Weight has become a major issue with anything that is metal or heavier plastic.  As shipping rates continue to go through the roof suppliers are looking for ways to reduce the overall freight footprint.  Sweda has again managed to pull this off while maintaining some sense of style with the Push Button Mini Barrel Flashlight which is a short version of earlier releases.  With only about a 2" height they are able to pack 100 per box. A normal sized order may encompass one or two boxes which even if they are spanning multiple zones will only run around $50.  That is advantageous to anyone on a budget and can help to make the promotional event a success.

We are noticing this trend continues across the board but Sweda so far seems to be hammering it the hardest.  In total they have released about one hundred products since January with size being a major distinguishing factor among the brands.   Leed's just released a new catalog with hundreds of new items many of which are going to cost a small fortune to ship including ceramic items which have a high break rate.  Others are developing products that will fold down or break apart so that they are easy to ship.  To read more about the new products from Sweda you can check out their website which also includes their new holiday gift catalog.

There was major news today out of Prime in Conneticut as they announced that they would be carrying another retail brand.  We will have more to follow on that in the days ahead.  So far retail branding has been at bet hit or miss in the promo products industry.  It remains to be seen how well this whole situation will work out.

Scenario #1: We want no less than one
billion new customers, a revenue increase of $3 gazillian bajillion dollars and
media hits on the front page of the New York Times, the Washington Post and the
Wall Street Journal.  A major industry player has done it with the Aura Ceramic Mug which although it looks great with the earth tone on tone look will never fully succeed because it is already doomed to low stock.  This same company has run into this a bunch of times with other items and they don't seem to ever learn.

Scenario #2: We only have a $100/month
budget for advertising and marketing.

Scenario #3: It's been three months and
we haven't seen any results. What are you doing wrong?

These are three scenarios that marketers frequently experience under the umbrella of one client: visions of too much grandeur with too little budget and an unrealistic timeline. And this can all be avoided.

AdAge.com's recent article, "Your Ad Agency's First Task: Educate Your Clients" urges agencies to approach new clients and their projects with honesty - especially when it comes to what can be done within a set budget and, feasibly, what the results should be.  I would like to expand this suggestion  beyond the agency, though. Not every business uses an agency for it's marketing needs. Not every business uses a freelancer, even. What every business does do, though, is market itself, and whether you use an agency, a freelancer or your own internal team of specialists, you should be aware of a few things:

1. Set great - yet realistic! -
expectations. If you use an agency, they should be honest about whether or not they can reach the goals you have set, or at least educate you as to what they believe they will be able to achieve. A freelancer should do the same.

If you are managing your own marketing activities, do some research. By how much should website traffic increase with a pay-per-click campaign? With a search engine optimized foundation of titles, meta-tags and keywords? What is the typical return on a direct mail piece? Or a mass email broadcast? While every industry generates a different return on
different media channels, at least you'll have a ballpark figure of what you'd like to accomplish.

You will also want to talk to other business owners or marketing directors in your industry to see what trends they have identified in their own results.

2. You gotta spend money to make money. You don't gotta spend A LOT of money, per se, but you do gotta spend some. And you gotta spend it right.
The-bigger-the-budget-the-bigger-the-return is often true...but not always true. It's more like the-smarter-the-budget-the-bigger-the-return. Maybe you have a big budget that you want to pour into print advertising. But is print advertising the right channel for your brand and its message? What can a print ad accomplish anyway? Is is what you are hoping to accomplish? Aligning your budget and media spend with your objectives is key to generating a positive financial return.

Understand your media channels and what they are best used for. Understand your target audience and where they are physically located (i.e. online, outside, etc.). Your ad agency or freelancer will (or at least should!) do this for you. It is a complicated component of setting up a marketing plan - but an important component that the success of your marketing plan hinges on.

3. You must give it time! Three-months, six-months, sometimes even a year is not enough time to start generating the results you want. It takes time for your outreach to gain traction, and even longer for it to make magic.
Yes, individual activities will generate immediate results. An email broadcast, for example, will always be opened by a percentage of its recipients. A smaller percentage of those recipients will click-through the email to your website or landing page. And an even smaller percentage will act based on the email, whether "acting" is making a purchase or signing up for a free consultation or downloading a White Paper.

But the way these rates grow and change over the course of three-, six or 12 months is what's really important. No one outreach effort will have results indicative of the overall results of your entire integrated marketing plan.

