a Naughty List, we've got you covered too...

Marbled rock stress reliever... Marbled rock, that sounds better, right?

Eye Spy with my Little I

Something that is awesome!

The temperature at which wine is served can have a dramatic impact on its
taste. Our stainless steel wine thermometer makes sure that the serving
temperature for your wine will be correct. The thermometer clips around
any standard size 750ml wine bottle and displays the temperature on the
easy to read illuminated scale. Use the guide printed on the thermometer
to check champagne, sparkling wine, sweet white wine, aperitifs, rose,
chianti, dry white wine, very dry sherry, medium sherry, burgundy, cream
sherry, claret, and port.

Cheers to that.

we heart bbq's

When we go on vacations around here, we go on the hunt for hot sauces. We like to get them, we like to give them, we like to keep our fridges fully stocked with a minimum of 3 types.

BBQ Sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce and Seasonings are great to give away:

• at tradeshows
• company BBQ's
• with street teams at summer concerts and sporting events
• as employee incentives
• to your clients and customers

seasonings!

bbq / sweet chili sauce

get on board

This last weekend I had the chance to get up to Honey Harbour to a friends island. Water sports were plentiful up around the islands. It's time to get on board!

skimboard

wakeboard

bodyboard

eva foam surfboard

and of course we wouldn't be canadian if we didn't pump you up for...

the almighty snowboard!

the heat factor

Here in Toronto, we are just beginning the heat wave. It's hot and we're glad to be in an air conditioned office, we feel for those working outside in this. Tomorrow might even be the hottest day recorded in Toronto. Ever!

With all of this heat on our minds, it's got us thinking about how to add some to your promotions. Enter retail image. We like to crack open boxes, we like to rip through the packaging, this is proven every birthday and Christmas!

Here are just a few ways that we can attach that excited feeling to your brand:

t-shirt, all wrapped up!

add your item to this custom card!

pizza cutter in a little pizza box!

gifting mugs

We'll chat soon about the many possibilities :)

safety slogans

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. Ha! We're suckers for a good pun, or clever tie in's. From Advantages, our favourite industry read, here are some great lines:

1. "Never Take A Break From Safety" imprinted on a lunchbox. 
2. "Get A Grip On Home Safety" imprinted on rubber jar openers (I LOVE these!).
3. "It Can't Hurt To Be Too Safe" imprinted on a first-aid kit.
4. "Heads Up For Safety" imprinted on a cap.
5. "Safety Shines" imprinted flashlights and LED keychains.
6. "Step First Into Safety" imprinted on an indoor/outdoor mat.
7. "Take Time For Safety" imprinted on watches or clocks. 
8. "Quench Your Thirst, Think Safety First" imprinted on sports bottles or travel tumbler.
9. "Eyes On Safety" imprinted on goggles or sunglasses.
10. "Take Safety On The Road" imprinted on a travel emergency kit.

What's your favourite pun? 

safety program primer

Nearly 3 times as many employees suffer injuries while not at work. In response, the National Safety Council (www.nsc.org) recently launched the Family Safety & Health Employer Resource, a tool for safety professionals, wellness coordinators, HR professionals and others to promote safety beyond the workplace. This free online guide will help you plan programs to benefit employers by focusing on how employees can stay safe around the clock, at home and at work.

An effective way to keep employees safe when away from the worksite is to provide them with safety items that they can take home with them (such as first-aid kits, emergency preparedness tools, flashlights & weather radios).

Some of our faves...

This light is magnetic & allows you to use both hands! Also has a fancy little laser pointer. As low as $3.99!

Regulation body temperature is extremely important during the hot outdoor events. This scarf actually cools the body! (Think golf / marathons / picnics). As low as $2.89! 

Keep your employees and their families safe! This Power Bar Charger allows the car to be charged from INSIDE the car! As low as $45.99!

This Roadside Rescue Kit is a MUST for every family! As low as $23.95!

What's YOUR favourite safety tool?

Life Saver

One of the Insinc team members just came back from sunny and beautiful Negril. Working in an industry where this fine product is available, she was disappointed to discover it days after having to unplug televisions and lamps just to use the hair straighter and iPod speaker. This little guy would have left room in her overweight suitcase for the 10 bottles of hot sauce she brought back. Imagine the thank-you's your clients will give you when you save them from having to get ready for a-la-carte dinner in the dark. You're welcome.

As low as $10.25!

No Power

Last week, we were one of the lucky blocks in the GTA without power because of the windstorm. For. The. Entire. Day! This gave us time for some much needed spring cleaning and power reading (by window light)! A great article from one our favourite magazines helped to lead the way:

Everyone from Fortune 500 companies to one man operations should organize their daytimers and calendars around a 3-way colour coded system for folders, tasks, mail and flags. 

GREEN: GO! Green tasks take precendence. Marketing, selling and fulfilling client obligations are top priority (at Insinc, our clients are absolutely our driving force).


YELLOW: Those we need to do, but not at the expense of green. 


RED: Lowest priority, those matters that have essentially no impact on business that can be dealt with after hours. 

some of our favourite colours

We love ourselves some colours, the more the merrier! But fine, if we have to narrow it down to 3, we'll do it.

Source: Advantages