Promotional products work.

That’s the theme for our new 143-page e-book that profiles dozens of creative ways our customers are using logo-emblazoned giveaways, promotional items, corporate apparel and personalized gifts to:

• build brand awareness
• raise funds for a cause
• reward a job well done
• spread the word
• create buzz
• strengthen team unity
• stand out at a tradeshow

The e-book is made up entirely of ideas shared by our customers as part of their post-order satisfaction surveys. That’s one of the great things about the book – the feedback and ideas are coming directly from people who have actually used the products their talking about to achieve their goals. Business, government, education and nonprofit organizations shared a wide range of ideas.

I’m sure you’ll find an idea or two to help your organization.  Let me know what you think….we’re already working on our second edition and would love to incorporate your suggestions.

best,

-klt

PromotionalProductsWork.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2011
For more information contact:
Greg Ebel, 4imprint
920-236-7272, ext. 8396

4imprint Gives Back: Promotional Products Retailer Donates to 80 Nonprofits (and counting!) in 2011

(OSHKOSH, Wis.) – Promotional products retailer, 4imprint, donated in-kind to 47 nonprofit organizations and charities throughout the U.S. and Canada in the third quarter of 2011 as part of its one by one™ philanthropic giving program. These donations come in addition to the 113 donations already made in the first and second quarters of this year.

“These nonprofit organizations and charities do such wonderful work to make the world a better place,” explains Kevin Lyons-Tarr, president of 4imprint. “They are a humbling inspiration to us all. The one by one program is the least we can do to thank them for the difference they make each day. We look forward to partnering with many more nonprofits to do the same in the months ahead.”

The one by one program aims to help deserving nonprofits increase awareness for their organizations, reach new audiences, promote events, thank supporters and more through the use of promotional products. 4imprint has donated $80,000 worth of products to nonprofits in 2011 and more than $680,000 since the one by one program first launched in 2006.

Selected program applicants receive a $500 in-kind donation of promotional products. The program also offers a donation of free product samples to charitable organizations that may have applied but did not receive a one by one grant. So far this year, 4imprint has donated free product samples to more than 900 organizations.

4imprint is now accepting applications for the fourth quarter of its 2011 one by one program online at http://onebyone.4imprint.com. Any 501(c) 3 organization, registered Canadian charity, school or religious organization is encouraged to apply. Interested organizations are asked that applications be submitted a minimum of two (2) months before items will be needed for use. This allows time for applications to be processed and products to be delivered in time for scheduled events.

Third quarter 2011 one by one™ recipients include:

Alachua Co. Medical Society Foundation (We Care) – Gainesville, Fla.
Area Churches Together Serving (ACTS) – Aiken, S.C.
Arthritis Foundation – Charlottesville, Va.
Autism Resource Centre – Regina, Saskatchewan
Beautiful Kids Nonprofit Organization – Newport News, Va.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee – Knoxville, Tenn.
Black Hills FCU Charitable Fund – Rapid City, S.D.
Bottles N Bottoms, Inc. – Charlotte, N.C.
Canadian Association for Familial Ataxias (CAFA) – Montreal, Quebec
Child and Family Support Center of Cache County – Logan, Utah
Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) – Highland, N.Y.
Commission on Missing & Exploited Children (COMEC) – Memphis, Tenn.
Community Health and Men’s Promotion Summit – Atlanta, Ga.
Dravet Syndrome Foundation – Monroe, Conn.
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF) – Chicago, Ill.
Early Alert Canines – Concord, Calif.
Food Assistance, Inc. – Greensboro, N.C.
Greater Hope Foundation-LA Office – Los Angeles, Calif.
Gridiron Heroes – Schertz, Texas
Hunters Helping Soldiers – Blairsville, Penn.
Jonnie’s Angels Foundation – Chicago, Ill.
Junior Auxiliary of Crittenden County – Marion, Ark.
Moores UCSD Cancer Center / The ENERGY Trial – La Jolla, Calif.
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Muscular Dystrophy Canada – Toronto, Ontario
New Directions Program – San Jose, Calif.
Ocean Discovery Institute – San Diego, Calif.
Oral Health Kansas – Topeka, Kan.
Ovarian Cancer Canada – Georgetown, Ontario
Plainfield Area YMCA – Plainfield, N.J.
Poi Dogs & Popoki – Kapolei, Hawaii
Polk Soil and Water Conservation District – Dallas, Ore.
Progressive Community Health Centers – Milwaukee, Wisc.
Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) – Windsor, Ontario
Safe Homes of Orange County – Newburgh, N.Y.
Safe Journey – Fairport, N.Y.
Science With a Mission, Inc. – Sharon, Mass.
Second Chance Center for Animals – Flagstaff, Ariz.
Sisters Network Inc Milwaukee Affiliate – Milwaukee, Wisc.
Stitchin’ Heaven – Quitman, Texas
Tanana Chiefs Conference – Fairbanks, Alaska
Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation – Dallas, Texas
The Charleston Patriot Challenge – Eutawville, S.C.
Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance – Buford, Ga.
United Way of Otero County (UWOC) – Alamogordo, N.M.
Wired Safety – Wycoff, N.J.
WITNESS – Brooklyn, N.Y.

