Bankers Advertising

The holidays are a time to celebrate your customers, associates and employees who have contributed to your success.

Food gifts are the #1 holiday business gift. Why?

• Attention – Food gets attention. It stands out and is a universally loved item that can be shared and everyone will enjoy.
• Affordable – Food gifts are affordable for your business gift budget. Bankers Advertising offers a wide selection of customized food gifts for all price points.
• Appealing – Food is appealing. It brings people together and stirs up emotions. People are happy when they’re enjoying a treat, and your brand will be associated with those positive feelings.

We understand what it takes to deliver a superior holiday gift program – gifts that will delight the senses and bring a smile to the face of every recipient. We are happy to build a customized food gift program for you that allows you to choose your food item, price point and packaging.

The perfect gift starts here – contact us today.

There’s a chill in the air, and it’s an excellent reminder that Gift Season is upon us. But, Gift Giving is more than just picking the “perfect business gift” that will appeal to the masses. It doesn’t have to be so black and white. At Bankers, we offer more than just gifts. We can keep this season stress-free for you by assisting with three valuable services that ensure that your gifts are noticed and remembered.

Packaging

Ask yourself – is this a gift or giveaway? The first impression can set the tone of receiving the gift and emotional connection. Much of the attention in choosing gifts is given to the gift itself, but the presentation of the gift is a value-added opportunity that can’t be ignored. Packaging and presentation add value to any promotion, presentation, contribution or offering. Gift bags, custom ribbon and gift boxes will enhance the selected item and maximize the impression it leaves.

It’s important that the gifts are valued by the recipients. For example, you purchased $40 jackets for your employees. Spending an additional $0.50 for a gift bag or box is a small investment that ensures you’re are handing them out as a true, meaningful “gift” vs “giveaway.”

Search here for some lovely gift packaging options.

Bundling

With a per gift budget in mind, it’s common to begin looking for the one item that fits in the budget. When our clients ask for ideas for holiday gifts, we often suggest multiple products that make a nice bundle. With multiple items, your business receives greater exposure and value. By creating a kit or package of products, the recipients are left with many brand impressions. Bundling several items together increases the perceived value. There are a lot of neat ideas that can be paired to create a fun gift. Use a tote bag, cooler or duffel as a starting item and then add additional items such as a drinkware piece or cap to create a nice gift set.

BUNDLE IDEAS:

In the Bankers Gift Guide – we have a square colander. Use this as the package and then add kitchen utensils, pot holders, or kitchenware to create a well-designed package.

Select a hot/cold cooler and pair this with a nice knife and server set.

How about a bamboo cutting board combined with a paring knife?

The ideas are endless. Need more ideas…? Ask us!

Distribution

Distributing gifts is an element of planning that is all too often forgotten about, but it’s actually a very important part of the gift receiving experience.

Hand-delivering some of the branded gifts is an incredibly personal and authentic way to express your appreciation. Your dedication to this delivery method is super impressive and meaningful to your recipient. They won’t ever forget it, that’s for sure.

On the other hand, sometimes mailing a gift is more feasible. There are pros and cons to both. If you decide to mail or ship your gift, a hand-written personal note goes a long way. In a world of emails, texts, Facebook and snapchatting, a hand-written note intended specifically for the recipient makes them feel super special… even if it’s just a few kind words of thanks. Ask us about our packaging and mailing services!

Remember… you’re not in this alone. Rely on your experts at Bankers Advertising to help you deliver the perfect gift experience!

Our 2016 Gift Guide includes 20 pages of promotional products from almost all categories and includes many new, mid-year items, latest trendy gadgets, apparel and more. Now is the time to start thinking about how you’ll make sure your customers and team members feel extra special this year, all-the-while enhancing your brand’s power.

We feature a variety of apparel from polos, wovens, to fleece and jackets. Even though the weather is still warm, talk to your Bankers Advertising Consultant about your 4^th quarter winter apparel needs before it gets cold! We also have you covered with headwear this year. Caps are walking billboards for your customer’s brand.

Be sure to check out one of our new favorites, the #C819 PortAuthority® Pigment Dyed Camouflage Cap, which features the look of oil cloth at a much lower cost. These items are all decorated right here at Bankers Embroidery.

Here are few of our favorite items that we want you to be sure to notice.

Coast Cooler Tote from Starline

This is a neat new item that you need to see. It has an eight can insulated cooler area compartment, front zipper pocket with key holder, two slash felt lined pockets to protect sunglasses or small portable devices, two Velcro pockets, a main tote area with mesh sides for ventilation, a bottom opening for towels, yoga mat, etc. A very unique and versatile design that your end-user will be sure to love.

