Bargainista ... where people who love shopping connect
A Toronto-based blog about anything and everything related to shopping, customer service, bargains and a dash of social media thrown in for good measure.
Last year L’il Spo was in town when High Road Communications (now my employer) invited us to the Disney Interactive Studios Family Fun Event. This year, he was at camp so I asked one of my colleagues if he and his son aka “Zinger” would like to go in our place. Of course Zinger accepted the invitation and returned the favour by writing the following guest post.
Recently I got to go to the Royal Ontario Museum to the Disney Interactive Studios event with my mom and dad. We went to a special room on the fourth floor to play video games! The room was filled with TVs, DSs, Xbox 360s and Wiis. It was busy! There were lots of kids playing video games. Here are the games I got to try:
1. Sonny with a Chance (DS) This game is awesome. I don't know what the goal is of the game but you can do all this fun stuff like get in a mashed potato fight. Mom doesn’t normally let me get in mashed potato fights.
2. Guilty Party (Wii) I really wanted to buy this game right away because it was my favourite but you couldn’t buy the games at the event. It has a cool mystery, you can play up to four people (I played with my Mom and she liked it a lot too), and you get to interrogate and accuse different characters.
3. Camp Rock (DS) I liked this game, but it was a bit difficult to play the drums. You can do really cool stuff and talk to other characters. I liked exploring Camp Rock!
4. Disney Party Hits (Wii) You can sing all these awesome songs, like Owl City’s Fireflies. I really like that song. It’s like you’re the only voice singing it.
5. Disney Sing-it Family Hits (Wii) This game was like Disney Party Hits but you can sing all the hit Disney songs from the movies. I sang “I Wouldn’t Have Nothing If I Didn't Have You” with my Dad. It’s from Monsters Inc. Mom really wanted to sing a song from The Little Mermaid.
6. Cars Towmater’s Tall Tales (Wii) This game was really difficult for me, especially driving the cars. If I got more practice I could get better at it.
7. There was also a new Tron game on the Xbox and Wii at the event that looked super cool with glow effects. All the dads were playing it and talking to a guy who helped make the game. I didn’t get a chance to play it but my dad says we’ll have to get it. He’s so old he saw the movie.
That’s what I got to play and it didn’t feel like we were at the museum at all. Really, how often do you get to play video games at the museum?
Full disclosure: Disney Interactive Studios is a High Road Communications client. I don’t work on the account and neither does Zinger’s dad.
Last June, the internet was a buzz with Torontofolks getting emails from Klout, a San Francisco-based start-up that helps determine a person’s influence on Twitter. I didn’t pay much attention until a few days later when I got an email from Klout inviting me to an exclusive party with Sir Richard Branson because I was one of the “influencers” who might be eligible for a free flight to San Francisco or Los Angeles (my choice) provided I pay airport fees and taxes. Back up, what???
I knew the program was legit. In an effort to promote its new return flights from Toronto to San Francisco and Los Angeles, Virgin America partnered with Klout to offer 500 free flights to Torontonians on Twitter who according Klout were thought to have enough “influence”. I’m not going to get into the merits of Klout nor what they mean by influence – it’s defined in many ways in the social media sphere. Besides, there were other factors at play in addition to a Klout score, when determining which local peeps would qualify for this program. Suffice it to say I linked to the special website and confirmed my eligibility. I wasn’t asked for anything in return but was provided with a hashtag in case I wanted to tweet about my experience or the program.
Why did Virgin America decide on this strategy? There were probably lots of reasons. For one, they wanted to reach out to people who were early adopters and active online. With wi-fi equipped planes and soon-to-be-launched social features like between seat chat, they want to be the airline of choice for the social media and tech savvy crowd.
I know this may sound lame, but I’d never been to California before. I rarely fly anywhere and other than family vacations, my husband and I hadn’t really been away alone since we became parents – more than 15 years ago! So, yes, I felt a bit like a kid in a candy store – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory winning the golden ticket. The catch, I had three days to book a flight before the offer was over and it had to be between June 23-August 23 (it was already June 25).
