Tag Archives: promotional umbrellas

Holiday Gift Giving for Customers and Employees

The holiday season is a great time for businesses to show appreciation to customers and employees for their loyalty. Without either of these groups, your company would not be operational! While you are always looking out for new customers, keeping current ones happy is important. Repeat business is the key to long-lasting success.

And of course, you always want to include your employees. Sales might bring in the money, but happy employees are key to making your business run smoothly and efficiently. When you show employees that you care about and appreciate them, they will be happier in their work which is reflected in their attitude, and the way they treat customers. It’s also important for employee retention – a content employee is a long-term employee.

 

What makes a great gift?

When choosing branded gifts, whether for customers or employees, think about the quality of the item and the reusability factor. While small trinkets and items are great for promotions throughout the year, holiday gifts should be something that makes them say “wow”!

Studies have shown that when you give a customer a promotional gift, they tend to keep those gifts for 5 years or more! And of course, each time they use your gift they will think of your business, creating a reminder so they will call you when they are once again in the market for your services or products.

 

Gifts that Last

The best holiday gifts are ones that can be used over and over again. Repeat impressions are key to successful marketing, and that includes branded holiday gifts. Below are a few ideas for promotional gifts that are ideal for both customers and employees.

 

Drinkware

Custom drinkware makes a great promotional gift and is an easy way to keep your name in front of people throughout the day. The Custom Drinkware Store has a wonderful selection of sports bottles, koozies, glassware, and stainless steel drinkware.

16 Oz. Denali Stainless Steel Thermos – Stainless Steel with a screw-on, spill-resistant lid, and pop-up lid for pouring, this thermos has double-walled construction and is ideal for hot coffee as well as cold beverages like iced tea and water.

20 Oz. Full Color Stainless Steel Himalayan Tumbler with Antimicrobial Additive – featuring built-in antimicrobial properties to prevent germs and bacteria from forming on the cup, this stainless steel tumbler has a 4-color process wrap to create a one-of-a-kind gift that people can immediately associate with your brand.

Bags

A custom bag gives the recipient a useful and long-lasting gift with many uses. At The Custom Bag Store, we offer a varied selection of bags to meet every need.

Deluxe Sports Duffel Bag – This handsome duffel bag sports has several pockets and a shoe compartment to hold everything you need for a trip to the gym or weekend getaway, and features a generous size imprint to showcase your logo.

Manhattan Tote Bag – this stylish tote comes with a unique checkered pattern with Black, Blue, or Silver Accents and a Black or Brown pouch. It’s ideal for carrying groceries, work supplies, and books.

 

Umbrellas

A custom umbrella can be used year-round, and it’s one of the few items that you can use to promote your brand that will give your brand a broader reach. Every time someone uses a promotional umbrella with your logo, not only will they think of your company but they are advertising your product to everyone around them each time they use it. Check out our complete line at the Custom Umbrella Store.

46″ Auto Open & Close Reversa Inversion Folding Umbrella – The intelligent design makes it easy to open and close and is designed not only to protect you from rain but also from a rain-soaked umbrella. When not in use, it folds to only 13″ long so that it fits almost anywhere.

46″ Auto Open Reflective Iridescence Umbrella – featuring a generous imprint area, you can promote your brand while offering users a safe way to travel in the rain. This umbrella features a reflective iridescence canopy so others can easily see you when the skies are gray.

A Personal Touch

No matter what gift you decide on this holiday season, you can always add a personal touch to make it even more special. If you are wrapping your gifts, consider adding a Custom Lip Balm, Hand Sanitizer, or Promotional Pen to the bow so they know just who the gift is from! You can also add a gift tag to these items and attach it to the gift if you decide not to wrap them individually.

 

Custom Umbrellas – Expand Your Marketing Reach

Custom umbrellas are a great way to promote any business! Not only are they reusable providing you with repeat exposure for your brand, but putting your name on an umbrella has many other benefits. Umbrellas are a great choice for any promotion, providing you with a lot of exposure for years to come. They also make wonderful marketing tools!

 

Get Noticed!

Picture this – it’s raining in your town and everywhere you look you see – your logo! Walking down the street, jumping in and out of cabs and cars, and entering and leaving buildings. Not only do you get repeated exposure, but you can get a lot of it if you come up with a good strategy for distributing them!


Consider handing them out during tradeshows, as customer and employee appreciation gifts, or during special promotional events. Better yet – do it all!

 

Selecting a Style

Once you have decided on a custom umbrella for your promotions, the next step is picking one out. There are many styles of umbrellas available, and they come in numerous colors, shapes, and sizes. So, which one do you pick? Let’s cover the basics to help you make your selection.

Mini Umbrellas

This seems pretty self-explanatory, but what makes them mini? The size of the arc, or the dimension of the canopy, when the umbrella is fully open, ranges from about 36” to 46”. Many of them fold to a length that fits into most purses and briefcases, and are sized for use by one person.