Statistics on each of your marketing activities are valuable if you know how to see the forest from the trees, for lack of a better cliche. Use them to "tweak" your marketing plan as needed. Don't be discouraged if, in the first few months, you're not seeing impressive results. Be discouraged if you're not seeing them after a year or longer.

When your business is educated about what expectations are realistic within its budget and how long it should take to achieve them, you'll be more satisfied with your agency, freelancer, or in-house team.

The founders of Grasshopper have come forward and are discussing the issues in a blog post on their site.  The worst part of the situation reported by customers was the lack of information.   In their discussion Grasshopper has admitted to some serious failings and discusses the problems in detail.  Most importantly in a future outage or service disruption Grasshopper has indicated they will provide a lot more information as needed.  But will they be able to get their customers to forgive them?  Chances are they have already lost a good deal of customers that no longer trust the service.  Others are probably trying out similar services before making a possible change and still more are probably running dual systems just in case.  But what can they do to keep existing customers aside of giving them many free months?  One suggestion is to give them something for their trouble, perhaps a promotional gift that says thank you for sticking with us during out trouble.

They would have to monitor costs in that type of situation as choosing the wrong gift may end up costing just as much as giving multiple free months.  How you might ask?  Shipping costs have gone through the roof so choosing an inexpensive but large item will break the bank in shipping.  A promotional tote or something like the Yogi Drawstring Backpack can be rolled up into a tiny package that would cost less than a few dollars to ship.  They could put their logo on the bag along with a cute message telling their customers they are sorry.  Give them something they will use for a summer and then hand off to their kids and the $10 spent would go a long way.  Giving a partial credit for a few days of lost service will do nothing to compensate people for what could be tens of thousands of lost dollars.

The amazing part of all of this is that even a simple problem can mushroom into something much worse both technically and from a public relations standpoint.  A relatively minor technical problem at Grasshopper became a PR nightmare as the hours ticked by with the company unable to locate the problem.  It still may become a financial nightmare as there may not be any way of recovering.  The news on the economy is pretty terrible and that isn't going to help cheer people up any time soon.  To read more about the grasshopper outage you can check out the article written as it unfolded last week.

For those not familiar with what these companies provide or what a virtual PBX is, picture your current corporate phone system being housed not in a utility closet in the back of your office building but by a 3rd party provider in another location.  The Grasshopper.com outage has shown that in at least this case the supposed cutting edge technology employed by a firm who's sole purpose is to provide reliable phone service failed.  Beginning on June 7th customers noticed slow service or dropped connection.  By later in the day June 8th the problem appears to be more widespread and is now effecting apparently their entire user base.  Twenty four hours into the crisis the Grasshopper support site offers no clue as to when things will be back to normal or any explanation as to why this all happened in the first place.  You would think a company of this size would have tested backup operations.  Those supposedly failed after the main system went down.   As of 530pm ET the Grasshopper Support Site still does not provide any inclination as to when the service outage will end.

If you are a small to medium sized business that uses virtual phone services or any 3rd party service that saves on infrastructure costs let the major Grasshopper outage be a warning.  Investigate what backup systems that company has in place.  Do not get caught in a position in which you have no alternative and business is lost.  For customers at Grasshopper today the embarassment of having calls go to dead phone lines or even worse the "temporarily disconnected" message which makes it seem like people didn't pay their bills will take months to shake off.  The financial costs to effected firms is probably incalculable.  Have a backup toll free number in place next time.

A couple of months ago we wrote about TSA friendly promotional bags.   Look at all the negative PR that the TSA has gotten in the last few months.  At no time have I read anywhere from the TSA on suggestions to expedite the process of getting through checkpoints.  They've offered no tips or pointers and have done nothing to establish positive PR.  It's kind of like what has gone on with Grasshopper today, no information and what information is provided is totally useless to those losing business.

One of the first signs we see is a quick uptick in the search for "direct" importers of promotional products.  These circumvent major suppliers like Leeds to instead bring products directly from the same factories.  One problem that occurs is the middleman you are dealing with may or may not be legitimate.  As www.alfredolavieri.com has found quite often the answer is clear after the fact.  The pinch being created by dozens of these organizations is making it harder for distributors looking to compete.  Legitimate importers provide great financial benefit as they eliminate up to 50% of the costs.   Next up are the ever diminishing vacations.  A recent Amex OPEN Survey found that 21% fewer business owners plan on taking a vacation this year versus just five years ago.  Although that is favorable when compared to the year prior it does not represent any type of robust growth.

