Case Studies

New Product Launch

Objective - The company I was working with was launching a new product. In the past they had always printed the new product information and mailed it to their technicians that used the product. This was the year they wanted to drive all the techs to their website to learn about the new product. The product they were looking for had to be something that they would keep in front of them and remind them to check the website often for new updates. They also wanted to find a way to convey this message that was more cost effective than all the printing they used to do.

Action - The new product was in the colors of black and white. Their theme was "Relax and Renew". We came up with the idea of doing a travel tumbler. We did black tumblers with a white logo and white tumblers with a black logo. They decide to send a couple of packets of tea with the mug. Along with the mug and tea, they sent a note to each of their techs instructing them to make a cup of tea and sit back, relax and watch the tutorial they had on their intranet announcing the new technology they were introducing. On the travel tumblers, along with their logo, we printed their website information so that the techs would have it in front of them and it would be a reminder to check the site for new updates on a weekly basis.

Result - By driving their techs to their intranet for new product and updated information, they were able to cut back on their printing expenses, get the information out on a timely basis and get a higher percentage of techs using their new products. They are now launching an average of 3 new products a year and they now communicate ALL new product information through their intranet. This is a substantial savings over what they previously spent on printing and mailing new information with each product launch.

Testimonial - We have found that communicating important information on a timely basis, through our site, is a much more effective and efficient way to send our message. Our acceptance of new products by our representatives is greater than it has ever been. The travel tumblers were the start for us towards driving our reps to the site for updated information. We now send a new advertising product to each rep with each new product launch. We think that our cutting edge technology is now getting out to our representatives in record time.

Weekend Product Education Seminars

Objective - The challenge was to find an item that could fit the literature, 8-1/2" x 11" pages, given out at the seminar to educate their sales people on the new product introduction. In addition, they also requested a pen and journal book to use during their weekend classes. All items needed to have the ability to be imprinted with one or two logos, multi-colors. They wanted the imprint area to be very visible which required a large as possible imprint area. We went to our AIA preferred vendors, and asked for their recommendations along with doing our own research. We determined a tote bag of some sort would work best as it not only could hold the literature that was passed out, but could also hold a water bottle, phone, notebook, etc.

Action - One company recommended a Contemporary Carry-All Backpack that was available in three colors and had a white and black panel consistent on all three-color bags that we could imprint multi colors on. For the pen recommendation, they suggested the Shuttle Series Pen. It fit the budget and kept the look and feel of contemporary and high-tech like the new product being introduced. Another company recommended an Aluminum Journal Book keeping the same look and feel and also worked nicely with the look of the pen and the backpack. It could be multi-color imprinted as well. Lastly, all three items can be produced in a quick turnaround timeframe. This was very important as they didn't know the class size until a few weeks prior to the seminar.

Result - The seminars began in April and having been going almost every weekend since then. Not only are the salespeople happy with the items, but the client felt we accomplished all of their objectives, and met all of the deadlines given to us. By giving them backpacks which they continually carried all weekend, it helped build brand recognition and familiarize everyone with the new logo color schemes and trademarks for the new products.

Sales Team Incentive Trip Contest

Objective - The marketing goal was to increase sales during the year by offering a one-of-a-kind incentive trip to the winning department who had the largest increase in sales. They wanted to use a promotional product to spark interest and keep enthusiasm throughout the sales campaign. They needed something that was quite substantial, yet something the sales members looked at every single day. We decided on a digital photo frame, along with memory flash drives.

Action - My client wanted to 'tease' the sales people with pictures of this beautiful place each quarter that they would look at daily. Along with the pictures, they also wanted to give inspirational and motivating messages to keep the enthusiasm going each quarter. We decided upon a Digital Picture Frame & Memory Flash Drives to send out during the sales campaign. We downloaded several pictures with different views of the location, along with motivating messages onto the memory card of the digital frame. Each sales person was given the frame at the launch of the sales campaign, to be placed on their desk and turned on during the day. At the beginning of each quarter, a Flash Drive was sent to each sales individual with more pictures & more motivating words to be downloaded onto the picture frame. This put right in front of each sales person a huge 'GOAL' to work toward, and picture themselves at this beautiful location.

Result - The result was a huge sales increase each quarter from the previous year's sales results. It brought team unity and kept the sales team pumped up all year long. Sales team members helped each other to increase sales numbers and it seemed like everyone's attitude and demeanor throughout the contest was up and positive. We feel this was attributed to the positive feeling they had looking at the pictures of the trip they were working towards and with the inspiring words and motivational messages used on the flash drives that were downloaded each quarter and seen daily. Not only did they order a digital picture frame for each sales person in their company, but they purchased 3 flash drives per sales person as well. My customer was extremely thrilled & thankful for a successful sales promotion.

Branding Irons

Objective - Customer was looking for a holiday gift to thank the owners of upscale suites at the new stadium.

Action - Originally the customer was considering a food gift but the cost and the perish ability issues prevented us from pursuing this option. We instead explored the idea that we could provide a custom manufactured "Brass Branding Iron." utilizing the team's logo. This branding iron could be used to brand steaks. At the time no such product existed, but partnering with our supplier we were able to have it custom manufactured. As there was still some budget available we were able to package the Branding Iron with a wooden cutting board which we laser etched with the same logo used for the branding iron. This maintained their food theme and kept the product within the budget requirements.

Result - The customer was thrilled as this was such a unique gift that arrived in time and on budget using their brand/logo to promote their business and build good will among their customers. The thought was that this was one of the best holiday gifts they had ever provided to their suite holders. It is difficult to determine the number of impressions that were sizzled into steaks, but a unique product such as this will never be discarded. Product solution: This package provided the high quality image that this very visible sports franchise was looking to achieve.