Bankers Advertising

On March 29, a much-anticipated film hits the theatres: Ready Player One. Based on the 2011 nerd favorite by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One is set in the year 2044, primarily in the virtual world of the game OASIS. The premise is a typical teen adventure flick—underdog kid turns One True Hero thanks to skills that fail him in the real world, but shine under particular circumstances—but the fun of the shtick is that the main action occurs in this alternate world tangential to our own.

This movie comes at an opportune time, as virtual reality (VR) – a given, apparently, in 2044 – is just starting to explode in 2018.

The concept has been around for decades. Even before the first headset, Oculus Rift, was introduced in 2012, or the first programming language (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) was developed in 1994, the ideas took root in some of the earliest science fiction. Canadian author Laurence Manning wrote a series of short stories in 1933 called The Man Who Awoke, which include a description of a world where people can trade their natural senses for electronic impulses and program their desired “dreams.”

While we’re still just as far from those 1933 notions as we are from Ready Player One’s more ambitious concepts, VR is now firmly ensconced in our actual reality – and the marketing world is taking notice. Four years ago, the same year that Facebook purchased Oculus VR for a hefty $2 billion and Sony announced a VR headset for the PlayStation 4, Google introduced Cardboard, a holder for smartphones that creates a stereoscopic, or 3D, image when used with the appropriate app.

The low-cost design of Cardboard and the concept of pairing it with a smartphone are what really opened the world of VR up to the public, and to promotional products. Now, in 2018, there is no scarcity of similar devices ready for branding, from the self-assembled cardboard sort (Veracity Virtual Reality Headset) to collapsible versions in more durable materials (Folding Virtual Reality 3D Glasses) to a padded set with an adjustable lens and elastic head strap (Utopia Virtual Reality Headset).

No matter the price point, VR headsets are a perfect place to drive branding— and they offer a unique opportunity to pair content with product. Universities can send VR headsets to prospective students to give an immersive 3D tour of their campus. Newsmedia can add dimension to print and video content.

Luxury retailers can use VR to sell the experience that their product provides. Immersive storytelling is a unique way to explore the mission of a brand, and companies have the chance now to get in on the ground floor of this soon-to be ubiquitous new marketing trend.

Interested in showcasing your brand on a VR product? Browse here.

There’s only one of you, but together with others, you can make a difference. April is National Volunteer Month, and in 2015 (the most recent year we have data for), volunteers in the U.S. gave 7.8 billion hours of their time to various organizations across the country. If you live in Utah, you can lay claim to being first in the nation, with a whopping 43.2% of residents spending time volunteering, well above the already impressive 24.9% national average—likewise for residents of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the major metropolitan area with the top number of volunteers. Religious organizations have the most volunteers, with schools and other youth organizations a close second.

This month-long celebration of volunteers and volunteerism offers a multitude of opportunities for nonprofits and other organizations to honor the folks who support them throughout the year as well as inspire new volunteers to step in and join the effort! There’s a wide variety of options, from star awards to highlight the achievements of top volunteers to planter kits so everyone knows how much their contributions to the growth of the organization is appreciated. A t-shirt with a creative design makes a great incentive for a business promoting a group volunteer project. See some other great ideas for April below!

April 8-14 – National Library Week

This year is the 60th anniversary of this celebration in honor of libraries and librarians! Ideas include bookmarks, memo books, star stress ball, jumbo pencil.

April 17 – Tax Day

Tax day is two days later than usual this year, but it still has to be done. Ideas include: calculator, eraser, folders, mints.

April 22 – Earth Day

Founded in 1970 to raise awareness of our environment and our responsibility. Ideas: Mr. Recycle stress reliever, blossom kits, eco non-woven recycled tote.

April 25 – Administrative Professionals Day

A day to recognize secretaries, receptionists, administrative assistants, and other support staff. Ideas: photo/note holder, five-point star highlighter, hot/cold wrist rest.

April 26 – Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of this initiative to show children their parent mentors. Ideas: pens, coloring book, stuffed animals.

Our very own Brian Johnson sat down to review his top promo picks for 2018. Here are some unique new ways to promote your brand this year!

Urban Peaks® Waterproof Coolers

48 Can; 24 Can; 12 Can

These new coolers come in three convenient sizes. With our new TruColor imprint, we can now include personalization for only $1.00, and they are great items for corporate gifts or special occasions.

Journey to the Moon Calendar

This calendar features great pictures highlighting the 50^th Anniversary of the Moon landing.

Daily History Calendar

This gives historical facts for every day of the year. It’s similar in concept to the National Day calendar we all enjoyed last year.

Security Webcam Cover

This product covers the webcam on your computer, but also slides open so the webcam can be used when needed. Cyber security is becoming more important every day, it’s a great value coming in at less than $1.00.