As luck would have it, two tickets were available the one long weekend the kids would be away, so we booked July 29-August 2. Off to San Francisco we went. I’ll save the details of the trip for another post. Suffice it to say we had a wonderful time and covered a ridiculous amount of the city including an afternoon in Sausilito – a brief ferry ride – in three fun-filled days.
So, you’re probably asking, what’s it like flying Virgin? Well it’s just fine. In Canadian terms, it’s somewhere between WestJet and Air Canada when it comes to service. Virgin America’s branding has lots of personality, just check out this safety video:
From a staffing perspective, it’s trying to be like WestJet but not there yet. Porter is still in a class by itself although I’m not sure I’d fly in a prop plane for a long-haul flight. I’ve only flown to the U.S. once before, New York, 12 years ago and I can’t remember the airline. We’re fortunate here in that we have strong national brands with good track records. Where we lose out is the cost of travel within our own country.
Virgin America’s flights are all on modern-looking airbuses that look like they’ve taken a page out of Apple’s design books for their interiors. The seat backs are made of hard white plastic that reminded me of my MacBook. Black leather seats were generally quite comfortable except I found the arms hard, narrow and less comfortable than their Canadian-based counterparts. Subtle use of red and purple provided an interesting touch to the décor.
You’re probably wondering about the food and drinks, especially for a long flight. Virgin provides the standard non-alcoholic beverages free of charge. They also offer a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic specialty drinks for a fee. All other items, from sandwiches to snack-packs are available too. Unlike other airlines where the flight attendants come around at “meal time”, on Virgin America, you can order your meals and snacks when you’re hungry by touch screen and pay with your credit card.
Caution: we ordered food relatively early and yet they were down to two sandwich choices en route to San Francisco and one choice on the way home. I tried the grilled Japanese eggplant both ways. It was fine but the sun-dried tomatoes were replaced by fresh tomato slices the second time.
On the return flight I ordered two – one for me and another for my husband – when the flight attendant brought lunch, she only had one sandwich at first. Why? Well, while my husband was waiting in line for the bathroom, he heard her telling her colleague that passengers were still having trouble figuring out how to order food and kept making mistakes by ordering multiple quantities. Guess what, she probably shouldn’t have complained about passengers in public. But, we got the last laugh because she was the one who erred.
The only other complaint I had was the cost of movies, specialty TV shows and wi-fi for passengers not in first class. Just the weekend before, I flew Air Canada. I was able to watch anything I wanted on a two-hour flight for free – and I did. Why was Virgin America expecting me to pay for a movie, especially when the selection wasn’t great? (To be fair, it was pretty much the same selection as our hotel – they choices were lame all around.) I was under the impression Gogo wi-fi would be free or at least it should have been made available for us Twitter folks to try, don’t you think? The Best of the Web had some cool offerings, including the Best of TED and Gary Vee’s Wine Library – yes, they know their customers.
At the end of the day, the flight was pleasant, service was with a smile, planes flew on time and/or arrived early (we took three – two to get to San Francisco and one home) and safe. And compared to other airlines, the landings were incredibly smooth. Just be sure to factor in all the costs of extras when you’re comparing ticket prices.
One suggestion I have to kick up a program like this in the future would be for Virgin America to actually partner with the cities included in the promotion. Los Angeles and San Francisco got a heck of a lot of free publicity from this program. Just check out some of the posts from local friends who were there at the same time as me: A Real Canadian’s Blog – A San Francisco Experience Day 1 and Day 2 I want - I got LAX Diaries Coming Soon A World from A to Z’sBlogging from 35,071ft
I’d be curious to learn how many people are considering travel there as a result of the Twitter chatter from Toronto tweeps this summer. (My Flickr pics are coming soon – promise.)
Would I fly Virgin America again? Sure as long as the price was right. In fact, my husband was already thinking of heading to LA and only looked at Virgin America flights – there are weekly deals, even more special offers for Twitter peeps – he’s entitled to dream.
Last Tuesday night I attended my first event in ages. Although the invitation arrived in my inbox just the day before, it was hard to pass up and the buzz about the Roots x Douglas Coupland collection has been electric. So, I skipped the visit to the eponymous pop-up store and went directly to Roots’ flagship store on Bloor St. and headed upstairs to see what all the fuss was about.