Vented Umbrellas

A vented umbrella is what you want during stormy or windy weather. If you live someplace where winds are prevalent – a vented umbrella is a must! These umbrellas are made to be extra strong with sturdy construction to keep them from turning inside out during heavy wind and rain and are usually windproof.


Folding Umbrellas 

A folding umbrella is just what it sounds like. It folds down to a manageable size to make it easy to carry and store. These umbrellas are great to keep in a briefcase, purse, or backpack.


Golf Umbrellas 

Golf umbrellas are big! Meant to cover two or more people, or maybe to set in a golf bag to keep equipment dry, these umbrellas are strong and make a great display for your logo. Ideal for promoting or sponsoring a tournament, golf umbrellas have extra-large imprint areas, and are an impressive way to display your logo.


Clear and Safety Umbrellas 

The name says it all on these. Clear umbrellas have a translucent canvas to you can see where you are going without having to look out from under the umbrella. Safety umbrellas have the added protection of being reflective so others can see you even in the dark. They have one or more reflective strip, so the user is seen more easily at night and during dark and stormy days. These are ideal for people that spend a lot of time walking around time, or for children so commuters can easily see them.


Inversion Umbrellas

How many times have you become soaked getting in a car while trying to close an umbrella? A regular umbrella closes downwards, often leaving you and your clothes wet. Inversion umbrellas are unique and close outwards, pushing the wet rain away from you, and keeping you and your clothes dry.


Auto-Open Umbrellas 

As the name implies, these umbrellas open at the touch of a button, and are very convenient for getting in and out of cars and building doors. They make it easier to maneuver when you are carrying multiple items so you can get the umbrellas open and closed without getting wet.


Manual Open Umbrellas 

The good old fashion manual-open umbrella. Many people prefer these, so they have better control over how quickly they open and close so they don’t have to worry about pinching their fingers.

Promoting your Brand on a Budget

New and small businesses have a lot of hurdles when starting out. Advertising your business doesn’t have to be one of them! While marketing is key in getting your name on the lips of potential new clients, you don’t have to break the bank while doing it.

Affordability

Marketing a new business can be a trying time. Trying to find an effective, yet affordable way to get your name out might feel out of your reach when you first start your company. The good news is, it’s easy to promote your brand on just about any budget! Not all promotional products have to be expensive. While you have a lot of choices that fall in the under $1 category, there are also many custom items you can get for less than 50¢ a piece! Some for even less.

There are numerous products you can customize for 50¢ to $1.00 – custom bags, cleaning cloths, drinkware, hand sanitizer, lip balm, pens, sunglasses, and sunscreen are the most popular. Many of these options even have products under 25¢ per piece! So, no matter how low your current budget is, it’s easy to find a product to help promote your business and get you started.

Putting your logo on pens is about the cheapest item way you can spend your advertising dollars. Pricing starts below 20¢ a piece, making it affordable to buy in bulk and pass them out to anyone and everyone! The great thing about pens is not only will users see your company name or logo as they are writing, but others around them will see it too. And while pens are probably the most easily lost items, it doesn’t mean a loss for you. When one person loses a pen, another finds it, which extends your reach to another potential customer!

Repetition is Key

The best way for people to remember your name is by repetition, and if you give them a one-use item, they won’t remember you for long. You need to spend your money on products that will be used by potential (and/or current) customers daily so your name is always fresh on their minds.

When selecting a product to customize for your promotions, consider items that people will want to use over and over again, so your company name and logo are repeatedly seen by the user. Don’t bother with items that will be tossed after being used one time. Spend your money on items that will be used over and over again, giving your brand repeat exposure.

Choosing the Right Product for your Brand

One of the hardest things about choosing a product is knowing what to customize. You can put your name on just about anything, but you want to be selective about the products you choose.

The key to a good promotional item is usability. Choosing a product people will use that is also seen by others is very important. It’s also vital to select something reusable, so you get the most bang for your buck. When you buy gimmicky little one-use gadgets or fad items, they usually just end up in the trash before you’ve had a chance to leave an impression on the person who received the item.

When looking for a product to represent your company, you want to choose something that your company would use, or that people might think of when using your customized item.

For instance, dentists and orthodontist clients favor custom lip balm. Almost everyone uses lip balm, and when your lips are feeling soft and moisturized, you tend to smile more. And no one wants you to have a great smile more than your dentist! And with prices as low as (or less than) 35¢ a piece, it’s easy to buy in bulk to pass out to every client when they come in for dental work or to use as a mailout for checkup reminders.

Another example is personalized pens. Pens are great for any business and work especially well for banks, realtors, car dealerships, and other companies you typically associate with signing papers.

Custom drinkware is another great promotional tool that works for any company. Not only does drinkware get a lot of reused, but your logo will be seen with every sip by the user, their coworkers, or other people around them.

