The title of todays post is a play on words from the show Lost which at this point has me totally confused and lost as to whether or not I even enjoying watching it at this stage.  The ceramic portion comes from excitement that the Promotional Double Wall Ceramic Tumbler has finally begun to show back up on the shelves of industry manufacturers.  It is still a bit of a puzzle as to why these particular tumblers took off in popularity.  Ceramic obvioiusly has the advantage of being a better insulator than less durable materials.  It also has the unfortunate property of being able to break easily  As a result most suppliers will only ship in specific and preset quantities with Hit Promo requiring seventy two piece increments.  This makes sense given the fact that they are packed in 72 piece lots and removing even a few of those pieces would weaken the structure that comprises the shipping container.  Whatever the issue these tumblers were gone in an instant from almost every manufacturer that made them and are only now beginning to return.  Shipping problems with these products getting out of Asia delayed restocking.  Afraid of a repeat performance later in the year we are seeing most of the big players bringing in stock approaching six figures in value which should relieve the shortages.   Hit Promo is leading the way by undercutting the others in ounce capacity which has allowed them to cut their cost and starting price point.

Now back to part two of this entry.  What is going on with Lost?  Tonight appeared to be one of those episodes where they had about twenty minutes of material for a forty minute show.  It brought back memories from the middle years of the show where we would watch and wonder why the show was moving so slowly.  Tonight had all the normal metaphors but very little substance.  I am sure when we are all watching it on the networks years from now on some weekend marathon it will make more sense but it has continued to waiver to the point of being almost difficult to watch.  With only a few episodes left let's hope it comes to a meaningful if not already predictable conclusion.

Please take a minute to read some of our earlier entries such as Keeping the Message Cool and the on topic insulating business growth with ceramics for additional reviews.  We will be adding multiple reviews of new products in the coming days.

With millions out of work that means even those employed may have someone at home heading to the park this summer.  The Family Picnic Cooler Set works as both a functional day to day cooler because the wine portion can be substituted with the new 2 liter soda bottles and as a more upscale weekend cooler for contemporary adults.  For those looking for a more practical solution to your summer cooling needs while recognizing the tighter budgets of today the PolyPro Insulated Tote is made from earth friendly materials, can be washed and is available in a multiple colors.  The beauty of polypro is that it allows manufacturers to deliver a greater set of features and a larger unit footprint than other materials.  If you are looking to provide a recognized brand the California Innovations 12-Can Cooler Sling is a multi faceted bag with PEVA lining.  Whenever possible you want to request PEVA lining as it is far safer than earlier liner materials that were made with potentially dangerous substances. 

Coolers provide a unique opportunity to not only touch the initial end user but in the case of family oriented coolers thousands of other potential clients.  A cardinal mistake that we see many clients making is excluding their number or web address from the logo print area.  Any other form of advertising would come with critical contact information.  Unless you are major local, regional or national business there is an excellent chance your target audience will have no way of easily gathering your contact information.  By placing a simple web address on your bag or directing your audience to the various social media sites you are maximizing your marketing efforts.

With the economy continuing to stutter slowly forward there is little doubt that we have endured one of the longest periods of stagnate economic growth in modern history.  Despite historic involvement of the various governmental agencies many critical sectors are still unstable.  Marketing budgets are still being trimmed and despite the rapid build in inventories and associated growth at the end of last year this year looks to be a struggle for many.

Ping made a splash a few years ago when they decided to sell their popular apparel line in the corporate markets.  In choosing Sanmar as their main supplier for the industry they choose a business with a long standing reputation within the market.  By going with a top 5 ASI Supplier they essentially guaranteed maximum exposure and a deep network of sales and marketing reps.  There appeared to be tremendous upside but sales lagged and it was announced earlier in 2009 that Ping would be leaving the corporate market entirely.  One of the problems encountered stemmed from the need of Ping and subsequently Sanmar to strictly enforce prices in order to protect the retail golf network.  Those efforts are never popular with distributors and in the end the outcome was predictable.