The space looked incredible. I didn’t recognize anyone except for David Suzuki, who paid a quick visit and chatted with a few attendees. Minutes later a few friends from the fashion blogger community showed up Kimberly Lyn and Tricia Campbell, who introduced my to the lovely Tanja Zelko, Roots’ own online voice whom I’d been following on Twitter for ages.
Roots did a very cool thing by offering their Facebook fans access to the Roots x Douglas Coupland collection in mid-June (two weeks before it was available in bricks-and-mortar stores). It’s been selling like hotcakes ever since. And I did visit the pop-up store at 680 Queen W. today – it closes July 25 so get their fast if you want to check it out. Love the pop-up store concept but the Bloor St. location is where it’s at if you want the best selection of the Roots x Douglas Coupland collection.
One suggestion I have for Tanja and the event team at Roots is next time, either offer your guests a special discount during events like these and giving guests a little takeaway to remember the event and share with their friends. Tanja was wearing a Roots x Douglas Coupland black leather wristband. Just like this red one but in black. It retails for a mere (and costs Roots less to produce). While visiting the pop-up store I saw a box of posters – that would have done the trick too. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go to these events expecting discounts or swag, but a little takeaway for the small number of people who attended the event would have gone a long was in helping to spread the word offline.
Have you seen the Roots x Douglas Coupland collection? If so where? What do you think of pop-up stores?
For the past few years, I’d only been hearing wonderful things about Mabel’s Labels but being the cost-conscious person I am, I opted for the cheap iron-on labels when labelling my kids’ clothes for summer camp.
This year it was different. L’il Spo had grown a tonne and needed lots of new clothes. We'd run out of the iron-on labels and I had run out of time, not to mention desire to iron labels in the midst of a heatwave.
I kept reading all kinds of tweets from other moms who were swearing by Mabel’s Labels. So, after lots of humming and hawing and the promise of a quick turnaround by @mabelhood, I bit the bullet and placed an order for stick-on labels aka “Classic Tag-mates”.
My order was placed on a Sunday night and by Tuesday, I had my 75 labels. I didn’t even opt for express postage. What a lifesaver!
Before the Tag-mates arrived, I fretted over the size and style. Even though I had the opportunity to preview the final product online, I worried if they’d look to young for my almost-12-year-old and if they'd be too big. When then got hear, I was pleasantly pleased they looked exactly as ordered (text-only, no cutesy colours or icons designed for younger kids). But I was surprised as how small they were, which made them a bit difficult to apply. I know, I know, the dimensions are right on the website but c’mon who really takes out a ruler and checks, not me. Otherwise, they were quick to apply and easy to use. The real test will be if they’re still on all my L’il Spo’s clothes when he returns from camp.
Regardless, I’ve become a Mabel’s Labels convert. There are lots of other products to choose from so whether you’re still preparing your child’s clothing for camp or thinking about labelling them for school or daycare, have a look. While you're there, check out the other items including stationary and kid safety products too.
Cool tips: If you shop between now and August 6 and spend or more, you can save on a purchase between October 5-November 2.
Oh ya, I searched for a discount code online and saved 10% on my order. Try entering “DEALPL” and see what happens.
L’il Spo is the pseudonym for my younger son who contributed this guest review after I received a review copy of Toy Story 3 for Xbox 360 from Disney Interactive Studios.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a huge Toy Story fan. I saw Toy Story 3 with my dad on opening weekend and thought it was one of the best movies ever. When my mom brought the video game home I thought it might suck because like most games based on kids’ movies, it would be too young for anyone my age or older (I’m almost 12.) Then I started playing it and discovered that one of the modes is good, which would be the Toy Box mode. And the other main mode, which is the actual story, I found kind of dull and not as good as the Toy Box mode. The Toy Box mode I enjoy playing because it has lots of open customization. For example, in order to change what the citizens in Toy Box mode wear and look like, you get to throw them in a store and for someone like me that’s just pure PWNAGE!!!!
The one thing about the game that I really dislike is the fact that it has many long and boring loading sequences. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that there are actually some challenging missions that I might find a tad difficult if were younger. Overall though, I recommend this game to any Toy Story fan who enjoys playing video games. Even so, in some cases I would find similarities between the Toy Box mode and games like SIMS because of all the customization.
