Did you know that the advertising balloons all kids are so crazy about go back to 1824? They were created by Professor Michael Faraday and he actually used them for professional reasons: he experimented with hydrogen at the Royal Institution in London and used rubber to make the advertising balloons.

However, when there was no rubber created yet, the concept of a balloon existed already. Children used to play with inflated bladders and used sea animals for that. Another great example was Galileo, who wanted to measure the weight of air and decided to use a pig’s bladder.

Humans are very creative and intelligent creatures. If you have a look at the balloons one can find on the market today, you realize that there is a huge variety of them: latex, rubber, and hydrogen ones etc. Lots of progress has been made in this field. What is more, balloons are more and more often used for advertising. They are an excellent promotional product used at different events. You can print your logo or text on one or both sides of the balloon making it visible to the public, in this way you personalize it according to your tastes.

As for the prices, they are rather competitive if you buy them from Euro-Logo, and they start at 0,07 per item for the quantity of 10 000.

If you are interested in making a campaign of advertisement among children and their parents, a bright advertising balloon would be one of the best means to communicate with them. You can use balloons for weddings, sporting events, birthday parties as well as at your restaurants to promote your brand name.

If you are interested in ordering personalized balloons for a special occasion you can contact Horizonsources Group, a promotional product specialist, at http://www.horizonsources.net/.

Innergift is the Dutch association founded in 2008. Its mission is to help the children from the town of Jaisalmer, located in the Rajasthan state of India. It invests primarily into the fields of  health and education.

Thanks to this association, three schools with all necessary equipment were built. Innergift also participated in the construction of the institution for blind and mute children. The expenses of one  family were taken care of by the association in order to give the chance to three kids to go to school.

Finally, Innergift looks after children’s medical follow-up.

By the way, when the full check-up took place in the association’s schools, in reward the kids got cute little personalized winnies, personalized in the name of the association. In the UK, they call them Logo Bugs. These winnies were supplied at reduced price by EUROLOGO BV, which was touched by the cause and sponsored the association.

On cloud nine, these lovely kids stuck these fluffy little things everywhere. The association succeeded at easing children’s apprehension of the medical interview.
However, it was not the end of winnies’ mission : these tiny personalized plushes were also an effective means of communication to introduce the association and its assistance to the families in the town.

If you wish to create an efficient and appealing item for advertising and supporting your cause, do not hesitate to contact a specialist in the matter:  www.euro-logo.com

Source : http://www.blog-objets-publicitaires.fr

The bpma co-exhibited alongside 8 supplier members who included: Bio Laboratories, SPS, Trade Only, Bite Promotions, I Name It, The Logo Lollipop company, Oakthrift & Dunelm Glass. Collectively over 2000 business contacts were made and over 100 product quotations were amassed by the group during the 3 day show. “We exhibited at the 2012 PSI show to develop our ongoing business with existing European contacts and to look for new business contacts in Europe. The chance to do this with the BPMA pavilion this year was a great opportunity and has certainly helped us make contact with number of potentially new big distributors in France and Germany in particular.” Comments Ian Webb from Bio Laboratories.

Through the bpma’s ATO status with UK Trade and Investment, £17,000 of government funding was awarded to the pavilion exhibitors, supporting them in their export strategy for business growth.
Ian Webb from Bio Laboratories continues to comment “The PSI Show and the BPMA pavilion as always were well organised and with the added help of the support of the additional government funding it makes life much easier for a supplier to concentrate on the important part of developing business and contacts than the worry of organising the show”

Tammy Butler from I Name it comments “This was our first experience at PSI in Germany and the BPMA and show organizers did a fantastic job ensuring everything went smoothly and went out of their way to make sure I had everything I needed. The show itself was far larger than I expected and ran out of samples and brochures halfway through day …. As long as the government funding continues to help us with the costs, we will be planning to attend each year moving forward”

1st time oversea’s exhibitor Dunelm Glass commissioned a PSI Crystal trophy in the shape of the Dusseldorf Tower to mark the prestigious Trade Show’s 50th Anniversary. This was presented to Michel Freter, Managing Director of PSI on the bpma stand at a drinks reception attended by bpma supplier and distributor members and Trade Press. Michael Freter commented “it is an honour to accept this specially commissioned trophy… i would like to thank Dunelm Glass, bpma and all exhibitors representing the UK for their support, we look forward to working with you and welcoming you to the show in 2013”

Director General, Gordon Glenister commented on the event “We have worked very closely with PSI over the last year and will continue to work closely with mainland European networks to provide a platform for UK suppliers to access and take a greater share of the European Market”

Chris Smith from Dunelm Glass says “The quality of the show itself in relation to visitors was brilliant, we spoke to many people from all over Europe and gained some useful contacts, you can never tell with these events but in terms of quality leads we have some fantastic potential opportunities to follow up with.”

