For the second year in a row I have had to miss my annual pilgrimage to Vegas in January for the PPAI Expo. This show for us is far more than a place to find new products, but it is a place to develop new relationships, build on existing ones, learn new things and develop new and innovative ways that I can work with you to Get YOU Noticed!
The best thing about our industry is that people are willing to share. They are willing to show you what has worked, what has not, what is innovative and what has successfully helped their clients build better brand awareness and create greater market share.
I have reached out to a number of my friends and suppliers to be my ears and eyes at this year’s show and they did not disappoint me. It is not always about the products themselves being new and innovative, but how these pieces can be seen as valuable by the end user and create brand ambassadors that move people towards your call to action.
With that in mind, here are the 10 best things that were shown to me this year. I hope that you find them creative, valuable and will help promote your brand. Let us work with you to find the right solution to your problem and work with you to Get YOU Noticed!
#10 Miniature Felt Pennants with magnetic backing
Felt Pennants have been around since before I was born. Nothing new there. But the size and the fact that they are magnetic is an interesting twist for anyone trying to get the attention of students or alumni. With sizing at 4″ x 6″ and 2.5″ x 4.5″ these can be a low cost way to build loyalty to a school program and the magnets allow them to easily be hung up inside a locker.
#9 Four Colour Zipper Pull with built in bottle opener
Twenty something’s to Forty something’s carry backpacks. It has replaced the briefcase in the office and allows them to be more flexible in what they carry and how. With that in mind, creating custom shaped and coloured zipper pulls in the shape of your logo that also have a bottle opener will be seen as both fun and useful to this demographic.
#8 Concourse Laptop Backpack by Basecamp
On the same theme as mobility, this backpack is both flexible and practical. Great branding area and will be seen as valuable by anyone who receives it.
#7 Mop Topper Pen
This is a fun piece that will make almost any audience smile. It is a great quality pen and the top is designed to clean both phones and IPods alike. What a great way to catch people a little off guard and then have them receptive to what you have to say. Great for tradeshows, conferences and any other types of learning environments. It even doubles as a stylus.
#6 The Bottle Butler
This is the perfect giveaway for non-profits at their Black Tie events. It is sleek, unique, subtly branded and absolutely a conversation piece.
#5 Digitally Printed Security Whistles
In today’s world, safety and peace of mind are on everyone’s minds. Being able to give someone a whistle that is loud enough to draw attention, small enough to attach to any key chain and allows for a 4 colour process logo placement is a sure fire win. This can be handed out by any organization that wants to keep people safe and out of harm’s way. By distributing these whistles to your clients, it shows that you care about them as individuals.
#4 Custom Journals
Studies have shown that those who write down better notes are more successful in the long run. Don’t believe me; pick up a copy of Richard Branson’s book the Virgin Way. Sir Richard writes everything down in notebooks not only for his own thought process, but to be able to recall meetings that happened weeks and months before. What if you could provide someone with a notebook that had them think of you? Custom graphics, custom tip in pages and liners and even a watermark on the pages itself. The possibilities are endless and by giving this type of gift to your clients, you will be remembered each and every time they write down something that they think is important.
#3 Cellmate Smart Wallet
People are on the go. Mobile is the new reality and anything you can do to help people accommodate that lifestyle will be seen as valuable and appreciated by those you give this item to. It is slim enough to not be cumbersome on the back of a cell phone and has enough space to be practical. A definite winner in our opinion.
#2 Leather Coats for Safety Programs
Take the time to build a great safety program. Set goals and stretch goals that are realistic, attainable and people want to strive towards. Reward people for safety and the benefits for the company are enormous. Lower insurance rates, more productivity, fewer sick days and most important everyone feels valued and comes to work healthy and goes home to their families the same way.
#1 The Selfie Stick
Ever since Ellen DeGeneres took the Selfie at last year’s Oscars the Selfie has blown up on social media. The challenge is that none of our arms are really long enough to take a great picture. Along comes this Selfie Stick with a Bluetooth button that solves this problem and lets people have a lot more fun with their images.
Here are some ideas that were given to us by the supplier of the camera, Hirsch Gifts:
We ran a competition at the show for distributors to come and take their selfie on the booth and post on social media sites, had a great response and gave a prize based on a random drawing from postings.
Important to set a selfie competition up in advance prior to the show and follow up both during and after the show. A printed piece on the booth is helpful so they remember what to do with the pics they took at the booth as they could get lost in multiple pics taken at the show.
Selfie pics are the hottest thing right now, we were in Cancun Mexico over the holidays, could not believe how many people were walking along the beach taking pics of themselves.
Also Saturday night we attended a wedding, again a selfie stick was being passed around the dance floor with everybody taking pics.
So….it’s a great promotional tool for corporate events, parties, sports events, vacation pics, cruises….just about anywhere that people take photos and that’s everywhere!
Be sure to use Social media as a call to action to maximize ROI, works really well with this product.
We hope that you have found at least one idea that dovetails with your brand, represents your call to action and that your customers will find valuable. Finding the right item, for the right campaign is all about understanding your needs, your message and your objectives. Let us work with you to find the right solution to your problem and work with you to Get YOU Noticed!