Lip Sips Beverage flavor inspired flavors

I use lip balm every day, so I look forward to trying all the beverage inspired flavors. Lip balm makes a great add-on sale; every office should have a basket on the lobby desk with lip balm.

Junior Utility Tote

The Junior is a smaller and less expensive version of the Ultimate Utility Tote. It’s great for Farmer’s Markets or conferences.

Wind Chimes

I thought these were a very nice item—three sizes, great price points, and the quality seemed really good. It would be a dandy item for seed companies, landscape firms, hospital gift shops, funeral homes or anyone wanting to get their name hung around the home.

Our industry has become more an more on-trend with retail, and we’re having a blast selecting our top favorite promos for 2018. Read on for Molly’s top picks!

Force Wireless Charger – These are the latest craze right now. With this one you keep it plugged in while charging. It will charge up to three phones at one time! One can charge wirelessly on top and the other two can charge by plugging in. Not all phones are new enough to be compatible with the wireless option, but you can still use this by plugging in your phone. This item is also featured as one of our February Web Specials.

James Glass Bottle – Glass bottles with silicone sleeves are a big trend. The glass provides a
cleaner, better taste and is easier to clean. I like this one with the bamboo lid. The lid can also be decorated.

RFID Data Blocking Fabric Card Holder – Cyber hackers stealing your identity is still a growing threat. RFID datablocking items are a great giveaway. I like this one because it’s a small holder that’s easy to carry—it’s not attached to my phone or a bigger, bulky case.

Acadia Collection – Campfire mugs seem to be making a comeback. I have seen several suppliers adding a ceramic style to their line this year. I particularly liked this one because it follows the look of the campfire mug but with a new spin: it’s double wall, stainless steel with a slider lid.

Sunglasses – I am a sucker for sunglasses. If you are looking for a new, bright idea, check out their new Denim Print Sunglasses, Wood Grain Design Sunglasses and Tie-Dye Sunglasses. It’s time to think Spring and Summer handouts.

Illuminated Stylus Pens – Illuminated logos are one of the most popular trends in pens. I really like these two new styles: Eclaire and Moisant. Be sure you are showing illuminated pens when visiting with your customers.

Chinese New Year starts today, and this one’s for the dogs! The Year of the Dog is the 11^th Chinese zodiac year; after the pig gets its chance in 2019, the cycle starts over again. Recent Years of the Dog include 2006, 1994, and 1982.

Are you a Dog? If so, the year ahead might be a challenging one—the key to your success will be thinking before you speak and act! Still, you can look forward to success mid-April through mid-June, as well as in October and December.

Not so into astrology, Chinese or otherwise? That’s OK—you can still celebrate all things dog this year! Treat your staff and customers to something from our wide selection of items for dog lovers and dogs themselves.

It’s a perfect year for library summer reading campaigns or community summer arts festivals to embrace the “dog days of summer!” But while winter still has us in its grip, you can find ways to warm up on a three dog night.

A Cartoon Dog Stress Reliever is a great giveaway for kids of all ages, and this 6” Plush Big Paw Dog is perfect to cuddle, with a generous imprint area on the shirt. Try a Police Dog Hero coloring book for the youngsters, great for waiting rooms. A Paw Bank is an easy way for banks to encourage beginning savers to tell siblings to keep their paws of their change. And a pup-shaped Paws N Claws Magnetic Bookmark will keep your pages from getting dog-eared!

For the beloved pets themselves, help them stay cool with this H2OGO Pet Bowl. Make walks in the park a walk in the park with a vibrant Dye-Sublimated Pet Leash. A Synthetic Leather Cork Core Baseball keeps your brand high-flying during playtime. Dig into the world of agility training with a two-tone Clicker at a great price point. And your customers will never leave the house (with their pet) without the adorable bone-shaped Pet Waste Bag Dispenser.

Our desks are stacked full with new catalogs for the 2018 year, and there’s something new and exciting in each one. Our sales managers have been flipping through, and have picked out some fun, new branding ideas for you!

Rachel Manthey

Snacks Series

This is a great add-on idea to a mug. The full-color option gives a nice look to it. They’ve got some different snack gift items I haven’t seen previously offered, such as Pringles. And private-label bottled water from a key line is always great!

Zebra Fountain Pen (in pink because that’s my favorite color!)
I love matching ink pens. This is a brand-name pen with removable cap and fountain pen tip. It’s a nice pen to put with a journal for women’s events or conferences.

Natural Hammock

Longing for summer days right now to curl up in one of these!

Natural Hammock Swing

A very unique item, that I haven’t seen elsewhere. Great alternative to the fold up chairs.

Melanie Lamb

Green Thumb Flower Pot Bluetooth^® Speaker

You can fill this speaker with fresh flowers, touch each flower, and hear a different sound. You can also set it so each flower you touch causes the band of light to change to a different color. There is a video on their website that I strongly suggest you watch. Cool and unique item.

