Before you rush out and buy your corporate gifts, there are some things that you need to consider. The perfect corporate gift needs to meet specific criteria and send the right message.

Brand awareness is the ability of potential customers to recognise your business when they need something you can provide. Brand awareness is something that you need to focus on if you want to compete in the modern world. There are many ways that you can look at increasing brand awareness. The method that we supply is using promotional products. It is vital that you know how these products can be used and what this could mean for your business.

Give your customers and staff a gift they will use.  What better way to have your logo out there, being seen all the time, than to have it on a thermal mug.

Umbrellas are one of the most useful promotional gifts.  Always at hand, and will never be thrown away.

Powerbanks - Hot for 2015

We all use promotional items because we want our customers and potential customers to remember us.

Like everything what is fashionable can change from year to year but there is no doubt that Powerbanks are one of the hottest items for 2015.

When your customers remember you, you want them to do so for the right reasons and not because the item didn’t work properly or worse still it damaged another piece of equipment at our customer’s workplace or home. 

Here’s all your questions answered when buying Powerbanks!!!

What is a Powerbank?

They are portable and are basically a special battery in a case that allow you to store electrical energy and use it to charge a mobile device.  Using a power bank you can top-up your device(s) while you are on the run and away from a wall outlet.

What to consider when looking at Powerbanks?

Having a customer remember you for all the right reasons comes down to the quality of the device you give them.  As with everything you get what you pay for and if something seems too cheap to be a quality product then it will probably let you down.

That being said the price of quality power banks has reduced substantially in recent times.

If you are considering power banks as a promotional item consider:

Capacity – The capacity of the power bank gives you an idea of how much you can charge, e.g. a capacity of 2600 mAh will allow you to fully charge an iPhone 5 but not a Samsung Galaxy s5.  The quoted mAh is a nominal rate and is not the actual capacity.  Loss occurs as a result of the general electrical laws of resistance etc.

Pricing differences – This arises from the quality of the batteries, comparative charging times of the batteries and the application or non-application of safety devices such as overload protection switches.

Input and output – It is no use having a very high capacity if charging takes too long.  Realistically output needs to be 1.0 Amps for a smart phone 2.0 Amps for a tablet.  The higher the ampage the faster the charge.

Battery quality – You need a quality lithium battery as cheap batteries might catch fire or even explode when over charged.  Batteries should have circuitry to prevent overheating and reverse charging is also essential.

Battery type – Go for lithium polymer, they are more expensive but a better battery as they suffer less from aging.  Ask what brand of batteries is used.

Compliance - The manufacturer should meet ISO9001/ISO14001:2004 and its affiliate factories meet SA8000 factory audit certification.

Safety – Does the power bank come with circuitry to regulate voltage and current and how fire retardant is the casing surrounding the battery?

Features – Ask what features are inbuilt into the power bank.  They should, at least, cover all of the important items we have discussed.

At Promotions International we stock a wide range of quality Powerbanks, in all shapes and sizes, to suit every need.  We have asked the questions that need to be asked of our suppliers and are extremely confident that our power banks won’t let you or your customers down.

To find out more about Powerbanks or any promotional needs call Lynda on 02 8852 4999 or click here.

Don't throw away your money by purchasing just any promotional item for your next tradeshow or conference - to get the most impact, ensure that it is relevant, appealing and functional

Over the past fifteen years, we have seen trends come and go and many of the corporate gifts have changed their focus from the old world to the new online world.  For example where businesses may have given branded pens and writing pads in the past they may now be looking at giving their customers branded USB Flashdrives.

The constant that remains is the importance of quality, particularly when it comes to promotional USB Flashdrives.

When you give a customer a corporate gift you do so because you want them to remember you and when they remember you and your business you want that memory to be positive.

There is nothing worse than giving a client a pen that doesn’t work, particularly if you have given the whole office pens that don’t work.  Before you commit, test it yourself and pull it apart and see just how much ink is in the reservoir.  Remember it is your brand on show not the pen manufacturer’s brand.

The same principals apply to USB Flashdrives and I thought I would share with you some practical guidelines if you are considering these as corporate gifts:

1. Ensure the brand of memory is a recognised world leader in the supply of Flash drives – most people are very brand conscious

2. The Flashdrive should be at least USB 2.0 compliant though USB 3.0 is quickly becoming the new norm.

3. Warranty is vital and should be at least 10 years on memory retention and a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.

4. Read/write speeds should be between 4 to 8 MBPS.  Anything slower will frustrate the user.

5. It should have tier 1 memory of at least 95% meaning that at least 950 MB of data can be stored on a 1GB drive.

6. Often manufacturers will try to reduce costs by using a slower speed flashdrive configuaration.  For example, we supply USB Flashdrives with one memory chip but many competitors will use two (i.e., we would supply an 8Gb chip, not 2 x 4Gb chips).  Two chips will result in slower data transfer speeds which, in turn results in unacceptably high failure rates.  Be careful not to get caught out on this one.

That is a lot to think about and that is where experience and expertise can help.  All of the USB Flashdrives we supply to our clients fit within the above guidelines.

TIP – When you order your promotional USB Flashdrives, check, let us know if you have data you would like uploaded – maybe it’s a company brochure or PowerPoint, as these can be loaded for you free of charge.  This is such a great way to, not only give your client an awesome gift, but put your information in front of them instantly.

And there are so many to choose from - brightly coloured Mix N Match through to Silicon Wristbands, Credit Card Size and then the very cool Custom Shape USB Flashdrives.  So much inspiration is on our website.

Whether you are a small, medium or large company, it is important to have your staff looking professional at all times, and, during the winter months, investing in jackets for all of your staff will tick so many boxes, from keeping your staff warm and happy, to giving a sense of camaderie amongst the team, to building your brand

When a business’ owner decides to put in an order of promotional products, it can be a mind-boggling choice deciding which company to go for. There are many companies out there that will promise all sorts of things in order to get your business. The first thing you need from a company is someone to talk to and be in contact with on a regular basis about your promotional products. 

Australian business owners who decide to order their promotional items through Promotions International will soon find out that the level of service this company offers is second to none.