As someone who has worked at 2 sign shops, I definitely have an appreciation for some good vehicle graphics, especially full wraps.  This advertisement appears to be for a zoo and is shown below on a city bus in Denmark.  Jobs such as this one can get pretty pricey at up to and even exceeding $15,000.  I always felt like these would be worth every penny because they move around so much.  One that catches the eye like this city bus would really give the company a good return on investment.

Looking for a great promotional item that catches the eye?  How about a custom imprinted print umbrella?  The Casino Automatic Folding Umbrella is a great eye catching promotional item because of it's size and bright colored print.  Bring customers into your casino by printing your company logo on the umbrella, just don't twirl it too fast or people won't be able to read it!

QR Codes are a new development that are already being used widely by Google.  Recently, The Weather Channel actually used one of these codes during it's broadcast.  For anyone who doesn't know what these codes are, they look like the one below and are used to link to either text or a URL.  If you have a phone where you can download a QR Code reader application, try it out with the one below and find out which amazing promotional items site you end up at.

The Weather Channel used this new technology to display a code which links to the download page for TWC phone application.  During the broadcast, a countdown, starting at 5, showed on the screen alerting you to ready your QR scanner.  After this, the code is displayed for 8 seconds so you can scan it.  I think this is a great idea, but should probably be up on the screen for a bit longer.  I also feel like they could use the codes to link to pages about the broadcast itself.  Kind of like at the very end, the newscaster(s) could say "Miss any of our broadcast?  Maybe there's just something you'd like to check out again.  Scan the code at the bottom of your television for more information."  Or Mybusters as another example.  During every episode they tell you to go to Mythbusters.com for deleted scenes and more info.  That could also be done by displaying a QR code with a link to their page for that particular episode.

Here's a great example.  To see Best Selling Promotional Items scan the code below.

Today I came across a site called One Billion Bulbs.  One Billion Bulbs is a division of Energy Trek, a company that aims to inform people on how to use less energy in the home.  One Billion Bulbs focuses on the lighting aspect of energy saving, specifically, changing to compact fluorescent lighting in the home.  This site encourages people to replace their bulbs by providing them with energy and money saving information.  So far, One Billion Bulbs has helped to change 169,036 bulbs to CFL in the United States.  When you think about the fact that there are over 100 million households in the United States, lets say there are 10 bulbs per house (although I'm sure that number is more like 40), that means there are one billion bulbs (hence their goal) in the country.  Unfortunately, 169,036 bulbs is less than 0.02%, but that is definitely a start, and also over 37 million lbs of greenhouse gas reductions.  I enjoy seeing a goal oriented group such as this that tries to make changes to the world in small, realistic ways, and they are certainly succeeding.  I believe they should succeed even more via the use of promotional items!

Ok, here's my vison.  Mail out the following Light Bulb Stress Reliever to the selected households...

Then a week or two later mail out an Energy Saving Bulb Squeezie Stress Reliever ...

The hope is that, even though they may throw it away because it says "throw this away", it should definitely be something they will think about and remember.  Two weeks later when they recieve the next item, they'll think back to the original mailer and realize the connection.  Then they will say "oh boy!  This is the most well thought out mailer I've even received!  I'm going to go change all of my incandescents to CFL's right now!"  Perhaps that reaction was exaggerated, but I think it would work out well.

Another great way to save the world one item at a time is by the use of eco-friendly promotional products from Motivators.

Information for this blog taken from One Billion Bulbs, Energy Trek, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

I have always enjoyed advertising, especially the design aspect.  There are many things, however, about advertising that I think cross the line.  For example, some years ago, Major League Baseball was toying with the idea of advertising on patches on players' uniforms.  Sure they would make a ridiculous amount of money for it but (1) don't they already make enough money?  And (2) I don't want a baseball player to end up looking like a race car.  There should still be some old fashion ties to the sport of baseball especially in the uniforms.  Moving along, I found out that recently, KFC has decided to pay 2 towns in Indiana $7500 (maybe that's alot of money to people in Indiana?) so it could advertise for their new fiery wings on fire extinguishers and hydrants.  