To register your interest in the 2013 BPMA pavilion or to enquire about the UKTI funding contact Daniela Arena, Event & Training Manager, bpma, 020 7631 6962 or email daniela@bpma.co.uk

From the first patent in 1888, the ballpoint pen went through multiple incarnations to iron out the bugs and create the reliable, ubiquitous ballpoint pen we know today. In 1945 Gilbel’s Department Store publicized their new offering, with their entire stock of 10,000 pens, priced at $12.50 each, selling out on the first day. As demand rose, further improvements were made, and the price fell to as little as 19 cents each. By the end of the 1940s manufacturers in the US developed the Papermate pen. In France, Marcel Bich made refinements of his own, developing the Ballpoint Bic.

Today, ballpoint pens range from cheap single-use pens for student, household and ordinary office use, to luxury refillable pens that are status symbols for executives. Logo’d Gear offers a wide range of ballpoint pens suitable for any occasion.

Economy pens come in different colors and styles. The ultra-affordable Striped Stick Pen costs as little as 20 cents, and offers up to 40 characters and spaces in a single color. Retractable Solstice Super Glide Pens are refillable and come in six colors. Archer 2 Click Action Pens can be screen printed with a one-color logo for as little as 28 cents each. Beautiful Rhea Retractable Pens, with a pearlescent barrel and soft rubber grip, are available with a single color screen print for 37 cents each. Pens with distinctive looks are available in any price range.

Novelty pens start with puzzler pens, featuring a ball maze. Short pens of different styles are a compact 3 inches long. Carabiner pens hook on to stay handy. Two-in-one highlighter pens start at 54 cents each. Neck pens are ideal for folks who must always have a pen on hand. Key ring pens in multiple varieties are ideal for automotive businesses.

Rainbow Gel Gripper Pens offer vibrant ink colors that change over the life of the pen. The Shapester Ball Pen and Magnetic Clip Pen stand out with unique curves. Some pens offer shaped tops, attached sticky notes, a retractable calendar, or even a tape measure. The bendable Spring Pen is sure to attract attention. Go green with recycled and biodegradable pens. Upscale pens include brass barrels, gorgeous lacquers, mother-of-pearl and black onyx, marble, and crocodile leather that make a lasting impression. Lavish gold-plated executive pens add prestige.

No matter what the image or need, Logo’d Gear offers the right pen for the job.

Article written by Rigette Saycon

Posted by Rigette Saycon at mouseandman

As 2011 winds to a close, it’s time to start penciling in important dates on the 2012 calendar. Logo’d Gear offers a wide variety of calendars to fit every need.

For keeping a logo and contact information someplace that’s easy to find, nothing beats a magnet calendar. Simple rectangles come in a variety of sizes and proportions, in landscape or portrait orientation or standby square. Stock shapes include houses and vans. Organizations looking for custom shapes can call and talk to an experienced professional. For added value, some magnet calendars include notepads, mini memo boards, and sticky notes.

Peel-n-stick calendars are economical and offer the recipient the choice of location, and are available in shapes including barn, van, car, house, animal, and heart. Keyring calendars will never be far from a customer’s hand.

Wall calendars come in full-year or monthly styles, are available in sizes from the economical mini 5×7 to the poster-sized 22×29. Monthly calendars come stapled or spiral-bound. Photo themes are offered to fit every organization. Automotive calendars include muscle cars, antiques, and hot rods. Americana from illustrated art to agriculture, scenic to American agriculture. Animals, such as puppies and kittens or wildlife, are perennially popular. Golf, swimsuit, homes and gardens are sure to please. Thought-provoking motivational, inspirational, and religious themes promote positivity. Mouth watering monthly recipes bring branding into the kitchen.

Businesses can cater even more to their clients’ needs with calendars featuring custom illustrations. A phone call to Logo’d Gear can get the ball rolling on these welcome gifts.

Desk pad calendars are a must-have for workers in many fields. A mousepaper calendar combines style and function, and offers a fresh surface every month. Tent desk calendars really stand out.

Farmer’s Almanac calendars are traditional favorites and come in a multitude of styles to fit every need.

Striking style sets Red Moma Magnetic Perpetual Calendars apart. Photo calendar frames draw the eye, and come in traditional or digital. Cube, acrylic, and click ball styles enhance any desktop. Their lasting value makes them great gifts or rewards for dedicated employees or loyal clients. Digital perpetual calendars can include dynamic tools such as a calculator or world clock.

