Promotional Products are an important investment for business across all industries.
My family just returned from a holiday in the Hawaiian islands and couldn’t help but notice in between trying to relax and leaving work behind a familiar trend when it comes to businesses sourcing promotional products for their business.
During our 13 days touring around Oahu and other islands, the huge percentage of businesses including our hotels, restaurants, tour operators, bus drivers, gyms, 1 x medical practice, banks, bottle shops, souvenir shops, pharmacies plus others who support branded merch was an eye opener. The truth is, Australian businesses mimic trends in the US, UK plus many other countries.
Here’s a list of branded products and links that some of the below operators incorporate into their day to day operations.
Hotels
Hotel staff whether reception, concierge, dining or others would wear branded uniforms and either have a name badge, pins or lanyard, dining staff wore branded aprons and when speaking with different reception staff during the course of our stay, noticed either an aluminium or stainless steel drink bottle or Plastic drink bottle including the odd glass bottle, or coffee / tea keep cup plus the mandatory hotel pens tucked away somewhere on their desk along with the odd USB drive. Hotel lobby’s and some restaurants welcomed us with branded floor mats whilst in hotel rooms, branded Bathrobes and Towels which is not uncommon even in Australia, During visits to our other hotels and local businesses, also spotted branded post it notes, the odd notebook, branded hand sanitisers, branded non woven, cotton or the more premium jute shopping tote bags, branded beach towels which naturally also appear in many souvenir stores. As our holiday to Hawaii was during their wet season, branded rainwear and umbrellas were out and about and up at pool side and bars, branded cafe umbrellas, glasses and coasters.
In the various hotels we stayed, the clothing or touristy shops within would be selling branded cooler bags, beach bags plus totes, towels etc- again, no different to the visibility and support branded merch receives via resort destinations around Australia
Restaurants
The restaurants we visited ranged from budget through to boutique style in which some of their glassware was branded as were their cotton style aprons across many different designs from basic through to premium being worn by 3 different restaurant staff plus the odd customised chef uniforms. Name badges were worn by staff in at least 6 restaurants.
Tour Operators
Then we move across to the Tour operators in which we toured with 2 different companies and like the hotel staff, the drink bottles, coffee cups, coasters plus branded calendars , mousemats and t shirts / polos were clearly visible in offices or tour buses. Naturally these types of businesses are working in overdrive to promote their businesses thanks also to improved visibility viatheir branded merch & uniforms with the option to invest in one of their company branded souvenirs.
Gymnasiums
The gym I visited like the ones back in Sydney are all a branded merch magnet in that all visitors whether the 1 day a week through to 3 or 7 day regulars all come prepared with their plastic, aluminium, or stainless steel branded drink bottles along with branded sports towels and gym bags. Then you check out the apparel being worn by trainers or the guys and girls doing their days workout and all you see is brand name after brand name splashed across sublimated t shirts, singlets, shorts, socks, shoes, caps etc such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Under Armour plus the odd local Hawaiian branded apparel.
Banks
The bank we visited for money exchange was littered with branded ceramic mugs at work stations along with the odd Starbucks style branded reusable or disposable coffee/tea cups. The drink bottles were also spotted as were the branded apparel, name badges and so forth plus the customary branded Piggy Bank to encourage savings.
Even the bus drivers whether from tour companies or public buses may have been wearing a branded cap or had a branded drink bottle sitting near the dash with some with the odd branded umbrella. On one of our tours had a German couple wearing the Australian outdoor brand of urban outdoor packs- Caribee which they bought in Europe but the significance of my comment is that I worked for Caribee for over over 33 years who today are one of our brand name partners for any co-branded corporate opportunities. Meanwhile on one of our 9 hour tours to the North Shore of Oahu to swim at some of the worlds famous surf beaches- Pipeline, Sunset etc , my son in law plus another tourist were utilising their power banks to keep their mobile phones charged whilst a few of the others aboard would be talking to their watches. If only Dick Tracey patented this concept 85 odd years ago before Apple produced the first Dick Tracey talking watch, so Smart watches were everywhere and today we can apply your logo/s.
No trip with my family goes without a visit to the local medical centre and again, its branded merch and uniforms as many of the examples above.
All in all, whether it’s a business in Australia, USA, UK, Europe etc, its almost impossible when making an effort to let your eyes gaze around to not notice something with a company logo branded.
In short, wearing a company branded jacket for example makes us feel a part of a team with a level of responsibility that comes with being a representative of that business.
The best part is whether you’re a new or well established business, providing staff internally with something branded with your company logo doesn’t have to be an expensive exercise. At Brands in Motion its all about tailoring budgets to your briefs and offering a quality priced options no matter the product/s to suit the look and feel your business is seeking.
Branded merch for quantities as low as 100 pcs can begin from as low as a dollar for the ever popular plastic or eco pens , metal pens, pencils, highlighters, lanyards from below $4.00 (depending on material and branding required) through to Notebooks from below $6.00, caps embroidered from below $7.00, T shirts from below $11.00 with embroidered logos and decent polos below $18.00 with a logo through to Golf style umbrellas with 1 panel branded from below $19.00
The list of options goes on and on with our website hosting over 25,000 products across dozens and dozens of categories. So if your business is interested in discussing branded product options, our friendly staff go above and beyond to be helpful and transparent from beginning to end to win your business. For us its not about fulfilling just one order, its about beginning what we hope will be a long term business partnership with many transactions over the years and where possible, also build friendships.
For any enquiries no matter how large or small, please contact our sales team by emailing: info@bim.net.au or calling our generic mobile 0450 737 357 and one of our friendly staff will be more than happy to assist you.
Thanks for taking the time to read this months blog as we we say Mahalo to Hawaii for a wonderful 10 days away.