Do you ever find yourself running out of power on one of your mobile devices, and with no mains power to hand to do a charge up?

Well maybe this neat little device is the sort of thing you need to have.

Solar Energy Charger

With a sleek, techie design, this rather nice Solar Energy Charger harvests the energy from the sun, and then charges up your mobile device. No matter where you are in the world, as long as you can get some solar energy, you can keep the power going. If you think this is a smart idea, consider the power of using something like this as a promotional gift. Not only is it a desirable object, but it carries with it some serious ECO Friendly status, that maybe you can link to your corporate or company message.

Perhaps you run a company that could use any of the following messages to link yourself to a product like this:

“We have the power and the solution”
“There for you, whenever you need us”
“Helping the planet, helping our clients”

I’ve always thought you can get on clients nerves if you don’t find the right balance with ‘Newsletters’. Too often or too salesy will have the opposite of your intended effect.

RT Promotions Mini Cooper

So where’s the line?
What’s too often?
What’s ‘too salesy’, and how are you meant to promote your product or services if you don’t announce it?

I’ll cut to the chase here. I don’t have a fixed answer. It will depend on quite a few variables including:
Your current relationship with the recipient
The style and language you use in your newsletter

My simple little point here is that although my business, RT Promotions, sends out infrequent newsletters, one of the best responses I’ve ever had was to the simple news I sent out a few days ago, simply telling folk we’d moved offices.

Go figure!!!!

How often do you get back to the office after attending a networking event, empty out your pockets, look at the business cards you’ve collected, and then think, “who was that person?”

We’ve all done it haven’t we? Maybe not quite as soon after the event as I’ve just described, but we’ve all looked at a business card and then thought, “did I actually meet this person?”

Steve Trister

Take a look at this card. Not exactly memorable is it? it’s a plain white card, with a simple black font. I’ve seen simple cards that are classy, but this isn’t even that. It looks like it’s been printed in one of those DIY machines you see in motorway service areas.
However, there’s a big BUT.
There’s a twist.

I met the owner of this card, Steve Trister, at a ‘South Coast Connections’ networking event in Poole, Dorset, and he made such an impression on me, that here I am writing about him. Now that’s what I call ‘making yourself memorable’, but with an awful card like that, how’d he do it?

First of all he was engaging. We spoke, we listened to each other, we didn’t work the room while we were together.

Secondly, he knew full well what he was doing when he printed a card as dull as that. When we got to the point where we exchanged business cards, he made sure I gave him mine first. Clever that. He paid a lot of attention to my card, reading it front and back, looking me in the eye, asking me questions about my business. Now it was Steve’s turn, and boy did he work it well….

When he gave me his card, he made sure it was face up, the dull and boring side, and looked me straight in the eye for a reaction, and kept watching while I turned it over to see the reverse.

Steve's Business Card

WOW……. an image like that, and here’s the thing, the image is a real one of Steve pulling a face, but with no photoshop tidying up, its REAL. Well you’ve just got to smile. He’s watching you all the time, and now the conversation really takes off about who he is and what he does.

I remembered him, and for all the right reasons.

Now I’m not suggesting we all go and put silly faces on the backs of our business cards, but I am asking you to reflect on how easy you make it for others to remember you, especially at networking events where you may only have a fleeting meeting.

I came across a promotional gift that I simply had to have. Me? the guy that can have pretty much any corporate giveaway I choose? The man that’s seen so many gifts that its going to take something pretty special to get me to even slow down, let alone want one. What kind of gift would do that?

Well, it’s not really a gift at all. It’s a simple lapel pin brooch, and really quite small and discrete. Here in the UK, we will soon be commemorating Armistice Day, or Remembrance Sunday, and everywhere you go, there’s someone selling you another flimsy paper-poppy to wear.

Branded Lapel Badge

Most folk buy one, and by Sunday everybody is wearing one with pride. The trouble is (in my opinion), they are so flimsy. they’re held on by a simple pin and fall off all too easily. I’ve now purchased at least three poppies this year alone, and you know what, they don’t even look good!!!

So imagine my delight when I saw this little beauty. I simply had to have one. I love em!!! They have the ‘year’ stamped on them, and I can’t wait till next years comes out. I’d gladly donate TWICE the amount I’d normally pay into the charity bucket, and actually enjoy wearing it.

My business, RT Promotions, sells badges and brooches like this all the time for various clubs, organisations and charities, so I’m forever seeing the little things, all personalised of course. But what a powerful message it is when you simply have to have one. I’d never be writing on here about the little paper ones would I? Now that’s what I call ‘memory hook marketing’.

Picture to follow (my camera battery ran out so I couldn’t post it, but do come back, and I’ll get the picture up I promise!!).

Christmas is fast approaching, and in the corporate gift marketplace things are hotting up. An often overlooked promotional gift is the advent calender.

Calenders are one thing, but advent calenders DEMAND your attention on the run up to Christmas. With chocolate tokens behind each door, there’s very few people that will ignore this simple little giveaway, and what better way to show your clients you care?

My company, RT Promotions, will have these calenders printed and branded to your own unique design, and delivered to you in time to hand out for the coming festivities. Ok, it’ll only be on the wall for a month, but thats a month of tasty fun with your name on it!!

Statements about corporate responsibility are all the rage aren’t they? They’re a little bit like the ‘mission statements’ of the 80’s, they look good on paper and allow the ’suits’ to say they’ve signed it off, but it often stops there, just a statement, no action.

ECO Friendly Corporate Clothing

In a world where being seen to ‘do’ something is half the battle, physically ‘wearing’ your statement is pretty powerful stuff right? My business, RT Promotions, apart from branding and personalising all the usual promotional give-aways (and yes, we do lots of ECO Friendly promotional gifts), have become known as specialists in embroidered and branded corporate wear (logo’d shirts). We have noticed a massive upsurge in the demand and supply of ECO Friendly clothing, and the savvy companies we work with have started to use this style of clothing wherever possible.

