Happy Halloween from Motivators!

It's an interesting day here at the Motivators offices. So far, Dr. Chris Turk from Scrubs is running the sales department. There's a Chicago Bull, a gangster and a cop doing graphic arts and taking direction from a Hippie. There's a Pirate running the prep department and the Director of Administration and Finance is a tree. This blog is currently being brought to you by Spiderella.

Yep, just a typical Wednesday at the offices. I'm just kidding! It's that fun day where we all pig out on chocolate and all sorts of goodies. Halloween is definitely my favorite day of the year and everyone knows it. We made sure to celebrate in the office! Everyone received imprinted rubber ducks! Three of the ducks are marked winner on the bottom and they receive a treat. We've also got plenty of other events going on throughout the day, such as Cubicle Treat or Treating. We're running a Chinese Auction with gifts that range from promotional games to corporate gifts. We've also got two mystery boxes...one's a trick and the other's a treat! It's just a fun way of using promotional products, which we have quite a lot of here!

So from our office to yours, Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Imprinted Golf Balls Help Promote Golf Club!

The recent drop in temperature around here happened quite quickly and it's impact is most definitely being felt. It's too cold for major winter jackets, but sweaters and coats are already being worn everywhere. Everyday more and more of us seem to be sporting our Motivators custom sweatshirts, which are imprinted with our logo on the front and our last names on the back. So to pay tribute to the recent freeze, I've decided to think warm thoughts in my blog. Golf thoughts to be specific.

Wilson Golf Balls decided that a great way to promote their new golf clubs, was to promote it via imprinted golf balls. The two go hand in hand. The golf balls were imprinted with a message that reads:

If found return to Wilson Staff Dd6 Driver Owner

Name______________________
Course____________________
Country___________________


The idea is simple. When the customer recieves the golf balls, it leads into a conversation about the Staff Dd6 Driver. It's not a forced conversation, it's just the next logical step after seeing the golf balls.

The DHL Pit Crew Has Some Fast Promotions!

To promote its rush service, DHL created the largest billboard in Europe. They converted the back of their warehouse into the DHL "Fast Lane". Not only is its crew decked out in custom workwear and promotional hats, but anyone passing by on the roads could see the pit crew working!

Handle with...hair?

So keeping in line with the "hair inspired" custom t-shirt that I had seen earlier this week, I found this promotional bag and just couldn't resist. The braided handles are made of fake hair, which gives it a somewhat creepy vibe. It is, however, perfect for hair care product placement!

Coasters! Who knew?

Really I enjoy coasters. I especially love the ones at Outback steakhouse that have fun little sayings, such as "I googled myself and nothing came up." We've had some very fun orders for custom coasters and a few of us have the tops hanging up. I know fellow IT dept member Sarah's cubicle currently houses a round cork coaster that says "A Nude Pig is a Rude Pig!" and imprinted mug with the Motivators logo sits on a coaster that reads "The Jackass Club: El Presidente!" Really, the amount of imprinted merchandise that I have in my direct vicinity is slightly ridiculous, but oh is it amusing! My vote today goes to Lowes for Best Way to Make Coasters More Interesting. Not only will they prevent an annoying ring on your table or desk, but you can build your drink a shelter!

Is that a Weave? No it's a t-shirt!

So one of the best thinga about the breat cancer walk on sunday was seeing all the custom apparel. People had on imprinted sweatshirts that had messages of hope and also ones that were straight to the point. My two favs had to be "Save the Ta-Tas" and "Cancer Sucks". We even had our own promotional t-shirts made for the event, but after seeing some of the ones I saw on Sunday, I didn't think I could find a better promotional t-shirt. And then I found this one. Custom t-shirts were made for sales representatives in stores to promote this hair care line which is supposed to increase hair growth. Looks a little fake, but still it's an interesting concept.

Send a Message with Promotional Mugs

The NRDC decided they wanted to send a message about the impeding threat of global warming, so they did it with a great promotional item. This promotional mug was printed with a layer of heat sensitive ink. The mug, before it is filled with water, shows the earth as it is now, with the polar icecaps protruding from the water. As hot water is added to the mug, the ink changes and the mug shows a picture of what would happen, should the polar ice caps melt. It gets its point across and it makes a statement, which is exactly what you want out of a custom promotional item.

Motivators Walks to Raise Funds for Breast Cancer Awareness!

Well, it's another Monday morning here at the office and there are a few Motivators who are a bit more tired than others. The reason? About 15 of us participated in the 5 mile Breast Cancer Walk at Jones Beach yesterday. The money raised benefited the American Cancer Society and we all had a great time.

