Print Blog: communicate, motivate, educate, enhance, celebrate, animate, and promote with print and promotional products

Customized desk pad calendars last much longer than branded pizza

The printing revolution went edible years ago; We're all familiar with how our local supermarket bakeries can reproduce photographs on thin layers of sugar paper for cake decoration.  But printing on pizza is a brand new phenomenon.

Who'd want a company logo slapped in the epicenter of their large extra-cheese, basil, tomato and garlic pie?  Well, the NBA is betting that team-branded pizzas will be in huge demand at their concession stands, with fans eagerly coughing up an extra five bucks for a souvenir that will be inside their small instestines within minutes.

You know what advertising medium works far better than gimmicky pizza branding -- and also lasts a lot longer?

Customized desk pad calendars -- especially when they are tailored to your customers' specific industry and contain relevant job-related dates they won't want to forget.

Desk pad calendars, given away free to your most valuable clients, never get outdated.  Well, they naturally do, at the end of the year (or 15 months, depending on what you choose). But when that last month is about to torn off, your customers hopefully will be expecting a replacement from you.

Featuring your logo and contact information, desk pad calendars allow you to be part of your next repeat customer's work environment 24/7. It's not annoying and aggressive advertising, like telemarketing. Desk pad calendars are patient: they say "Hey, I'm here whenever you need me."

Personally, I love to use a desk pad calendar. I'm a doodler and a scribbler and am always frantically searching for scrap paper to jot down a phone number.  And at the end of the month -- WALLA! -- clean slate.

Check out some of these desk pad calendar designs for ideas on how to silently put them to work for you.  There's no pressure to be sexy (these calendars by another printer are really over the top). You just need to come across as helpful.

And the best thing about desk pad calendars?  Unlike printed pizza, these calendars won't burn the roof of your mouth!  No calories, either.

Desk pad calendars to die for: A timely marketing strategy

When you've been in the promotional printing business, you think you've seen it all.

Apparently, we haven't.

At first glance, using fashion models in leather dresses and catsuits to sell one of life's most unglamorous products -- the coffin -- seems like an odd marketing approach.  But the Italian premium casket manufacturer, Cofani Funebri, has been promoting its product line with eye catching calendars since 2003.

Their slogan: "Death has never been so sexy."

These unusual fashion calendars are obviously meant for decorative purposes more than business planning.  But the world of novelty wall calendars is filled with marketing lessons for any industry.

The goal of any promotional calendar is to put your brand in front of your clients' eyeballs and keep it there ALL the time.  You want your brand to seamlessly become part of their office, a subconscious reminder of who to call when they need your product or service.

In order to do that, you obviously can't force product placement upon your customers!  They have to WANT to keep your calendar around. The good news is that this does not require you to hire any scantily clad models or ask your employees to squeeze into costumes they may feel uncomfortable with.  In all likelihood, you may not want to project that kind of image anyhow.

So, how do you make a promotional desk pad calendar as desirable as possible?

Take a look at a few examples of how various title insurance and real estate companies distribute engaging free desk pad calendars to their loyal customers and prospects. Whether it be the dates for courtroom filing deadlines, closing cost rates or important phone numbers, these calendars provide one-stop shopping for the target audience's informational needs.

A great desk pad calendaris inviting and roomy, with plenty of space for scrawling down appointments, phone numbers and even doodles.  For all the BlackBerries, iPads and PDAs out there, many people still prefer to have their "To Do" list spread out in front of them all the time. No battery issues.  And if you drop the calendar, it still works!

Right now is the ideal time to order customized desk pad calendars for the fall. Early order discounts are often available and the sooner you have the calendars in hand the sooner they can start promoting your brand .

Drop us a line to brainstorm how you can take full advantage of being in your client's workspace without being the least bit intrusive.  Of course, there's not room on most desks for two huge desk pad calendars, so make sure you're there first. 

Desk Pad Calendars; prime advertising for free (well, almost)

Imagine that your favorite clients, the ones who keep giving you repeat business, gave you permission to put a giant promotional billboard in their offices -- reminding them to call you.

