Fourth Quarter and Holiday Selling Guide
If there's one thing we remember about getting our MBA, it's that the technical name for the fourth quarter is "the true warrior's test of guile and valor." Why? Because the fourth quarter is when the battle is the hardest. It's when your enemies are the craftiest. It's when AMC replays "Conan the Destroyer" the most. It's also when you have to dig the deepest, plan the smartest and sell like you're the last person standing on the field of battle.
Because this is it. This is your last chance to grab your clients' 2014 budgets. Your last chance to make your numbers for the year. Your last chance to beat them. Your last chance to wring every cent of profit out of this year before moving on to the conquest of 2015.
What do your pals at Print+Promo have to help? How about a collection of the meanest, leanest, pound-for-pound profiting-est products out there to help you close out your fourth quarter like the true warrior king of Cimmeria? Trust us, one look at these products and your client will be yelling, "Crom! Let us slay the dreaming god Dagoth with these fine marketing products" in no time.*
*Sincere confession: We're sorry about this intro. We're writing this in a hotel room and AMC has been playing "Conan the Destroyer" on loop for about six hours. It's relentlessly entrancing, and did you know Andre the Giant plays the corrupted Dagoth monstrosity in the end? Anywho, swords and Schwarzeneggers aside, you get the idea. The fourth quarter is a battle, and these products are your sharpest sword, so pick them up and claim the victory that's rightfully yours.
Cork Is King
Cork has a great texture, is light to ship, and when converted into a menu, makes a great on-theme item for any event or venue where wine will be present. (Think weddings, wineries or even just restaurants.) Americanna Company's Soft Cork Menu measures 4x9" and is 0.125" thick. It can be decorated over 3.25x8.25" of its face, and stock and custom graphic designs are available. For more information, visit www.americanna.com.
It's the Season for Appreciation
As we get older, we're starting to appreciate a good holiday card more and more. It used to be all about the check or 10-spot inside, but now? A little schmaltzy note and a little season's greetings brings us way more joy than any check from Nana used to. Why this is, who can say. Maybe we're getting soft in old age, or maybe having a real job for more than 10 years was bound to take the fun out of Aunt Beatrice's annual $5 donations to our wallets eventually. One thing's for sure though, the Holiday Cards by Carlson Craft are some of the best out there, whether you want to stuff them with cash or just pen a heartwarming note. Printed inside text and color logo imprints are offered. For more information, visit www.carlsoncraft.com.
Mona Lisa Moji
If da Vinci were alive today, do you think he would have painted Mona Lisa texting? (The answer is, of course, yes. Try not to blow it on any more of our questions, please.) Do you think he would have enjoyed the Louvre Smart Wallet with Stand from Debco? Of course he would! He loved snappy inventions, bright color and convenient places to store his money. (If Saturday morning cartoons taught us anything, it's that renaissance painters made a lot of pizza runs.) The smart wallet is available in five different colors and fits most flat-backed phones. For more information, visit www.debcosolutions.com.
Tiny Yet Terrific
The newest size in HOWW Manufacturing's thermal travel mug line, the 14 oz. Thermal Travel Mug with Screen Printing may be smaller than its 16 and 24 oz. peers, but that doesn't make it any less mighty. It's still insulated, it still offers 14 different lid colors, it's still made in the USA, and most importantly, it still provides users a way to pour precious, precious coffee down their tired, tired mouths. The mug is also dishwasher safe and comes with a lifetime guarantee. For more information, visit www.howw.com.
The Power to Rock
Having a phone without power is tragedy enough, but not having speakers when you really need them? That is truly one of the highest forms of modern suffering. (Right behind war, disease, and watching "Paul Blart: Mall Cop.") Luckily, the Dual Power Bank/Speaker from KTI Networks/KTI Promo is here to save us all from our misery, offering not only an easy remedy to a dead phone but a way for users to fill their lives with music. The combo charger/speaker is available in black, blue, pink and white, and will charge a phone through its own charging cable. For more information, visit, www.ktipromo.com.
Put Your Money Where Our Mouth Is
Maple Ridge Farms claims its "Park Avenue" Tower of Sweets feeds eight-to-12 people. We have two things to say about that. 1) That sounds like a challenge, and 2) Our mailing address is 1500 Spring Garden St., 12th floor, Philadelphia, Pa. Once it arrives in the office, we'll confirm the tower's alleged "English butter toffee made with real dairy-fresh butter" and associated litany of other delicious treats like pecan turtles, chocolate-covered almonds and cocoa-dusted truffles. For more information, visit www.mapleridge.com.
Tote-ally Country
We'll admit that we don't understand country music at all. (It seems to revolve around goofy boots and Ford F-150s.) One thing we do understand, however, is a good tote bag when we see one, and that's definitely Logomark's Rustic Tote. It may be a little country, but it's totally in a good way. (Think Taylor Swift instead of Garth Brooks.) The rustic, down-home tote has 24" tube handles, a 7" gusset and a fully lined main compartment. For more information, visit www.logomark.com.
A Board that Scores
Pepco Promotional Products' Spirit Board offers five different spirit items—a hand fan, a table sign, a schedule, a button and a No. 1 hand—giving users plenty to cheer about. Some assembly and cutting is required to get the pieces from the 24x24" board. For more information, visit www.pepcopromotional.com.
Nutty by Nature
Working in an office day after day, you really start to appreciate nuts as snacks. They're relatively healthy and filling, and they make decent ammunition for flicking and/or launching at coworkers. (The Print+Promo nut-a-pult is a fearsome sight to see, trust us). The Heat-Sealed Bag with Nut Fill from SnugZ USA can be packed with a ton of different fill options, from chocolate almonds and roasted cashews to peanut brittle and other candies. (Some of which make better ammunition than others. Let's just say that peanut brittle is the WMD of the catapulted-treat group.) The bags can be decorated on their fronts, over a 1.5x2.125" area. For more information, visit www.snugzusa.com.