Earth Day, Every Day

More Than Just a Day!

EARTH DAY (April 22) is a day to celebrate sustainability, recycling, and the beauty of our world, but it cannot be the only day. Without commitment, action, and long-term focus, meaningful change will never happen for our planet. Products made from recycled materials or that support sustainable living are great, and they can have an even greater impact when used to raise awareness or to inspire larger change.  Check out some of our Eco Friendly promotional products today!

Innovative Promotional Product Alert!

Gadget Grips® DOT™ Custom Logo Home Button Grip

Introducing the new Gadget Grips® DOT™ custom printed home button gripper!  This innovative new promotional product is a great new way to build your brand.  The Gadget Grips® DOT™ has a patented 3M adhesive backing that will not leave a sticky residue.  Stick it on the home button of your iPhone, smartphone, iPad or tablet for an eye-catching, tactile grip.  Comes attached to a fold-over card with one DOT™ visible, and a second DOT™ is discovered when the card is opened.  Your target audience will be amazed at the glossy, 3D full color domed imprint, and they will be thrilled to receive a product that is unique and functional.  And since the average person that receives your Gadget Grips® DOT™ will view and touch your logo up to 100 times daily, the number of brand impressions you are receiving is phenomenal.

The new Gadget Grips® DOT™ is an itty bitty promotional product... but it will get your message across in a HUGE way!  For more information or to have our graphic artist set up your shiny new custom logo Gadget Grips® DOT™ home button grip, check out the Gadget Grips® DOT™ product page!  From Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

Best New Promotional Products for 2013

At the start of each year, I like to highlight my top 10 picks for the best new promotional products for the year.  Some of the things I look for in an effective promotional product are:

• Usefulness of the promotional product.  Is it something people can use (and therefore want to keep around for awhile), or will it end up in a drawer (or even worse, the trash)?
• Relevance.  Is the promotional product something that the average person will find relevant in today's world?
• Approximate cost per impression.  The cost of the promotional product divided by how many times a person is likely to see the item (and your company's logo).
• Buzzworthiness.  Is the promotional product unique or cool enough that the end user will share or show the product to someone else, resulting in favorable brand appeal for your company or business?

Based on these criteria, here are my top 10 picks for the best new promotional products of 2013 (in no particular order).  You can click on the title of each promotional item for product details and pricing:

1.  SoundByte™ Imprinted iPhone Speaker Amplifiers

2.  Gadget Grippers™ for iPads, Tablets, and Laptops

3.  DöGo™ Logo Dough

4.  MicroBuff TAB™ Cleaning Pads for iPads, Tablets, and Laptops

5.  AdScents Auto Air Fresheners

6.  Gumbite® Clippi Cable Organizers

7.  Ballzee Golf Ball Cleaners

8.  MaxGlide Click Pens with Hybrid Ink

9.  On-The-Go Car Chargers

10.  Wired E-Padfolios

There's more where that came from!  There are lots of other unique, innovative and buzz-worthy promotional products that didn't appear on my "Best New Promotional Products for 2013" list, so please check out the Red Canoe Promotions website for more great ideas to help build your brand!

Using Awards and Recognition Programs to Get More Out of Your Team

One of the most important things you can do to increase your company's profits is is to increase efficiency, and the best way to do this is to maximize employee productivity.  How do you maximize your team's efficiency?  Motivate them!  This is more easily achieved than you might think when you have a solid rewards and recognition program in place.

Rewards and recognition programs boost esteem and performance.  They inspire people to perform to their fullest potential.  Nothing is more demoralizing than when one's hard work goes unnoticed.  In fact, the answer to the question "What would make your job more enjoyable?" almost always includes something about wanting to be recognized/rewarded for achieving goals or milestones.  Recognizing a job well done will motivate your team to improve their performance even further.  Recognizing an employee for exceptional performance also sends a message to their co-workers as to the type of performance that gets rewarded, and motivates them to strive for excellence as well, improving your team's overall efficiency.

Custom awards are a great place to start when trying to motivate your team.  They can be personalized with the person's name, so they're not something that people can just go out and buy.  They have special meaning.  Custom awards build self esteem and motivate the recipient to continue, or even further improve, their performance.  They work better than cash because they're seen as a "gift" rather than compensation.

Red Canoe Promotions of Denver is a great place to get started when implementing an awards and recognition program.  Get started today and take your company's productivity (and profits) to a new level!

Cool Promotional Product Facts

The results of the 2012 Global Advertising Specialties Impressions Study are in!  Here are a few fun facts about promotional products that you might not know, and that prove promotional products are still one of the most effective advertising mediums out there.