Charter fishing businesses are already suffering from reduced bookings and are now getting slammed by higher gas prices and the inability to raise prices.  If they raise prices to match their costs they will leave even more customers behind.  Bars and restaraunts are facing higher costs on all goods and services from food to booze but also cannot pass much of it on without alienating customers.  For all the talk of job creation and income growth the only thing that would really get this economy going hard in the right direction would be a sharp and rapid drop in oil and gas prices.   Gas back down around $2.99 a gallon would save the average driver going through a tank a week about $1,000 a year.  That's a lot of money in the scheme of things.

Off track for a moment but one of the questions we get more than any other is "what are PMS colors."  I came across a wonderful blog posting that discusses precisely what PMS colors are and how they are used in the promotional products industry.  Pantone based colors are the backbone of the industry outside of basic printing.   That article is a great little refresher on what Pantone col

Luckily it is occuring at one of the slower times of the year for both retail and regular B2B commerce.  We are just before the busy tax season where people are anxious to go spend their refunds, about a month ahead of the Spring buying season when retailers shift over clothes and at least a couple of months before most major companies devise their new year budgets.  But the damage has been done and I have already noticed a downturn in inquiries.  Last week I got to see the Discovery Sport Backpack for the first time.   A customer was looking to order 8,000 pieces with imprint.  They had an event scheduled for the school vacation week in April.  The order went to our normal promotional distributor and artwork was submitted.  We got back the proof and it was approved.  Today the order was cancelled.   April vacations are being cancelled all over the country because of all the snow days and in this case 50% of their intended audience had cancelled on the seminar.  The net loss for our distributor is probably about 7k, and a few k for us.  All for snow and ice significant enough to have schools cancelled in some cases for up to two weeks.

We are working to try to save the order by including some auto safety items in the backpack and having them mailed to registrants that have decided not to go.  The fee is non-refundable so they are paying for it either way.  We figured it would be a good gesture to put a safety blanket, flares and a few other things into the promotional backpacks and then drop send them to all the individual players.  That way attendees still get something for their money and in the end everyone is happy.  The problem is shipping costs can add up quickly and the organizer fully expects quite a few attendees are going to ask for refunds regardless.

We have found over the years that backpacks are probably the most durable of all promotional gifts.  As we wrote about packing a backpack as a new spin on an old idea a few months ago we continue to find new and creative ways to package less expensive items in the backpacks.  Over the years we have written many hundreds of articles introducing new and exciting products and expect that we will write at least one column daily at this point as we head into the heart of the new year.  With the economy on the mend we expect to see the largest selection of middle of the year introductions since 2005.

Now that isn't neccessarily a bad thing if they are already made from recycled paper products like newspapers.  The thought is that you are reusing a product but in reality a lot of resources are spent to produce a cup, transport it to and from the retailer and into your hands.  Why not try a reusable promotional cup that looks just like the paper counterpart?  Gordon Sinclair based out of New York has brought two great products to market starting with the Not a Venti Cup which looks exactly like a large Starbucks coffee cup.  From a distance you cannot tell the difference between the two but the benefit of the Venti Cup is that it is made from biodegradable materials and is fully reusable.  It is top rack dishwasher safe and even if you only use it for a year it will save hundreds of paper cups and all the costs associated with producing them.  At 20 ounces it holds a lot of coffee, enough to keep even a barrister happy.

The only thing about a cup that large is that it may not fit in regular corporate coffee machines.  The large size will probably cause it to get jammed in the machine which is why the I'm Not a Paper Cup does very well in that niche.  Similar to a small size that you would see at Dunkin Donuts it fits and is easily dispensed from almost all automated coffee machines.  That makes it a great fit for a corporate campaign towards reusable goods.  Biodegradable plastic will generally break down within three to five years in a landfill.  That reduces the footprint left behind when the product has expired.  As a new twist Gordon is offering inks that are also biodegradable which means they are made without toxic chemicals.  As an added bonus both items are BPA free which greatly increases the safety especially for younger people that are prone to use giveaway tumblers.

Delivery can be expensive in promotional drinkware.  About a year ago I ordered 500 pieces of a stainless tumbler and got a bill that was well north of $500.  What buyers need to be aware of is dimensional weight which is how UPS and Fedex calculate shipping charges on larger boxes.  They do not go by weight alone, if a package is above the standard size they use length and width as part of a formula that will greatly increase shipping costs.  Always make sure you check with your promotional products vendor and ask for a quote that includes delivery.  That way there can be no surprises and you are assured of seeing the bottom line up front and are not left holding the bag at the end.  While you are at it ask your provider about charges for additional items shipped.  In most cases you are agreeing to pay for up to 10% more goods than you ordered.  By spelling it all out up front you reduce the risks to your budget and your reputation.

