This morning at Motivators was an exciting one!  We had a visit from John Cudahy, a representative from one of our warehouses.  He brought in many interesting promotional products that will sure be a hit with our customers.  We saw new promotional flashlights, promotional cutlery and many diffrent types of promotional drinkware.  The one item that really stood out was the hand blown glass pilsner mugs.  They were extremely light and gave the liquid inside them a "floating" look.  These are sure to be a poplular seller for a wide array of our customers.  I also think our whole team is looking forward to getting a few samples for the office! 

One of my favorite parts about my job is talking to my customers about what they do, and why they are ordering. Last week, I spoke to Jayson who is an export service representative at Rosenbauer America. But what does Rosenbauer America do? They make fire trucks! They also made the truck that is Sentinel Prime in the Transformers movie! When I was told that, I was blown away, and needed to ask for some swag. Jayson was kind enough to send me a huge package of their custom imprint promotional products that they have ordered. Below is an image of what I was sent: A custom imprinted lapel sticker, customer imprinted patch and lapel pin, promotional golf tees, personalized calendar, a screen printed T-Shirt, and an engraved bottle opener (reason they called to re-order). I am so excited to have received all of these amazing giveaways!

Delis and restaurants everywhere are getting more and more technologically savvy, in their effort to improve sales.  While I was waiting in line at the local deli something new caught my eye.  There were promotional signs everywhere with QR codes on them.  With your smart phone you scan the QR code for your favorite eatery and text message your order in.  When you get to the establishment all you do is walk up to the express line, pay for you order and leave!  No lines, no hassle!  I though this was a fantastic idea and can’t wait to try it out.

Lately I have been so tired of listening to the radio stations and the same music replaying over and over again. It drives me insane! how many times can you really listen to Adelle on everything radio station. That is why I love my ipod, I just plug it in to my car and listen to my favorites. Custom MP3 players are great for this exact reason, and I get to choose what I listen to and it isnt repetitive.

    "A chalice is not a glass, it is a chalice"

     That is one of the many lines you will hear from the latest promotion by Stella Artois. It was a simple promotion that involved people becoming the lucky recipients of the ever-so-coveted chalice. The chalice is a cup that was specifically designed for the Stella Artois beverage. Its gold rimmed elegance makes it highly desirable, giving the holder of the chalice an aura of class and sophistication. The chalice is so detrimental to Stella, that even at a bar, Stella Artois will be served to you in a chalice.

     The promotion is simple. First, you must go to Facebook and "Like" their page. You need to do this so when Stella posts a status giving the number you need to call for the chalice, you can see it. Then visit the page and call the number that Stella posts. Now when you call this number, feel free to listen to the automated voice on the other line listing the options available to you. The options she says are quite humorous.

     Now I must warn you, you will have to either wait on hold for a while, or keep calling back. I had to call over 20 times to finally get through. A free chalice is not an easy item to come by. Now when you do eventually get through, all you have to do is give them all your mailing information, and email address, and you will get a free Stella Artois chalice in the mail. That's it!

     This is a great promotional campaign. It is simple to participate, and gives Stella a chance to get new customers, plus vital marketing information. I found it so easy to do that I told a few of my co-workers about this and they called too. This was also a great opportunity for Stella to push their La Societe de Stella Artois, a campaign where you can win prizes by being a member of La Societe. When you called for your chalice, you are asked if you want to join La Societe. This is a perfect way to get the consumer engaged and interested in your brand.

     So several weeks go by, and one by one, each of my co-workers and myself begin receiving our promotional drinkware. They come packaged in very sturdy cardboard boxes, and have a thank you letter enclosed. I also received my membership into La Societe, which made my other co-workers very jealous. It came in an elegant black envelope, with a handbook, membership card, and invitations that I can give to people so they can join La Societe.