• The average promotional product is kept for around 6 months, with many being kept even longer.  The advantage here over other forms of advertising is that just one promotional product delivers your message for a far longer period of time.
• The #1 reason people will keep a promotional product is because they can use it to perform a task or action.  81% of recipients say that an item's usefulness is the primary reason to keep it, so when you're choosing promotional items as part of your marketing plan, be sure and choose something your target audience will consider useful.  That way, they'll keep it around for awhile and you'll enjoy extended brand exposure.
• Almost 90% of those who receive a promotional product can remember the name of the advertiser on the item...overwhelming evidence that promotional products are excellent marketing tools.
• Promotional products have the ability to generate business from new clients.  Overall, 1 in 3 people are more likely to do business with a company after they've received a promotional product from them.  That number increases even more when the promotional product is unique or innovative.
• Imprinted bags receive a phenomenal number of impressions!  Just one bag gets an average of 5,732 impressions over its lifetime.
• What's the first word that comes to mind when I mention pop-up internet ads and TV commercials?  If you're like most people, you probably thought "annoying" or "interruption," or something along those lines.  Promotional products are actually useful in helping people to achieve a goal, like drinking water or carrying groceries.  'Nuff said.

 Just a few compelling reasons to start (or continue) using promotional products!  Even small marketing budgets can achieve big-time results with this powerful advertising medium.  Need help finding the right promotional merchandise for your business?  Give Red Canoe Promotions a call.

Research provided by the Advertising Specialty Institute, ©2012, All Rights Reserved.

Sweet Deal on Imprinted Wine Bags!

For more information or to place an order, contact Red Canoe Promotions-Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

Tips for Marketing to Baby Boomers

       Baby Boomers represent approximately 30 percent of the US population, and each year about 4 million of the Boomers turn 50. So what does that mean for you, the savvy business owner or marketing rep? Well, it means that you need to understand how to market to this aging section of your customer base—because statistics also show that they control about 50 percent of all the US’s discretionary income. In other words, you’re sitting on a potential goldmine if you could just figure out how to best tap into it.
That said, here are a few things to keep in mind in respect to marketing to this powerful generation.

•    Boomers act on referrals. While a young 20-something is likely to go searching for products and services online, Baby Boomers tend to place more weight on referrals. How can you capitalize on this? Get active on social media and give clients incentives to refer their friends (namely Baby Boomers) to your website. Maybe you could even use promotional products to offer incentives for referrals.

•    They place more emphasis on practicality. When a Baby Boomer looks at a product or service, they simply aren’t worried about what or who is cool. In other words, the fads don’t faze them. That said, make sure your marketing efforts are focused on the manner in which your product benefits them. How does it fill a need in their life? How can they use it to help themselves out? Keep this in mind also with the promotional products you use.

•    Don’t focus on age. It’s common sense—who wants to constantly identify with their age? Yes Baby Boomers are getting older, but they don’t want their age to define them. With things like Active Senior Adult Communities springing up all over the place, it’s clear that Baby Boomers are redefining the way we look at the Golden Years. So make sure your marketing efforts don’t dwell on how old people are getting. Instead, maybe focus on how more people are wanting to remain more active with promo products such as exercise equipment. For example, you could purchase a nice jump rope with your logo emblazoned on the handle.

Say "Thanks" with a Turkey in a Bag!

Need a great way to thank your employees this Thanksgiving?  Many companies already give out turkeys to their employees.  It's a nice gesture, and an always appreciated gift to let your employees know that they're valued.  But there's an easy way to make an even bigger impression for just a few dollars.  Why not purchase some insulated tote bags, custom printed with your company logo, and put the turkeys inside?  Once Thanksgiving's over and the turkey is long gone, the recipient will be left with a lasting gift that they can reuse time and time again.  And to boot, your brand is also getting a boost as the imprinted tote becomes a walking billboard for your logo.  Custom printed bags have been shown to have the lowest cost-per-impression of any form of advertising, so when your employees continue to use the insulated tote bags for grocery shopping, picnics, or to pack snacks for vacation, you're getting effortless and valuable brand exposure.  It's a win-win situation!  Order your custom printed insulated tote bags today from Red Canoe Promotions.

Custom Printed Promotional Calendars On Sale!

10 Reasons You Should Add Promotional Calendars to your Marketing Mix:

1. Visual appeal for your brand
2. Command of wall or desk space
3. Controlled, targeted distribution
4. Remarkable cost effectivenesss
5. Creative design to fit your brand
6. Year-long high frequency visibility
7. High perceived value for gift giving
8. Useful for personal record keeping
9. Business people use an average of 2.5 calendars
10. Versatile styles, colors, formats, and designs

For more information or to place an order, contact Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

5 Tips on Choosing the Right Promotional Products for Your Company

Trying to figure out which promotional products to buy can be a bit stressful due to the fact that the choices are nearly endless. Use these tips to help you narrow down the choices.