I rate this game for the original score I give it a 4 out of 5 stars because although I do love the song You’ve Got a Friend in Me, it’s quite repetitive and can get a bit annoying when playing the game. For graphics, I give it another 4. I thought they were good but not anything that blew my mind. And now for the score for the overall game, I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. This is L’il Spo signing off.
P.S. My mom wanted me to tell you this game is also available for the Wii and PlayStation 3.
In this baby bargainista post, Jenny shares tips for buying sundresses for little girls.
With the hot weather comes my annual search for inexpensive, yet pretty summer sundresses for our girls. Our oldest is 5 and is deeply into wearing dresses – the frillier, the better – but they don’t always stand up well to her active, still rough-and-tumble lifestyle.
For special occasions, I splurged on a couple of beautiful dresses from Happy Wear. I love their cheerful, colorful designs and the dresses are very well-constructed in such a way that they can be easily adjusted to fit as your child grows through the season, with double-snaps at the shoulders and drawstring waists. Best of all, they are durable, and I’ve bought from them every year so I have a growing collection ready to pass along to Daughter #2! (As I tell my husband, it’s not really splurging, it’s an investment!)
But these gorgeous dresses likely wouldn’t survive a kindergarten birthday party unstained, so I also visited our local Winners and picked up a couple of marked-down frilly dresses. They’re fancy enough to keep Daughter #1 happy, but at -20, they’re cheap enough that I won’t mind the occasional cupcake stain.
And for school and active summer holidays, I always swear by Joe Fresh and H&M. Very simple, light cotton dresses can be found for - at either store, and their A-line construction, while not fancy or fitted, is perfect for staying comfy and cool on hot summer days. Top 3 tips: 1. At Joe Fresh and at Winners, stock moves quickly, so when you see something in the right size, buy it – it might not be there next week! 2. If you’re not sure about size with Joe Fresh, because they’re located in the supermarket it’s often easier to buy a couple of sizes and try them on the kids at home, then return them during your next grocery run (rather than try to wrangle cranky kids plus a full shopping cart into the fitting room!).
3. At H&M, lines at the checkout can often stretch around the store. Bring a friend to wait in line while you browse, or better yet, if the line is more than 6 people long, do a little browsing for yourself – you might find that the line has shrunk significantly when you are done (and you might discover a few bargains for yourself!).
Since winning tickets to The Clothing Show, Jean Yee and I have been having a lot of email conversations. She was nice enough to share her experience. Hope you’ll enjoy her guest post as much as I did. What a wonderful weekend of shopping we had at The Clothing Show! Thank you again for holding the free tickets to the show contest. My niece and I attended Saturday and Sunday. We felt a special going up to the guest counter to pick up our tickets and have them look up our names on the guest list.
Our shopping agenda was to find accessories for my niece’s prom dress. This included shoes, jewellery and purse. After that, whatever money was left over was a “free for all, buy what you want.” This was the first time my niece attended The Clothing Show. She is has talent for art illustration, so this was the perfect event for her to be this weekend.
We watched one of the runway shows to get an idea of what some of the vendors were selling and how some pieces can be worn. Yes, some of the ensembles were strictly for the runway (a bit risque for streetwear by certain standards!), but they did provide inspiration for adapting it to ones own style. And some of the other ensembles were perfect for an event or day wear.
There were ample bargain boxes at vendors' booths to rummage through – we found a lined vest in the .00 box, a hooded mohair sweater for .00 and some frilly dresses for .00. All from vendors selling new stock. In the vintage section, we found a patent black leather clutch for .00 and a pink/black bustier for .00. Some vendors were selling all their wares, every piece for a flat price of .00; everything in their booth! We wondered if we should go beyond budget and buy as much as we could. Experience told us, to stay within budget and stick to the shopping plan. Breathe. Plan the shopping, shop the plan.
Sunday afternoon, we found deeper discounts as vendors wanted to move their stock and I couldn't pass up two Indian 100% silk shawls for .00 each. The DIY nail art booth was really different – they were 'rubber stamping' various designs on our fingernails (from lace patterns, to flower designs) that mimics the designs of salon nail art.