Of course, all of these quality calendars come with branding, and many have space for an address, phone number, business hours, and other information customers need right at hand. Logo’d Gear can help every business start the New Year right.

The meetings for promotional product, business gift and textile industry in Paris.

As partners in the publishing domain since the end of 2010, and following the merging of the European Sourcing Mag and C!mag magazines – which has since become the only trade magazine targeting an audience of promotional gift and promotional garment retailers – the European Sourcing Group and 656 Editions in 2011 are marking the start of their collaboration in the event management field through the joint organising of the Premium Sourcing exhibition to be held on September 7 and 8, in Paris.

These meetings for the promotional gift, promotional garment and corporate gift professionals will be held at Docks en Seine, at La “Cité de la Mode et du Design”. Its international influence provides an exclusive location for hosting major players in the market. In fact, on the exhibitors’ side, the organisers are expecting more than 80 key manufacturers and importers in the promotional sector and, on the visitors’ side, 1,500 to 2,000 targeted companies are expected to attend.

To ensure this new concept remains friendly, yet focused, access to Premium Sourcing will be strictly reserved for professional distributors of promotional gifts, promotional garments and corporate gifts, and exclusively at the invitation of their supplier. At the stands, they will find a selection of innovative and best-selling products geared towards their year-end  projects. In addition, the limited size of the event will ensure business relations are optimised.
Organised over a period which lends itself to preparing for the key period of the last quarter, Premium Sourcing is considered as the perfect complement to the CTCO exhibition which have, over the past 4 years, become the key trade events of the beginning of the year.

Yours sincerely,
The European Sourcing Group & 656 Editions teams.
Organisation : www.premium-sourcing.fr

Importing promotional goods is a risky activity. Purchasers are often in contact with tens of different suppliers located in developing Asian countries. To make matters worse, they often select suppliers on the basis of price alone. This is a recipe for frequent quality problems.

We have performed thousands of QC inspections on promotional goods, and we have compiled a “top ten” list of the most frequent defects:

1. Proportion of visual defects on the products

Most products are made by hand in Asian factories. The products’ workmanship and finishing are seldom perfect. And, for the Western consumer, too many imperfections are a sign of poor quality.

In nearly 30% of cases, the proportion of defects on the products is above the limits. In most of these cases, the buyer asks the factory to rework the products because they are unsellable in their current condition.

2. Labeling & marking

The logo is often the most important aspect of promo items. Yet, once the order is in production, the buyer’s requirements are not always respected. For example, the colors might be off, or the placement might not conform.

Mistakes on general labeling and on the cartons’ shipping marks are also frequent. Often times, they are printed incorrectly, or they are in the wrong place.

3. Function test

A lighter might not work, a bag’s zipper might resist normal use, or a calculator might be unable to perform the most basic operations.

The fact that a product works as intended is fundamental. Unfortunately, if you place one-shot orders and if you negotiate prices hard, you cannot assume that the manufacturer will respect his commitments.

4. Tests relative to importing country’s regulations

If you purchase sweaters for kids, did you think of limiting the length of the strings in the neck? If you buy flip-flops, did you remind your supplier that you need a composition sticker?

The European Union has developed an impressive body of directives designed to protect consumers. Make sure you respect them, or be prepared for heavy consequences (confiscation of the goods by customs, or legal action after the products are on the market).

5. Colors or general appearance of the product

The average Chinese engineer does not know about the consequences of using the wrong shade of red on your products. Yet it can be essential, in case several items from various suppliers are side by side on store shelves. This is a frequent cause of misunderstandings and disputes.

6. Inner packing

If the gift box does not look nice, has a printing defect, or was crushed during transport, the accompanying product often has to be thrown away, too. Make sure you explain this to your manufacturers.

7. Export packing

Many importers forget to define the export packing requirements. They tell the supplier “you can use your usual packaging materials”, which actually means “you can buy the cheapest cartons you find” in the hears of the factory managers.

A common procedure, during pre-shipment inspections, is the “carton drop test”. The inspector checks whether the products will be broken if a carton falls down during transport, and if the carton itself will remain closed.

8. Size & weight

It is very tempting for a factory to save on the materials used during production. For example, for a T-shirt, they might use a thinner fabric. They might also use a pattern that is a bit too small, resulting in “L” garments are actually in “S” size.

9. Drop test

What good is a pen or a key ring if it breaks the first time it falls on the ground? It gives a feeling of “cheap product” that your brand might not want to be associated with.

The free-fall test, from about 150cm, is another test that inspectors frequently perform in the factory.

10. Wrong assortment or wrong quantity inside cartons

The employees in the packing department of factories are often the lowest paid and the least trained. If they have to pack the whole order before the container arrives at 2pm, and if their working environment is a mess, the result won’t be pretty. They often will not count the pieces when they place them in the export cartons.

