MB Sol 0919

Mark Schmaling 414-405-9066 mark@m-bsolutions.com www.m-bsolutions.com

YOUR PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTOR

Custom Chocolates & Candies

Mugs & Travel Mugs

B

Four Color Process Tote Bags Wine Accessories

Blankets

Sequin Logoed Wearables

BEST SELLERS-GREAT GIFTS The Holiday Season Is Right Around the Corner

Leather Padfolios

Ice Scrapers

Double-Sided Sweat Shirts

USB Data Blocker

creative packaging beautifully designed

available through your promotional products distributor

Table of Contents September 2019

Featured Article: 26

Reality Hits Home

08

holiday gift ideas

16

Brand Strategy Power Your Brand

22

Smartphones Leverage Them to Reap Big Ad Results

36

Sequins

Promo Bulletproof Backpacks

Some Proven, Some New...All Are Best Sellers

HOT Look, HIGH Ad Impressions

52

Social Media for Promo

58

Tariff Report

A Critical Component You Can No Longer Overlook

On Promotional Products

HOT SPORTS GRILLS

THE PO

When TV, Radio and P advertising games in t motional Products), u chandise to help sell y was kinda of an aftert panies used Branded line of secondary line

Evaluate Connect

Not anymore.

Marketing with Promo become so mainstrea always budget for the the power of two:

The power of your Bra products.

Differentiate Position

Branded merchandise wise and you only hav brick and mortar stor will pay twice the amo t-shirt than for a no-b they are equal in cons Sneaker Branding is s settle for less than Nik

So how has this eect tional products to Bra

Perception

Much the same way.

Brand with a recogniz win-win, just like putt Hanes t-shirt. Logo a cooler with your Bran small company, that b elevate your company of ad impressions.

OWER OF YOUR BRAND

Print were the only real town (other than Prousing Branded meryour products/services thought. Many compromo products as a advertising.

otional Products has am that advertisers em. But let’s discuss

and with Branded

e is a huge seller retail ve to look inside any re to see that. People ount for a Hanes brand version even if struction and quality. so big people won’t ke or Addidas names.

ted the use of promoand your company?

If you associate your zed Brand it’s a ting your logo on that Yeti travel mug or nd and even if you’re a brand association will y’s status and get lots

It’s a fact, people will carry and use Brand names more than they will unbranded merchandise.

Combine your Brand with other Brands as a tactical asset that creates loyal customers and advocates. When you use promotional products to Brand your company you relate a clear message to the people who may want to or do use your products, your services. That message will encourage all sorts of things, like Brand Loyality, Brand Identity, Brand Image.

As we all know Brand Development is a process. It combines planning, creative development and knowing your marketplace. You build your Brand by using promotional products, authentic narratives, consistency and web-savvy marketing strategies. Here are five primary ways to build your Brand: Connect with your consumer. Find out all you can about them, build a database.

Evaluate the current status of your Brand and evaluate the existing Brand assets.

Identify your company’s position as compared to your top competitors.

Analyze your consumer’s perception of your Brand.

Determine your Brand’s advantage and offers…then capitalize on them.

Brand Loyality is the final goal...and building it with recognized Branded products is what savvy marketers are doing.

LEVERAGING THE SM PUT YOUR BRAND AT THE CENTER OF PEOPLE’S LIVES

MARTPHONE ENVIRONMENT We live in a world filled with BILLIONS of smartphones.

The question is why don’t we market to them more aggressively? After all, they are carried by our customers everywhere and all the time. (Try prying A kids phone away from them for even a minute and they will have a melt down and adults feel naked without them--LOL.) But because Smartphones are carried all the time they also can double as a way to get thousands of ad impressions, year after year.

And its very easy...there are thousands of phone accessories available to advertise your company. From Pop-Sockets to simple phone covers, you can use Smartphones to promote your brand. The cooler and more functional the phone accessory is, the more it will get used.

But, if your company has the bucks you might also consider developing a phone app that provides a benefit to the smartphone user and then support it with promotional products.

Think about it this way...EVERY consumer walks through brick and mortar stores with their cell phones in hand. Why not market to them? It’s called “indoor mapping” where your customers are guided through the store based on their analytics.

That’s happening NOW.

What’s next? Smartphones are being outfitted with a lot of sensors. And at no other time in the history has there been so much potential to mine data collection from customers. How does this work?