Koozie Hot and Cold Kooler

This is a kooler for all seasons. Can be used for transporting hot casserole, or cold desserts. Fits a standard 9” x 13” pan. Very practical item for all audiences.

Native Wooden Copper Vacuum Insulated Bottle

This gorgeous drinkware item features a neat new trendy wood design. This bottle is similar to the SWELL retail bottles and is a double wall lined with copper so has superior insulation.

Grotto Ceramic Mug

Want to try something super unique? … consider this. Matte finish body and natural wooden handle are combined with black coated stainless steel band.

Full Color Chocolates

These are a NEW item. Chocolate Inn now offers full color printing on the actual chocolate. WOW the recipients while creating a memorable gift.

Jediah Realtree Xtra® Hand Warmer

You have to check out this item! It’s a fun, exciting piece and one of our top favorites. Keep your hands toasty warm with this hand warmer.

Trends in tech accessories continue to grow at astounding numbers. From Bluetooth speakers, power banks, headphones or accessories. These items are in high demand and make a very nice gift. We have all these types of products featured in our Gif Guide this year.

Dual USB 2.0 Hub/Reader

This item doubles the utility of a single port. It accepts microUSB cards so you can transfer your files to a computer. This works well taking from phones to computer. It is also compatible with the new USB Type C ports.

We’re following retail trends and featuring hot new tech pieces to promote brands. Think of these for executive gifts, top donor gifts, board of directors, etc.

Remote Control Drone with Camera

Virtual Reality Headset

We offer promotional gift ideas for every occasion that will make a lasting impression. It’s certainly not too early to start discussing your options and your plan with your Bankers Advertising Promotional Consultant!

Click here to view our complete gift guide!

NEW this year we have designed our own Exclusive line of holiday cards! We have seven new designs to choose from.

Studies show that 80% of businesses send holiday cards. The audience is almost everyone from corporate, to healthcare and education, to hospitality and real estate.

The greetings a business sends are generally used for two purposes:

• A thank you to individuals, companies and clients with who they have an ongoing relationship.
• As a means of staying on the radar of an existing, former or prospective client.

Customers want to know that their business is valued and greeting cards are one of the best ways to demonstrate that they do indeed care and wish their customers the best. Despite being highly effective, greeting cards are often overlooked when it comes to developing marketing plans. A greeting card has the potential to do more than nearly any other marketing material in establishing and securing long-term business relationships with clients who not only appreciate your work, but appreciate you as well.

Check out our new holiday cards here.

What comes to life once a year, lives for 11 days and has over 2 million eyes?  The Iowa State Fair!

The Iowa State Fair is an 11-day celebration where over 1 million people visit each summer to eat, see livestock, take in shows of all kinds, eat something on a stick, see the famous butter cow, ride the midway rides, eat something fried, enter contests, buy campers and hot tubs, eat something else fried and absorb a small piece of what Iowa has to offer.

The internationally-acclaimed Iowa State Fair is the single largest event in the state of Iowa and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country. The Iowa State Fair, the inspiration for the original novel State Fair by Iowan Phil Stong, three motion pictures and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway musical, is without a doubt the country’s most famous state fair.

National media frequently ranks the Iowa State Fair as one of the top events in the country. USA Weekend named the event the #2 choice for summer fun in America, topping New York City’s Times Square, Cedar Point Amusement Park Resort in Ohio and Disneyland in California. Midwest Living magazine named the Fair one of the “Top 30 Things Every Midwesterner Should Experience.” The Fair is also the only fair listed in The New York Times best-selling travel book, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, and the subsequent travel book, 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before you Die.

Who knew something that most of us Iowans go to annually is so famous? I know several people that have not missed a fair in over 20+ years. I know when I was a kid, we would go almost every year. As soon as we got to the fair my parents would head toward the first place we could get a free bag to hold our potential fortune of free stuff.  There seemed like there wasn’t enough hours in the day when at the fair to do all our favorite things from the Giant Slide, Ye Old Mill, Sky Glider, Butter Cow and of course the Varied Industries building where all the goodies were.

We would leave that day with a patch handle bag FULL of pencils, flyswatters, magnets, coloring books, posters, hats, necklaces, buttons and all kinds of stuff from businesses we had never heard of.  My parents would go through the bags and take out any item they thought they could use around the house.

Today, as I take my boys to the state fair, the same holds true. They can’t wait to bring home all the free products. I, of course, now have a different perspective being in the industry but what I find fun is to watch their excitement and those around me receiving our beloved promotional products. I like to sit on the bench and watch people’s reactions – it rejuvenates me to see the kids and adults alike excited about the free handouts.

