It looks like mugs have been around as a BizGift forever. While many other promotional products come and go, mugs, quite like the pens, seem to be always in. The shapes, the colors, the designs may change, but the mugs are always around. Why is that ?

• First of all they are relatively cheap to make. The cost depends on the material (porcelain, stoneware, ceramics), the material grade, the print design, the print technology, the packaging (if any) and the quantity of mugs ordered. But it is safe to say that mugs are one of the lower budget business gifts.

• They provide large area for branding. Whether it is just a simple logo or all around photo imprint, the branding on the mug is visible. Many people keep their mugs on their office desk where others see it.

• The mugs are useful and practical gift and people usually like getting them. Mug is a gift that makes many people happy.

• Although the mugs are relatively cheap, they do not (or should not) look cheap if well made. They are a decent gift by themselves, but also a nice part of a gift set, like for example the one pictured below.

• The mugs are also mass marketing medium. Look at all the coffee brands around the world and check out the coffee shops that serve their coffee. All the coffee is served in mugs or cups bearing the said coffee brand.

How are they branded ?

The big orders are usually branded right at source in the mug factory. The most common method are the decals applied on the mug and then fired in the oven.

For smaller orders suppliers usually pick the mugs from their stock and depending on the size of the order, design of the mug and type of logo choose either the decal method, pad printing or even silkscreen.

So what to watch out for when ordering mug as a promotional product ?

• First of all, unless you are prepared to pay big money for your mugs, you need to be ready to accept, that what you get at the end may be a bit different from the sample you approved. The tooling used for ceramic mugs production usually last only one production and have to be remade every time. This may cause some differences in shape or size from order to order. The body colour of the mug may vary too. And not only from production to production but also within the same production lot. The final colour is affected by the temperature in the oven. And the higher up on the rack the mug is, the higher the temperature. Simple physics.

• Some people like to have mugs that have more than one colour. Example is the mug with spoon on the picture in this post. Outside the mug is white, inside blue. There are also designs where let’s say bottom half of mug is one color, the upper half another. This is done by dipping the mug into the ink. Try to dip anything into some liquid and see if you can manage to keep the same line every time … If you can than you have every right to complain if the 2 colour mugs you receive from your supplier do not have the perfect border between the 2 colours . Otherwise give your supplier some break .

• When you are choosing your mug, think about what you plan to print on it. Those all around prints are done on decals that are applied on the mug and fired. Only some shapes of mugs are suitable for that … Take a piece of paper and try to wrap it around the ice cream cone to see what I mean.

• Try to avoid having the mugs shipped by air. First of all, they are heavy and the freight may cost you several times more than the mug itself. Second - mugs tend to break. And the chance of them breaking is much higher when they fly then when they go on the ground. Here I am talking about bulk shipments. If you have the mugs individually boxed, they are usually well protected and should survive mailing by post or courier without to many injuries.

Enjoy your cup of coffee or tea !

Popularity: 25% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you Subscribe to BizGiftGuru by Email

Read More

I mentioned in the What are the BizGifts? post that not all BizGifts have to be branded. That is still true, even few weeks on . So should you brand or should not you brand ?

Do not worry, you do not have to feel like Hamlet, it all comes down to few points.

• What is the purpose of the business gift or promotional product ?

• What kind of gift you have in mind ?

Rule of a thumb is that for any project aimed at increasing your brand awareness you should brand the promotional products that you are making. At the end it is your brand that you want to spread around.

It is a bit different with the “gifts with purchase” that motivate people to choose your product instead of competitors’ from the store shelf. Here it is important that the gift is attractive enough for people to want it. If the branding fits well on the product, than brand at all means. But if you feel that it would look disturbing or devalue the gift, either minimize the size of your logo or do not brand the gift at all. Not everyone wants to wear T-shirt with huge Durex logo all over the chest .
Another different case would be corporate gifts for your business partners or employees. First you choose carefully the gift. You do not want to send out wrong message. Here people usually choose more valuable items. The quantities are not huge and you do not want to look cheap … Once you have the product in mind, think how would placing your logo affect the product. Some fancy products are well suited for corporate branding directly on the product, but some are not and your own branding may actually destroy the product in the eyes of the receiver. The people who get those gifts will get more from others too. They may want to pass some of them on to their family members or friends instead of keeping them. Your branding may spoil that for them. If you feel that your brand would not do too well on the business gift, create an additional packaging that will bear your brand, make use of a gift card inserted inside the package or simply do not brand at all and pass your message to your business partners in person.