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 for example has nine sensors that provide a glimpse into the owner’s world. For example, the Smartphone’s GPS system provides a map of the person’s activities. So if a person is driving and there’s a traffic tie up, a marketer will be able to let them know of the traffic tie up and where they can get a great cup of coffee or food.

But it doesn’t stop there. The highest amount of data collection will come from buildings, malls, airports and other facilities. These building sensors will interact with your phone’s sensors. So if you’ve been searching the web for a particular item your Smartphone might say to you: “Hi, that 50” flat screen TV you’ve been searching for is available on the floor right above you.

Some phones will be able to judge your moods. Many companies are developing tools to measure emotions...using things like how people text as well as your phone’s camera to judge facial moods.

The bottom line: Get your logo on those Smartphones...and get ad impressions!

STOCK SHAPES

Bullet-Proof with Separate Computer Case

REALITY HITS HOME Are Bulletproof Backpacks a Sign of the Times?

The Promo Products World Answers with Products that Protect During all of the past four years that IdentityEdge.Promo has been publishing for our Buyers, we’ve never had more heated conversation on whether or not to run an article. America, as we know, is completely polarized about guns and gun control.

However, please note we are not taking any sides in this…rather we are going to do our best to try and provide an overview of what bullet proof products are offered in our industry.

Back-to-School On the bottom of the shopping list for back to school essentials this year is an item that reveals the angst felt all across the country: Bulletproof backpacks for our kids. They are being offered all over the retail world—Kmart, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and others—ranging in price from about $100+ to over a $1,000.

Is there demand promotionally?

A serious demand...and with this promo product rest assured your logo will be seen at school every day. Sad about the need for it? We are too. But it’s a sign of the times.

How did it get started? Not long ago two veteran police officers started a KIDS bulletproof backpack company because they wanted to protect THEIR children. They did so based on their careers in law enforcement and wanting peace of mind when their loved ones left the house. Look, NO bulletproof vest can stop all weapons but for some just having a little more protection was worth it.

Looking at it strictly from a promo product use perspective, there are many advantages to giving away these backpacks.

First, they will be worn every day to school—some 256 days a year for most schools. Second, since they are well made, they will last for years. Then parents will make sure their kids don’t leave without it. Fourth, you can imagine how grateful parents and students will be…and that is what the promotional products industry is all about: Creating goodwill so people will buy your products.

How big is this going to be?

Bulletproof backpacks featuring Disney Princess and Marvel’s Avengers superheroes were big sellers for back-to-school in retail stores this Summer (Disney, however, wants to pull the Princess version from the stores).

What do we know from all of this? The promotional products industry always follows retail for product trends and there are a number of manufacturers already making them promotionally.

Think about it this way, Marvel does not allow their license to be used frivolously, in fact there’s a stringent review of all products that they license. They are as serious about their licensing as the issue at hand, protecting our kids.

Bringing You the Best fo

or Over 25 Years

Stain Imaging

All Over Print

HO H

PROMO WEARABLES

OT LOOK HIGH AD IMPRESSIONS At IdentityEdge.Promo we are always looking to report on new (and old) ways to logo your merchandise and make it get ad impressions.

Well, if you’re looking for a big impact, choose sequins. The use of sequins is not extraordinary and it doesn’t cost as much as you’d think.

With Breast Cancer Month just around the corner you might want to employ sequins to accent your promo programs.

Some of us think associate sequins with ball room gowns or outfits, circa 1970. Some others associated see sequins with flash & glitz. But without a doubt sequins have made a comeback--their use has invaded the promotional products world in a great way.

But how can you use them promotionally? Isn’t the cost too high? Doesn’t production take a long time? The answers to those questions are:

Using it promotionally makes a big statement and will get you hundreds of ad impressions; people will carry your wearable because its perceived value is more.

Second, the cost isn’t high; in fact it’s a fraction of the price as compared to embroidery...definitely not more, much much less.

Last, production time is normal--two weeks including your proof.

Whoops, did we mention there are a ton of other applications for sequins including corporate signage, trade show booth signage/decoration?

What kinds of products can you decorate with sequins? According to Foxyware, one of our sequin decorators, almost anything.

From pillows, to bags, fanny packs (now called bum-packs), to shirts, sweatshirts, hats, shorts, shoes--and more--sequins make a great “upscale” logo statement.

Moreover, there are literally hundreds of applications for sequins. They “shimmer” without the aid of electricity and companies like Target have used them for indoor signage and outdoor.

Don’t forget the holidays! Sequin decorated Christmas items include stockings, Christmas tree balls, garland...you can use sequins on just about anything these days.

