It's almost 5:00 and I forgot to write on the Motivators Company Blog. Maybe I'm just tired. 

After all, I find myself wearing a bathrobe, pajama pants, a ratty t-shirt, slippers. I'm even holding a promotional teddybear in my hand.

I'm not the only one. Today is Pajama Day at Motivators, Day 4 of Motivators Spirit Week. If you Like us on Facebook, you've probably seen us celebrate Sports Day, 70's Day and Hawaiian Day. As you can see, we have a lot of time on our hands and a lot of creativity. 

What I have learned is that promotional products can sometimes make your costume better. For example, I had a promotional sports-shaped stress ball for Sports Day. Carrying a small soccer ball with my Amsterdam Soccer jersey put the whole thing together.

Tomorrow is USA Day - a day where promotional pens, custom imprinted t-shirts and even promotional notebooks with red, white and blue will be in large quantity.

If your business is having a Spirit Week, (highly recommended) Motivators has promotional products that can certainly help in sprucing any event. 

Hello, readers, I’d like to take a minute to introduce myself, as this is my first blog post with Motivators and I’m super excited about it! My name is Kim Laffer and I am the Director of Strategic Development for Motivators. I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to attend our industry association, PPAI, Women’s Leadership Conference this past week- it was such an amazing experience! The agenda for the conference included networking events, panels such as “Insights From Women Leaders of our Industry”, breakout sessions and round tables, and keynote luncheons. Being in a room with 150 brilliant, successful and driven women was so inspiring and I can only hope to join them one day!

I came home from the conference with a wealth of knowledge and a suitcase filled with fabulous branded goodies! Some of my favorites were the custom printed pen, a great promotional journal notebook for us to jot down important points from the conference (and I'm now using it as my To-Do list book!), and a branded business card case, which really came in handy after a "speed networking" session!

Promotional products really do work...and, no, I am not saying that just because I sit behind a desk at Motivators and not because promotional products are my life-work at this very moment.

Companies are always trying to get your attention - that's why you'll see employees at supermarkets begging for you to have samples of specific foods while touting promotional signs, why you'll see beer and liquor street teams handing out promotional t-shirts and promotional hats at bars and dives and why banks give out custom imprinted pens and promotional calculators sporting their name.

Sponsorship is the best way to get a consumer's attention. Whether it's an event or a business, companies are always investing money in the form of their product and promotional giveaways.
For example, next time you're in a movie theater, try asking for a Pepsi. More than likely, you'll end up with a Coca-Cola. Theatre chains like AMC are sponsored by Coca Cola - you'll see their presence in the form of advertisements throughout the movie previews, promotional posters in the lobby of the theatre and promotional stadium cups with the famous Coca Cola logo. And when seeing these posters, cups and commercials, the desire for a cool, refreshing beverage is even greater.

What sponsors do you buy from?

 

I have a case of the Mondays, especially after the great weekend that I had with my family.  We visited my Mom at her campsite in York, Maine.  Normally when I think campgrounds and trailers, I think of trailer parks down south but this place was luxurious.  It is right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and nubble lighthouse.  We had a great day walking the beach, playing in the sand and enjoying lunch at this outside deck that would make your jaw drop.  Of course when it came time for the check, I picked up the bill and help myself to the custom imprinted pen I used to sign the check.  We got back to my Moms camper and my mom noticed that I had gotten a souvenir and chuckled because she opened a draw that had custom imprinted pens from around the US from every adventure she had been on with her camper.

