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It has been well established over the years that promotional gifts are an important part of the marketing mix. Getting the most from your spending allocation for promotional merchandise will often be a creative balance between working towards your marketing goals, the demographic of your target audience and the method of distribution, all of which come within the constraints of the budget available.

For many companies, whether the available budgets large and small, promotional pens are a popular choice. They are affordable, small enough to be easily distributed and always well accepted. There are many other small and inexpensive products which work as well as promotional pens, such as mousemats, key rings and coasters. Larger promotional items which are well liked, such as mugs, umbrellas, bags, t-shirts, sweatshirts and caps, also offer great opportunities for marketing, but require larger storage space and perhaps a different method of distribution. Storage and distribution costs may be saved by carefully choosing your promotional items with these factors in mind.

One of the best ways of making sure you get the quality promotional products you require at the best price is to ensure you plan far enough ahead to allow for the lead times involved. Times quoted are usually from approval of artwork, so having your artwork complete and ready to go is fundamental in the ordering process. Most promotional gifts will be turned round within 10 days, but of course this can vary according to stock availability and the print method used.

The costs of your promotional products can escalate quickly if you don’t allow enough lead time. When time is short there may be a restricted selection of product available to you along with increased charges for express delivery. If you do find that you have to act on the last minute, the key to getting the best for your budget here is flexibility. If you get in touch with one of our knowledgeable customer service team, they will know if there are any particular offers you may benefit from and proffer alternative suggestions or close matches which can be delivered within your time frame.

Another point to bear in mind if you need to save on your print budget is to consider the method of printing used and whether you can restrict the number of colours used in your artwork. Often the most cost effective printing method is by screen, although this will not be suitable for all products. The fewer colours you require, the fewer individual screens will be needed, so the set-up costs will be reduced accordingly.

Importantly, in the drive to save money always beware of those ‘too good to be true’ offers. Cheapest rarely means best. Remember good service is vital to ensure you have the promotional products that you require, exactly as you want them and on time. The quality of your merchandise is also vitally important as it reflects the quality of your company. The last thing you want to do is to compromise your brand by using poor quality promotional gifts which send out the wrong messages to your customers and clients. Using a reputable and well established company, such as PG Branding, to fulfil your promotional requirements ensures you spend your budget well to get the best ROI.

To sum up, promotional gifts are an important part of current marketing strategies, which means that most companies, large and small, allocate a dedicated budget for such products. Everyone wants to make the most of their available budget, so appropriate time and effort has to be applied to use it wisely and to make the best investment to build the brand and/or drive sales and bring in new customers. Our experience here at PG Branding can help you choose the best promotional products for your brief and support your mission to make the most of your marketing opportunities.

What we can do at this time of year is take stock of what was good and bad in 2010 and endeavour to learn the lessons to make 2011 an even better year. One thing that lots of us are guilty of in this busy world is leaving decisions until the last minute. This ultimately puts more pressure on and can sometimes lead to poor decisions or perhaps compromises at best. This is one of my personal struggles, as there are always pressures on time, but I know from experience that on the occasions when I do get things done in a timely manner, the outcome is usually more satisfying and the process a lot less stressful. There lies my recurring New Year’s resolution, and I will stick to it this year!

When it comes to the business of promotional gifts the same applies. Sooner is always better than later. Although there are many good promotional products which can be printed and delivered within a few days when you’re really up against a deadline, you can have more choice and perhaps even achieve a better price if you can get your order in early. Sourcing promotional merchandise from overseas can often reduce the unit cost, but the lead time is obviously much longer. The sooner you make your decisions about the promotional items you would like to support your campaigns and marketing events, the more options you have.

The next seasonal gifts to come into play will be for Valentine’s Day (14th February), Burn’s Birthday (25th January), St David’s Day (1st March), St. Patrick’s Day (17th March), Mothering Sunday (3rd April), St George’s Day (23rd April), and Easter (24th April). Don’t forget the end of the financial year (31st March) with budgets to be used and then the extra bonus of the Royal Wedding this time round on 29th April. Lots of national occasions in the first part of the year to hang your marketing and promotional hat on and not too far round the corner now. It’s never too early to start but can be too late!

Here’s to a prosperous 2011 for us all! We look forward to working with you.

Victorinox, the original Swiss Army Knives and Cards are such promotional gifts. The red and white cross and shield logo is widely recognised and associated with a product offering quality and convenient utility for a myriad of applications. All Victorinox Swiss Army Knives and Cards come with a lifetime guarantee and are generally individually presented in a gift box or pouch to add to their appeal. Adding your logo and tag lines to these promotional items to create your corporate merchandise, lends these desirable attributes of quality to your own business products and services.

The different styles of Swiss Army Knives and Cards allows you to choose one with the most appropriate size and range of tools for your target audience, whether it be the Victorinox Golf Tool, the Manager, Huntsman, Climber or the Victorinox Cyber Tool with an amazing 34 features. Thinking outside the box a little, even though these handy items would generally be perceived as being aimed primarily at a male audience, the Victorinox Swiss Cards in particular could greatly appeal to women as they would be easily kept in a handbag and prove to be extremely useful.