Popularity: 29% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you Subscribe to BizGiftGuru by Email

Read More

One of the common problems that promotional products suppliers often encounter are unreasonable demands and expectations from clients. Do not get me wrong here, most of the suppliers will go all the way and beyond to satisfy the client. But if they find the client too troublesome and unreasonable, they will not hesitate to dump him once the project is finished (or even before).

The promotional product business is very specific and from manufacturing and service point of view much more demanding than let’s say supplying to a wholesaler or a retail chain. And add to this already complicated business an unreasonable client and you have a recipe for disaster.

The problem for a new buyer may be not really knowing the logistical, technological and budget limits. Supplier needs to explain. Here is one example:

Client:

I need a simple custom made accessory bag in a colour matching my product with 2 colours logo printed on it. I need 3,000 pieces in 25 days latest. I have only USD1.00 budget per piece.

Supplier:

We can do it in 25 days.
but

• only to produce the material in colour matching your product takes 30 days

• the minimum run of the special material is equivalent to 5,000 pieces of your bag

but

• we can buy similar but not exactly matching colour material from the market

• we can make approval sample with your logo in 3 days and email you the image for approval

• if approved immediately the goods can be ready within 20 days from today

• we can deliver to you in 25 days from today using courier shipment

but

• only the courier costs over a dollar a piece making your budget not workable. the best we can within your time frame is $1.50.

• to meet your budget $1.00 we would need at least 60 days

Now the buyer has 3 options:

1. to accept what the supplier is telling him and either go ahead under these conditions or scrap the project
2. to challenge the supplier trying to get what he needs no matter what the supplier says
3. to place the order and then begin to give the supplier hard time

You will not be probably surprised if I recommend the option 1) . In this situation it is the most sensible thing to do. But if the buyer chooses to go ahead, he should follow the rules and trust his supplier. In case of time wise tight project flexibility from both parties is necessary.

Option 2) is OK too, but only if there is time. Negotiating to and fro takes time and that is one asset that neither side has in the situation described above. At the end the client may be able to work out what he wants and get the supplier to say “OK, I can do exactly what you need in 25 days from today…” But by that time several days will have passed and “25 days from today” is no longer workable … This happens a lot, trust me …

Option 3) is the best way to get dumped by the supplier. After seeing the picture of the sample client may reject the material as it is not close enough in colour, or he gets too picky on logo details, or demands to receive the actual sample. All this while the clock is ticking and the deadline not moving. The supplier may bite his tongue and oblige telling himself “this is the last time I deal with this ****“, or he may crack and walk out of the project right away …

Popularity: 24% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you Subscribe to BizGiftGuru by Email

Read More

I touched already this topic little bit in the BizGifts and Chinese New Year Part 2 post last week, but that was the Holiday Special . The wrong timing wrecks many promotional product and business gifts projects all the year round, so let’s have a look at this project timing issue and get some “How To” hints .

There are many different factors that affect the timeline of a BizGifts project. To simplify this rather complex matter I created a BizGift Project Timeframe matrix:

• A - Normal Season / Regular Product

This is the best situation for you and your supplier. You pick up a ready in stock product from your local supplier’s catalog, supply him with proper artwork and depending on the quantity and the capacity of your supplier’s printing facilities you can have your branded merchandise between 7 - 14 days. There are many companies that these days offer shipping in 3-5 days. VIP services with only few hours to complete your order are also no longer rare (depends on where you live of course ).

