At last week's ASI trade show, we all came back overwhelmed with new product knowledge, contacts, and promotional freebies. I do admit the best part about going to trade shows is the great new products we see and get. I came back with a personalized tote bag filled to the top with lip balm, promotional hand sanitizers, stress balls, promotional pens, promotional candy and so much more. Like most people, I am a weekling when it comes to the promotional food products they put out at the booths. Especially after walking around the show for hours, and once I get hungry, any booth that has food and candy, will get my attention! At last weeks show, after eating everything in sight, I have to rank this Chocolatier booth as my top choice. They had the best dark chocolate truffles I have ever had. After having a taste of their promotional chocolates, I felt like I was in Chocolate Heaven. Now, not only will this booth be embedded in my mind forever, they will surely by getting my business! 

Right now anything that is round, Abby calls a ball. Her most recent fascination are balloons in the grocery store that are pre-inflated. She points and stares and yells "BALL." Yesteday while at Stop and Shop I gave in, and decided to get her a custom imprinted balloon for being so good in stores. She was thrilled. Held it, played with it, and terrorized the dog with it all day. I guess the idea of a ball floating in the air is extremely exciting.

Balloons are a great giveaway at any event. What kid doesn't want to bring home a balloon from a party, restaurant, or summer activity?! They brighten up a store, and are great for decorating. I always buy custom balloons for fun events: Abby's christening, 1st B-Day, Showers...etc etc.  And the best part is...they are cheap! 

Trade show season is in full swing and it seems that everyone is under the gun to get products.  It is important to have a booth that people will visit. From table covers to displays a lot more goes into it than one might think.  A great way to go is with a promotional trade show package.  They can get really elaborate but they all have the same purpose to get your name in front of the customers.  Wear comfortable shoes, bring a swag bag, and enjoy the show. See you at the trade shows!

It's that time of year again - the ASI Trade Show is coming up on May 8-10, 2012 in New York City. Every year the Motivators team gets together and takes a nice trip into the city and visits some of the industry's best. Obviously, since it is trade show for the promotional industry, all of the attendants tend to get MORE than the usual amount of promotional products from the participants. Not only do the participants hand out tons of promotional goodies to the attendants, they also use a tremendous amount of trade show accessories at their booths. I can't wait to see all the awesome giveaways I will be getting this year!

It has been about a week or so since I popped the question and my girlfriend became my fiance. It has truly been a whirlwind experience. It has been extraordinarily fun and exciting celebrating with all of our friends and family. Getting engaged is one of the happiest times of any couples lives. Soon enough though, we must get to work though!  We must get to planning what feels like hundreds of details for the big day. There are announcements, a wedding website, engagement photos, choosing a date, choosing a venue, setting a guest list just to name a few off the top of my head. That doesn't mean we can't make it a fun process though. Personally, I am looking forward to listening to wedding bands and tasting wedding cakes. For me though, I am also looking forward to the wedding expos. You might think that is strange for a Groom to Be to say, however, I am looking forward to the bombardment of promotional products we will get hit with. Vacation planners, bands, bakeries and any other service having to do with weddings will be sure to get something in our hands with their name on it so that we won't forget them when the time comes. Most people say that the entire process can become intimidating and stressfull, well I am going to do everything I can to instead making it fun and exciting!

This Tuesday March 27th, Ken, Kim, Laurie, Sam and I visited one of our top (and closest) vendors.  It was great to see how so many of our trade show booth accessories are actually produced.  It really gave us such a broader understanding of, the different kinds of imprinting methods as well as why the production times are what they are.  Here at Motivators we discuss all different kinds of promotional products every day.  It's a great thing when we can explain to our customers how production "behind the scenes" really works; it's something many of them really appreciate!  Below is a picture of the machine that fills and labels our hand sanitizers!

When I studied abroad in the spring of 2008, I made friends from all over the world.  I had the privilege of meeting great people from Australia, Mexico, Canada, England and more.  And one of the harsh realities about coming home was no longer being able to do the simple things with my new buddies, like go to the movies, make dinner, and even watch TV.

But one new app allows comrades who many not be in the same place at the same time to watch and discuss MTV content together.  The mobile TV application, dubbed MTV Under The Thumb, was debuted at MTV's trade show tent at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, and is already garnering lots of attention. 

Mashable reports that through downloading the app, users get access to on-demand content.  It also offers "a social twist:" friends can co-view MTV's content and chat within the app at the same time.  Furthermore, they can share their favorite television programs on Facebook and "pair their mobile device with a web browser on a computer, which turns the device into a remote control or a second screen."

Some of MTV's most popular TV shows are already available on the app including Teen Mom and Jersey Shore.  Other sections like celebrity gossip and "What's Hot" are also sure to appeal to the app's intended audience -- "notoriously distracted Millennials."

While MTV Under The Thumb can be downloaded on iOS and Android in many countries across Europe, it's not expected to make it to the US anytime soon.  Would you use the application if introduced in America?

My wife and I had an opportunity for a date night.  ohhh.. aahhhh.. but these "date nights " don't come too often.  We were able to make it to an outdoor sports expo in town and we snuck out for a bite to eat and some drinks after. The event was awesome.  All the big supplies were there.  All the lastest gear was displayed from bicycles to new advancements in climbing gear.   If you could think of it, it was there and then some. They had demostrations on the rock wall and they had some kids on bikes doing tricks and one booth had a controtionist, which was pretty wild.  It had been a while since my wife had been to an expo and she was overwelmed by the size and creatvity of the trade show tents.  Commonly heard throught out the event was ".. WOW !!! lets go check out that booth.. ".  Some of the tents were more impressive than the gear they were showing.  There was an inflatable tent that looked like a spider, another looked like it was a section of the blacksmith shop and my favorite looked like a tiki hut. They were handing out desert island stress relievers.   The only thing they were missing the pina coladas and the ocean breeze.

Jeremy Lin continues to make headlines despite a loss to the Nets. He still managed to put up a good amount of points and assists. How odd is it that the Kicks can beat top tier teams, but lose to sub par teams. I am eagerly anticipating tomorrow's game against the heat. I'm sure it will be electrifying. If the Knicks can beat the Heat, they can be a playoff contender. Lin's jersey has been the hottest selling item in the NBA so far. Vendor's set up there trade show tents with Lin's items everywhere you go. I've been seeing a lot of Jeremy Lin promotional T-shirts with different Lin words. So if your a Knicks fan, lets cheer for them in tonights game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Many folks know me as a extreme car enthusiast. Every year my friends and I take a trip to the New York International Auto Show to scope out the upcoming vehicles. By the end of the day, I always walked away with a smile. I know this year will be no different. I'm looking forward to seeing the new hybrid's as well as the high performance sports cars. Every where you walk you see trade show tents. The trade show lighting used is world class. Whether its a bright banner or a big screen TV, it will sure catch your attention. As for me, I love getting all the trade show items that they give out. For those you of that want to come check it out, it begins April 6th to 15th.