PG Branding offer you a comprehensive range of promotional mousemats. Choose the perfect design for your needs from the dozens of mousemats available to you in our ‘computer accessories’ category on our website. Many of our mousemats feature additional functions, such as a calculator, USB ports, CD/DVD storage and wrist rests, or come together with imprinted coasters, phone holders or pens pots to create a complete desk set to promote your business and increase brand recognition for your products and services.

Promotional beach balls are a popular item which are easily distributed in their flattened state, but make an immediate impact as soon as they are inflated. They are available in a great range of single colours or coloured panel styles; we even offer you the world (as printed onto a beach ball)! As promotional items, beach balls generally offer you a good on which to imprint your artwork. These fantastic promotional items can be used to create a fun atmosphere anywhere you choose and they’ll certainly grab lots of attention for your promotion.

Other suggestions for promotional gifts with a beach theme include beach towels and mats, games sets, kites of many shapes and sizes, beach bags, safeboxes, inflatable beach chairs or even a promotional snorkel set.

Take a look at all our ideas to create a little summer sizzle. Our Home and Leisure section should start the ideas flowing for your selection of promotional merchandise.

PG Branding offer you a comprehensive range of promotional pencils for your delectation. From the simple sharpened /unsharpened or with/ without eraser conundrum, to the choice of something different to create a talking point, such as our recycled Cinnamon and Tea Wooden pencils, there is a pencil for everyone and every occasion.

Promotional pencils are extremely cost-effective and affordable promotional gifts which are well worth considering. Take a look for yourself on our promotional pencils pages.

One increasingly popular and effective method of marketing and building brand awareness is through the use of promotional merchandise. This can either be a stand-alone approach, or as an additional and effective support of other strategies. The great power of promotional gifts as opposed to other methods of marketing is their everyday usefulness and longevity; the fact that they can be seen and used daily by your target market.

With promotional print, radio or TV marketing for example, the time you have the attention of your customer may be only seconds, and the exercise needs to be constantly and expensively repeated to try to build your brand and product recall. Even with face to face contact, which may be more impactful and perhaps deliver a longer period of ‘influence’ time, and no matter how good the salesperson is, human nature is to forget and move onto the next pressing thing. If you incorporate promotional gifts into your marketing mix, the situation completely changes.

Back up your media advertising with associated promotional items which reinforce the message and give you a physical point of contact with your customer. Furnish your sales team with well chosen promotional merchandise for them to leave with their client as a ‘thank you’ for their time and as a reminder of the products and messages discussed. Make sure your contact details are imprinted onto your branded merchandise along with pertinent visuals and marketing messages so your customer has no problems getting in touch when they need your services.

If you choose your promotional gifts carefully, making sure they will be useful and attractive to your target audience, they will retain and use them in the course of their business and daily lives. This means that your logo and tag lines will become very familiar to them and therefore build brand awareness for your company and products. The next logical event is that they will think of you first when they have a need for your products.

In terms of value for money invested, promotional items offer great cost effective way to promote your business and build brand awareness. For a one-off investment, you can get your logo and marketing messages in front of your target audience repeatedly over a period of days or months, perhaps longer. That consistent and prolonged exposure with branded gifts is what helps to build brand recognition in your marketplace. No other marketing method can achieve this level of exposure for the relatively small investment involved.

There is such a plethora of great promotional pens to choose from, that you need to define the image you want to portray to your customers, clients colleagues and business associates with your chosen promotional items. If you want to define your company as one with permanence, style and solid service, then choosing a fountain pen as one of your key promotional gifts would deliver those subliminal messages along with the more obvious information imprinted on each fountain pen.

A stylish, good quality promotional fountain pens will speak volumes for your company credentials. Can you afford not to invest in the future of your business?

Promotional pens are superb promotional items for many good reasons. They can be extremely cost effective promotional gifts, and their low cost makes them accessible for even the smallest budget, but you can spend as much or as little as you like. From the entry level basic plastic imprinted promotional pen to a prestigious gold plated engraved Cross pen, PG Branding offer you such a comprehensive range of promotional pens that you are sure to find the perfect pen ideally suited to your particular needs. If consider the profile of your customer and target audience and the aspirations of your company, this will ensure you select an appropriate style of pen to best support your branding exercise.

Many companies like to choose a pen made in their company colours, as this aids brand recognition when associated with the imprinted logo and marketing messages added to their chose style. Others prefer the quieter style of an engraved metal pen. There is also the eco-friendly option when you want to exhibit your ‘green’ credentials.

Whatever style you go for, a promotional pen works hard for your investment. A good quality pen will be much appreciated and used daily by the recipient, therefore keeping your company details to hand for when they are needed. Many people become attached to a favourite pen; make sure that it’s yours they want to hang onto, and it will surely bring in the business for you.