October signals the start of the Holiday season - Halloween decorations next to holiday lights. Consider getting your corporate gift selection done early for better prices, more selection and less stress. Food, wine gifts, gift cards, and technology are all very popular. Gift sets that include a couple of these at the same time are very successful.

The gift card in a journal or nuts with wine tool are examples of combining the products for a great result. You give something to be enjoyed now and later.

Check out other ideas here.

We are seeing some great graphics sublimated on everything from shirts to banners to pillow cases. We can take full color art and do all over prints on many products. So, if you are looking for an incentive or reminder of an upcoming sale trip or conference, consider a pillow case! It fits everyone and has great advertising space. No worrying about small type or cost per color.

The pillow case in all its large full color glory is a unique gift that is mailable and packable. They cost between $12.50 - $27.50 depending on quantity and size. The minimum is 6. Do a pillow drop for your next hotel or resort event!

We constantly ask our clients about color - how many colors are we printing? what color do you want the shirts? what is your pms color? In marketing, color is very important. It has meaning and generates attention. Here are some qualities associated with colors:

Red --excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger.
Blue --(listed as the most popular color) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness.
Yellow --warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
Orange -- playfulness, warmth, vibrant
Green -- nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
Purple --royal, spirituality, dignity
Pink -- soft, sweet, nurture, security
White --pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild.
Black --sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
Gold -- prestige, expensive
Silver -- prestige, cold, scientific 

We encourage you to celebrate your logo colors and use them as much as possible. Even logos that are predominantly black and white might be able to use color as a background or as an accent. Your tradeshow booth, shirts, marketing collateral, email signature and giveaways should all reinforce your colors. This will help generate the attention you want, strengthen your brand and reinforce your message. 

We can put together color-centric proposals for you. Let us know!

We are fast approaching St. Patrick's Day where people enjoy being Irish (or pretending to be), drinking beverages and hanging out with friends. It is full of images of shamrocks, Guiness Beer (see last year's blog) and leprechauns. Conversations about luck and the lucky also take place. Are you lucky?

There's a great article about How to Make Your Own Luck from a few years ago that remains true today.  Here are the four main principals:

1. Maximize Chance Opportunities

Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing, and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this in various ways, which include building and maintaining a strong network, adopting a relaxed attitude to life, and being open to new experiences.

2. Listen to Your Lucky Hunches

Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. They also take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities -- for example, by meditating and clearing their mind of other thoughts.

3. Expect Good Fortune

Lucky people are certain that the future will be bright. Over time, that expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because it helps lucky people persist in the face of failure and positively shapes their interactions with other people.

4. Turn Bad Luck Into Good

Lucky people employ various psychological techniques to cope with, and even thrive upon, the ill fortune that comes their way. For example, they spontaneously imagine how things could have been worse, they don't dwell on the ill fortune, and they take control of the situation.

We look forward to the new connections and business we will create this week. We are checking out the cool swag out in the world that might work for our customers. And, we will probably raise a pint on St. Patrick's Day!

Every year on Valentine's Day, people decide whether to recognize the people who matter to them. Many people consider it a "Hallmark" holiday and some feel that it's a reminder of couplehood (or non-couplehood). We choose to view it as an opportunity to celebrate those in our lives who matter. And those people are family, friends, customers and suppliers.

Happy Valentine's Day all of you! We feel very grateful to have you all in our lives. We wish you a great day with your special people. 

P.S. If you can't decide whether to "buy in", just think how much you enjoy getting a call or card from one of your people. It's the best and you can do the same for them.

Brainstorming and potlucks have a lot in common. They both have contributions from various people with a bit of the unkown - or luck - in the outcome. We all know who we choose to bring food to our potlucks and may even which recipes we want them to bring. We also know who we turn to when we need to brainstorm. We are all looking for contributors who can deliver the best and most interesting results. 

Getting different people's contributions in either case adds variety, perspective and collaboration to any project. One idea or food item might spark another one. As an example, at our office potluck, one person is know for their great pulled pork fajitas. That leads to tortilla soup, guacamole and salsa. Not exactly earth shattering but it shows how one idea inspires others. 

We put on our chef hats and brainstorm ideas every day. You inspire us. We'd love to inspire you! Turn to us for your promotional potlucks. Together we will create great results.

"Paper" seems like the obvious answer but now we know that paper takes a lot of resources to produce. So, the real answer continues to be: NEITHER. The solution is to bring reusable bags when you shop and not just at the grocery store. For a great explanation of paper vs plastic, check out this link.