How to avoid receiving products with the above defects?

First, make sure you describe what you require clearly, with a drawing whenever possible. Don’t leave the choice to the factory.

Second, approve a perfect pre-production sample, and make it clear that you expect production to be up to that standard. Keep a sample for you, and send one to the factory.

Third, send an inspector to the factory to check quality. Most buyers schedule quality control after production is finished. However, if you deal with an untested supplier and you need to deliver an important customer on time, you should also send an inspector during production. This will allow you to catch the problems early and to push the manufacturer to take corrective actions.

Renaud Anjoran works at Asia Quality Focus , an inspection agency helping importers avoid the problems mentioned in this article.

Article written by Joanna Wiseberg from Canada.

A couple of weeks ago I met a colleague at Starbucks on Richmond St in Toronto for a coffee to discuss the launch of his new company. The topic of style and branding was discussed in depth and how important it is to the lifeblood of a company. We came to the conclusion that without a strong brand or unique flair, business isn’t even in the race. The logo/brand is what identifies the company every waking and sleeping moment, big business included. If the logo isn’t interesting, go back to the drawing board.

The conversation then took an interesting twist as I recalled when I started Red Scarf Promotions and my trip to Milan and Germany in 1994. At the time I was attending the Macef Gift Show and then went to Germany for the Igedo Fashion Fair Expo. I remembered how the sense of fashion, luxury, and design experience inspired me created a turning point in my career.

Red Scarf Promotions was under a year old. On the way home I knew I couldn’t keep quiet about what I had experienced. I took a leap of faith and carefully crafted my first newsletter and filled it with my European discoveries. It was jammed packed with European trends, colour forecasts, the fabric used in promotional apparel, business gifts and what Europeans value in terms of how they brand their promotions.

Needless to say the newsletter created quite a buzz and the return on this “huge” investment was fantastic. My enthusiasim motivated me to call one of my dearest clients at Bell Canada and asked her to try some coloured denim for one of her campaigns. The colours were beautiful…strawberry, grape, indigo and mustard. The phone didn’t stop ringing and as I type this blog there is a huge smile on my face. Wendy and I still discuss this from time to time over a glass of wine. We had a blast. The momentum and success of the campaign for Smarttouch Services was astounding!

As my colleague and I continued to discuss how vital the role of branding and style is for a company, I realized that over the past 9 years how much flair can be lacking in the Canadian Corporate marketplace. The promotional products industry has changed significantly in that it has become a sophisticated industry.

In the promotional products industry the selection is vast and products are looking more like retail items instead of boring, run of the mill promos. That white mug has been elevated to a whole new level and I’m thrilled about this as it makes my job easier in some respects.

The biggest challenge is trying to persuade corporate Canada to take their promotional products and “kick their flair up a few notches”. I believe the recession has had a negative and diminishing effect on our feelings of excitement for both the client and the distributor. It has been a tough road and will continue to be a long journey back but we must start feeling passion for fashion and vibrant communication again.

Safe is great but sometimes you just have to “go for flair… even if a bit cautiously!” This is the Canadian way…eh?

Article written by Joanna Wiseberg from Canada
Do not hesitate to visti her blog : www.redluxury.ca

RemaDays Europe 2012 is a unique fair event for the advertising gifts sector. Our exhibitors are manufacturers and importers of advertising gifts, suppliers of machines and the sector media. Our visitors are mainly distributors specializing in the sector of advertising gadgets and gifts, all other companies offering advertising services and advertising agencies.

RemaDays Europe is a fair open to all professionals, not only to those experienced, but also to all the other who want to invest their funds in developing this sphere of their business. The facts that the market of distributors is very dynamic and the value of their sales is variable should be particularly taken into consideration. Easy access to suppliers’ offer is a core value for both parties.

GJC Inter Media Company has been specializing in providing professional business tools for promotional gifts market companies for 10 years. The basic value of our activity is communication – we carefully listen to and analyse our customers’ needs.

There are 7 editions of successful RemaDays Warsaw fairs behind us with the number of 550 exhibitors and 11 000 visitors, and the second edition of RemaDays Kiev with 100 exhibitors and 2000 visitors. During the first edition of RemaDays Europe 2012 in Nuremberg we expect about 300 exhibitors and 10 000 visitors.

We will be honoured if you join us.
We invite you to participate in the fairs of all professionals.

Contact:

GJC Inter Media GmbH
Charlottenstrasse 68
10117 Berlin / Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 30 20 188 389
Fax +49 (0) 30 20 188 575
e-mail: info@remadays-europe.com
www.remadays-europe.com

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