I like the concept, the wings are so hot you'll need a piece of fire extinguishing equipment just to cool you down.  Just as the baseball uniforms, I definitely think that safety equipment is not something that should be advertised on.  You don't so JetBlue advertising on car airbags ... "We'll get you there faster than this airbag hit your face!"  The real item I had a problem with was the hydrants.  I wasn't able to find great pictures for this, I guess all of the decent photographers didn't want to travel to middle-of-nowhere towns in Indiana.  The hydrant appears to have a large bucket on the top and a wrap around the base.  I recently joined the fire department and one of the first things you learn is how to work the hydrant.  Step 1: Grab hydrant bag, flashlight, and radio from the back of the truck, Step 2: check that the two 2 1/2" side connections are tight, Step3: Remove chicken bucket from top of hydrant, Step 4: ....  So not that ripping a bucket off the top of a hydrant will add that much time to an operation but come on, what's next, advertising on needles in the hospital for fine top markers?  Advertising a women's brand of belts on a city bus seatbelt?

On the 12th day of Christmas my parents gave to me, a universal remote for my TV.  For Christmas this year I became the proud owner of a Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote.  Although this it by far the most expensive remote I've ever owned with an MSRP of $250, I think it's worth every penny.  Before this gift, I used 5 remotes to control my various audio and video stimuli.  My new remote controls every function of every component with ease.  On the bright touch screen, you can select actions, for example, "Watch TV."  This function would turn on the TV, set it to the correct input, turn on the cable box, turn on the receiver, and set the receiver to the correct output.  Lets say I then wanted to plat XBOX, with the push of one button, it would turn off the cable box, turn on the XBOX, and change the input on the TV and output on the receiver.  Two of my favorite featured thus far are (1) the power button on the remote turns off every component, no more using 4 remotes to turn everything off and (2) any button on any remote that doesn't directly correspond with a button on the Logitech is shown on the touch screen in full color.  You can even control the lights in the room with the proper receivers.  I'm very happy with it so far and highly recommend it.

Now lets say Logitech needed to give some push their sales.  (Ok, Logitech needed to give some push to their sales).  What better way than some quality promotional items from Motivators?  (I could make a bad advertisement and slap it guaranteed if you want me to, I've got the spare time, but for your customers' sake, for your daughter's sake, you might want to think about buying a quality product from me.)  Some great ideas for a Logitech promotion would be the Remote Control Stress Reliever or Custom Chocolate TV Remote Control.  

While watching a recent episode of Family Guy, I noticed (1) what seemed like an advertisement for Windows 7 (especially since it was just before a commercial break which started off with a Windows 7 commercial, and had nothing to do with the episode) and (2) that they had a few pokes at the Mac Operating System, which I'm assuming, was paid for by Windows.  I looked into it a bit further and found a blog mentioning a previous sponsorship of Family Guy by Microsoft which they later cancelled once they realized how innappropriate the show was.  What I don't understand is, the demographic they're trying to market to with that sponsorship enjoys the innapropriate jokes, why not continue with the sponsorship?  Anywho, on a recent Family Guy, they poked fun at the spinning balloon on the Mac OS indicating that the computer is busy  (can be viewed here).  Peter was in the middle of a sentence and he says "Oh ... oh wait a sec"  followed by Lois saying "what is that?" which Peter answered "I don't know it's trying to do somethin."

I guess the hourglass on Windows never existed?  Do Windows machines never have to take some time to "think"?  Come on, we all need time to think sometimes.  Additionally, Windows has since changed their busy icon from the spinning hourglass to a blue spinning circle ... seem familiar?  I'm not going to sit here and argue that a spinning circle is copywritten by Apple, but how can you make fun of an operating system for having a busy icon?  Since cancelling their sponsorship, I think Microsoft should invest in some great promotional items from Motivators.  Something like the Light Bulb Stress Reliever here' my vision ...

It was a brisk Tuesday night when I noticed it.  Staring at me light a bad joke from the road, like a broken ... I don't know, moving along.  I found a nail in my tire yesterday, and thanks to the full roadside hazard coverage from Pep Boys, I just needed to bring my car in and it was repaired for free.  I'm very proud of myself for not buying any useless items while waiting a half hour for my car, but I did stumble upon something that reminded me of an earlier blog I wrote about an ING Direct Promotional item.  In Pep Boys, I notices a wonderful, yellow, multi-function flashlight being sold for $19.99 (also here for $29.79!) made by Allton (to the untrained eye at least).