One of the advantages of shopping local and small business, is sharing one on one conversations with the owners and designers. I find that part of the shopping experience at this event is getting to know the vendors; what inspires and motivates them. Some showed me their favourite pieces and why/how they made them, found them etc. We had a most inspiring conversation with Glen Anthony, one of the artists creating a Marvel comic mural that was to be auctioned off when he completed it.
At the end of the weekend, we found all the items my niece needed for her prom (and a couple of things myself!), under budget,so we were able to splurge on a couple of extras! Did we enjoy it? Absolutely! We were impressed and inspired by the artistic talent we saw and got our dose of nostalgia browsing and buying in the vintage section. Would be go again? In a heartbeat! Once we save up our money...
Thanks again for the tickets and for making our weekend a memorable one (I can't wait to see the prom photos!)
Did you go to The Clothing Show? What did you think?
Kudos to the gals at Veritas for inviting me to the SATC2 premier last night. I hope they’ll understand that sometimes things come up at the last-minute and I wasn’t able to attend. Fortunately, my colleague Aly Robb stepped up to the plate. I hope you’ll enjoy her guest review. In addition to being an account exec on High Road’s digital team, Aly’s is an avid lover of dance, shrimp cocktail and Bill Murray.
“Do you want to go to the Sex and the—” I don’t think I let the oh-so-lovely Bargainista finish her sentence, inviting me to attend an advanced screening to Sex and the City 2 last night, before I eagerly replied “Yes, Yes, YES!” The clothes, the shoes, the men – how can a girl refuse? Accompanied by my best gal-pal, I headed off to the screening sponsored by Trojan and Nair, excited to get my Sex and the City fill a little earlier than anticipated.
I arrived a full hour and a half before the movie was scheduled to start as I was instructed to do, thinking that I would be at the front of the line, but I misjudged the die-hard Toronto SATC fans, and found myself among a large crowd of party dresses (should have re-thought my jeans) and stilettos (should have re-thought my flip flops).
As we arrived, we were greeted by organizers adorned with pink boas and the Trojan Man, a bare-chested gladiator hunk you could get your picture taken with. Although it was a long wait until the movie actually started, we were entertained with Sex and the City trivia and prize packs that would make any girl blush.
As the lights dimmed and the movie began, our great MC reminded the crowd that it was a girls night out – and we should all embrace the girliness within us as we watch... and embrace it, I did...
I laughed, I squealed, I cheered, I even got a little choked up – I won’t lie, I LOVED the movie. It was like being reunited with four long-time friends, and for just over two hours, I got to live the life of Sex and the City.
As the night sadly ended and I walked away with my Sex and the City gift bags (filled with sweet Nair and Trojan swag), I felt a little more glamorous... even in my flip-flops!
Are you planning on seeing SATC2? If so, share your thoughts and leave a comment.
Working on both sides of the blogger relations’ equation full-time for the past year or so has really been an eye opener as far as the challenges facing bloggers, brands and the agencies that represent the latter.
Over the past few months in particular, I’ve been exposed to a few situations where the concept of paid reviews and/or pay-to-post has been the subject of discussion. It’s something that I grapple with frequently and when it comes to how I govern my own blog and my relationships with agencies, brands and retailers, I’ve drawn a clear line as far where my comfort level and leanings lie.
Several posts have been written by bloggers and PR pros alike with regard to earned vs. paid media. Are mommy bloggers undervalued? Should bloggers write about your client for free? What should PR consultants expect from bloggers and what’s a reasonable “ask”? What happens to your integrity when you blog for money and what are you providing in return? These questions represent just some of the issues swirling through my head. I’m not going to answer these now because I’m still trying to figure it all out. It’s not as black and white as you may think. The way I see it, there’s still a lot of grey.
“I'd love to hear your thoughts on the best way to manage reviews… the more voices, the greater chance we have of finding a workable solution for everyone.”
So, here’s my position when it comes to managing reviews...
Many of the products (tools, websites, etc.) I’ve reviewed and will continue to review are based on my own personal discovery and usage. They are not a result of anyone reaching out and/or introducing them to me because I am a blogger.