Ha

ppy

Ho

lida

ys

New Trend

Just before press time we saw this really great item and wanted to share it with you.

Imagine this: A sweatshirt that is reversible with two different materials and two different logos on each side.

How cool is that? It is.

The product is very well made. If there’s any product that deserves a special mention, it’s this one.

New Craze Reversable

Sweatshirts

Let’s start out books on how Promotional P got a couple o

First choose yo which Social M brand.

Second, boost employees) to

Third, post con whelm especia inform, reveal every second.

Fourth, as in li key and you ca Tweetdeck and

Fifth, PLAN! A mined, outline tent formats.

Sixth, use Has them vertically important to a more views.

SOCIAL MEDIA

IT’S CRITICAL TO USE INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND LINKEDIN WITH YOUR PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS PROGRAMS

with this: We could write several w to integrate Social Media with your Products Ad Programs...but we’ve only of paragraphs to do so.

our channels. Take time to examine Media channels work best for your

t engagement, get your clients (and o be your Brand Ambassadors.

ntent frequently but do not overally with sales messages, instead, l and entertain but don’t advertise Keep it engaging and informative.

ife, timing is everything. Scheduling is an do that using Buffer, Later, Feedly, d Hootsuite.

As your Social Media strategy is detere a process for creating types and con-

shtags but figure out a way to use y, for example, determine what is auto dealerships so that you can get

THE

We completed our re round of tariffs just a tariffs--combined wit iatory ones--threaten goods annually. But ize why there is a tar

China has been steal property for decades silently helping its co That’s one of the ma the tariff negotiation

However, according found the latest roun could increase nation by $160+ billion annu nations have levied r $104 billion in export tariffs. It all adds up ing out of control on

Reality: None of it is businesses use impo in the USA. So these new--are increasing c to US citizens.

Here’s a simple truth by the country they a rather, they are paid country that levies th penny Americans spe where tariffs have be paying for those tariff goes into the US Trea

E COST OF THE TARIFFS

esearch on the latest a few days ago. The th corresponding retaln $660 billion of traded t it’s important to realriff war.

ling US intellectual s and Bejing has been ompanies do just that. any sticking point for ns.

to the research we nd of tariff increases nwide consumer costs ually. Add to that six retaliatory tariffs on ts PLUS the Chinese p to a big mess, spiraln a world-wide basis.

s good when 66% of US orts to produce goods e tariffs--both old and costs across the board

h. Tariffs are NOT paid are levied against, d by residents in the he tariffs. So for every end on imported goods een imposed, we are ffs and that money asury.

TO THE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRY

And that includes many of the goods produced in the promotional products industry.

Based on our calculations about 65% of the goods used in the promotional products industry are imported; mostly from China. Data to write this overview was taken from the US Census Bureau and the International Trade Commission plus dozens of other articles written on the subject, including Bloomberg.

The problem remains that neither the US nor Bejing is willing to back down and its clearly anticipated that this will result in a full blown trade war that could hurt both countries tremendously. Remember, when the price of imported and exported goods go up, people/companies look to other countries for those goods. When that happens new business relationships start and people/companies are less willing to go back to their old business contacts.

So here we are on day 424, September 2, 2019, where both the USA and China are at a major stalemate. The US has applied over $660 billion in tariffs and China has $185 billion in tariffs.

That brings up another issue--the lack of a trade balance between China and the US. The US imports two to three times the amount of goods China imports from USA

companies. That’s not because USA companies can’t be competitive, its because China inhibits the sales of USA-made products.

There have been few talks scheduled recently and the talks that have been held have produced relatively few results.

What’s the bottom line with regard to how this all plays out and affects the promotional products world? We believe that these tariffs will be in place for as long as the current administration is in the White House. Tariffs are already in many cases at an all time high.

But, let’s talk about the positive. The tariffs don’t add as much money to product costs as you’d initially think. A 25% tariff is on the COST of the goods as they exit China NOT what you pay here in the USA. This is called “first cost” in the importing world. What you pay is calculated on the “landed costs” and that should not be 25% higher.

Here’s an idea of how this will effect you.

If a deluxe writing instrument has a first cost of $10 and the tariff is 25%, the first cost with tariffs will be $12.50. Then you add in freight from China to the USA (say that’s $.50 each) the landed cost is $13.00.

After the importer marks up that price, say to $17.50, that’s the price you’d pay.

Best advice, buy now.