If you are interested in using reusable bags in your marketing campaigns and holiday events, let us know. We have many choices in various materials: recycled non woven, organic cotton, jute, denier, neoprene and canvas. There are sizes and styles for every budget.

It's a good idea to question all aspects of our business expenses to determine if and why we need these expenses. Promos are one of the first things that get cut in a crummy economy. People lose sight of the reason they ordered them in the first place. It's easy to want some ego swag - feel good items for the employees or customers; but don't forget the real reasons you included them in your marketing and human resource mix:

They are tangible - they last beyond the latest tweet

They have value - most are functional

They reinforce your message - get the point? knife? anyone?

They are targeted - you give them directly to your intended audience versus mass unkown people

They create goodwill - tough to measure until you get a negative review

They are inexpensive - you can find a promo to fit almost any budget

They support your health and safety programs - proof to your insurance company that you are trying to improve

They create conversation and action - sign up today for your free promo or wow, what's that?

Remember: targeted, tangible and lasting!

In our search for food ideas for our clients, we stubbled across some tips for tasting chocolate. Of course, we recommend dark chocolate for its health benefits! Here is the condensed version of tips for your next chocolate tasting party:

1. Chocolate should be a room temperature - so it can melt in your mouth right away.

2. Be still and focus on the chocolate.

3. Clear your palate between bites - bread or pickles are suggested.

4.  Look at the chocolate - shiny is good.

5. Break a piece - snap!

6. Rub it - smooth is best.

7. Smell it - like tasting wines, you will pick up hints of smells.

8. Feel it in your mouth - is it melting richly?

9. Taste it and notice the flavors.

10. Finish - what is the lingering flavor?

You can give your customers the gift of health and sweetness with custom chocolate.

Contact us for more info!

We'd like to take one ball out of the air for you - the promotional marketing one. You CAN spend hours looking online for mugs but we can send you several that fit your budget and your design needs in less time. You CAN have several companies send you samples of t-shirts but we can send you several samples in one shipment at various price points. You CAN try designing a logo for your next campaign but we can do it more creatively in the best program for the project.

We are not denying you the fun of juggling - just the encouraging the success of less of it.

Connect with us for ideas!

It's a "Spare the Air" day today in the San Francisco Bay Area with the worst air in the East Bay. While these happen from time to time, we are trying to promote more O2 every day with every order. Since we launched our tree donation program through American Forests in April, we are up to 77 trees so far! Our goal is to donate over 300 trees by the end of the year. So, while we carpool and reduce electricity use, we can also SHARE THE AIR by donating trees!

Consider working with us on your next promotional marketing campaign and spread O2.

Ok, maybe glass isn't new to the beverage world but it is gaining popularity for different reasons. Many companies are buying glass water bottles and mugs instead of plastic in order to support their green initiatives. Glass adds no flavor and is easily recycled/reused. There are many beverage containers made from glass. Check out some of our favorites:

Water bottles

Mugs

Pints

Tumblers

Stemless wine glasses

It's a story that gets repeated - what's old is new again but in this case, the environment thanks you for picking glass over plastic!

Need an idea to drive your customers to your website or a survey page? QR (Quick Response) codes can help. You have probably noticed the funny little boxes in magazine ads - either black and white or full color as ours is.

You can create one for free: http://tag.microsoft.com/consumer/index.aspx and then have it printed on most flat items. The QR codes (also known as tags) can then be scanned by a Smart Phone with the right app (also free) which then takes you to a web page. It's a bit of a gimmick since you can also print your web address onto promotional products, but it's very elegant and fun. Think of it as Shazam for a web page.

If you'd like a t-shirt with O2's tag on it to check out the possibilities, contact us by St. Patrick's Day and we will send it for free.

We recently went to our Industry tradeshow and educational seminars. One of the most informative sessions was given by Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and Drive. His premise is that while left brain abilities are important, they are not enough anymore. We need the right brain in order to be successful in the future. He encourages us all to improve our right brain abilities:

1. Design - not just drawing but being able to solve problems in elegant ways. One suggestion is to carry a notebook and notice good design.

2. Story - being able to deliver facts in an emotionally compelling way. Consider coming up with 6 word stories. One of my favorites: Still becoming who I was before.

3. Symphony - connecting the dots, seeing the whole picture.

4. Empathy - relating to other people. Can you pick out real smiles? Hint: look at the eyes.

5. Play - games, humor and joyfulness. Rent some movies! Laugh!

6. Meaning - in a world where many have so much luxury (even poverty level homes have tvs), many search for purpose.  Embrace gratitude.

