Is it just me, or are temporary tattoos… popping


up

everywhere?


In the spring, designer fashion houses decorated their runway models with tattoo-inspired art. Chanel even launched a custom line of “Temporary Skin Art” for retail in February.
In the summer, race directors turned to temporary tattoos for a clever alternative to pace bracelets. With a quick glance to the forearm, marathoners could easily track their mile splits and stay on pace for a record finish.

And now, in the heart of fall and flu season, I can’t so much as glance at a television without a flexed and tattooed arm reminding me to get my flu shot.
Temporary Tattoos make a GREAT promotional item. Why?

They’re inexpensive. When you need 1,000 of something for your event, it’s hard to beat $150!

They’re fun. Slap one on your arm. I challenge you to resist the urge to run to a mirror and flex.

They’re useful. If the above photos have not yet convinced you of this item’s functionality, check out my personal favorite below. For someone like me who instinctively turns her palm and reaches for a pen the instant minutely-important information passes her ears, the “To-Do Tattoo” is a godsend.

Interested in creating a design of your own? As always, give us a call. We are here to help!

Sometimes it can be hard to put your finger on why a direct mail piece works.  It just does.  But, generally speaking, a few tried-and-true ingredients belong in any direct mail formula. A good direct mail piece will:

 
Be mail-able.  While it’s true that you can mail just about anything (yes, you can put enough stamps on a watermelon to have it delivered!) the cost of postage and packing materials can really add up.  Don’t forget to consider this expense when designing a direct mail piece or selecting a promotional item.

Grab and hold the reader’s attention.  The biggest challenge for any direct mail piece is surviving the journey from mailbox to desk/coffee table/countertop without hitting the trashcan first.  How can you ensure your mailers get opened?  Chunky, lumpy, three-dimensional mail consistently gets a much higher response rate than flat mail.  We also recommend using clever and colorful packaging material and writing each address out by hand.  Anything that screams OPEN ME!

Include a call to action.  Your mailer might be well-written, creative, and eye-catching, but if it requires no action on behalf of the recipient, it will lay forgotten on their coffee table.  The purpose of your mailer is most likely to secure an appointment or a sale, so ask for it.  This advice holds true with every marketing piece you distribute.

Get followed-up on.  If you’re going to invest time and money in a direct mail piece, do not ignore the most important step: follow-up.  Call or email your contact list immediately after the mailer hits to ensure delivery and answer questions.  Subsequent follow-up is highly recommended.

With these tips in mind, let’s review and grade the office show-and-tell piece from Thursday’s post.









Was it mail-able? A+

A paper envelope, sticker, and postcard cost pennies to produce and $0.44 to mail.

 

Did it grab and hold the reader’s attention? A

The handwritten envelope, ambiguous return address and mysterious URL got us hook, line and sinker.

 

Did it include a call to action? C-

Once the game ended, the mail piece couldn’t convince us to visit a designated website for additional information, and the little red ‘X’ on the upper right toolbar made the better case.  If our company had a need of or use for the product being offered, maybe our response would have been better.

 

Did it get followed-up on? F 

Nope, we never heard another word about it.

 

What’s the most interesting direct mail piece you’ve ever received? We’d love to hear about it! Tell us more on Facebook.
 

And, if you would like a printable copy of the quick checklist I use in planning direct mail pieces, I am happy to share – just drop me a line at Lindsay@sonicpromos.com.

 

 

When you work in direct marketing, “junk mail” becomes much more interesting.  Standing at my mailbox, I don’t automatically chuck the coupon books, flyers, postcards, and brochures; I save the ones that catch my eye for office show-and-tell.  The magnetic calendar from my neighborhood realtor carefully addressed to Lyndsey Hickerson? Keeper!

 
At the office, we review our postal treasures with an analytical eye and discuss what worked and what could use improvement.  They often inspire us with creative ideas that we can tweak and modify for a client.

Several days ago, a handwritten envelope arrived at the Sonic Promos office addressed to Seth Weiner. No return name was denoted, just the return address in California.

Upon seeing that Seth had been “selected [as] a contestant” in an online game, we went straight to the computer and discovered an interactive game show called “The Switch Is Smart”.  Humorous multiple choice answers and ego-boosting, congratulatory text kept us clicking through to the final screen where our host was at last revealed: Netgear.   Left with options to A) purchase a Netgear port, B) download case studies or C) contact a Netgear specialist, we… closed the window and went back to work.

Where did Netgear go wrong?  Tune in Monday and we’ll evaluate the good, bad and ugly about direct mail campaigns.

Last Thursday I took my son, Ben, to see the Washington Capitals play against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  We enjoyed ourselves tremendously, celebrating both a Caps win and Veteran's Day.  November 11th marked the unveiling of "Courage CAPS", a program that the Caps run that benefits Our Military Kids, a nonprofit organization that supports National Guard and Military Reserve families – one child at a time.


As part of the program the Caps sold camo shirts and hats with the Courage Caps logo on them.  You can see the gear below and on Slap Shot in the picture above.  The line for these items stretched around the corner as fans looked to support their team and a great cause at the same time. 

                                                               

In addition to the Courage Caps program, the ARMY had a booth set up.  Unfortunately both Ben and I were told that we were not the target demographic (am I that old??).  However, they were very nice and gave Ben some really neat promotional items including a camo lanyard (with breakaway strap), a carabiner watch and compass and dog tags.  It was very cool of them.


                                           

It was great to see a professional sports organization go to such lengths to acknowledge the efforts of our men and women in uniform both overseas, here at home and of course, UNLEASHING THE FURY at the Verizon Center.  Thank you all for your service to our country.

Clients and Friends,

I want to make you aware of some major news in the apparel industry that may affect you both in your purchases with Sonic and on the retail level.

As you may have already read or heard, the price of cotton is currently at an all-time high.

In response, suppliers across the country have announced a 5-10% price increase effective November 1st. This is in addition to a previous increase of the same amount in June 2010.

"The main cause is a massive hike in the price of raw cotton. In the 18 moths between March 2009 and the end of September 2010 this rose by 127%, from 51 cents/lb to almost 116 cents/lb."* As recently as November 2nd, cotton prices reached 134 cents/lb.

We are led to believe that there will be additional increases in the coming months, and the price is expected to level out in mid-2011.

Retail sales have been affected too. In Europe, "price increases between August and September alone were the biggest since records began, at 6.4%."* The United States retail sector should expect similar increases shortly after the holidays.

This is truly an unprecedented time in global manufacturing and sourcing. At Sonic Promos, we are committed to providing our customers with quality items at affordable prices, but we are also affected by these rising costs.

If you have any questions about this news, please feel free to contact me or your Sonic Promos representative, and we will be happy to help in any way we can.

Thank you for your continued business, 

Jamie Cohen
Director of Outside Sales
Sonic Promos

*Textile Intelligence Press Release, October 19, 2010 with excerpts from Textile Outlook International Issue No. 147