About 4imprint’s one by one™ program
one by one™ is the charitable giving program of 4imprint. Now in its fifth year, 4imprint’s one by one™ program supports nonprofits with IRS-approved 501(c)3 status or Canadian-registered charities, religious organizations and accredited schools. Since the program began, the promotional products retailer has awarded nearly a half-million dollars in promotional products grants to nonprofit organizations.

About 4imprint
4imprint is part of 4imprint Group, Plc, a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, and serves more than 100,000 businesses with its innovative promotional items throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. Its product offerings include corporate gifts, personalized gifts, custom shirts, promotional pens, travel mugs, tote bags, water bottles, Post-it Notes, custom calendars and much more. For additional information, log on to www.4imprint.com.

NOTE:  Hi, Kevin here…below is a  guest post from John, a teammate of my here at the office. It’s a post about a project he and I both love:

Making Life Difficult For Our Company President

I’m John Van Den Brandt, a National Account manager at 4imprint. You may also know me as our wildlife photographer. My wildlife images have been featured in the 4imprint exclusive Wildlife Calendar for the past five years.

As a wildlife photographer, it’s my goal to make life difficult for our company president, Kevin Lyons-Tarr. You see, every May, Kevin joins our art director and a few graphic artists in pouring over scores of my wildlife images to narrow their favorites down to just twelve for next year’s calendar. My objective is to make that task as tough as possible.

From the far reaches of North America to the grasslands of Africa, my images are the product of hundreds of hours in the field, not a few days at a game farm photographing trained animal models. (Ever wonder why that bear in some calendars looks like its fur was just shampooed and blow-dried?) Instead, I seek to capture remarkable moments in the natural world that will elicit a gasp from the review team and delight our customers when they turn the calendar page each month. Here are the 2012 calendar images:

We feature those images in a calendar that is a cut above the ordinary. Saddle stitching (no spiral), larger size and premium grade paper (25% heavier) make this an art-quality calendar that we’re all proud of.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Meanwhile, I’ll be out in the field, capturing photos that will give Kevin a headache next May.

Kayak for a Cure is a fantastic non-profit that raises money for cancer research and support. The organization was founded by a group of friends (led by Mark Starkey) in Vancouver, BC in 2006 to “have an excuse to have a great day in the outdoors with some amazing people, and be part of the solution: fund the research that leads to cures for all types of cancers”.

Early on Mark approached us about lending a hand with support and promotional products to raise awareness - and now, 6 years later the organization just keeps getting stronger. The Vancouver event (there are now events in several cities) this year raised nearly $50k and every single kayak they could get their hands on was in the water raising money.