Sometimes I review products as a result of a company asking me to try a specific product. In most cases, these companies will send me products to try, and in most cases, keep. These products are usually cosmetics, books, food or event invitations. Often I ignore* or turn down requests for reviews. I never feel obligated to do one just because someone has asked – even if that person is a friend.
I will only review products if no strings are attached and I do my best to provide objective, honest and fair reviews. I never feel obligated to write a review even if I receive a product for free. So, if a product isn’t doing it for me, I may not write about it at all.
Any blog posts that refers to a product, service, business, event, etc. that I’ve been introduced to as a result of some form of blogger outreach (including clients of my employer) are clearly disclosed on a post-by-post basis.
Earlier this year, I was asked to review a product in exchange for money. I refused because I felt my integrity would be put on the line and my opinions would become less valuable. My reputation is important to me. Although it doesn’t pay the bills, my reputation is a valuable commodity that can’t be bought or easily replaced if lost.
People who write guest posts or regular columns are governed by the same policy when it comes to content published on Bargainista.
I do not object to advertising or sponsored content so long as it’s clearly labeled as such. I have received modest payment for three sponsored event listing posts since I began blogging in 2006.
So there you have it – my thoughts on managing reviews. I look forward to your comments.
*Actually, when anyone contacts me using the correct email address for Bargainista, they’ll receive an auto-response email, so I’m not ignoring them completely. Full disclosure: Although I work at High Road Communications, these opinions are strictly my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
What? Vancouver-based Dish Jeans is having a denim event at Long Legs the next two Thursday nights and Dish representative and denim fit expert, Christina Pillar will be on site to help ensure you get the perfect fit... and save 20% off all regular priced Dish denim and tops.
It’s been a while since I wrote about Long Legs and some of the challenges my tall, long-limbed friends have finding clothes that fit. Well, Nancy Pehar, co-owner of Long Legs contacted me to introduce me to her store this week. She was surprised when I told her that although I’m barely 5'3", I’m familiar with her store and had blogged about it before. (Tip: Google Alerts are a great free tool small businesses can use to see what’s being said about them online. If you’re not using them already, start now!) When? Where? Long Legs Toronto Store 2717 Yonge St., Toronto Thurs., May 13, 2010 5:00 p.m.-8 p.m.
Long Legs Mississauga Store 299 Lakeshore Rd. E., Mississauga Thurs., May 20, 2010 5:00 p.m.-8 p.m. Can’t make it in person? You can order online May 13 and 20 (two days only) using the promo code “DISH20” and still get the 20% discount.
A lot has changed in the past few years. Long Legs has a blog and you can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.
Let us know what you get if you go.
Branding: Tips for Developing Your Company’s Brand
Branding: Tips for Developing Your Company’s Brand
Building a brand is a necessity for any successful business. There are, however,
suggestions that can assist you in getting the most out of your company’s brand.
Create something original. You may think that everything that is anything has been done before, but that is not true. Possibilities for developing an original brand are endless. Moreover, customers want to see something new and different. In addition, there are serious legal consequences for stealing or borrowing from an existing brand. Make your brand your own.
Remember the concept of continuity. The public must be exposed to your brand over a period of time before they begin to form associations in their minds. When they continuously see your image, logo, and company name, they will start to remember and begin to become aware of your brand.
Consistency is essential for building a brand. Spend some time during the invention process fine tuning the way you would like for your brand to appear. Seek professional opinions and assistance for the design concepts. When you focus on your wishes early on in the beginning, you can avoid having to make changes later. Stay consistent with your logo and brand. Consumers need to see the same visual images to make those connections to your company. Select the colors, fonts, pictures, and messages that you really want and then work to promote your ideal brand.
Promote your brand through promotional products. Giving away promotional items like yardsticks, CD cases, pens, back scratchers, and ice scrapers serves many purposes. The more exposure you create for your brand, the more likely people are to remember it. And, studies prove that the public is more likely to do business with those that donate promotional gifts than companies that do not.
Use word of mouth advertising to your advantage. People talk about businesses they interact with regardless of whether the experience was good or bad. Work this concept and encourage people to talk highly of your business. Hold drawings for major prizes whereby customers register to win through signing up on your web site. When mailing promotional material for existing customers, send a few free items instead of just one. Promotional products get passed on to other people. When imprinted flashlights, screwdrivers, water bottles, and beverage can holders move from one household to the next, you can be sure that your advertising is spreading with the items. This stirs conversation and individuals begin to ask about your work and the quality of it.