Portability

Another factor to consider is how portable a personalized item is. If you pass out products with your name on them that can be easily kept on a person, the more likely your logo is to be seen frequently not only by the user but by others around them. Hand sanitizer, lip balm, pens, and sunglasses are a great way to showcase your name while staying within your budget.

The bottom line is, you really can’t afford NOT to promote your business. With so many items with prices below $1.00, it’s one of the best ways to spend your marketing dollars to advertise any company. Get started now at PromotionalWebstores.com!

Top Promotional Items for Sponsoring an Outdoor Event

Promoting your company or brand is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner. Many people think it’s a waste of money, but you can’t rely on word of mouth if you want to grow your business properly.

No matter how awesome your product is, if people don’t know about it, they can’t purchase it or your services. One of the best ways to get your name out to the public is by sponsoring an event.

There are numerous kinds of events you can have, depending on what type of business you are promoting. For sports-related companies, sponsoring a local race, golf tournament, or even holding your own company-sponsored outdoor event is an effective way to get the attention of the masses.

For general businesses, offering to be a sponsor for an event, school, or sports team is a wonderful way to get involved in your community and let people know you are in business.

Let’s take a look at the top promotional items you want to have when sponsoring an outdoor event.

Bottled Water and Water Bottles

First and foremost, one of the most important items you can have on hand for any outdoor event is water! You want everyone to have a good time, but you don’t want anyone’s day ruined by a trip to the hospital for dehydration! Even if your guests are not participating in sports or any exertion activities, it is still easy to become dehydrated when spending time outdoors.

The easiest way to keep everyone hydrated is of course by keeping cold bottled water on hand. And sure, you can hit the local store and buy cases of water, but why promote someone else’s company at your own event? Have custom bottled water on hand for everyone to enjoy, that also gives you the benefit of your name being on the label!

Another convenient option is a custom water bottle. While this may not provide immediate hydration, it allows guests to fill up the bottle with their own beverage to enjoy during your event. And afterwards, they get to take it home and use it again and again, each time seeing the name of your company on the custom logo imprinted on the bottle!

Umbrellas

Company golf outings are a great way to boost employee morale, and while everyone is out having fun, you can advertise your company on a promotional golf umbrella! While umbrellas are typically used while it’s raining, they are also good to have on hand during outdoor events. Golf umbrellas are larger and offer protection from the sun as well as the rain. Sponsoring a golf tournament is another valuable way to market your brand.

Not just for golfing, custom umbrellas are always a good idea to have on hand for any outdoor event in the case of rain. Whether it’s your event or you are participating in a larger event, people will be grateful to protect them in case of rain.

Hand Sanitizer

In today’s world, you should never have an event without having lots of hand sanitizer available! It’s inexpensive, fits into any marketing budget, and is a fantastic way to promote your brand during any event. Not only can it be used during whatever occasion you are promoting, but it is small, portable, and can be easily displayed, no matter the venue.

Fill bowls or other containers with hand sanitizer with your custom label, and let attendees grab them when needed. Then they can take home the bottle to use at home or the office later, which will remind them of your event and company.

Lip Balm

Lip balm is another item you don’t want to forgo for your event. Being outdoors can take a toll on lips, leaving them dry and cracked, especially if it involves sports of any kind. You can even opt for a lip balm containing SPF to offer protection from the sun.

Custom lip balm is extremely affordable and gives guests another great reusable product they can use during the event and then take with them when they leave. Giving you another opportunity to keep your name, literally, on their lips!

Sunglasses

Sunglasses are a must for outdoor events! Even in the winter, the sun can be blinding, and you don’t want accidents to occur during sporting events because people were blinded by the sun causing them to lose sight of whatever their goal is. Even if they are not participating in the event sport, onlookers will be grateful for the protection a pair of UVA/UVB sunglasses will provide for their eyes.

Sunscreen

And of course, let’s not forget the custom sunscreen! A necessity for any outdoor event, sunscreen protects your attendees from the harmful rays of the sun. Most people don’t think about bringing sunscreen when they head out to a promotional event, so they will be grateful that you had the forethought to have it on hand in case they need it.

Even if your event is during the winter, the sun doesn’t take days off! Remember, you can get a sunburn even if it’s cloudy outside, so make sure you offer your guests the protection they need.

No Gimmicks!

What about the fads, the gimmicks, the cute little toys with your name on them? Sure, you can go that route if you like throwing your money away! Because that is exactly where that gimmick will end up – in the trash!

No one keeps those cute little fad toys, and if they even make it out of the event, they will either be tossed in the trash when they get home or given to a child to play with until it breaks (which honestly, won’t take long).

So don’t throw away your marketing dollars! Get the best exposure money can buy with a custom water bottle, bottled water, umbrella, sunglasses, lip balm, and hand sanitizer and make your event as successful as possible!