What does the Iowa State Fair, or any state fair, do for the promotional products industry?  Just take a day and walk around to see the crowds looking for their own freebies.  The fair is a chance for cities, entertainment, destinations, organizations, businesses, colleges, non-profit groups, churches, schools and clubs to advertise, show off their programs, try to attain a larger customer base, and be seen by literally thousands of consumers.

Promotional products are to be had by the thousands at any state fair.  It’s a place to see a huge variety of products and endless ideas of branded promotions whether it be T-shirts, hand-fans, yardsticks, cups, backpacks, temporary tattoos, pencils, water bottles, silicone bracelets, bandannas, totes and hats.

Have you attended the Iowa State Fair? What was one of your favorite products or food? As this year’s theme states – Nothing Compares to my STATE FAIR!

Search here for fair ideas! 

Soon October and Breast Cancer Awareness month will be upon us. Many of you will be planning a promotion to support and promote breast cancer awareness month with pink products. We know what pink symbolizes, but do you know what all the other awareness colors are? Did you know there are lot of opportunities all year long for you to promote awareness/cause events?

With 1.5 million nonprofit organizations registered in the United States, according to the National

Center for Charitable Statistics, corporations can choose from a big list of causes to support.

Teaming up with a good cause can benefit any business. It enables co-workers to unite for a greater good, and it provides valuable funding and resources to a cause in need.

Cause-related marketing is on the rise with charitable corporate giving amounting to $18.6 billion in 2015, a 3.9 percent increase, according to NP Trust. High profile corporate sponsorships are in the spotlight. For example, the Macy’s “Go Red” Campaign in partnership with the American Heart Association has raised more than $55 million.

If you are feeling inspired to support a good cause, we can help you promote internally and externally with the right promotional products. Events like walk-a-thons, 5Ks, Color-Runs, pledge drives and fundraiser dinners need promotional products to thank participants, garner attention and make the memory last. Plus, your employees will be excited to don promotional items like T-shirts and ribbons for a good cause.

We carry a large assortment of products to promote any cause. With Breast Cancer Awareness Month sneaking up on us, now is the time to plan your marketing efforts for the causes/events you plan to support. We can help them with ideas and products. We have a calendar of events that can provide you with assistance, just ask your Bankers Advertising Consultant or search here.

What can we learn from RAGBRAI? A lot about marketing and branding… that’s for sure!

shot 07/29/10 along RAGBRAI, IA. Christopher Gannon/The Register — RAGBRAI Thursday — Riders make their way out of Charles City Thursday morning on RAGBRAI. (Christopher Gannon/The Des Moines Register)

The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has begun. First held in 1973, the ride starts in Western Iowa by dipping the bike back tires in the Missouri River, crossing Iowa to the East side and dipping their front tires in the Mississippi River. It draws in recreational riders from across the U.S. and beyond.

The event is a seven-day bicycle ride across Iowa, and it is the oldest, largest and longest week-long bicycle touring event in the world. More than 10,000 riders are expected this year.

RAGRBRAI has their own shop of promotional merchandise that is promoted online prior to the event as well a tent at each host city. Registration gifts include a t-shirt, water bottle and DVD. Riders will also receive a jersey, shorts or bibs and armbands.

In addition, there are hundreds of teams that ride together, most have their own fanfare of merchandise including logoed apparel, drinkware, lanyards, stickers, etc. You see team buses with signs and people going crazy supporting their favorite team along with a variety of imprinted items to promote their group.

Another thing that makes RAGBRAI unique is that each host city has their own theme which means each town has its own promotional merchandise to foster interest in their towns, creating souvenirs and memorabilia including t-shirts, coffee mugs, can coolies, caps, etc. There are vendors set up at each city selling an assortment of products – many of which include even more promotional products.

The exciting part of this event – it engages so many people and products throughout the state and country. I was on vacation a couple of years ago on a cruise in the Caribbean and at one of the ports I saw a gentleman wearing a RAGBRAI t-shirt. I asked if he was from Iowa. He said he was from Oregon, but went to Iowa to ride in the big ride. He told me he had a t-shirt from every town he stopped in, and every time he wears them he remembers something specific about the ride and the events in the host cities.

Not only is RAGBRAI great for the state of Iowa, it’s also a testimonial of how promotional products can travel around the world telling stories, creating memories and showcasing events. Promotional products are the “Advertising that lives on.”

The Olympics provide marketing lessons that we can use when you plan your next event.

Tap into Emotions

Few sporting events can boast the emotional diversity created by the Olympics. In every Olympic Games, there are emotional stories of athletes that have conquered huge challenges to have a shot

at the gold medal. Emotional connections are also the strongest and most important that your client can create. Giving a promotional product that ties into the emotions and messaging of the event will create memories for years to come.