I'm looking forward to nurturing the right brain and embracing the Conceptual Age. We get enough left brain stuff in spreadsheets, Outlook, online banking...right brain stuff seems more fun. And, according to Daniel Pink, we need it to be more profitable and relevant in the future!

Tis the Season for reflection! We looked back to see who our Top Ten Manufacturers were. These people produced and delivered the ideas and products that our customers used in their marketing and recognition programs. We partner with quality people so our customers can rely on us!

1. Port Authority

2. Leeds

3. Logomark

4. Ets Express

5. Cutter & Buck

6. KTS

7. Norwood

8. Bic

9. Bag Makers

10. 3M Post its

We can help you with any of these and many more.

Despite how much time we spend online, we still connect offline for most things in our lives. Marketing experts talk about "O2O" - online to offline marketing - bringing the online lookers to the local business. We may research a product online, but most of us want to buy locally so that we have more control and personal accountability. Where we do our best connecting with our customers and employees is OFFLINE. The follow up phone call, the thank you gift and the face to face interactions count more and more. We provide tools for those offline experiences: the Second O!

I received a box in the mail today that was a promotional piece encouraging me to attend a large Promotional Product Industry tradeshow in January. The shocking thing is that it had NO imprinted promotional product. The jelly beans are quite tasty but once I finished them, there was nothing to continue the message. I understand giving food as a thank you gift - we all remember the good ones (and the jelly beans were fresh and tasty) but as a motivation to spend money and attend the tradeshow? It's a failure. Is this a "do as I say, not as I do"?

We prefer to practice what we preach. If you want ideas that generate traffic at your next trade show, contact O2. They won't just be "sweet" ideas, they will be effective.

Celebrate International Drum Month by taking your favorite drum stick (which could be a pen), banging on an instrument (coffee mug, desk,...) and yelling out "Woo hoo Giants"!

In the words of Henry David Thoreau:

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Congratulations to the Giants for outpacing their opponents and marching to their own drummers.

Need an idea to get a meeting going? Try giving out the Creative Whack Packs! You can order as few as 18 with your message on them. Some ideas from the pack include: changing the name of something and using a random idea (not related to your project). The pack divides itself into 4 roles or ways of creative thinking: Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior. Re-energize!

Duct tape has been around for years - since World War II. It's not new but every day new ideas are found for its use (like duct tape wallets - other ideas here). The same can be said about rubber bands. How many kids and their families have bought shaped rubber bands this past year? Would you ever have thought that rubber bands would become a craze? They are! Check outsome promotional ideas for rubber bands here. We can do custom shapes or stock shapes with custom packaging.

Let us know!

We provide a lot of wearables for corporate events. We thought it might be helpful to give some tips on care...

1. Don't use fabric softeners with your moisture wicking fabrics - they coat the fibers and reduce their effectiveness. Why pay all that money for wicking and have it not be working?

2. Use good hangers - wire ones may damage the shoulders of the shirts. May also cause the clothes to sag out of shape.

3. Zip up zippers and close velcro closures and then turn them inside out to reduce these items catching on other wearables. Eliminate snags!

4. Sort...mom told you to do it and here's why...dark colors can bleed into light ones. Delicates can be damaged by rubbing against coarse fabrics. Protect against excess rubbing...

5. Wash lint producing items (like towels) by themselves to eliminate the fuzz factor.

There are many words and names of tech items that used to be considered made up but as their use becomes more common, they find their way there. Think about the ones you know: flash drive, iPod, Prius, Google, wicking,  etc. Like everything in life, language changes and evolves. The 2008 word of the year from Merriam-Webster was "bailout" and in 2009 "admonish". So, I am voting for the 2010 word: prevail. If not, chillax is my runner up. If you need some chizzy marketing ideas to help you prevail this year in your business, call us! Then, go to http://www.merriam-webster.com/ and enter prevail so that it wins 2010 word of the year! Let's evolve in a positive direction!

Confuzzled? Check out the top ten made up words here.

We are excited to be celebrating our 10th Anniversary...which is traditionally something tin or aluminum. We definitely have that! In the past years, we've gone from plastic water bottles to aluminum or stainless water bottles. We are filling up at the fountain instead of buying cases of water. We experienced the Dot Bomb and the latest recession. In between we've seen great growth and new customers. Our cell phones are smaller and smarter. The internet is faster and tvs are bigger. We've made it through our childhood and now look forward to our pre-teens...pimples and all!