Change only when it’s necessary to maintain your image. While a good brand that is working well for a company can function for years, even decades, some brands over time need to be tweaked. Styles, attitudes, and trends change. Rather than playing with a brand’s image over months or years, do an assessment after a lengthy period of time. What in society has changed that could be reflected in your brand? Is it fashion, money, ingredients? Try not to scrap the entire brand, but maybe work on updating a portion of it.
Show your creative side. Formulate a slogan, a picture, or a theme that really catches the public’s attention. Use humor. Tug on the heartstrings. Demonstrate an artistic uniqueness. Ponder your company’s image and generate something that will support your intentions.
You must protect your brand. After you have spent the time and effort to create the brand that you are proud of and feel passionate about advertising, safeguard it. Speak with your attorney. Take the steps required to register it as a trademark. Importantly, this enables you to maintain your brand legally. You, then, have the power to decide how your brand will be used. Also granted to you are the rights of defending your brand from the possibility of it being stolen.
Use specificity. Throughout the history of advertising, many brand names, after time, become watered down to encompass the gamut of similar products. Consider that Kleenex is used by many to describe tissue. Aspirin used to mean a specific product as well, not just pain reliever in general. While it is in some way an honor that your creation has the potential to become so widely known that people throw your terms around loosely, you should maintain the exclusiveness of your work. Aim to distinguish your product from other like products through your verbiage, quality, and packaging.
Building a brand that works takes time. Following the proper marketing techniques that have been established over time can speed your process. In the end, it doesn’t matter how big or small your business is. Any company has the potential to market a brand and make it a success.
The Difference Between Printed Pens And Executive Gifts
The Difference Between Printed Pens And Executive Gifts
Chances are that when you think of executive business gifts, printed pens are
not the first thing that springs to mind. Most often when someone mentions
printed pens, the pen that springs to mind is made of plastic and will probably
leak the first time you put it in your pocket. The truth is though, that the
difference between printed pens and executive gifts is really not all that huge.
Both printed promotional pens and executive gifts serve essentially the same purpose – to foster good will with your customers, and promote your business. The biggest difference lies in your company’s relationship with the gift’s recipient. Executive gifts are meant to woo your very best customers – or those that you hope will become your very best customers. They are the gifts that are reserved for the top 20% of your mailing list, or as special thank you gifts for those promote your business. Would you trust printed pens to deliver a marketing message that could be worth millions to your company?
Why not when the pen in question is sleek, stylish and comes complete with a lifetime guarantee and a name like Quill, Balmain or Parker? Beautiful pen sets have always been a treasured gift for executives and businessmen. High quality metal printed pens and pen sets are traditional gifts for many occasions, and carry a high perceived value when given as incentives or thank you gifts to your best customers.
The question that many marketing directors struggle with when choosing printed promotional pens as executive gifts is the placement of the company branding. After all, if a pen is meant to promote your business, it should carry your name or logo. At the same time, executive gifts should seem more like gifts than like advertising. There are several solutions to the conundrum.
1. Choose a style of printed pens that allows for subtle placement of your brand name or logo. One very popular line of printed pens from Quill features a slanted oval top that’s the perfect spot for your corporate logo – subtle, discreet and different. Other options may include tone on tone printing or laser engraving.
2. Instead of printing your name or logo on the pen itself, have it printed on the presentation box, case or a gift tag. If you’ve chosen a distinctive pen, it will speak for itself. Your clients will remember where they came from.
3. Choose metal printed pens with coloured barrels and have them printed in a darker or lighter shade of the same colour as the metal. The effect will be subtle and professional rather than tacky.
4. Don’t print slogans or contact info on printed pens meant as executive gifts. The only printing on them should be your company name and perhaps the name of the city. Anything more than that tips the balance from gift to advertisement, and that’s a balance you don’t want to tip with an executive gift.
Printed pens are more than just promotional items and giveaways. When you choose high quality pens and subtle messages and branding, they can become the ideal executive gift.
