Are you ready for square beverage bottles? Turns out the square-sided sports bottle is so much more than eye-catching.

• Square bottles actually hold more liquid than round bottles of the same height and width.
• The square shape actually allows for a more efficient use of storage space. This is valuable for both shipping and storing.
• Square sports bottles are stackable, and they don’t roll.

According to the design and environmental blog Inhabit, designer Andrew Kim developed this biodegradable concept bottle to show the impact Coca-Cola® could have simply by changing the shape of its bottle design.

This design change is coming to promotional products as well. Here’s the first example: Our exclusive PolySure Squared-Up Sport Bottle. The 24-ounce promotional water bottle comes in vibrant colors, both translucent and opaque.

The trend towards square shapes in sports bottles is still pretty new. So, be square. Your promotional items will really stand out from your competitors.

-Suzanne

While it’s been warmer than usual this winter (at least for those of us here in Oshkosh), that doesn’t mean spring and summer aren’t already on our minds.

Are you feeling like you need a break from winter’s gray skies and colder temps?  That’s the perfect frame of mind to be in when you check out the Navigator Sunglasses.  (If you’re a child of the 70s or 80s, these sunglasses might remind you of Tom Cruise in the movie Risky Business®.)

These handy promotional products come in a wide variety of colors, with space to imprint your logo on the frame. Sunglasses like this are really big right now. They’re hot because they’re fun. Because they’re both stylish and useful, they make great giveaways for sports promotions and outdoor concerts and events.

And, even if you can’t use them right away, they’ll definitely take your mind off winter and get you thinking of sunny skies and warm-weather styles.

-Suzanne

My friends and teammates might try to tell you I have the ability to spot a promotional product from a mile away.  (It’s a career hazard.)  So, it probably wouldn’t surprise them that Kenneth Cole’s Connected Fragrance practically shouted my name the first time I saw it.

I think I was drawn to it because it shares an uncanny resemblance to 4imprint’s Lil’ Shorty Aluminum Sport Bottle – 17 oz!

Of course, I immediately began to wonder whether someone at Kenneth Cole is channeling promotional products for inspiration? Has Kenneth Cole now made aluminum high-fashion?

So, what’s the inspiration for the packaging?

Things like going green, environmentalism, outdoorsy-ness and healthy habits like drinking water are trendy among consumers and brands alike. Perhaps these things are the true inspiration for this unique package design.

And, it’s also inspiration for thinking of new uses for classic promotional products.  In what other ways could you use a sports bottle to promote your organization?
-Suzanne

Fifteen years ago, nobody used the phrase ‘financial literacy.’  Things have changed.

Now, banks, credit unions, insurance agents and financial planners talk about it, schools teach it, and there’s even a week devoted to celebrating saving here in the US.

If your organization is part of this financial literacy trend, these promotional products could you help you spread the word that saving is sweet.

Take the Action Piggy Bank… it makes saving fun.  Every time you put money in, the pig’s tail goes up.

The Box Bank will be popular with those who like simple, clean design.  This classic is available in two sizes.   This inexpensive promotional product makes a great giveaway for both adults and families.

If saving for a mid-winter getaway is what you’d like to promote, check out the Globe Bank.  The novel shape and fresh colors make this bank eye-catching.

Happy savings!
-Suzanne

PS – Looking for more information on America Saves Week?  Visit http://www.americasavesweek.org/.

If you know Carhartt, you know how durable, long-lasting and tough their clothes are.  The 120-year-old company built its reputation manufacturing clothing that was made to last.

Here’s a little piece of trivia from the company’s website: Did you know that Carhartt founder added an extra ‘t’ to his last name, just to make his product stand out a bit more?  It worked then and it continues to work today.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with Carhartt to add jackets to our product line.

The Duck Detroit Jacket Blanket Lined is one of five Carhartt products in our range, which includes jackets, sweatshirts and even a Carhartt Acrylic Knit Hat.

These promotional products are the perfect work wear for employees in manufacturing, construction or other industries where durability and toughness are essential.  That’s why they make great year-end thank you gifts for employees.

Looking for ideas about which product will best suit your hard-working employees or customers? Follow Carhartt’s Everyday Icon campaign (appearing this October on the company’s Facebook(sm) page) that will highlight real working men and women who rely on Carhartt.

-Suzanne

PS – Embroidery is easy on products like the Carhartt Duck Detroit Jacket.  The product price includes embroidery in the imprint area shown and there is no extra charge for larger sizes.  Best of all you can mix and match colors and styles.  And, our tape charge is FREE for orders of 24 or more.

Like to keep a pad of paper near your computer – so you can jot down a note or two?