Thanks for being a part of our growth for the last 10 years.

Earth Day is in a week and I've compiled my Earth Day resolutions:

1. Put reusable grocery bags in the car (keep forgetting them at home)

2. Bring in coffee mug when buying latte

3. Hang towels outside to dry

4. Change dead light bulbs to cfl bulbs

5. Bring plastic bags to recycling bins

6. Carpool more

7. Eat less meat

8. Do less laundry :-) Wear clothes longer?

9. Print less emails

10. Compost

 Need a great grocery bag? Check this out.

As I get ready to travel for Spring Vacation, I notice my favorite items and most of them are also promotional items. I have dug in our sample umbrella bin, pulled rain jackets off the shelves and ordered yoga pants and tanks tops. I have my luggage and sling backpack as well as a travel blanket. Throw in some hand sanitizers, sun screen and lip balm, and I am all set.

Travel items make great marketing gifts because they are useful and last!  Click here for some ideas!

What is Brolliology? The study of the bumbershoot, the brolly, the parasol, the umbrella! Brolliologists maintain that the umbrella is one of man's oldest artifacts. Mostly used for sun protection, rather than rain protection, the umbrella has not changed much over the last 2000 years. Nowadays, we tend to group them into folding and stick categories. The folding is more portable and smaller; while the stick is more fashionable and larger. Wind resistance is important too - with stronger ribs and vented material. Whether shading the royalty or keeping your head dry, the umbrella is a useful artifact for everyone. Consider giving them at your next event.

More brolly facts can be found here.

We are often asked to recommend embroidery versus silk screening on clothing, caps, bags and other soft goods. Here are some things to consider when deciding:

Embroidery:

1. Stitched onto the garment

2. Price per stitch (size matters here) - more stitches, more expensive

3. Multi color usually doesn't increase price

4. Color match not possible but will get close

5. Words should be 3/16" or taller for readability

6. Can feel more permanent and more high end

7. Personalizations doable

Silk Screen:

1. Printed onto garment

2. Printing on black material more expensive than on white

3. Each color adds a screen charge and run charge

4. Can print large areas at same cost as small ones

5. Small details in designs usually print

6. Printing photos or graduated color will work

If you have question on what's best for you, let us know. We can help!

February is National Embroidery Month - email us about our free offer.

How many things can you remember to buy when you go to the grocery store before you need to write a list? Fo me, it's three. So, rather than writing down a Top Ten list of resolutions, we've decided to dust off the 3 core values that we've always had at O2 Marketing and Design: Work Hard, Play Fair and Have Fun.

Work Hard: deliver

Play Fair: respect

Have Fun: enjoy

Embrace 2010!

Things to think about when giving business gifts to clients, employees or suppliers:

1. Decide on your budget - will you spend more on some and less on others?

2. Check your list. Will you give gifts to your top 10? Your top 25? Or all of them?

3. Do you want to give all your clients the same gift? Or do you want to give them individual gifts?

4. Do you want to brand the gift you give for lasting messaging? Or perhaps personalize it with their name or initials?

5. When do you want to give? End of the year? Beginning of the year? Quarterly?

6. How will you give the gifts? Presentation is important. Will you mail or UPS it? Or deliver in person? Do you want to have it wrapped or gift boxed?

7. Have fun with gift giving - it is meant to convey appreciation for your relationship. Celebrate your company's personality by creating a memorable moment.

If you need gift ideas, check out some here.

November is here and brings thoughts of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. It also has us reflecting on the people in our lives who we need to thank (and thank more often). We would like to THANK all our clients and manufacturers who supported us all year. 2009 is a year many of us would like to put behind us, but along the way, we had lots of fun and enjoyed doing what we do - helping clients attract and retain customers, prospects and employees.

We will be sending out a great custom calendar this year to keep us all organized for next year. If you want to make sure you get yours, contact us. We don't want to leave anyone out!

 Thanks!

T-shirts are a great canvas for advertising and team messages. You can print anywhere on them - front, back, sleeve, side, etc. They are relatively inexpensive and very functional. Things to keep in mind when designing:

Each location and color adds cost

Graduated color and half tones work for digital printing but not well for silk screening

PMS colors and monitor colors are different from silk screen ink colors

"Puff" ink can make a color more 3 dimensional

Embroidery over ink makes for interesting layering

There are stock imprint areas so check before you design

Consider the shirt size when creating the art - youth small has less space than adult large

We have designed many t-shirts for our clients. We are here to help!

