Hello,

Can anyone recommend a company for business promotional items (i.e. bags, apparel, pens, etc.)?

Thanks,
Troy

For apparel I'd recommend Queensboro (http://www.queensboro.com). Low minimums, no setup fee, quality stuff. I'm wearing one of their shirts right now. Get on their mailing list because they have some great deals occasionally.

I don't have any personal experience with promotional items, but the marketing person down the hall recommends 4imprint (http://www.4imprint.com).

There are about a million sources for these types of items. Most are members of ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute). They can run the whole gamut from a kitchen-table business that is run very loosely to advertising agencies who develop entire promotions involving the promotional items. (By the way, this is the most effective way to use promos and get as much mileage from them as possible. Unfortunately, most of the world has just relegated them to cheapo give-aways at trade shows etc.)

I used to work for BigLook Displays & Graphics (http://www.thebiglook.com) and we did promo items for customers all over the country. I remember one time even sourcing collapsible hemp frisbees for a customer!

Whoever you choose to go with, don't let pricing be your only criterion. A lot of times you can get pinched by a supplier who drops the ball at one stage or another, either in terms of artwork submission, or worse, shipping. I've known orders to be so badly delayed that they ended up being just so much garbage for the trash heap! Just make sure that your supplier clearly understands ALL of your objectives.

For apparel I'd recommend Queensboro (http://www.queensboro.com). Low minimums, no setup fee, quality stuff. I'm wearing one of their shirts right now. Get on their mailing list because they have some great deals occasionally.

How's the quality of the print from Queensboro on your t-shirt? Is it more like the really nice photo print, or is it more like a iron on that you buy from wal-mart? (I don't think it is but thought I'd ask.)

Matthew

I've never bought screenprinted stuff from Queensboro, only embroidered items. The embroidered stuff is good.

Just curious - how well does promotional marketing work for you guys? Do you give stuff (pens, note pads, etc with logo/name) to customers only or to advertise to new people (potential clients...)

Thanks!

One of the best promotional items is food. Take a prospect to lunch.

Just curious - how well does promotional marketing work for you guys? Do you give stuff (pens, note pads, etc with logo/name) to customers only or to advertise to new people (potential clients...)

Thanks!
IMHO, it is hard to make a return on that stuff, but you need a little bit of it to stay in business. I use sticky notepads, and give them to current and prospective clients (but don't hand them out on the street). I figure everybody uses sticky notepads, and so I stick around and make an impression for a while. I have yet to get a piece of business I could attribute to the notepads or the pens, but at ~$100/year, it's a small investment for potential growth.

Like Roger, I buy a lot of lunches, and a lot of coffees. I *never* go on a shoot where I don't offer to buy lunch, and anybody who I think has contacts or the potential to bring me more business, I contact a week or two later to see if they want to get lunch. Other people they know that need video *always* come up during these conversations, and I have gotten a *lot* of business from this. Plus, I love to eat!

Mike's mention of coffee reminded me that breakfasts and brunches also work. No kidding, clients and prospects like being fed. People are much more open and relaxed with a full tummy.

I'm also beginning to explore "Golf for Growing Your Business."

We just received some pint glasses with our logo to serve up our homebrew at an after-hours social next month.