Well, in many cases, you not only have permission, but your advertising will be wholeheartedly welcomed.  Amazingly, you only have to pay for the billboard and not the advertising space itself!

Despite the popularity of BlackBerries and computer calendar programs, nothing keeps employees more focused than a desk pad calendar. It's more personal than a computer screen, won't crash if the power or Internet goes down, and gives you a quick visual overview of everything on your plate.

Plus, it's a giant doodle pad, giving employees a place to jot down phone numbers and password reminders (encrypted, of course) they always want to be in front of them.

This Oregon title company went one step further and gave its real estate clients a handy directory of municipal phone numbers and zip codes that are used every day.  Give away a useful promotional item to your clients and they honestly won't even see it as intrusive advertising.

Handsome desk pad calendars are mounted on thick, heavy cardboard and reinforced with durable plastic corners to keep everything neat and tidy. You can customize them with 4 color printing for much less than you might think, photographs and vibrant colors will really make your desk pad calendar stand out.

So what do you want your theme to be?   This same title company's California office opted to combine American patriotism with a handy chart of their rates. First American's bald eagle logo seems to be a logical fit with the Stars & Stripes.

Customizing your promotional calendar offers a wide range of creative opportunities for layout. Check out how this title company utilized the empty calendar boxes to showcase vibrant photographs.

If you are a real estate agent who specializes in luxury homes, why not fill these boxes with some of the properties you have sold over the past year?  If you sell life insurance policies, these spots are perfect for family photos of grandparents and grandchildren, weddings, birthday parties and life cycle events.

Savvy marketers seize every opportunity to put their brand in front of their customers. In addition to reminding clients who their service rep is, Stewart Title also gives them a solid reason to want to keep this calendar on the desk over any other.  It has convenient reminders for when the courthouses are closed and monthly deadlines for refinancing.

Customers appreciate when you cater to their specific needs and don't treat them as a generic revenue source. Customizing desk pad calendars by industry makes a lot of marketing sense.

Embracing its Florida location, this agency chose to embrace a cheery disposition. But it also good-naturedly acknowledges the disadvantages of living in the Sunshine State -- especially from an insurance perspective.

The rainy months of April, May and June include reminders to check up on flood insurance coverage and tips on preparing for Hurricane Season!

Right now is actually Calendar Buying Season as many sales staffs like to hand out brand new desk pad calendars in the fall. Often you can find early order discounts for promotional calendars, which offer a phenomenal return on investment considering they provide nonstop -- but subtle and unobtrusive -- advertising for your business.

Put desk pad calendars on customers and clients desk's today and generate business and inquiries all year long.

 

 

Business printing | Using a distributor is like going to Walmart

For some reason many businesses that buy printing  think they are better off dealing directly with the manufacturer. they believe that if they are not buying direct from the factory then they are dealing with a broker and paying more.

Now the sentiment is one thing but the reality is another. with the exception of apple picking where you actually drive to the orchard and pay for the privilege of picking your own apples, almost everything you buy comes through a distribution channel that reduces the cost. Take the apple picking example: you can stop at the market (distributor, retailer, broker call it what you want) and buy a bag of apples for $5. Or you can go the direct route spend half a day in the car with the family, drive for an hour and pay $30 to pick your own. When you add in the gas and time, the cost can approach $100. Obviously you get a lot more in terms of family time and relaxation but when all you want is apples using the local distributor (market) costs a heck of a lot less.

When buying business printing using a distributor is like going to Walmart, you go to the one place that has everything you need at the lowest cost. Because there are so many different printed products all requiring specialized equipment the distributor matches your project with the best and lowest cost source to produce it. If you need document folders, custom presentation folders, promotional products, or custom stationary, the distributor will make sure each product is produced on the right equipment to ensure the lowest possible cost.

Think about it; you don't go the the ranch to buy a steak, Florida for an orange.  China for clothes and, Hollywood for a DVD, you go to Walmart where you get everything in one place at the lowest cost. When you need business printing, from custom posters to desk pad calendars work with a distributor to get all the printed products you need in one place at the lowest cost.