When buying ECO Friendly clothing, look to see if its accredited. We insist on our organic cotton that’s grown without the use of harmful pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and defoilants. We try to use ‘Skal’ as they are the main internationally recognised certifier of organic cotton.

My personal corporate wear is always branded, and it works, people notice it and as a result, remember me and my business. That’s what I call ‘memory hook marketing’ the power of subliminally helping people to remember you and your business, so when the time is right for them to do business with you, they won’t have any trouble remembering you!!

Imagine the power of you and your staff wearing eco friendly clothing?

‘Subtle’ has its place, but sometimes you’ve got to put it out there, you’ve got to go BLING!!!

Gold Bullion Ingot USB Flash Drive

Here at RT Promotions we produce and personalise a vast range of promotional gifts, but the hottest ticket for some time has been USB Memory Sticks, and even then, boy, do we have some choice? With over 150 different models on show on our website, you’re going to be spoilt for choice.  We have models that are subtle, bling, shiny, matt, leather, plastic, liquid filled, and even biometric, all with a range of memory chips to suit your budget.

I wanted to show you this little beauty. Shaped like a gold bullion ingot, it’s sure to be a very welcome gift for your corporate clients this coming Christmas.

The nice thing about giving corporate promotional gifts is that if you get them right, they bring a smile to the recipients faces, and, best of all, they are kept and treasured for years to come.

Think about that. Every time the gift is picked up or used, your logo or brand is seen, reminding them of your service…. that’s what we call memory hook marketing!!

So your business is connected to safety issues, or maybe its to do with insurance, disaster recovery, risk management, etc, etc. Not always the most exciting things to be promoting are they? So how can you link any of these businesses with a blooming great hammer?

Emergency Escape Hammer

I think you could do a lot worse than associating your brand and message with something like this safety hammer. It’s the kind of thing that you hope you NEVER need, after all, things must be getting pretty drastic if you need to smash the windscreen on your vehicle to make an escape. But think about that for a minute. lets look at the products features, and then consider what benefits they could offer to your business.

• It’s a quality gift
• It’s highly likely to be kept and used
• It would be a daily reminder of your brand/logo/message

Of course, the real trick is the message. Sometimes, a simple line like, ‘always there when you need us’, is enough for people to get it.

Remember, if you get the right promotional gift, into the hands of the right potential customer, and most importantly, the gift is kept and used, then you are getting into an area that my company, RT Promotions, define’s as  ’memory hook marketing’. Your brand is being seen and used many times a day, every day, even though the user may not even be a customer of yours. BUT, when the time comes and they need your product or service, the ‘memory hook’ comes into play and your business stands a better than average chance of getting the call.

It’s that time of year. If you’ve not yet seen any Christmas decorations or gifts in the shops, you soon will. My business (RT Promotions) is all about helping clients find the right promotional gift. The whole point of giving a corporate gift is to be remembered (for all the right reasons), and of course Christmas is a brilliant time to say ‘thank you’ to your customers and staff. Which brings me to Christmas parties.

Many of you will be going to an endless stream of Christmas dinner parties. Some will be black tie events while others may be a table booked at the local pub/restaurant. There’ll be silly hats, turkey and stuffing aplenty, too much wine, inappropriate comments, and those ridiculous Christmas crackers. But when you leave to go home, what will you take with you?

The savvy organiser will ensure you have a gift or token to leave with. A simple reminder and a permanent ‘thank you’. Now these gifts can take all forms, from a quality gift, perhaps a ladies compact mirror or a pen and perfume gift set, through to a low cost gesture gift. My business caters for all of these items, all branded and personalised to your own personal requirements, but I wanted to show you something a little different, a little quirky.

I’d like you to consider these little table decorations.

Christmas Table Decorations

In the form of a snowman, these little characters ‘light up’ and then change colour. We brand them on the chest area, and have worked with companies that use them for their Christmas corporate events. We can even add individual names (at no extra cost) allowing you to use them as place settings.

Picture the scene. Your guests are in the bar (aren’t they always?) enjoying a pre-dinner drink, the atmosphere is buzzing, the ladies look fab, and the guys have scrubbed up well. At the appointed time, the organiser gets their attention and invites them to go through to be seated. They walk past the seating plans and enter the dining area. The lighting is subdued, and the tables are aglow with a series of glowing snowmen, each with a corporate logo and a guests name on. Ahhhhhhhhhh……. how nice!!!

You’ve certainly set the scene for a function that will be fun, yet also personal. Putting someone’s name onto a gift is a sure fire way to ensure its kept and not just given away.

Now some may moan and say ‘waste of money’, but let me tell you, come the end of the evening, there wont be any left on the tables amongst all of the Christmas cracker rubbish, they’ll be pocketed and on their way home, serving as an annual reminder of that GREAT Christmas dinner party.

Finding the right personalised product to use as a promotional gift is always a challenge and depends on so many factors: budget, recipients, timing, ‘feel factor’, etc, etc, but when I was quoting this particular product for a client, it made me smile.

Luggage Scales

Digital Luggage Scales aren’t exactly ’sexy’, but they’re certainly practical. You need never get caught out at the airport again with an overweight bag (no cheeky comments), and I think this gift would always bring a warm smile to the recipients face. Think about that. A warm smile, whenever they see your gift (with your logo on of course), and this is a gift that will hang around and be used for years to come. Perfect for any travel company or tour Co, but also for insurance, money exchange bureaus, maybe even airport transfer cabs? If you can link your business to holidays abroad you could use this as a gift.

Is it the perfect travel gift?