Plug the tiny MoGo Bluetooth Adapter into your laptop’s USB port, flip down the kickstand to angle the mouse and then navigate using the MoGo’s concave buttons and scroll pad.  When you are done, slide it into your machines PC card slot to recharge.

For further details, click here.

The island perspective is the O2 Marketing model.  Every client interaction is an opportunity to show our passion for pleasing you, our customer.  We owe it all to you our customer and we never lose sight of that commitment.

Happy 7-7! Enjoy some 7-layer dip today:

1. beans

2. guacamole

3. sourcream with spices

4. shredded cheese

5. sliced olives

6. sliced tomatoes 

7. chopped green onions

Then, call us for 7 scoops for connecting with your clients.

And now, the video to follow up the actions taken for $5 Starbucks Gift Card:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GshKagsVmk

 At least he is not giving his mother-in-law a foot massage for a Klondike bar...see recent ads for that!

The Archives of Internal Medicine published a comprehensive research study May 11, 2009 entitled "Effect of Exposure to Small Pharmaceutical Promotional Items on Treatment Preferences." They wanted to know: Does exposure to promotional products produce a more favorable attitude toward marketed pharmaceuticals? The findings: Yes they do.  The controlled experiment involved 352 third- and fourth-year med students at the University of Miami School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (where restrictive policies are in place limiting drug marketing). They were all exposed to branded Lipitor promotional products without knowledge that they were part of a study. Fourth-year students at Miami had a more favorable attitude (by a score of 0.66) toward Lipitor compared to the control group (0.47).  The effect was reversed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine where restrictive policies are in place limiting pharmaceutical marketing.  The scores were derived from an Implicit Association Test.  

What does this mean to the marketer using promotional products for a campaign?  That your customer is 40% more likely to use your product or service if you have marketed to them using a pen with your product or service on it!!!

There are three main components to Email Marketing:

1. Connect - build your contact list - get permission from your contacts. Have them sign up or ask them.

2. Inform - build and send your email campaign with informative content but provide links for more comprehensive information

3. Grow - evaluate the results and refine the process - target your emails to different audiences

Email marketing is about staying in front of your customers by providing valuable information. On average it takes 2-3 "touches" for an existing customer to purchase again. Staying in front of them through email is part of the "touch" process.

Promotional products also allow you to stay in front of your customers. They can be one of your 2-3 "touches". Consider using both mediums in your marketing efforts. Emails disappear once they are read. Check out this article on promotional products. They have longevity.

1)      Southwest Airlines (Sound) - *Ding* You are now free to move about the country

2)      Automakers (Smell) – The new car smell . . . There is no such thing!  It is a manufactured scent that Automakers spray in their cars

3)      Coke (Taste) – No matter where you have a Coke all across this world they all have the same taste.

4)      Bank of America (Touch) – They keep the change campaign provides the sensory image of change in your hand

5)      Tiffany’s (Sight) – no matter what item you purchase from Tiffany’s you always see “the tiffany blue box”

Next time you sit down to create a great marketing campaign for your amazing new product or service.  Be sure to take into account at least one, if not all, of the five senses: Smell, Touch, Taste, Sight, and Sound?  If you need help . . . Give us a call!  We can definitely show you products that will give your marketing campaign a sensory EXPLOSION!

The Griffin is a legendary combination creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Other combinations include the minotaur and the sphynx. In the gift world, people enjoy combo gifts as well - for novelty, value and function. Check these out:

Carabiner and pen             Flashlight, selt belt cutter & window smasher  mp3speaker bag

 The possible combinations are endless...contact us for more!

In these economic times we are looking for every way to save a buck from budget cuts to layoffs.  During this time employees are overworked, stressed, and seemingly waiting for the next hammer to drop.  Your company’s success is still predicated upon the people that work there.  From the bottom all the way to the top, each cog in the wheel is vital to absorbing this economic blow and pressing forward.  Morale is the only thing left to stand on, and a great way to boost company morale is with AWARDS and RECOGNITION!  Did you know that the government allows you to write off up to $400 per employee on awards and recognition?  Not only do you get to let Joe the Plumber know how important he is to the company’s success . . . You get a nice gift back from good ole’ Uncle Sam himself.  Therefore, before you cut your awards/recognition budget in hopes of saving costs,   remember that if you GIVE you will RECEIVE!