This past Sunday, April 28th, 2013, I participated in the March of Dimes fundraiser "Walk for Babies" in NYC. It was a beautiful day to get out for a good cause.

My husband's company, Standard Motor Products, is an event sponsor, and the company turned out in force! Seven-thousand people converged in midtown Manhattan at 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning to walk 3.2 miles to raise money to prevent birth defects and childhood disease throughout the world and of course right here at home.

In addition to the many corporate sponsors, Eli Manning attended the event! Four lucky Standard Motor Products employees won a raffle to have breakfast with him at PJ Clarks where he signed autographs and mingled a bit.

Fundraising is of course a huge promotional products area and there was no shortage of them at this event. Besides the embroidered apparel, there were also tote bags, stress balls, noise makers, clips, keychains, food giveaways and water bottles. 

On Saturday, my dad took my brother and me to Citi Field to see the New York Mets play the Houston Astros. The Mets haven't exactly had a stellar season, so we weren't expecting a huge turnout. But boy were we wrong!

How did the Mets draw in the crowds? Every fan received a great logo toy upon entering the stadium: a limited-edition Mike Piazza bobblehead. Everyone was so excited to be receiving the promotional giveaway. And of course, because I work in the industry, I was ecstatic as well.

Photo Courtesy of the @Mets official Twitter

To be frank, it's not every day that Citi Field looks packed. It got me thinking: How many people attended the game strictly for their Piazza bobblehead? And if a large percentage of spectators did come out just for the toy, why don't more teams give out freebies? I can only imagine how much extra cash the stadium made that day from everything from ticket sales and souvenirs to food and drinks.

Best of all, the Mets won the game, beating out the Astros 3-1. Do you think the big turnout helped the Mets kick butt?

Last night, I went to visit a friend of the families, who has been staying at the Long Island Jewish Hospital in Manhasset. A 50 year old man had a level 4 stroke while at work about 10 months ago and has been a vegetable since. The many attempts have been made and there is no sign of recovery which is very very sad. Knowing someone for many years and seeing them like this broke my heart, I cannot imagine how his family must feel. Listening to the wife speak about what the doctors have been saying and how strong she was doing so, really made me look at life from a different perspective. This poor woman was told that her partner would only live about a month. She has been by his side since and 10 months have went by and even though there is no sign of recovery she has hope. Life is so tricky, as you have no idea what the next minute holds.

One of my best friends during work here at Motivators is my pen! I use my pen throughout the day and it is very important that it can write well and it must be blue ink. My favorite one that glides while writing at the gel pens. They are just so much easier to use than your ordinary click pens and your writing is much more legible (or so I think). Even though no one sees the notes I take or the scribbles I make, it makes me feel good to know that I use blue ink. Especially when I don't have to try to write and the pen just does everything for me. Makes me feel all that better. 

February 22, 2012, at the Prudential Center - Newark NJ, I will be attending my first professional basketball game. The two teams playing are the New Jersey Nets against the Orlando Magic.  I do not know much about basketball or the teams, but what makes this game so much more interesting for me is that, there is a turkish player on each team. Being a turk myself, this is a tough situation. I don't know which team to chear for! Do I go for Mehmet Okur - on the Nets or Hidayet Turkoglu - on the Magics. What I was thinking of doing was buying myself a pair of the promotional #1 Foam Hand from Motivators and printing each ones name on both sides and who ever scores go with that! I hope to have a blast and will update you guys that following week. Keep reading!

I don't know if I have too many friends, but it seems like I am out celebrating a birthday at least once a month! This month it's my friend Emre's birthday on January 18th. I never know what to ever get as gifts and always drive myself crazy. Luckily with the help of my co-worker Olha, we decided to put in a special order for a promotional iPad case from Motivators. I know Emre recently purchased an i-pad so thought it would be a very useful gift. With one birthday down and many more to go, I need many many more gift ideas, it is going to be a long year!

If history repeats itself, this week would be the 1980's for me.

I received an e-mail early this morning that appeared somewhat out of the ordinary. The e-mail was an invitation to an advanced screening of the Footloose remake. The advanced screening takes place tonight, one day before it debuts on screens nationwide. I'm very hesitant on liking the remake of this film - I consider the 1984 Footloose to be one of the finest pieces of cinema around, rivaled only by the original soundtrack that accompanies the album. But the promotional giveaway will certainly allow me to see the movie and judge once and for all whether a remake was truly warrented.

I also found out that I will be seeing famed 80's rockers Duran Duran at one of their biggest New York shows since they headlined the same theater in 1984. The band has more iconic 80's songs than one can fit on an 8-track and is sure to be full of Generation X'ers having fun. Maybe some people will bring their baggy custom imprinted shirts and leggings. 

Netflix has had one heck of a summer.  In an attempt to increase profits, the online video streaming service raised its prices by "60 percent on one popular plan," according to Gawker.  I'm not sure how Netflix CEO Reed Hastings thought consumers would react, but it's getting pretty ugly.  Gawker reports that the company's stock dropped 17 percent last Thursday, a large amount of subscribers have canceled plans, and subscription projections have been cut by 1 million.

So what's Hastings' plan to win back customers?  According to Mashable, Netflix is about to undergo a brand image overhaul.  Hastings is looking to divide Netflix's DVD and online streaming video services, and to reintroduce the DVD division as a new division called 'Qwikster.'  The rebranding effort will have to be a strong one, so look for Qwikster-themed promotional giveaways like custom printed pens and promotional flash drives.

In addition to its new name, Qwikster will also offer a new service:  video game hires.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the changes affect consumer opinion.  Hopefully Netflix can regain its customers' trust and stop acting like an evil cable company!

Being President of the United States is undoubtedly a stressful job. But what about being President of a doughnut and coffee tycoon? Dunkin' Donuts, a coffee and doughnut retailer, has launched a new promotional campaign that gives social media-savvy individuals the chance "to be named the 'President of Dunkin' Nation,'" reports Mashable.

According to Mashable, those who want to be considered must register their credentials on Dunkin' Donuts' Facebook page. "Fans are then invited to check in at Dunkin' Donuts locations" once every hour up to 10 times a day, as reported on Mashable.com.  Whoever registers the most check-ins in any given week will be named the President of Dunkin' Nation for that week.

Dunkin's interactive marketing manager, Kevin Vine, claims that the campaign's goal is to celebrate and reward loyal customers who already frequently check in via Facebook or Foursquare, reports Mashable.  However, those of us in the promotional products industry know Dunkin' Donuts will also benefit from constant franchise check-ins.

If all goes as planned, the coffee and doughnut shops will certainly see an increase in sales.  Additionally, according to BostInnovation.com, those who become President each week will be eligible for a Dunkin' Donuts grand prize, which includes a 50' LCD TV and other promotional giveaways such as Dunkin'-themed promotional t-shirts.

Do you have what it takes to be the President of Dunkin' Nation?

This Friday evening I will be attending my first clam bake at a relatives Country Club. I can't wait to see all of the promotional giveaways they have, and to eat delicious free food of course! Because this Country Club is on a golf course I know almost everyone will be wearing Promotional Polo Shirts and they will be giving away Promotional T-shirts with the clubs logo on them. At the bar they are going to hand out drinks with custom can coolers that you can take home as well. I am just hoping all of this rain in the Northeast is gone and the sun will be shining!