It was an early morning, so some of us needed a Starbucks caffeine boost! Here's Art Department member Danielle proudly showing off her cup.


Here are just a few determined Motivators ready to start the walk!


Knowing that everyone loves free stuff, we came prepared. We handed out imprinted drawstring bags which went fast. The Motivators bags were being carried by several happy recipients after we handed them out by the registration table!


One of the most humbling things to see at the walk was all the survivors. We wanted to recognize them as well as all the people who were walking in honor of someone they had loved and lost. We wanted to "make some noise" for these people, and what better way to do that than with imprinted cowbells!


We handed them out in addition to the drawstring bags. The happiest group to receive them was this local PAL hockey team who posed for a picture with their cowbells! Their parents...probably not as happy! But several mothers commented to us that the cowbells would be used at the kid's hockey games!


The whole Motivators crew poses proudly for a pic before starting the walk!


After 2.5 miles, there's a turnaround to go back. At the turnaround there's a fence which walkers fill with ribbons and other pink items in memory of those that they've lost and in honor of those who are still fighting.


We chose to leave a cowbell entwined with pink roses as our contribution.


All in all, it was a great day for a great cause and we all felt wonderful after doing the walk!

Save the paper, Save the World!

That's the message that the WWF is trying to promote with their promotional paper dispenser. As the green paper gets used, the outline of the continent turns black. Thus bring about the message that if we save the paper, we'll save the world. It's a bathroom themed, environmentally friendly version of Heroes if you will. Eco friendly promotional products are definitely becoming more and more popular and they're a winning giveaway already.

Fetch yourself a winning promotion!

I'm a dog lover. I've had dogs my whole life and usually more than one. Currently, I have two and the older one (an 8 year old Shih Tzu) is obsessed with toys. He goes nuts with anything that squeaks and has recently taken a shine to the mini beachballs that we sell at work. Although he gets bored with those quickly since they don't make noise but he loves to play fetch. This is the reason I'm in love with today's blog topic! Promotional beachballs aren't the best toys for dogs, but promotional tennis balls should do just nicely! This website promoted their business (dog toys) by giving out tennis balls imprinted with their logo. Of course, this is perfect for big dogs, but I think the little ones might have some trouble getting a hold of it since their mouths are so small. You would never guess that with the amount of barking they do, though!

It's that Time Again!

So we've been bombarded with orders for promotional clocks lately. Perhaps everyone's doing some sort of daylight savings time promotion, I don't really know. While many of our customers are focusing on cheap clocks, I couldn't help but point out this interesting wall clock that I found over at Ads of The World. It's a harsh design that's very harsh, but it definitely get it's point about not shooting endangered species across to anyone who sees the clock!

Happy National Bosses Day!

I'm attributing my lack of knowing un-important world events to a lack of caffeine. Last week, I switched to tea after getting a massive caffeine withdrawl headache since having upped my usual 3 shot espresso to 4. Clearly it resulted in me being much calmer, but the things that I missed! For example, I did not know that today was National Boss's Day. Of course it's apparently deemed as a Hallmark holiday, but it's on the calendar. How have I never heard of this day? It's big enough to be on the calendar, yet I have no idea. Of course, it's clearly to late to order corporate gifts, but it's never to late to say thank you!

Wash your car!

By some odd force of nature, I bought a new car this past weekend. After being told by everyone around me that my previous car was cursed since it was involved in 2 pretty bad accidents, I felt that I needed something new. So I went with the polar oppisite of my black car. I bought a white one. And after seeing this promotion, I'm pretty happy with my color choice. Ace laundry detergent promoted their brand using the unclean white cars in Santiago, Chile.

Step one was to etch a t-shirt in the dirt on the car using a sponge. Then they placed a flyer advertising the detergent on the windshield. The flyer read "Recover the lost white." Very creative idea, but people are rather fussing about their cars. I know I wouldn't want someone touching my car. But the greatest thing is, the car didn't even look that dirty to begin with! Of course, I'm sure it will if I park next to one of my co-workers who washes his white car once a week! But for now, I'm happy!

Come on baby, light my fire!

Sometimes its best to highlight just one aspect of your business, not the entire thing. For example, Chili Club Restaurant wanted to bring attention to the fact that they have some extremely hot and spicy food. Solution: a lighter. When lit the lighter looks as if there's a woman breathing fire. It's perfect for a restaurant where people usually give out matchbooks. While lighters can be used to really light anything, it might be a good idea to pair this with a promotional ashtray.

Want a beat with that latte?

