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.

I figured I’d begin my first official blog post with a brief introduction. I am the primary product copywriter for the  US 4imprint website. Writing is my greatest pleasure in and outside of work. I am also a health and fitness buff, so I’m sure that will shine through in my writing from time to time. I figured I’d start things off with an insider look into my own personal store of promotional items that I use on a regular basis.

I love this cotton botanical print tote. I keep one in my cubby at work for quick runs to the library or drugstore on my lunch break. I love a reusable shopping bag with a little bit of personality.

I also get really good use out of my Sportline heart rate watch. It lets me know when I’m “in-the-zone” to maximize my workouts. See, I told you I was a fitness fanatic!

Finally, I enjoy walking to work whenever I can, so I keep one snazzy Expressions Umbrella at work and one at home, just in case the weather takes a turn during the workday. I enjoy the cheerful colors, so I have one in red and one in navy.

Check back regularly for more great advertising ideas and creative promotional applications. I look forward to your visits!

Our local YMCA hosts a Corporate Cup challenge each year.  Area companies form teams and compete in a variety of events to encourage health, fitness,   sportsmanship, teamwork – and fun!

The events  include the typical games like soccer, volleyball, swimming, and basketball – but also include ‘human curling’, kickball (in the snow!), extreme fitness challenges, endurance and even a scavenger hunt.

It really is a great event, and promotional products definitely play a role. Every team sports custom t-shirts with a team ‘theme’ and it’s not uncommon to see a logo’d sport bottle or imprinted sportpack as well!

Thanks to all on our team and everyone that we competed with for a fun Saturday. Here’s a picture from the event, featuring a old guy who looks quite a bit like me pulling every muscle in his body. I found out the next morning that apparently you use different muscles playing dodgeball than you do sitting in your cubicle writing blog posts.

Then again, I think that might just be one of the key points of the event.

We’ve just added couple of new products from the ‘To Go’ line that are perfect if your audience is a ‘bring their lunch to work’ crowd (and who isn’t  these days?!) or as part of a  healthy eating and wellness program.

There’s one for salad and one for cereal (my personal favorite), they’re sturdy and each feature a way to keep cold stuff cold (freezable trays or compartments) and dry stuff away from the wet – brown bagging it really CAN taste great!  These items cut down on the use of plastic baggies and wrap.  Both of these would tuck nicely in an imprinted  lunch sack or custom lunch cooler (a logo’d one is best!).

Salad To Go

Cereal To Go

If your organization promotes to anyone that is likely to use prescription medication, this is a handy giveaway to consider. Great imprint area, and very, very handy!

And handy promotional products are very, very effective.

Job stress comes with a hefty price tag, costing American businesses more than
$300 billion a year. Just how do all those dollars add up? Stress impacts our ability to perform, leads to workplace turnover, and is a direct contributor to medical and insurance costs.

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Thanks to The Oshkosh Northwestern Editorial staff for recognizing our ‘silver’ award for worksite wellness from the State of Wisconsin. We’re proud of the award and it was especially nice for our Oshkosh area folks to see it mentioned positively by others.

You can read about the program here.

We’ve added several new ‘Blue Papers’ (our version of white papers) for you on a wide variety of topics. None of them are out to sell our products – they are 100% useful, actionable content for your organization. Topics range from ‘Getting Started with Word of Mouth Marketing’ to ‘Memory Training’ and ‘Wellness Programs’ to ‘Teamwork’. We’ve got more than 40 of them out there – all free and no strings attached (won’t even ask for your email!). Many of them are available as MP3′s and you can subscribe to the podcast versions on iTunes.

Have a look (or listen!) and let me know what you think. If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover let me know that too!