Look for some pictures from the event in one of our upcoming catalogues. In the meantime, I love this group shot that Dennis (one of our photographers here) took.

It’s a great image of  a group of amazing people having a great day in the outdoors – and being part of the solution.

Julie, Crystal and John from our team are working our booth at the 2011 SHRM Conference and Expo (booth 2952). SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) is a fantastic organization and the show is always a big hit. Each year we have a different promotional tote bags to give away (here’s a link to the one for this year) – and as you can tell from the photo below, we go through a bunch of them!

Ever notice how often friends and coworker feel more stressed returning from vacation than when they left? Do fuel costs and lost-bag fiascoes take the fun out of traveling? Are there under-utilized attractions and organizations in your community that could use some exposure?

Here’s an idea: Why not target the growing number of households opting to stay local rather than travel to far-off vacation spots! The “staycation” concept (staying close to home for vacation) can be the perfect on-trend spin for chambers of commerce, non-profits, churches, or any community group to promote local summer events and businesses.

Community staycation events can last a weekend, a week, or all summer long and may feature flea markets, live music, run/walk fundraisers, or a even a special passport of little-known attractions right in your city’s backyard (with a prize for the most “stamped” staycationers!). These fun community events are cropping up all over, from Schaumburg, IL, to Montgomery, AL, and even across the pond in Northern Ireland !

Kick off your local staycation event with fanfare using tropical-theme promotional products to increase awareness and excitement. No one could miss a bright Hawaiian-style camp shirt on influential business owners or city administrators. The Tropical Print Camp Shirt does the trick with 8 bold pattern options and your own custom embroidery!

Build hype and spread the word about upcoming staycation events at your local farmers’ market, library, or pool with full-color reusable bags featuring a relaxing beach scene. These breezy beauties come in handy instantly to hold fresh produce, flowers, books and pool gear. Enclose a community calendar, leaflet, or events schedule inside for easy reference!

Bring the feeling of a tropical escape (or any other theme!) with classic, low-cost promotional magnets, pencils, signs, t-shirts and more by adding your own custom graphics in full color! Beachy and bright logo designs will be the talk of the town in no time!

It’s time to discover the hidden gems, local attractions, and new friends right there in your community. And you won’t lose your luggage, GUARANTEED!

Get inspired for your community’s staycation events with even more summery ideas from our Beach, Boat & BBQ or Recreation & Parks collections!

Women’s imprinted apparel has come a long way since the days of unisex uniforms and plain catch-all colors. Today, our selection of ladies’ logo’d apparel is growing rapidly and expanding style-wise.

We recently added maternity apparel, so moms-to-be need not be exempt from quality and comfort while they’re expecting.

Aside from the standard polo or button-down shirt, we also have fashion-forward styles to suit your modern dress code, especially if your branding is focused in a more trendsetting and unique direction. For example, this Soybu tunic features raw edges, a stretchy quality and a casual flowy style. The unique cotton/bamboo/soy/spandex material mixture makes a statement in itself!

Performance-wear has had some surprising advances in the last few years. Check out this sweet ladies’ polo. It practically needs bullet points to list all the features! The anti-static, antibacterial, moisture-wicking and UV-blocking qualities suit your unique outdoor or highly active working conditions.

Whether you’re looking for work uniforms, race-day shirts, or team-wear, we have something for your ladies and gentlemen!

Friday we held a ribbon cutting ceremony for a walking trail we put in at our distribution center.  The team did a great job pulling it together. It’s a 1/2 mile ‘groomed’ trail that’s perfect for getting some fitness time in over lunch or before or after work.  Folks can count the time they put in on the trail for points in our ‘Fit 4 Life’ wellness program, and best of all you you can see people spending quality time together with colleagues enjoying the outdoors. The ribbon cutting included imprinted pedometers (of course!) so everyone can keep track of their progress.