My daily morning routine tends to be very monotonous - brush teeth, take a shower, drive to work. On this morning though, I woke up with the idea to hop on the computer. Half-dazed and still wearing pajamas, I paroozed the Internet.
I somehow stumbled upon information about a place once referred to as the IMAC theatre in my town, Huntington. In addition to viewings of classic and modern film, the theatre has been home to a number of concerts, including the Rockapella Christmas-time performance I saw a handful of years back and the New York Dolls show I saw just over four years ago. The theatre has been closed for sometime.
But the article that I found explained that permits were approved to open the theatre once again, this time as the Paramount Theatre. And, to my surprise, the first concert being held at the hall is a band I've always wanted to see: The Pixies!
This is big news for me. Unless it is Jones Beach, Westbury or Uniondale, almost no one huge comes to Long Island - let alone, Suffolk County. But even as I search for more about the theatre and the Pixies performance, there isn't too much listed.
The folks at Paramount Theatre should consider using promotional products to put their name out there. Before going under, the IMAC theatre used promotional buttons and custom printed pens. Getting the name out there will allow locals to support the theatre and the Arts in the area. For those out of town, it will be an incentive to take a look at the performances being held at the theatre.

 

 

 

Pens may very well be the most popular promotional item for many reasons.  However, with great promotion comes great blend-into-the-crowd-ability.  I think everyone can say that at least one of the pens they have at home, if not all, is a promotional pen.  I would also bet that most of those people don't even know the company that spent their time and money printing their logo on that pen.  Due to this, I think that it's important to try and get a pen that will stand out from the rest.  In an earlier blog is discussed a marketing idea that one of my advertising teacher's firms often used known as Chunk Mail.  The idea was to send mass mailers out to their demographic, but to be sure that the mail was shaped significantly different than a normal mailer in an effort to make it stand out and always be at the top of the mail pile.  The Mock Quill Pen is a great promotional pen for a very similar reason.  This pen is not only shaped different, but has its own holder so it won't get lost in those crowded desk caddies.  There are various other custom printed pens on Motivators.com to look at.

 

For another year in a row promotional writing instruments were number two in the sales of promotional products. It's obvious why they're such great sellers...everyone can use a pen!

Today I was able to see hands on some of the latest and greatest pens on the market. Through this meeting I was able to learn some things about pens that I’d never known before. For instance…certain pens can cost up to $40,000 of course for promotional purposes the price is generally under a dollar a piece.

My humble hands were lucky enough to hold a more high-end, hand-made from precious metal resin Parker pen. It was a beautiful pen. And for special corporate event and people like the late comedian Mitch Hedburg, who said "I bought a seven dollor pen because I alway lose pens, and I got sick of not caring."...expensive pens are a good idea.

But for me, after playing around with the whole bunch of them I found the custom imprinted Papermate sport retractable pen to be my favorite. Sure it doesn’t have gold plating or a fancy design, but it’s convenient and writes great. I also love the promotional Uni-Ball Jetstream pen that we all have here at Motivators. Now I have it in a lovely red ink to mark up all of my blogs with…well not exactly.

The point is that when looking for a promotional pen there are a ton of options. And as far as a meeting about pens goes, it was very interesting. Even more interesting, Johnny Depp used to be a pen salesmen.

Feathers were one of the first writing instruments as they were delicately dipped in ink. Feather covered wings allow birds to launch into flight.

Large bottles filled with ink and stopped by a capillary feed were the first "fountain pens" tested by inventors in the 1800's. Large bottles can be filled with good drink.

Today more than 2 billion pens are manufactured in the United State every year is their more modern form, many of which are used as promotional products. These modern pens can be used to kill.

 

That's right. And Am Newton, an advertising agency in Rome, Italy, has just released an advertisement making use of these maniacal pens. The advertisement that reads, "Pined to the chair by dozens of projects..." puts it out there that being extraordinarily busy at work looks a lot like attack of the killer pens.

Now imagine each of the pens we're custom imprinted with a different work demand. Even more effective? Promotional pens can be used for more than just writing. And with a savvy branding idea you can make a smart kill.

 

People are always on the look out for THE promotional item to give out. And while Motivators offers THOUSANDS of items to choose from, let us please not forget one of the original promotional items...the pen! If you write a lot on the office or at school you can understand the simple joy of writing with your favorite pen. Whether it be a click pen, gel inked, standard stick pen you chew on or writes in a rainbow of colors we all have a pen we favor. My favorite pen is the Uni-Ball Jetstream! I loved it so much Motivators ordered it for the entire company!