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I have no clue if such a day even exists. If it does, odds are it's probably not today.

But here on our blog, we deem it so.

In honor of this "holiday", I'd like to dedicate today's post to our fantastic design team at Sonic Promos. Michael Fritz and Rahmie Santoso work behind the scenes to support our staff and wow our clients. Their hands touch every order, at multiple stages.

Here are some of the many ways our artists improve your marketing materials.

They think beyond the logo. We create product at Sonic- branded merchandise and marketing materials for clients in a wide range of industries. Promotional products are a form of advertising, so clearly the logo is central to any project. But, it's not just about the logo. You want your target audience to actually wear, carry and use your materials. Good product selection helps achieve this goal, as does creative and interesting artwork. We rely on our art team to suggest details that add some all-important oomph. And they deliver.

But they don't forget the logo. As I said above, the products we create are advertisements, contributing to an organization's visual identity and overall brand. We take our clients' style guidelines very seriously, and we don't take liberties. Our graphic designers are respectful of and pay acute attention to PMS colors, logo versions, protective fields and minimum size restrictions. Additional graphic elements should only enhance, never corrupt nor distract from your logo.

They check production proofs like hawks. The moment you set foot on that casino floor, they'll be watching you like hawks. Hawks with video cameras. Ocean's Eleven, anyone?

When an order is moved into production, our graphic team is responsible for uploading and submitting art files to the supplier. As is the case with any communication, you can control how the message is transmitted, but you have no control over how it's received and interpreted. That's why production proofs are so important. They confirm that the supplier has correctly used and placed the artwork. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to discover inconsistencies. Checking and rechecking proofs before giving approval to print is very important, and we greatly appreciate the art department's keen eyes.

Michael and Rahmie, thank you so much for your incredible work and diligence. We hope you know how important you are.

"Which products do you really like?"

Clients ask us that question all the time. We never know quite how to respond, because every product that we recommend for a project is one we honestly believe to be a great choice.

I suppose, though, that what they're really after is our personal opinion, not our professional opinion. And like "neutral" parents, we'd be lying if we said we didn't have our favorites.

I asked some of Sonic's staff to weigh in:

Debbie's Pick: Rechargeable External Power Bank

"I love this product. It first caught my attention when we saw it demonstrated at the conference in Nashville earlier this year. The light changes color to indicate its level of charge: purple for full charge, blue for half charge and red for low charge. I think it would make a perfect executive gift or incentive for traveling employees."

Lindsay's Pick: The Gripstic

"I remember rolling my eyes when I saw this piece at a show in Atlantic City last year. I mean, the name is pretty ridiculous. I grabbed a few samples and surprised myself by actually using them at home. I still do. They're really easy to slide on and off and they create an air-tight seal. I think it's a fun product for inexpensive event giveaways, food and beverage promotions, and campaigns targeting college students. The only downside is the small imprint area; it's not the best choice for text-heavy artwork or logos with fine detail."


Jamie's Picks: Bookbound Journals and the Camelbak Eddy Water Bottle

"If I said that I had three of these journals on my desk right now, would that make me sound crazy? These are my go-to notebooks. They look professional for meetings, they're the perfect size to easily throw in my bag as I'm walking out the door, and I like the pocket for notes and business cards in the back.

As for the Camelbak, I'm completely in love with the straw. It's almost reached the point where I refuse to drink from any other bottle."


Michael's Pick: Bottle Opener

"I'm a big fan of the bottle opener key chain. I got one at the finish line of my first Mud Dog Run. It has a full color imprint and is shaped like a dog tag. I use it all the time, mainly because it's attached to something very important: my keys. Truly, any kind of bottle opener is a good one. They're an important device, providing access to the sweet nectar that is beer."

Seth's Pick: Pizza Cutter

"The Pizza Cutter gets a lot of use in our household; our family easily consumes 12 quesadillas per week. My favorite version features a blade that detaches from the handle. Both pieces are dishwasher-safe and easily cleaned. It's just so simple. When I'm using this product for a campaign, I like to package the cutters in small cardboard pizza boxes for easy distribution and mailing."