I love coffee. And I love music. So Starbucks latest promotion has brought the two together. Starbucks has a way of branding the season. In the winter, the recognizable red cup is a way of knowing that winter has arrived. Personally, I'm a big fan of the egg nog latte, so I love the red cup. They have special coffees for fall also, but it's hardly as exciting as the winter promotion. In attempt to make it just as exciting, they've coined the term "Fall has a Soundtrack". Everyday for 37 days Starbucks will be giving out a free song from an artist on iTunes. Free songs make great promotional products because everyone loves music. Plus it's a great way to get people to keep coming back!

Fresh Marketing!

So it's always a good idea to think outside the box when choosing your next promotion. Promotional products can tend to be very simple, but doing something unique with them to represent your brand name can result in a giveaway that will get people talking. Take, for instance, these clothespins. They're hardly expensive, so additional money was spent on packaging. The clothespins were put into a "sterile" package which was representative of the fact that the laundry detergent will really keep your whites white.

Rubik's Gets a New Champion!

I've never been a huge fan of the classic rubik's cube puzzle. I'm pretty sure there's math related way to solve the puzzle and I have nothing against math, but using it to solve the classic 80s puzzle game isn't my cup of tea. The Rubik's cube does have a new champion. Yu Nakajima of Japan won the game in 12.46 seconds. Add about 45 minutes to that and you've got the longest amount of time that I've gone before getting so frustrated with it I wanted to throw it out the window. I've tried several times, since we have several custom Rubik's cubes around the office, but it doesn't seem to matter since I can never get it. According to Yahoo, there was also a world record broken for solving the puzzle one handed and solving it with your feet! Makes me feel slightly better knowing that there are several others that can't evebn do it with their hands!

Grow a Billboard!

There's nothing that can compare to an absolutely fresh salad. I have one in the fridge waiting for me for lunch, actually. But there are some places that you just don't trust with fresh food. For instance, any restaurant that has been on Kitchen Nightmares, I wouldn't trust even after the Gordon Ramsey extreme makeover. So todays blog about promoting freshness comes on the heels of a friend of mine ordering a lobster roll from a street vendor at a fair this weekend. Her logic was that she "didn't trust meat cooked on the street." Yet somehow, she found seafood to be the safer decision. It wasn't surprising to me that later on, she didn't feel well. But my thoughts on fresh food recently have me questioning where I'm eating. Apparently McDonalds is a safe bet.

This billboard has the words fresh salads shown in lettuce. While we have several fonts available, lettuce is not an option. We do have several promotional products designed to promote freshness though. So you can't grow a message with your salad but maybe if you let it get really old, you might.

Prevent kitchen nightmares

Gordon Ramsey is one scary guy. His new show Kitchen Nightmares is a great one and I love that he gets so angry that the majority of his comments are bleeped out. It really makes me want to think twice about eating certain places though. The show last week, with Dillon's Indian restaurant in Manhattan was so gross. It was complete with rotten meat and everything. They should have taken a hint from this company who used a promotional bag to promote the importance of fresh food.

Visiting Card: Don't Blow It

They say you've only got once chance to make an impression, so make it a good one. This doctor's office certainly made it's mark by having it's business card information printed on balloons. Not only is it an interesting way to get the point across, but since the doctor was a chest physician the balloon was a way to test their lung capacity. While the promotion will interest the patients, the only thing that matters is whether the doctor is actually good! But the fact that he didn't go for the typical medical promotion is probably refreshing.

Election Promos!

While griping this morning over the fact that almost every road nearby is being repaved, Danielle in our art department brought up the fact that it only seems to happen when there's an election coming up. I don't know if that's actually true, but I did see election yard signs put up all over the place advertising the candidates. This is fitting because according to Wikipedia, the very first promotional products were buttons dating back to George Washington's campaign. And now you see where promotional products can get you. He's on the dollar!

Got...Giant Luggage?

Virgin Airlines is promoting this upcoming travel season in an interesting way. Giant luggage was placed next to various statues throughout London, imprinted with the words Virgin Holiday. Now if frequent fliers were sent luggage imprinted with the same logo as an incentive for booking holiday travel early or as a way of inticing them to book, that would be some fantastic integrated marketing.

Glad this wasn't my car.

So the new Razr has been talked about for some time now, and there were debates as to whether it would make an impact as big as the iPhone. Coincidentally, I spent part of my weekend wasting money on the claw machine game trying to win an iPhone which I would use to replace my Razr. Motorola anticipated this response, and decided to do a huge promotion in Russia showing just how big the impact would be. Apparently big enough to smash a Mercedes.