• B - Peak Season / Regular Product

Here we are still talking about the products from your local supplier’s catalog. But … during the peak seasons it is more likely some items may be out of stock and depending where exactly the replenishment is it may take from few days to over a month to arrive. The other issue during peak seasons are the printing capacities. Even if the printers run for 24 hours you may still have to wait quite few days for your turn. It has to be said that the reputable and experienced suppliers are well stocked up for the peak seasons and have many contingency plans in hand, but if you do not want to end up disappointed, better order what you need before the peak season hits the fan . The production leadtimes may easily double or triple when compared to normal days and the available selection of products may be shrinking every day …

• C - Normal Season / Tailor Made Product

Not everybody is satisfied with a regular product. Some people may still like a product from a catalog, but would like to have at least its colours customized to match their products or brands. Others may want nothing from any local catalog and have their own idea. That may require either an extensive sourcing by the supplier (or by the client himself if he is capable and brave enough) or some serious design and development work, or both … You need time to source or time to develop, time to produce your approval samples, time to ship and receive them, time to comment on them, alter them, remake them, ship them again. You may approve the first sample you receive, but you may also keep commenting and remaking several times adding weeks and months to your timing. Once you are happy with sample, the production can start. If all goes well (and this can be BIG IF sometimes), your goods will be ready as planned and can ship. Ship across the globe usually … It is very difficult to give accurate number of days or weeks or months tailor made project may take, but here is an example or reasonably OK going project:

- Brief to your supplier, beginning of the process
- Initial offers from your supplier - 1-2 weeks
- Sample making - 1-8 weeks (depends on if you are customizing an existing product or developing brand new one)
- Sample shipping - 3-7 days (if mail or couriers work OK)
- Approval process - minutes to weeks (depends on customer )
- Production - usually 30 - 90 days (depends on products, quantity)
- Shipping - 4-7 weeks sea, 3-10 days by air (depends on from where to where)

• D - Peak Season / Tailor Made Product

In case of Tailor Made Products the Peak Season applies to the peak season at the point of manufacturing and shipping. The timing in general would be very similar to C scenario with an important exception of production and shipping. If you production for your project falls into the peak season and you unlucky to be a latecomer, you may face 1-3 months longer production times than normal. This may in many cases totally kill your project. To have products planned for Christmas marketing push shipped out of factory in January does not make too much sense …

The other danger during the peak seasons is shipping - shipping capacities. Shipping space is hard to come by and the higher bidder usually wins. So you may either face much higher logistical cost than you expected, or few days or even weeks in the queue for the next available vessel or flight.

When you are thinking about what product to make, think hard about how much time you have ! Tailor made products are great way to go but do require planning well in advance !

To explain what is a peak season in detail takes at least an entire post as it depends on many factors and varies from product to product. I will return to this topic very soon. Stay tuned !

Popularity: 25% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you Subscribe to BizGiftGuru by Email

Read More

Very often the entire deal between the promotional product buyer and his supplier may be over before it even starts. The reason is insufficient brief. Simply put, wrong brief results in wrong offer, wrong offer means no deal or deal with lots of troubles.

There are some products where the brief can be simple. You choose let’s say a pen from your supplier’s catalog, tell him the quantity and in how many colours your logo will be printed and you will get quite accurate quote.

The difficulties begin, when you ask for a product tailor made to your needs. Lot’s of variables enter into the picture and the more you specify the more accurate and competitive quote you will get. The moment your supplier has to guess or estimate, unless he is a suicidal kind of business person, he will always be guessing on the safe side - meaning more costly option. Why ?

For example you send over a picture of a reasonably complicated bag and ask for a price. From the picture materials can be guessed, but not really clearly and definitely not those used inside the bag that you can’t see on the photo. How to quote ? Just guess. If the supplier guesses wrong on the cheap side, he is likely to get the business because of the low price and then loose money. If he guesses wrong on the expensive side, his client will not get the deal and blame him for overcharging him … In fact the supplier simply quoted as inaccurately as the original brief was …

It is not always possible to give 100% accurate and detailed brief, but here few bits of info that should not be left out from any brief to your BizGift supplier:

• Detailed description

• Material specifications

• Dimensions

• Photos from different angles or detailed drawings or samples if available

• Budget

• Your delivery time requirements

• Branding requirements (size, technology, number of colours)

• Quantity you want to get quoted on

• Deadline for offer

There may be other details necessary for different kinds of products, but the above list is already very helpful to your supplier. Your suppliers may still ask you for more information or some clarifications - don’t feel annoyed by that. Those who come back to you and ask for more information are those who care and want to give you the best deal. Those who simply send you a price no matter how inaccurate your brief is are those most likely to get you or themselves in trouble later on.

Stay tuned to BizGiftGuru for case studies on How to brief your BizGift supplier on different kinds of products and in different situations.

Popularity: 32% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you Subscribe to BizGiftGuru by Email

Read More