The Splendor was commissioned in early July of 2008.  She is the second largest ship in the Carnival fleet and is truly massive in person having seen her berth last Summer.  The Splendor was originally designed for another cruise line but they were unable to take delivery and Carnival snatched her up at a bargain.  As it was designed for overseas travelers it incorporated a giant spa that takes up two forward decks.  In fact it is the largest they have ever floated.  The ship is able to hold just over 3,000 passengers depending on the configuration and almost 1,200 crew meaning it carries nearly the same number of people as an average aircraft carrier.  Three days ago a crankcase apparently split on a generator causing a fire.  Why the fire was unable to be contained to the generator section is unknown as it took several hours to put the fire out.  The result was all generators were knocked out cutting power to the entire ship.  Propulsion was also disabled and the ship was adrift.  It is very fortunate that no tropical cyclones were coming through at the time.  So what does Carnival do now?

Luckily almost every passenger has reported that the crew did an admirable job in terrible circumstances.  Unlike the airline stewardesses that behaved terribly when planes were stuck on the tarmac the front line Carnival Cruise Lines crews helped to mitigate the damage.  The company has already announced that passengers will get a full refund, be reimbursed for travel and get a free cruise.  That's great for all of those involved, but it won't do much to repair the damage among the general public.  Carnival will need to start on a major publicity campaign much like Toyota did last year as the recalls hit one by one.   They will also need to find a plausible reason for what happened.  Simply saying it was a fire won't get the job done as these ships are supposed to be almost fire proof at this point.  They face many of the same consumer confidence issues that the new Boeing 787 and Airbus 380 are suffering from as both have had major issues.  The last thing any transportation oriented company wants is concern over the safety of their vehicles.

That said the traveling public has a short memory.  If Carnival sets out with an extensive media campaign designed to explain what happened, welcome people back and more importantly offer an incentive the business should build back.  That is the hope, as right now it's all they have got to fall back on while the airwaves are filled with pictures of their ship being towed helplessly back to port.

This is where we are today with the focus being on multi-purpose marketing efforts. Instead of giving a luxury brand buyers are encouraged to give out middle tier items that can be regarded as having a purpose. That can be said for the Icarus LED Flashlight which has all of the key requirements, it can be used in the home or around the office and comes neatly packaged.  It can be used for personal safety reasons or in the event of an emergency or disaster and can still be given away at a trade-show or event.  With the price in the middle of the spectrum it would not carry the same "how much did they spend on this" question that would surround some leading national brands.  In short it hits the sweet spot without going over the top.  The last thing anyone wants to do with such high unemployment and tighter budgets is to give the perception that they are insensitive to the plight of many.

We talked about giving flashlights as gifts in an earlier piece.  It really has become one of the number on items over the last few seasons and we expect that to continue in the weeks and months ahead.  Unlike last fall there is plenty of stock so with any luck inventory issues will not arise as they did last November.  The slowing economy should also help in that regard.

We did suffer an outage over the past weekend.  It was related to a problem with the DNS servers and it raised some interesting security issues that have since been resolved.  We all appreciate your patience.

It is far more likely that the GAP used the opportunity to get their brand out in the wild again. Twenty years ago the company was the darling of people everywhere. After a couple of decades the love had begun to fade. When the Gap announced they were reverting to their old logo there was immediately a bunch of articles written about the power of social media.  A quick check of the headlines shows that there are several thousand news stories in the last few days about the story.  At a few hundred dollars a press release that is millions saved on free publicity.  Most major news stations carried it on television and it made the major financial newspapers.  Yet unlike most other major launches there are no reports of the new logo being in the wild in the form of shirts, pens or other trinkets.  Usually at least a few of these items will get out there long in advance of the launch.  Ebay has nothing and neither does the other major buying service.  It makes for some interesting speculation as to whether or not the entire situation was deliberate and much like the old Coke new Coke fiasco from the 1980's part of a plan to put the brand back on the evening news.

The Gap had watched sales drop by about 12% in 2008, 3% in 2009, and sales were trending negative again in 2010.  However there are reports that sales have been brisk since the news broke about the change in logo.  The timing was also not a coincidence and allowed them to gain maximum exposure just prior to the fall sales season.  Brilliant really but it probably had nothing much to do with consumer reaction to the logo as it did in creating buzz for the company.