     Isn't she beautiful. Her hourglass figure and golden top make the chalice look stunning. Everyone is enjoying their chalice. My co-worker and friend Nicole, loves hers so much that she even drew a picture of us celebrating our chalices. Isn't the drawing amazing? (I am the handsome one in the picture)

I am a huge sports fan and love football and baseball.  The bleak few months after the Super Bowl are especially boring for me.  I don't watch too many t.v. shows and the cold weather makes it difficult to go to any outdoor establishments. I try to dabble a little in basketball and hockey but  it does not do much for me.  Thankfully, I have recently discovered Words, Scramble and Hanging with Friends.  I put my promotional iPad case on my iPad and I was ready to roll.  I have to admit, at first I wasn't sold, but after a little while I was hooked. Think I can't handle 20 games at once? No big deal!  Give me my promotional water bottle and a comfy chair and I'm all set. Thank goodness for a worthy distraction until my Mets are finally back!

Every Monday night, my friends and I get together to kick off the week right.  While many are dragging their feet in the beginning of the week due to a serious case of "the Mondays," Ryan, Joanne and I prefer to celebrate (and recover from) a weekend well spent with a weekly wing night.  We play video games, watch episodes of "The Office," and, of course, eat a massive amount of chicken wings from one of our favorite restaurants, Wing Zone.

Although we've had many, many wing nights, it wasn't until last Monday that I realized the award-winning franchise sends home custom food products with each delivery.  Check out the logoed bleu cheese dip in the photo below!

Unfortunately tonight I won't be able to make wing night, so I'm pretty bummed out.  But I certainly had enough chicken wings last night for Super Bowl Sunday to last me a few weeks!  Still, hopefully nobody will have to break our Monday night tradition next week.

Have a fantastic week, everyone!

A Taiwanese television commercial is coming under fire for mocking the late Steve Jobs.  The Android tablet TV spot features Taiwanese impersonator and comedian Ah-Ken donning angel wings and a halo, and runs for approximately 20 seconds.  Check out the clip below:

While the advertisement does not specifically Mention Jobs' name or any Apple products (like the custom iPod cover), Ah-Ken, who sports a black turtleneck and jeans in the spot, looks eerily similar to the Apple cofounder.  At one point, the comedian even says, "Thank God I get to play with other tablets," while taking out an Android-powered ActionPad device.

According to Mashable, the TV ad is particularly hard-hitting because the late Jobs had expressed that he felt Google's Android operating system was a copy-cat of Apple's iOS.

What do you think -- is the new commercial disrespectful?

I, for one am not a big fan of football and this weekend coming up is just a regular weekend as far as I'm concerned. I certainly am aware of all the festivities and parties coming up and ofcourse I will not decline an invite to celebrate anything with my friends (yes, even if it is football). And even though my freinds are just having a small gathering, alot of people like to go all out for these superbowl games with promotional items such as logo beer glasses, football squeezies, and custom can coolers. Can't wait to see the new commercials!

Do you recall when you could only sign up for Facebook if you were a college student?  Remember when you were only allowed to join Google+ if you'd received an invite?  There's something about exclusivity that gets people excited.  In a nutshell, we all want to be invited to the party (and we'll do anything to get in).

One dating Web site has taken this strategy to a whole new level.  Online dating service Sparkology is not only invite-only, but the men who sign up must also have graduated from one of America's top educational institutions.

Founder Alex Furmansky dreamed up the site when he was a college student.  Mashable reports that Furmansky noticed women only gave attention to "the loudest most obnoxious guy at the bar." According to the University of Pennsylvania graduate, he was too easily overlooked: "If you’re looking for more than just a quick lay, and you’re not loud, it’s hard to find a partner."

The goal of Sparkology is to wipe out the grime that dominates the online dating industry.  Sparkology has therefore branded itself as "classy and sophisticated", a far cry from match-making services like Plenty of Fish and Match.com.  The Web site's founder actually "hands out personal invites sealed with a wax stamp to educated singles he approves of."  Sparkology also teaches men how to court a woman -- in November 2011, 50 male members were invited to an event to learn about fashion and fine scotch (no logo beer glasses here!).

So far, the New York-based online dating site only has around 1,200 members.  However, it plans to expand to new cities throughout the United States.

Do you find Sparkology's elitist approach to be appealing or insulting?  Let us know!