We recently attended a large tradeshow as a company for the newest and best products that are on the scene for 2012.  There were alot of great promotional products and we are really excited for the upcoming year.  After a few hours of waiting the show floor my coworker offered me these promotional mints they had recieved earlier in the day.  The mints were delicious and were refreshing.  The slim design fit great in the back pocket for a little treat later.  

I drink water and coffee (during the week that is) and that is about it.  I don't deviate often, until last week that is.  While I was out visiting a customer, they offered me some iced logo tea. For some reason I said I would have some.  I did not regret it, it was such a nice refreshing change of pace.  Not only was it flavored and different it was imprinted with the companys logo!  What a great idea for coffee shops and pharmacies, could you think of a better way to get your brand out there, besides soothing someone's cold or tea craving??  Check out these great sample packs :

Its Friday that is a step in the right direction and a free coffee.. it is all down hill from here.  I am currently visiting my inlaws in NY and having an opportunity to work in the NY office.  I stopped at a local hole in the wall coffee shop on the way to the office this morning and to my surprise they gave me a free coffee because I brought in my promotional travel mug.  I guess they have a deal that if you bring in your travel mug friday mornings before 9 am the coffee is free!!  It seemed to good to be true so I struck up a conversation with the barista.  I was informed that they are trying to get themselves on the " coffee map"  so they are running this start up promotion for a limited time.  As well as coffee, they do have a full display case of breakfast bakery goodies.  I am a sucker for banana bread so they got my money anyway.. but it was worth it and they have my vote.

It has been a tough week getting back in the swing of things.  I am returning from a 5 day trip to UTAH to do some skiing.  Althought the snow was not the best, we just missed a 4 foot storm, it was ok and it was tough to have a bad day when the sun is out in full force. It was 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.   Of course with the warmer weather I was in need of a new jacket.  I picked up a local sale at the ski shop and they threw in a branded shop totebag with my purchase.  I was pretty excited about the bag, it is so much cooler than the pink and flowery grocery totes I currently use when food shopping.  Just when I thought my day wouldn't get any better, the ticket counter was handing out free sunscreen.  The free samples were very cool promotional Cancun SPF30 sunblock with bottle opener for apres!  As well as the free sample they gave out, there were also large dispensers of sunscreen in each lift line.

I absolutely LOVE my drinking out of mugs! Especially my promotional ceramic mug I have at work (Motivators). Walking into work every morning and needing that RIGHT cup of coffee to get started, just tastes all that better after the smile it puts on my face once I see my mug (see image below).

This particular one was actually a gift from a friend who thought this reflects my personality. Lately, I would beg to differ. Once the work day is over, I am just ready to go home and get in my comfy clothes and enjoy my cup of tea in again, my promotional ceramic mug (I have quite a few of them).

My typical everyday routine is making myself a cup of coffee, I am useless withouth it. (I'm sure most of you would agree!) With a 3 year old in the house, mornings tend to be very busy, so I'm always on the go and I use styrofoam/paper cups with a lid as a one time deal and throw them away. Shame on me! This is such a bad habit and wastes valuable resources, through this whole time I could have purchased a promotional ceramic mug and reuse it without throwing out 365 paper cups within one year. The cafe ceramic mug is a perfect substitute and looks similar to the plastic cup that I have been throwing out daily. As of this moment, I vow to do better for mother earth!

     So I don't know about all my followers out there, but this past weekend I was out at the old watering hole with a few friends. Now when I was at the fine establishment, I went up to the bar, unsure of what of what beer I wanted. I looked around at my fellow patrons to see what they were having. After careful observation, I decided on a Dos Equis, paid the bartender, and went back to my table.

     Did you miss it? So did I, at first. But the marketing was so subtle; I didn't even notice what caused me to make my decision.

     As I am walking back to my table, enjoying my ice cold, refreshing lager, I couldn't help by wonder what caused me to make my decision. Then it hit me...THE GLASSES! As I was deciding what beer to get, I was checking what other people at the bar were drinking. Now, I didn't ask anyone what they were drinking, but then again. I didn't have to. Everyone who was drinking from glasses, was drinking from logo beer glasses. When I scanned the bar to see what others were drinking, whether I knew it or not, I was being bombarded with logos from various beer companies. All that information can easily sway you to choose one beverage or another. Plus, the person drinking the beverage will constantly be staring at the logo while they drink it, virtually engraining the image in their head. This is very clever way to promote ones brand and should be used by anyone looking to make it in the beverage industry.

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! 

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.

There has been a study that people get more depressed in the winter time due to the lack of sunlight but, this year I think I am getting depressed due to the lack of snow.  Who would have thought it would have been a gamble to book a trip in December to go snowboarding in lake tahoe at the beginning of February.. no one.  Mother Nature has not been too happy with the California ski resorts.  Washington state, Utah, and Wyoming have been getting killed with snow.  Wyoming just got 80 " of snow in 8 days!!!  but Heavenly ski resort got an estimated total of 70" for the season.  We will definitly not be getting in the white room as they say or having to break out our snorkel but they do have plenty of man made snow so we will be tearing down the groomers.  Good thing about South Lake Tahoe is the Casinos and the lively night life,  worse case scenerio we go around collecting logod beer glasses.