Wifi Smart Plug

Plug this into your power outlet and connect it to your Wi-Fi; you are then able to turn the outlet on and off from anywhere with your smartphone or tablet, using an app. Forget to turn the iron off? No problem. Arriving home late and would like to turn the lights on before you enter? No problem. Nifty little gadget.

Connect Laptop Clip

Clip your smartphone to the top or side of your computer and never miss an important call. Also useful for video chat.

Erica Kelley-Gogel, CAS

Bendable Dual 3 LED Work Light with Bag Imprint

A 34” bendable steel wire wrapped in PVC that lets you shine light from any angle. The flashlight heads are also magnetic for picking up small metal objects.

Webcam Blocker with Screen Cleaner

These are really popular right now. Many suppliers are adding versions to their line. I like this smart combo—easy to send out and a great price point for a hand out.

3 in 1 COB Emergency Tool

Found in our Spring Guide, page 6, this is a very practical tool to keep in the glove box and at a good price point.

White Melamine Set

This set is four pieces—slotted spoon, ladle, slotted spatula, spaghetti fork—all practical!

ComfortClay^TM Plush Large Hot Pack

I am curious about the Ariel ComfortClay^TM, a hot/cold pad that uses a formula of clay, glycerin, and water

Brenda Thurness

Cedar Wood Phone Case for iPhone^® 6/6S Plus

This Woodchuck brand phone case would be perfect for lumber & construction companies that buy promotional advertising. There are a variety of wood finishes and iPhone sizes available. The best part? One tree will be planted for every product purchased.

Emojii Hand Fan

Great for county fairs and school activities—you can do an assortment of faces, no minimum per face (but you will have a set-up charge per face). These are in our new Spring Guide, page 2.

I’ve been looking for totes for a women’s organization and ran across the following that I really like:

Two-Pocket Fashion Tote

Non-Woven Horizontal Stripe Tote Bag

Fashionable Roomy Tote Bag

Tri-Pocket Tote Bag

Today the 2018 Winter Olympics—formally known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games—kick off in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Ninety-two nations will be participating in 102 events across 15 disciplines, up again from the last Winter Olympics: the highest number of countries ever participating in the Winter Olympics and the first time the number of events has passed 100!

Photo by Republic of Korea

The U.S. Olympic team consists of 242 athletes, 107 women and 135 men. Team USA 2018 is the largest delegation of athletes for any nation in the history of the winter games. The U.S. has been represented at every Winter Olympics since their inception in 1924—one of only 12 countries that can make that claim. We’re one of only six countries that has medaled at all of those, and we’re the only country that has earned gold medals at every one of the Winter Olympics.

These are fun statistics, right? If you’re a knowledge geek like me, it’s nice to learn these things just for the pleasure of trotting them out at parties or the chance that they’ll come in handy for a game of Trivial Pursuit. But facts and statistics aren’t what cause the Olympics to capture the hearts (and eyeballs!) of 2.1 billion people worldwide (the record-setting broadcast audience size of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi). What drives the Olympic fairytale is the same thing that drives your business: stories.

For example, did you know that Team USA has SEVEN pairs of siblings competing this year? Many have been before, but for a few—cross-country skiers Caitlin and Scott Patterson and Logan and Reese Hanneman and curlers Becca and Matt Hamilton—this will be their first. The Hamiltons are Team USA’s first ever mixed doubles curling competitors. And one of the sibling pairs is a set of identical twins! Ice hockey players Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (a forward) and Monique Lamoureux-Morando (a defender) each have twin sets of silver medals to match, too, from Sochi 2014 and Vancouver 2010.

Or the stories of Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, and Akuoma Omeoga, three Nigerian-American women (born and raised in Illinois, Texas, and Minnesota, respectively) who will be representing Nigeria on that country’s—and Africa’s!—first ever Olympic bobsled team. They’re the subject of an ESPN documentary, Fast Tracked, that will air Feb. 19, right in the middle of the games.

When you dive into the stories behind the statistics, you access personality, emotion, and character. These are also crucial when developing a promotional marketing campaign. What story do you want to tell? Who are the people behind the product: Who will be using it? Who will be handing it out? The wide variety of promo products available allow a multitude of opportunities for your company’s personality to shine. Tell a great story and you’ll have a win every time!

It’s almost time for March Madness… the time of year when even the ambivalent become invested in the outcome of college basketball games, and even those who actively dislike college basketball find other things (like books or superheroes) to make guesses on in brackets, because the process is just that fun. If you’ve never filled out a bracket, it’s a 50/50 choice at every branching, narrowing a field of 64 down to one winner. Your odds aren’t great, but making the picks is entertaining, whether you’re basing your choice on the skills of the players or which team’s mascot looks fiercer!