Branding can be quite powerful. Most new businesses fail within their first five years, and in many cases, the reason is because the product or services was not branded. When no thought goes into branding, your customers can’t pick you out in a crowd. One of the easiest ways to help brand your company is to use promotional products.
What is branding anyway? Simply put, branding is setting your products or service apart from others within the industry. It’s the way you create certain thoughts and feelings in a consumer when you say your company name. For example, McDonald’s has been branded to be a happy place catering to families. Recently, they’ve also begun branding McDonald’s to have healthier fast food options, especially for children. With their various ad campaigns, product choices, etc., McDonald’s hopes to be the first place brought to mind when someone wants fast food. Branding also means a recognizable logo (the arches) and even colors (red and yellow).
Of course, not everyone can spend millions of dollars branding their business like McDonald’s does! Promotional products and promotional items are a great way to help this branding because they are affordable and fun. If you want to brand your company in a way in which to show consumers that you are fun-loving, you might use promotional products that make noise, contain lights, and change colors. On the other hand, if you want to convey an image of being practical, promotional mugs, promotional pens, and other such products can help you.
No matter what specific products you choose, remember that uniformity is key in branding. In other words, take your logo and past use it on everything. This is not the time to be creative. If your company headquarters has a purple sign, make purple key rings. If you use the slogan “Your one-stop shop” in your radio advertisements, print this same logo on your pencils.
After all, there are probably at least 10 other businesses competing with yours. You want certain colors, logos, fonts, slogans, and so forth to be unique to your company—and you want consumers to identify these things with you. That’s what branding is all about. By using promotional products to reinforce your design choices, you can build your branding efforts.
Also note the promotional products and business gifts can go where you cannot. You can’t always travel the country with your products, but you can send an employee armed with promotional products to conventions and fairs around the world. Customers who normally would not think about your business will soon be calling your for shipments, simply because the promotional products you’ve released have reached them. Branding is so powerful that you may find people begin simply to refer to you by your branding techniques. For example, if I said I was looking for some golden arches, you would probably assume I meant McDonald’s! Use promotional products to have the same effect in your community. Branding is an important aspect of any business marketing and promotional products and corporate gifts can help.
For additional information on adverting promotional products, promotional items and business gifts, check out our online promotional product shop today!
Ellements of a Strong Logo
The Ellements of a Strong Logo
They come in so many different shapes and styles. Just think for a moment about how many companies have a logo for their brand? I’m sure you can name enough to cover all ten fingers in the span of a few seconds.
No matter where you go there are logos everywhere, and with this massive number comes countless different varieties. And yet, all of them have a few basic elements in common. At least, all the successful ones do, and in order to make your logo work, you need to know why all of the others have done such a great job at establishing a company.
First, and by far most importantly of all, you need to make a memorable design. Not that simple, is it? How do make a memorable design?
Keep things basic. Take a moment to look at some of those logos you know of. Car logos are a prime example because every car has one embedded on it. What do all these logos have in common? Each of them has a very simple look, usually made from only a few lines or a single image, and that’s all.
This simplicity helps a person to easily remember what the logo looks like. It also makes your logo immediately recognizable. A complicated image won’t be as easy to spot as a sleek, simple design.
A great logo is also something that can be altered to fit anything it needs to. After all, you should be sure to put your logo on everything you can, including your color printing, your building, and any free items you might want to hand out.
Next comes coloring. There are a lot of logos that have a specific color theme, but something to note is that the color shouldn’t be necessary for the logo to be effective. What does this mean?
Take the Target logo as an example. The logo is simple and reflects the name of the company: it’s a mini bulls eye. Now, the typical color scheme is solid red, but if you alter the color, such as make it blue, it doesn’t take anything away from the logo itself. It remains an easily recognizable bulls eye. The same goes for Microsoft’s windows logo. While it’s given multiple colors, even if you look at it in black and white you can still recognize the logo and the company.
Design your logo without any color in mind, and get an image that works great no matter what color it is. That way if you’re using color printing you can be sure to put on a colorful logo and if you’re using plain printing your logo will still work in black and white.
As simple as most logos are, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to design. Sometimes the simplistic things can be the hardest to get right, but if you know what makes a logo great, you’ll be on the right track to make a memorable one for your company’s image.
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