Other moves into the market have been more successful.  Scripto partnered with top 5 supplier Leeds in 2009 to release a line of branded writing tablets and low priced budget pens.  Although sales have reportedly been going strong the potential cannibalization of existing product lines will be a going concern.   For instance the Scripto Jr. Journal Bundle Set is available with a decorated pen for far less than the cost of just a journal from many other vendors.  The problem may be that it is also much less than similar items within the same brand.  Where they may hit it out of the park is with items like the Scripto Constitute Click which is an ergo pen with large grip similar to much higher priced retail competition for significantly less.  For those looking for ergonomic pens the Scripto Scroll Click has the "pro grip" which mimics what is available from retail brands.  The idea behind the pro grip is comfort and style.  It is also an accent point on the pen which at this price is expected to compete directly against products from Bic and Sandfords Papermate line.  Other brands have been folded into the main lines and the result is products such as the Bamboo USB Flash Drive 1GB which are among the many products available in time for Earth Day.

It has not all been a success for Leeds.  Last year to much fanfare they released the Karim Rashid line of products.  This year they are down to just two and opted to not expand the line at all.  Although the brand has some distinction in the retail channel it failed to carry over into the corporate markets and fell flat.

The threat from BPA is still debated but consumers had already decided they did not want products with BPA and sales of BPA containing items fell through the floor in 2008.  As a result many suppliers began producing goods for release in 2009 that were "BPA Free" and these goods are now readily available.  The question of whether BPA is safe or not is no longer relevant as BPA free alternatives such as the Excursion BPA Free Sport Bottle are easily to find and affordable.  Most of these bottles are made from a type of rigid plastic but several are now arriving that have been developed by a division of Eastman.  These materials are virtually indestructible.  The Paradise Sport Bottle is one of the bottles made from the newer materials and was combined with a neat contoured handle to make it easy to carry.  PromoManagers has released dozens of BPA Free Sport Bottles and most are available at discounted shipping.  Custom Stainless Steel Drinkware is almost always BPA free as well but you do have to watch the interior liners.  Luckily almost all the products currently in the channel are free of the chemical.

Next up will be guarantees that items are without lead.  This started to happen last year but most distributors quickly pulled any such verbiage as it is impossible at this stage to be absolutely sure and providing a false sense of security can be harmful.  The best advice we can give is treat all products with care and keep any shiny metal type trinkets away from young kids mouths.  If kids do play with them make sure their hands are thoroughly cleaned afterwards.

Tomorrow we will be discussing the dangers in printing ink used in many products and what can be done to mnimize the risk.  Check out our earlier article on Green Promos in Time for Earth Day.

Just in time for April comes the release of several recycled promotional items that actually have great looks and are built off of previously successful models.  The Recycled Cotton Expo Tote features strong handles and is made from recycled cotton.  Built off of the hit Expo model this tote has a large carrying capacity and can double as a shopping bag.  The Recycled Cotton Zippered Tote keeps true to the namesake by having a solid and smooth zipper and enormous storage capacity.  What I like about this tote is that you can use the multi color imprint method from Gem that keeps costs down over traditional multiple color imprint methods.  With the constant barrage of commercials today from the major shopping chains promoting reusable shopping bags there has been great demand for products such as the Recycled Cotton Market Bag which has 22" handles that can be used over the shoulder or as a traditional arm carrying.   For those looking for a little more color in a tote the Accent Tote provides several exciting colors and multiple decoration locations.  There is even the opportunity to decorate with embroidery which is somewhat rare in the lower price range.

The economy continues to stumble with no clear sign of a recovery in sight.  The markets took a beating today due to continued fear about the automobile industry and the potential for eventual failure.  Combined with poor data from around the World the equity markets slumped over three percent.  There is little hope for an immediate recovery but the idea continues to be promoted of a recovery in the second half of 2009.  Although this seems somewhat plausible one has to keep in mind the millions of jobs lost and the jobs we continue to shed each week.  With home prices continuing to coast down and with so many out of work the drag on the economy will continue to be severe.  Efforts to promote the economy and spending will include tax breaks on car purchases, overall tax breaks and even home purchase rebates.  The problem ultimately is that with so much of the world suffering through difficult economic times there is little hope for meaningful recovery soon.  As I discussed in Marketing Your Way Through A Recession the best course of action for many will be to continue to aggressively market their businesses in these tough times.