When you're in the business of promotional items, you learn to look beyond the print and realize a different manufacturer most likely made these flashlights and Allton simply stamped their name on it for a reasonable setup charge.  As I stated in the previous blog, this flashlight looks alot like an item we have available on Motivators.com and is custom imprintable.  We have several of these available for you to choose from such as the Leeds Dynamo Multi Function Flashlight or the Emergency Windup Lantern Radio. However, if you're going for the "Allton look" and prefer a nice stand out color like yellow, I would suggest going with the AdvaLite 4-in-1 Turbo Radio Light which features 90 minutes of lighting power after only 60 seconds of cranking, an FM auto scan radio, alarm, cell phone charger, and included batteries.  Find this and other great promotional products at Motivators.com.

Giving out a Christmas bonus to your employees?  Or maybe a holiday gift to some of your most valued customers.  Maybe you have a point system that clients can cash in for rewards.  When giving your bonuses, gifts, or rewards, why not package it inside of or along with a promotional holiday card?  We offer a wide selection of Birchcraft Holiday Cards, CD Holiday Cards, and general Holiday Cards.  Put a personal touch on your gifts and giveaways this holiday season with custom imprinted holiday cards from Motivators.com!

The other day, Google's logo was transformed into a bar code to celebrate the birthdate of the barcode.  This logo was so obscure that it made me thing of what if they introduced other objects into the logo such as ... I don't know ... a promotional item like the 11 oz Colored Stoneware Mug!  As a graphic designer, I immediately wanted to transpose this vision to the computer screen and it turned out very interesting.  Perhaps they should use it on the birthdate of the very first promotional item (I think it was a coin for George Washington's election or something). 

I also thought back to many of the logo history blogs that Anthony writes and I think it's funny that when you think about the history of the Google logo and maybe think "wow, they're been consistent with they're branding."  Well, they have, but Google is only 11 years old!  When you first think of it, it feels like Google came along with the invention of Windows 3.1.  Maybe it's just me that feels that way.  Anyway, I found that the original Google logo looked slightly different using a different font and having an exclamation point at the end mimicking the Yahoo! logo.  Less than a year later, the logo was transformed into what we know today.  Interesting fun fact, the Google logo uses a blue, red, yellow pattern in the logo, but they were sure to make the "l" green to show that Google doesn't follow the rules.  What a rebel!  

Halloween is right around the corner and nothing is more important than keeping the kiddies safe and healthy while they prepare for the sugar rush later that night.  Sure you can imprint your name on a trick or treat bag, or a flashlight, but why not make a kit out of it?  Hand out a kit complete with flashlight, hand sanitizer, and first aid kit, all custom imprinted and packaged inside a custom imprinted trick or treat bag.  My suggestion for the kit would be as follows.

1. 2 oz. Hand Sanitizer with 4 Color Process imprint - Typically, most of the Halloween candy is consumed after the trick or treating is done, but for when they want to snack on a few samples along the way, make sure their little hands are clean with some hand sanitizers.

2. Personal First Aid Kit -  The excitement of Halloween is just a bit too much for the little ones to keep themselves at a walking pace.  Add some sugar and you've got little kids with rocket packs on who are bound to get a few scrapes and bruises from an uneven sidewalk or walking up steps.  Be prepared for when they fall with this first aid kit and they will be back to trick or treating in no time.

3. AdvaLite Light Saver 2AA Krypton Flashlight - light your way while following the kids along their halloween adventure.  This krypton flashlight will light your way to an enjoyable holiday.

4. McGruff Plastic Halloween Bags - A no brainer for this one-of-a-kind Halloween kit.  The bag will nicely package the rest of the items in this kit and will also provide the kids with a place to keep their halloween candy.

If this kit isn't precisely what you're looking for, check out the rest of our promotional Halloween products on Motivators.com.  Happy Halloween!