According to a 2014 Smithsonian article, “you’re more likely to die an excruciating death by vending machine, become president, win the Mega Millions jackpot or die from incorrectly using products made for right-handed people (if you’re a lefty) than fill out a perfect NCAA basketball bracket.” In fact, according to Sports Illustrated, there’s no documentation that anyone has ever done so. Yet every year, ESPN reports, some 70 million brackets are filled out. With that much fun going on, it would be madness not to brand it! Great choices include pens or markers to fill out the brackets (nothing erasable!) or basketball stress balls for when the tensions get high. Check out these other great March ideas:

Purim

Celebrate this Jewish holiday, often conflated with Halloween, with traditional noisemakers, masks, and more. Pairs well with a charitable giving campaign, in the spirit of the holiday.

Ideas: noisemakers, kosher candy, corkscrew, masks

Employee Appreciation Day

A day to honor those who really keep the company going! Remind your employees that they matter to you with creative gift ideas they’ll be sure to appreciate.

Ideas: Gifts – candle set, VR viewer, coaster set

Oscar Night

Get in on the award show fun. Movie lovers are sure to have conflicting opinions on the nominees, so give them something to agree on with these great branded giveaways.

Ideas: mood sunglasses, star-shaped chocolates, popcorn bags

National Plant a Flower Day

Indoors or outdoors, in a pot or in the ground – get your fingers dirty! Spring is right around the corner, so dig in!

Ideas: seeds, gardening gloves, mini tools, blossom kit

Pi Day

For bakers and math geeks alike! 3.1415 … no matter how many digits you can recite of this irrational number, it’s a totally rational excuse for serving up the tastier version.

Ideas: slice-n-serve pie cutter, apple pie stress reliever, calculator

St. Patrick’s Day

This traditional Irish-American holiday gives rise to parades across the country. It also often gives rise to hangovers – and it’s on a Saturday this year, so don’t forget the ibuprofe

Ideas: shamrock beads, good luck coolie, whiskey stone set, ibuprofen

International Day of Happiness

Established via a U.N. resolution in 2012, this holiday, celebrated by all U.N. member nations, is in recognition of the value of happiness to our health and wellbeing.

Ideas: emoji hand fan, superhero smiley stress reliever, smile jotter notebook

The ideas are endless. Feeling overwhelmed? Contact your Bankers Promotional Consultant to help you select the perfect item for your brand building efforts this Spring!

Happy Groundhog’s Day! Well, that dratted rodent Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter for us all. Whether you’re thrilled or miffed, we can all agree that there’s one bright side to the news out of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania this morning: There’s time for one last push of cold weather promotional products!

There are some wonderful items in our Ideas Book that you can talk to your sales partner about. Don’t forget item #3075, the Great Lakes Ice Scraper (pg. 6), for late winter storms, and the CP90 and CP90-2 knit caps (pg. 19), for staving off the winter chill. The various tumblers on (pg. 25) are always a perfect choice for holding in the heat of those hot beverages. And with cold and flu season lingering, the Hand Sanitizer Spray (pg. 28) is a must-have.

If you can bear to face the cold yourself, don’t be scared of your shadow: Get together with your sales partner and put together a plan! Punxsutawney Phil may be hiding inside, but he’s offered up the perfect “ice breaker” to get a conversation started about late winter promotional campaigns.

Well, we finally know which two teams will be facing off at Super Bowl 2018: the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. In scrolling through social media in the wake of last weekend’s games, I saw a friend post: “And I’m officially only watching for the halftime show.”  

That’s the thing about the Super Bowl, isn’t it? Even if your team’s not in it, you watch. For many people, even if you don’t like football, you watch. It’s ubiquitous. It’s unavoidable. It’s classic. And, between the game, the halftime show, and the commercials, there really is something in it for everyone.

Wouldn’t it be great if your company could make those claims?          

Well, that’s why we’re here: to help you leverage the marketing power of promotional products to deliver Super (Bowl) Successes – campaigns that are ubiquitous, unavoidable, and classic. Campaigns that catch the eye and draw people in, even if they’re loyal to a different brand. Even if they know nothing about the product.

Like the football game of games, a good promotional marketing campaign takes head-in-the-game hard work, like the players on the field. It takes a bold dash of creativity, like the halftime show. And it takes reaching out with humor and compassion for the part that people usually ignore in other contexts: the commercials, or, in our context, the ask.

So whether you’re in it to root for the Eagles (hey, the Patriots are favored, and I’m a sucker for an underdog!), to check out the Justin Timberlake halftime show, or to laugh and cry at the commercials, remember that all three work together to draw in the over 110 million people who tune in every year. Bankers is here to work hard, get creative, make that ask – and deliver you Super (Bowl) Successes every time!