You’re not alone.

One of our top-selling products is a dual-purpose pad of paper that doubles as a mouse pad.  This has been a popular promotional product for years.  We’ve recently introduced some great new designs.

When it’s time to take a mental break, this pad of paper is ready.  The Take a Break Notepad Mouse Pad left column is labeled ‘WORK’ and has space to make notes.  The right column is labeled ‘TAKE A BREAK’ and has six different brain teasers, including a maze and two tic-tac-toe boards.

Prefer to get your customers dreaming about a city skyline?  The Cityscape Notepad Mouse Pad is the perfect desktop accessory to keep that dream top-of-mind.

If your customers fall into the notes and doodles camp, they’ll love this whimsical office theme of the Paper Clip Notepad Mouse Pad.  Each sheet looks like a three-ring notebook sheet. Paperclips imprinted on the top left corner add a fun touch.

These designs are so fun your customers will likely be on the lookout for refills!

-Suzanne

Sometimes it is just about the unexpected, the surprise.

That’s what this nice parcel from hotels.com was… a nice surprise. 

As someone that travels quite a lot, I’m a frequent customer of theirs and part of their FIVESTAR loyalty program. That said, I’m a good customer to several travel companies but don’t think I’ve ever had a real thank you gift from anyone else. (Plastic cards and miles don’t count!)

Perfect for today’s travelers they sent me a TSA-sized plastic travel bag, complete with a set of bottles for toiletries, etc.

The gift is useful, but I’ll remember this more for the fact that it was unexpected and made me feel that they valued my business – even though an organization like theirs probably has hundreds of thousands of customers. How very unexpected.
-Suzanne

Looking for a cool calendar? 

Check out our new Seasons Across America Calendar.  One of my teammates, Michelle, and I took this 2012 promotional calendar from idea to reality, developing the concept (amazing landscapes), hand-selecting all of the photos and overseeing the production process.

We chose landscapes for this calendar because they are always a winner in promotional calendars.  They’re perennial favorites because everyone loves having a beautiful outdoor landscape to look at – no matter the industry or setting they work in.   

Knowing how popular landscapes are made selecting the photos to use a true labor of love. 

We spent hours poring over photos of some of the most beautiful spots in this country, ultimately selecting scenes from a variety of states, showcasing different seasons and highlighting different geographic features.

Michelle and I have our favorite photos – and I can’t wait to hear about yours.
-Suzanne

Meet Project Buddy.

Project Buddy is a 5 x 7 notebook that comes fully equipped for project work.

The idea for Project Buddy came from our best-selling Pocket Buddy – a promotional notebook with a re-sealable pouch at the back.  Like Pocket Buddy, it includes a great imprint space on the notebook’s cover.  But, Project Buddy also includes a re-sealable plastic pouch at the back with a pen, paper clips and sticky flags.  And, the three-pocket pouch has space for toting anything else that might be needed to see a project through to completion.

This is one of the most useful promotional items we’ve designed!  There are so many different ways you could use Project Buddy.

• Give Project Buddy to project teams during project kick-off meetings.
• Hand this promotional notebook out to college first-year students during orientation.
• Provide these promotional products to employee wellness groups to track nutrition and exercise.
• Include this giveaway with conference materials so attendees can easily track notes, business cards and other materials in one convenient location.

The potential uses are almost endless.  What other ideas do you have?

-Suzanne

Recently, I ordered something from Boden.
A British clothing retailer, Boden is very design-oriented and that shows up in every detail, including their packaging.  (Boden also operates here in the US.  Check out their site at www.Bodenusa.com.)

When I opened this recent order, I was surprised to find a little something extra.  Inside was a thank you gift, a notebook with a little note on the back that read:

“This is a small thank you for your order.  We hope it comes in handy.”

Now, the notebook itself was a nice touch.  But, the little explanation about why it was in my package was really nice!  From a marketing perspective, it immediately eliminated any potential confusion about whether the notebook was shipped with the wrong order.  I could immediately tell that it was meant for me, as a thank you.

If you’d like to ship a little thank you gift with your orders or include them as part of an in-store promotion, here’s a promotional notebook that would work well.

You can add a photo or artwork to the cover of the Full Color Memo Book along with your logo.  You could even add a little saying on the back of these handy promotional products, thanking your customers for their business.

Have you ever gotten a memorable thank you gift from a business?  If so, I’d love to hear about it.

-Suzanne

PS – If you’re looking for more “thank you” inspiration, take a look in our Thank You Store at http://www.4imprint.com/group/138/Thank-You-Gifts-for-Customers. We’ve pulled together some great products you can use to say ‘thank you’ to your customers.