Sponsorships

Big retail brand names pay a lot of money to be an Olympic sponsor. Your event may not be able to attract the big Fortune 100 companies, but by putting together a sponsorship program, possibly with levels, you will offset some of your upfront costs in exchange for marketing packages. In addition, landing local big sponsors can boost the perception of the event through brand association. The premise being that if Big Important Business Brand thinks this is worthwhile; it must be worthwhile.

Think About Apparel

Each country that will enter the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremonies will wear a specific outfit that clearly identifies what country they are from. If you are having an event, staff or volunteers should be clearly identifiable. First, it makes them easy to find and second, it’s an additional branding mechanism. Also, t-shirts make great keepsakes to sell to attendees and have plenty of room for sponsor logos.

Make it a Memorable Event

The opening ceremonies of this year’s Olympics will be one watched by billions and usually have some type of big hoopla event within the ceremony. If you want your event to be a big deal, plan pre-event, at-event and post-event brand builders to generate excitement and exposure for the main event. Promotional products build memory value by giving attendees something more to reminisce and talk about long after the event.

Use Promotional Products to make your next event or promotion one of Olympic proportions!

With peak vacation season upon us, we thought it would be fun to share some more statistics and ideas for your next road trip.

Did you know?

• 870,526,000 – Estimated Road Trips Americans took in 2015
• There are 58 National Parks in the U.S.
  • The 5 most popular National Parks are:
    • Great Smoky Mountains – North Carolina & Tennessee
    • Grand Canyon – Arizona
    • Yosemite – California
    • Yellowstone – Idaho, Montana and Wyoming
    • Rocky Mountains- Colorado
  • 5 hours is the average amount of time travelers can go without needing a pit stop
  • Winding from Chicago to California, Route 66 features almost every landscape America has to offer.
  • Interstate Numbers
    • Two-digit interstates (I-90) are often the most direct routes through cities
    • Three-digit interstates (I-787) circle urban areas
    • Odd-numbered highways run north-south
    • Even-numbered roads run east-west
  • S. Route 20 is America’s longest road, stretching from Boston, MA to Newport, OR – that’s 3,365 miles of transcontinental exploration!

Before your clients set off on their next adventure, it’s recommended that they stock their trunk with these on-the-road essentials. These are awesome promotional ideas to give your clients and keep your brand traveling the country.

Blanket – Stay safe and cozy if you unexpectedly have to face the elements.

First Aid Kit – peace of mind that you’re prepared for anything

Sunscreen – even if it’s a cloudy day, the sun’s rays can still damage your skin.

Flashlight– always handy in an emergency and can be used to signal for help. Good bright light flashlight is recommended.

Rest Stop Fun – pack a Frisbee to break out at rest stops, hotel courtyards or parks. A great leg-stretcher for people and pets alike!

Wet Wipes – spills happen. So do sticky fingers. Keep clean and combat both with ease.

Smart Snacks – keep your gang going strong with water and snacks. Remember to include pets.

Breakdown Supplies – be prepared in an emergency with the needed tools. Auto safety kit is a must for the trunk.

Umbrella and Rain Coat – nothing like getting caught in the rain when alongside of the road or when site seeing.

Our expert consultants can help you put together a great road trip kit for your customers! For more ideas, browse here.

More and more, Retail Brands are popping up around the promotional product industry – going beyond the luggage and watch brands from the incentives segment. Why? Several reasons…but mostly it’s the perception of…

The perception of superior quality. If it’s been sold to the mass consumer market, it’s been more thoroughly vetted right? Consumer product safety testing and the manufacturer’s reputation ensure that the item is safe and end-users need have no fear of recalls, product failure, etc. Tech accessories such as powerbanks are a good example of an item that end users want safety testing assurance for and the idea that the product is backed by a well-known brand provides that certainty.

The perception of being “in”. Because it is found in retail, people assume that the product is in style, with the latest color, design, functionality. Bags, luggage and totes are often considered a fashion accessory. Certain brands also have a cool factor. You just feel cool being associated with them. Nike is the perfect example – whether you’re an athlete or not, Nike is an aspirational brand with a broad appeal.

The perception of higher value. Branded products have a higher perceived value, are more expensive and therefore often a more impressive gift. Recognizable brands, particularly high profile ones with major media investments and endorsements, are especially highly prized items. The branded golf category is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

Consider incorporating retail brands in your next promotional marketing campaign. For certain audiences and industries, it can be the ideal way to set your message apart. Brand recognition can be a valuable tool in building loyalty through promotional products.

Blog compliments of BIC Graphic USA.