What are your favorite promotional products? Take a look at your desk, fridge, kitchen drawer, dashboard, and purse. Tell us what you find and what you'd hate to live without!

This week at Sonic Promos, we're working on...

... fully custom woven crew socks for the USO. The first two pictures show the prototype at different angles. The third image is the original sketch. 



... orange sweatshirts for Camp JCC staff, as a gift of appreciation for another successful summer season. 



... and 2011 Builder 100 Awards for Hanley Wood. 

"This Week at Sonic Promos" is a regular feature on our blog.
Read all past posts here.
Check in every week to see some of the work that's going on in our office.

As a kid, I never understood the adage "less is more". That's probably because when we're young, we think everything is pretty great. And a greater amount of great things can only be... greater.

Two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal was better than one. A full hour of recess was more exciting than 15 minutes. And a marathon of Saturday morning cartoons was far superior to a single episode.

As we age, we grow wiser (well, most of us do... maybe not Charlie Sheen), and we learn to appreciate the value of "less". Less traffic during rush hour, fewer bills cluttering our coffee tables, less belly fat, less stress... all good things.

Are you familiar with the "jam experiment"? It's a classic psychology study involving jars of jam; I think its findings clearly support the notion that "less is more".

The "jam experiment" was conducted by Sheena Iyengar, a researcher for Stanford University at the time of the study. Iyengar sought to understand how people make choices, and she looked to the grocery store as a prime location for observation. Her research assistants posed as jam suppliers, setting up tables for sampling.

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In one version of the experiment, the sampling table offered six flavors for tasting: kiwi, marmalade, peach, black cherry, red currant and lemon curd. In another condition, twenty-four jam flavors were set out. In both versions, customers were encouraged to sample flavors and were given a coupon to buy a jar at discount.

Can you guess what happened?

The twenty-four flavor table attracted the most attention, but it actually reported smaller sales than the six-flavor table. Only 3% of shoppers who visited the twenty-four flavor table proceeded to buy jam. Compare that to the six flavor table: 30% of visitors left with a jar in hand.

The study concluded that twenty-four was an overwhelming number of flavors for shoppers. Unable to make a decision, tasters gave up and left empty-handed.

This study teaches us that it's good to have options, but too many options can be a bad thing. In promotional products, where the set of options for a particular product category can easily reach six or seven digits, we really understand and appreciate the value of "less". In fact, limiting choices for our clients is arguably one of the greatest services we provide.

You'll notice that the number of products featured on our Signature Collection website typically hovers around 2,000. The selection is updated on a daily basis to reflect popular trends, but the overall volume of choices stays consistent. 2,000 is still a big number, but when you compare it to the millions of products to which we have access, it's not so daunting. Think of it as our version of the six flavor table.

Relying on our knowledge of popular trends, supplier capabilities, and product quality, we aim to guide our clients to sound product decisions, as painlessly as possible. In general, we define a painless process as one without an overwhelming sea of choice. Should you be a twenty-four flavor sort of person, though, just let us know. We're happy to oblige!

What are your thoughts on the "jam experiment"? Are you the kind of person who likes a lot of options? Or do you prefer a smaller consideration set?

We have some exciting news to share! It's even more exciting than additional floor space and office baseball!

Inc. Magazine ranked Sonic Promos on its sixth annual 5000 List, a ranking of the nation's fastest growing private companies. We came in at number 3,373. Spot our name below!

Among Advertising & Marketing companies on the list, Sonic Promos was ranked at number 295.

In response, Sonic's President Seth Weiner said, "We are honored and excited to be included on this prestigious list. It is a validation of our belief that success comes from providing exceptional customer service and offering creative solutions to our clients' evolving promotional needs. We appreciate our loyal client base who brought us to this point, as well as the hard work of our employees, who always strive to insure we are doing the very best for our clients."

To view complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region and other criteria, visit www.inc.com/5000.

Thank you to Inc. for including us, and thank you to our wonderful clients for your continued support!