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Great Ideas for Your Logo...That We Want You To Steal!

You know all the standard places you see a company's logo - pens, notepads, desk clocks, etc. But with the promotional products industry as big as it is, doing interesting and even crazy things with your logo can mean a big return for a small investment. Here are some examples of some downright creative ideas companies have come up with to promote their image and increase sales. Steal them, slightly change them, or even call us here at Logoworks and let us brainstorm with you!

Taunting T-shirts

Mortgage Company

Glenda Chang, a mortgage broker in California, was just getting her feet wet in the business when interest rates plummeted. Her competition began advertising like crazy - billboards, radio spots, and commercials - but Glenda just didn't have the money to out-advertise them. She knew she'd have to do something creative that would generate word-of-mouth referrals, and came up with a great plan with a promotional product.

Glenda ordered 500 T-shirts with the phrase "My Rate is Lower Than Yours" with her company's logo and 800-number on the back. She also ordered 150 T-shirts with the phrase, "My Daddy Got a Better Rate Than You" and 150 that said, "My Mommy Got a Better Rate Than You" for her clients' children.

Her clients loved them and wore them often, which Glenda says definitely made a difference in her business. She noticed her company was getting at least 20-25 more calls a week from potential clients asking for the rates...and then asking if they'd get a T-shirt if they did business with her.

Glenda paid much less for the T-shirts than she would have on just one single television spot, and says now she will always look for creative ways to use promotional items before she resorts to traditional forms of advertising.

Planes, Trains and Toy Automobiles

Retail

Jeff Stimpson was a new toy store owner that didn't have a lot of money for an advertising campaign. Knowing that it was going to take some creative thinking to get people in the area to come to his little toy store instead of the big conglomerate just down the street, he spent a few weeks talking to friends and the idea he came up with got his small store off with a big bang (and a very small investment).

Mark ordered 5,000 plastic yo-yos with his logo imprinted on them, and on a sunny Saturday, he hired 12 of his teenage son's friends to take them to the six local parks and hand them out to children and their parents. Mark went along, introduced himself to parents, and told them about his new store and the advantages it offered over the competition. He closed by handing them a yo-yo and personally inviting them to visit his store.

Within a week, Mark's business was up 25%, and being able to get these new customers into the store enabled him to show them all of the special things his toy store offered - a play area for kids, a coffee bar for parents, and the best educational toys on the market.

The 5,000 yo-yos cost 55¢ each, and the labor on that Saturday cost him less than $750. For an investment of $3,500 Mark was able to build a steady and loyal customer base through a great idea and a single promotional product.

Overworked and Overappreciated

Software Company

Kathy Meyers was the president of a small software company that employed 65 people, mostly software developers. With budgets tight and a major product launch on the horizon, Kathy had to repeatedly ask most of the developers to stay late every day, meaning 12 and even 14-hour days for almost every one of them.

Kathy felt terribly about keeping her developers working such long hours, but she did not have enough money to employ any extra developers or bring in subcontractors for enough time to make it worth the money. And, if she didn't meet the deadline they were under, she worried the company's biggest client would not renew its contract.

After one particularly grueling week, Kathy knew that she had to do something to show appreciation for how hard they were all working, and she came up with a small plan she hoped would do just that.

Kathy launched what she called the "Since You Live Here" employee appreciation campaign, a tongue-in-cheek five-week effort to show her employees that she was aware of the sacrifice they were making and actually make their work days more comfortable. As it was wintertime, the first thing Kathy did was order 140 high quality sweatshirts - one for each employee and one for their spouse or significant other - to show not only the employees her appreciation but to let the people in their lives know that they realized the long hours were hard on everyone. The company's logo, along with each person's name, was embroidered on the front of the sweatshirt.

In the second week, pillows were handed out to each employee with the saying from Benjamin Franklin, "Fatigue is the best pillow" embroidered on the pillowcase, along with the company logo. Kathy urged the employees to use them whenever they needed a break.

The next week, Kathy gave each employee a pair of luxury bedroom slippers with the company's name across the top of the feet for use around the office, particularly after 5 o'clock.

In the fourth week of the campaign, each employee received a bath towel, once again with the company's logo embroidered on it. Nancy reports that this went over particularly well with the few employees that had pulled all-nighters as they got closer to the deadline and were using the company bathrooms to freshen-up.

