Big Spender

Elizabeth Ta, founder and CEO, goBIGconcepts!, San Diego.

Now that the U.S. has recovered from the worst effects of the 2008 economic crisis, financial institutions, in particular, are ready to spread out their marketing budgets—which is excellent news for print and promotional companies. If you’re one of the lucky ones, those opportunities could turn into repeat business.

Elizabeth Ta, founder and CEO of goBIGconcepts!, a San Diego-based distributorship, found herself in this exact situation with one of her clients. eMoney, a financial-planning software manufacturer, needed a high-end conference gift for its top-producing advisers. Ta not only delivered with a resort-style beach tote bag and matching battery charger, she secured the order for the following year’s event.

Here, Ta shares the thought process behind the campaign, and offers advice for those looking to break out into the financial sector.

Describe a promotion of yours that you consider one of your best.

Elizabeth Ta: eMoney sent top-producing advisers on a conference trip to the Bahamas where they had five days of educational seminars, speakers and recreational team building. eMoney wanted a high-end room gift that could be used during the conference, yet wouldn’t take up too much luggage space for the travel back. [The company] selected a resort-style beach tote bag and a very high-capacity matching battery charger, which were both waiting in the room.

Tell me more about the battery charger.

ET: We printed a full-color custom image on the battery charger, which served as a souvenir reminder of the upscale event. It was hugely popular with no leftovers despite eMoney’s order, which contained 40 units more than the company needed.

How was this a profitable promotion for your company? Your client?

ET: The beach theme was continued the following year, but this time eMoney wanted to launch its new software, emX, and reinforce its dominance with the color black, which also is their main logo color. We came up with a sleek, black beach tote with mesh sides and extra pockets, which housed a contrasting blue beach towel. In addition, we attached to the bag an equally sleek custom-made luggage tag with the emX logo in silver and travel stamps subtly printed in a gloss varnish over matte black. It was a true hit for the discerning traveler.

Did you encounter any challenges with this particular promotion? If so, how did you overcome them?

ET: No, as the client trusted our work and gave us free range to explore ideas around its theme, and had a reasonable budget for us to work with.

Do you have any advice for your peers attempting a similar promotion in the financial market?

ET: If your client gives you free range in the design concept, keep logo designs subtle so end-users will want to use [the item] as if they had bought it in a retail store. It will give your client’s brand message and ad campaign a much longer tail.