The 12 days of Promotional Products (Christmas)

Ahh...the beautiful sight of snow falling outside, drinking a little hot cocoa with little marshmallows floating on top, a fire in the fireplace. All this can mean only one thing: The holidays and the music that goes along with it. One of my personal favorite songs has always been the 12 days of Christmas. With that in mind, please enjoy a new take on the 12 days of Christmas staring promotional products.

On the twelfth day of a Promotional Product Christmas, my true love gave to me...
12 Pens for writing
11 USB Flash Drives
10 Coffee tumblers
 9 Micro-fleece jackets
 8 Funky keychains
 7 Journal Notebooks
 6 Titleist Golf Ball
 5 Tumi Bags
 4 Ogio Backpacks
 3 Camelbak Water Bottles
 2 Apple iPads
 And a Built New York iPad Sleeve


Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, may your tree not lose it needles, may your latkas (potato pancakes) stay extra crisp, may your candles burn extra long and most importantly, may you and your family enjoy the best of times and a prosperous 2012.

Idea of the Week: Going High Tech to Protect Your Technology

Just about everywhere you look these days, someone is using an iPad, Kindle, Nook, or some other tablet. Sure they feed our hunger to stay connected 24/7, and  help entertain kids with short attention spans. But they're also prone to get dropped, stepped on, or simply abused by our kids. With the holidays already upon us, why not use the latest technology to protect your new tablet, the Neoprene sleeve? Neoprene is actually a material used to make wetsuits, so if it can protect you from freezing cold water, surely it can protect your tablet.

Not only is it sleek, but you can also customize it with specific designs and logos to fit your business and marketing needs. And if you don't have a tablet yet, maybe this new sleeve will get you to dive into the tablet world.


Tasty Side Note: These sleeves are also checkpoint-friendly for ease of going through Airport security (if there is such thing).

Idea of the Week: Quotables

I've got a post-it note addiction. I use them for just about everything, from jotting down a phone number, to making grocery lists and bucket lists. My wife may also be addicted, given how many post-its she uses for my honey-do lists.

Now I just found a lot more uses for my note addiction with these cool new post-its called quotables. They come packaged together in neon colors and you can brand them with your logo in multiple colors. And for all of you concerned about the imprint size for your company's logo or marketing message it is the size of a business card (that's a lot of real estate if you ask me). What's not to love about that?

See, these quotables can even make honey-do lists seem a little cute, or at least not so much like work. Sorry, you'll have to draw your own images. Once you start using them, you may unearth your inner artist.

Tasty Side Note: For all you football fans. Don't forget that there are 3 football games on Thanksgiving. Just wanted to give you another reason to obstain from having to help in the kitchen with dishes or to call a penalty on the over-indulgence of tryptophan.

It's almost that time of year again

Halloween is almost here, which means the big holidays are right around the corner. I know I don't have to tell you that. All you have to do is step into Costco, Wal-mart or Target to see the holiday merchandise on full display.

Even if you avoid the big box stores like the plaque, you still can't escape being deluged with advertisements. If your mailbox is anything like mine, the Holiday catalogs are already flooding in.

It's that time of year when stress is high - too many things to do, too little time. I often hear clients say, "It would be a HUGE relief if I could just get one thing off of my plate." And you really don't want to forget the "other people" who matter like your CLIENTS or EMPLOYEES do you? After all, nobody likes a Scrooge McDuck, do they?

This year, let me help shorten your list. I'll do all the work, you get all the credit. Here is just a small sampling of holiday ideas. Everything from food and drink, apparel, business gifts, keepsakes, not to mention many others. No matter your budget, I'll help you find the right holiday gift.

Let me know your thoughts and how I can help you for your holiday gifts or any promotional products to build your business.

Tasty Side Note: Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour on Sunday, November 6th.  And to wish my mom a happy birthday (it's actually on the 5th). See, I am already helping you get a free hour.

Greasy Fingers

We've all been there, eating our favorite slice of pizza, with the gooey cheese and greasy pepperoni falling all over the plate. As you are biting into a greasy slice of awesomeness, you get that all important  text message, or an incessant phone call from a certain Yankees fan, (who happens to be your mother-in-law) wanting to talk about her precious Yankees.  What do you do? You pick up the phone with your greasy fingers. Eww. Gross.

C'mon you know I'm not alone in this. We've all done it. Whether it's pizza, cheetos,or worst of all, your kid wiping his or her nasty fingers all over the screen. Don't even bother using your greasy napkin to wipe off the mess, because that will just turn your screen into one big greasy smudge.

Believe it or not, this everyday mishap is an opportunity to brand your company's logo or better yet a QR code! It is (drum roll please) a small microfiber screen cleaner.

Here's what's so cool about these:

• Sticks to the back of  your phone
• Comes in custom shapes and sizes
• Prints in 4 color process
• Adhesive can be reused and applied thousands of times
• Comes with a separate backer card that you can print additional messaging
• Can be used on camera lenses, sunglasses/regular glasses, navigation systems, computer screens and iPads.

Are you interested in seeing some actual screen cleaner samples? Or looking for some promotional product ideas for your next project? Please let me know how I can help. Feel free to post a comment below or reach out via email by going to my profile and hit email.

Now if you'll excuse me, I got pizza sauce on my shirt...again. Guess I will have to use that logo'd stain removing stick next.

Tasty Side Note: Since the Yankees lost to the Tigers in the postseason, I have about 6 months before I can blame my Yankee loving mother-in-law for causing me to get my cell phone all greasy.

The Tasty Start of the Promotion Menu Blog

I love going out to eat. I can almost taste what I'm going to have just looking at a menu. I can almost see my food in front of me, prepared and served just the way I want it. And that's where I run into trouble. To put it mildly, I can be a bit of a challenge when ordering. I'm very particular about my food. I'm even worse than Sally in the movie, When Harry Met Sally. (If you need a refresher, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnlm2e3EN78. And no, it's not the pounding on the table scene, although that one's worth watching too.)

Anyway, back to my post and its purpose. I want to help you build your brand and grow your business. And how am I going to do that? By making it easier for you to get what you want and need when you order. I'll make sure you know what's on the menu, what the "specials" are, what's new and unique. I'll make sure you get exactly what you want, just the way you want it. My job is to make sure you love what you order from my menu so you and your clients keep coming back for more.

Please drop in for appetizing stories, mouth-watering ideas with a side of humor about how promotional products can help your business. I'd love to hear your thoughts about my posts, and, of course, I'll answer any questions you might have.

In the meantime, it's gotta be close to lunchtime somewhere, and I'm craving a bacon cheeseburger with fries. But hold the cheese. And no lettuce or tomato. With ketchup and mustard — brown, not yellow — light on the mustard. And no seeds on the bun. Oh, and make the fries extra crispy!