And in the fifth and final week, the week of the deadline, Kathy gave each employee a fleece blanket embroidered with the company logo, employee's name, and the number of hours that particular employee had worked during those five weeks to meet the company's deadline.

Kathy said that the campaign invigorated her employees during a very stressful time, and it was fun to see their faces light up each Monday she would have a little ceremony and present the employees with their new promotional product.

In total, Kathy estimates the employee appreciation project cost about $13,000, which was not only vastly less expensive than hiring and training new people, but had an amazing impact on the morale of her employees. "Not only am I sure it saved some of them from leaving us at a critical time, but it created an atmosphere of loyalty and cooperation when I needed that most. Even though this was over a year ago, the employees still talk about it and wear their sweatshirts and slippers," she says. "It was probably the best $13,000 I've ever spent as a business owner."

Give Someone the Finger

Sporting Goods Store

Marcus Johnson knew that the best place to advertise his sporting goods store would be at the local university's home football games, so he contacted the school to find out about putting a banner up in the end zone. For all of the home games, it would cost him nearly $20,000, not including the design and production of the banner.

With a price way out of his range, Mike gave up on the idea of advertising at the college games until he was inspired by the "foam fingers" he saw at a pro game the following weekend.

Mike ordered 3,500 foam fingers in the school's colors with "We're #1" on the front (he couldn't use the university's mascot or name on the item because of copyright laws), and put his sporting goods store name on the back and handed them out to fans as they walked into the stadium. This meant that every time a finger was raised, someone behind saw the name of the sporting goods store, and better yet, the fans kept the fingers for as long as they would last, being reminded of the store every time they used their finger at a game.

Not only were the foam fingers a huge hit with the fans he gave them to - Mike ran out of them in 25 minutes - fans came into the store asking if they could purchase them. Mike ordered 5,000 more to sell to customers, or gave them away with any purchase over $50. Mike ran out of the foam fingers halfway into the season, and not only did he end up making money on the endeavor, but he became a huge hit with the fans who visited his store, exclaiming when they saw him, "You're the guy who gave me the finger!"

EIGHT OTHER IDEAS

Here are eight other simple ideas we want you to steal!

1. Instead of sending promotional items just at Christmas, think of a holiday or significant date that coincides with your business and do something then. For instance, if you are a landscaping company, give your clients a sun hat for gardening on Arbor Day, or if you are a bank or financial institution, give your customers a stress relief ball on April 15th.

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3. Don't feel like you have to order the same things your competition gives to their customers. Almost all companies do pens and mugs, why not do first aid kits or umbrellas? Your customers probably haven't received something similar and will appreciate your ingenuity.

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5. Do something in line with your business. For example, if you're a nail salon, don't give your clients a key chain - do something that reminds them of getting their nails done, like a mini-manicure set to keep in their purse. Or, if you're a construction company, give your customers a hammer with your logo on it instead of a pad of paper.

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7. Never underestimate the power of candy - there's probably a business in your town that is known for handing out candy to their customers and is loved for it. Did you know you can actually get candy with your logo on it? Call us and we'll tell you about it. Mint tins are also a great item-the reusable tin will stick around long after the mints have been eaten!

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9. Employees love promotional items, so use them to your advantage! A high quality sweatshirt or fleece pullover will go a long way, as will a nice polo shirt and even a long-sleeved T-shirt. And it's free advertising every time they wear the item!

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11. If your logo is cool and they love your company, people will be willing to pay to advertise for you. Offer your customers a good price on a T-shirt and you might be surprised by how many you sell.

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13. Capitalize on a current event. For instance, let's say the winter weather forecast looks to be one of the coldest on record. Order inexpensive fleece vests embroidered with your logo and give them out with every sale, letting your customers know you want them to stay warm during the upcoming winter.

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15. Think of your customers' kids. Giving something to a customer's child often goes much farther with your customer than had you given it to them. For instance, if you're a mortgage company, have boxes of crayons imprinted with your logo on them, as well as a coloring book, to give to the children when their parents are signing documents. A little thought beforehand can go a long way when the transaction for the parents runs so smoothly!

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--Deborah Sweeney, Esq.

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