1.    Set a budget. Often when people consider promotional products, they think of cheap giveaway items like pens and water bottles. However, the truth is that the prices (and quality) of promotional products can vary widely. For example, while you can get pens with your logo for pennies on the dollar, you may pay handsomely for high end products like jackets and luggage. So before you choose a product, you need to make sure that you have a budget in mind. That means you know how much you’re willing to spend overall, as well as a price per product to ensure that you get a large enough quantity to serve the necessary purpose.
2.    Consider your target market. As with all of your marketing endeavors, you should always think about what audience you are trying to reach. For example, if you produce a product that people may use in their offices, then you probably don’t want to send out kids coloring books. Instead you might opt for a desktop caddy to help them get organized in their office, as that’s a product your target audience may be interested in.
3.    What’s the useful life of the product? You want to get the most bang for your buck. That means you need to consider how long someone will use the promotional product you give them. Is it something they’re going to toss out and forget all about within a day? Or are you providing them with a legitimately useful product that they will travel with and show off? Think about it—if you give them something like a grocery bag, then they will use it and reuse it, allowing everyone they pass to see your company’s logo. That’s smart marketing.
4.    Match products with your business. This connects largely with the number two point above. Not only should the promotional products connect with your target audience, but they also need to be in line with your company (your message, your values, and your products and services). A good example of this might be a bookstore handing out bookmarks. It’s a useful product that connects with the product they sell. And the message is clear: you need to read, and we can help supply you with your reading material.
5.    Where will you give them out? Are you sending out products in the mail? Are you giving them to employees at an award ceremony? Are you attending a trade show? Whatever the case, make sure you think about where and how you will distribute your products. While certain products may prove versatile and easy to use at all sorts of events, others may lend themselves to something in particular. For example, you probably aren’t going to send out bomber jackets in the mail as they’d be too expensive to ship in a mass mail out (much less purchase).

Still need help deciding? Give us a call and we’ll help you out! 
(720) 281-4095
www.redcanoepromotions.com

Great Deal on Promotional Planners!

For more information or to place an order, contact Red Canoe Promotions.

Top 20 Promotional Products for Direct Mail

Promotional products have been proven to drastically improve the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns.  People are twice as likely to open "lumpy mail" as opposed to just a flat letter, which is why including a promotional product printed with your custom logo is a great way to boost the response rate of your direct mail campaign.  Here are 20 promotional products cool enough and flat enough to make excellent direct mail pieces (in no particular order):

1. Golf Ball Cleaners

2. Pocket Smartphone / Tablet Stands

3. Slim LED Letter Lights

4. Mouse Pads

5. Jar Openers

6. Coffee Sleeves

7. Charging Shelves

8. Mint Cards

9. Post-Its / Sticky Notes

10. Foldable / Collapsible Water Bottles

11. Screen Cleaners & Microfiber Cloths

12. Key Tags

13. Magnets

14. Koozies / Beverage Insulators

15. Collapsible Cell Phone & Business Card Holders

16. Collapsible / Foldable Flower Vases

17. Nylon Flying Discs

18. Credit Card Hand Sanitizer Sprayers

19. Luggage Tags

20. Boomerangs

Promotional Product Specials for Football Season

For more information or to place an order, please contact Red Canoe Promotions.

Leashables Hand Sanitizer

Awesome Deal Alert!

For more information or to place an order, contact Red Canoe Promotions.

The Cushion Cinchpack

Innovative Promotional Product Alert!

This 80 GSM non-woven polypropylene bag has padding and shoulder straps with a quick-close top.  Carry your goodies to the game and then use the bag as a stadium cushion.  This bag's got your back!  To request additional information or place an order for the Cushion Cinchpack imprinted with your logo, contact Red Canoe Promotions.

Why Companies Use Promotional Products

A recent study involving over 1,000 buyers of promotional products sheds some light on what objectives companies expect to achieve when they use promotional products, and how effective they felt promotional products are compared to other forms of advertising.  Here are some highlights from the sdudy:

• About 80% of end buyers say they believe the use of promotional products is either "effective" or "very effective"
• 7 out of 10 HR execs say they use promotional products to recognize and reward employees

• Executives ranked promotional products higher than TV, direct mail, newspapers/consumer magazines, trade publications, internet, and social media in the following 5 attributes:

1. Ability to achieve long-term memorability at the cost of paying only for a single exposure
2. Flexibility to fit the cost of the medium to whatever budget is available
3. Ability to bond audience to advertiser  so as to promote repeat business
4. Audience friendly (not as likely to offend or be seen as a nuisance)
5. Ability to generate traffic (to stores, trade shows, events, websites, etc.)

• Only 3 percent of respondents claimed that promotional products are not effective in achieving their advertising/promotion/motivational objectives

Red Canoe Promotions is here to help you get the most out of promotional products.  Start building your brand today!  Visit our website for more information: http://www.redcanoepromotions.com

Cool Promotional Product Alert!

Custom Gel Skins with High Definition Graphics for iPhone 4

Protect your iphone with these custom designed gel skins.  Pricing starts at $4.75 each plus setup.  For more information or to place an order, contact Red Canoe Promotions - Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

Are Promotional Pens Still an Effective Advertising Medium?

Given the technological advances over the last decade or so where more and more is being done digitally, you might ask if imprinted pens are still an effective advertising tool.  The results of a recent study sponsored by BIC Graphic USA and conducted through MarketTools, Inc., say the answer is still YES.  Here are some of the key points from the study, which involved over 1,000 households in the U.S.:

• 76% said they still consider pens to be important/very important/extremely important in their daily activities.
• About 80% said they use promotional pens with advertising or company logos on them.
• About 75% said they carry a pen on them at all times.
• 92% of those who own a car keep at least one pen in it.
• Two Thirds of those who received a promotional pen in the last year could recall the name of the advertiser on the pen.  More than half could actually remember the product or service information imprinted on the pen!
• In general, people who received at least one promotional pen in the last year had a very positive attitude toward the advertiser and planned to do business with the company in the future.
• Overall, the cost per impression for a pen costing $1 is only a very small fraction of a dollar ($0.000436).  That's impressive!
• 56% keep their promotional pens for as long as they write.
• Only 4% consider imprinted pens to be an ineffective advertising medium.

As you can see, this study makes a strong case that logo imprinted pens are still an effective advertising medium and it appears this will continue well into the future.  In fact, promotional pens have all the components of a highly effective promotional product- They are used very frequently, they're portable, and they have an extremely low cost per impression (i.e. they're affordable by just about any company out there)!

Ready to get your company logo imprinted on some attractive promotional pens?  Check out the Imprinted Pens page at http://www.redcanoepromotions.com to see some of our favorites.  From Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

Fun Promotional Product Alert!

Looking for a fun summertime promotion?  How about a S'mores kit featuring your custom logo label?  Any end user will appreciate one of these!  This campfire kit includes:4 Graham Cracker Sheets, 4 Marshmallows, 2 HERSHEY'S® Milk Chocolate Bars and 2 Toasting Sticks. Makes 4 Servings.Available from Red Canoe Promotions starting at $11.83.

Innovative Promotional Product Alert!

The new 16 oz. Silipint™ imprinted pint glass is guaranteed unbreakable!  It's made from 100% food grade silicone.  The Silipint is FDA approved, dishwasher safe, non-toxix and BPA free.  It insulates both hot and cold beverages.  Freeze it, nuke it, bounce it, bake it, crush it- do just about anything to it!  It's virtually indestructible.  Starts at $7.99 each and available through Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!  Also available in a 1.5 oz. shot glass starting at $3.49 each.

Fun Promotional Product Alert!

For more information or to order this promotional product, please contact Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

Recession Buster: Imprinted Grocery Bags

Expires 8/31/12.  To order these imprinted grocery totes at this amazing price, please contact Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

How to Generate Trade Show Traffic

With trade shows being such an important marketing strategy for many companies, it's important to make sure you're doing everything you can to attract visitors to your booth.  Here are three tips to make sure your company is remembered at your next trade show:

1. Make your booth pop.  The extra money you spend on building an attractive trade show display will be well worth the investment.  It's actually pretty easy to give your trade show booth a custom look that really stands out.  Use a table cover that's custom printed with your logo- it's much more attractive than an uncovered table.  Use custom floor displays or pop-up displays with colorful banners, flags, and signs.  For help building an attention-grabbing trade show display, visit our trade show displays page.
2. Make it fun.  If you don't have some way to keep your visitors entertained, they'll be quick to move on to the next booth.  Engage your audience with interactive items like games or a prize wheel.  These can also be custom printed with your logo to help boost your image.  By creating a fun, memorable experience for your trade show visitors,  you'll be a step ahead of the competition.
3. Give away something innovative and useful.  Pens and reusable bags are better than nothing, but that's what everyone else is handing out too.  Give away something innovative and useful.  Something that's going to create a buzz and make people want to stop by your booth.  Technology-related promotional products have a great track record at accomplishing this.  Another trick that produces great results is mailing out half of a "pair" to prospects that will be attending the trade show, and tell people to come visit your booth to get the other half (custom printed flip flops are one example, but this can be done with many items).

So there you have it.  Just a few things you can do to boost trade show traffic and, at the same time, build your brand.  Red Canoe Promotions can help you accomplish any of the above, so visit our Denver Promotional Products website or give us a call!

Limited Time Promotional Product Specials

To order, contact Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!

New Promotional Product Closeouts

To order, contact Red Canoe Promotions- Your Denver Promotional Products Authority!