Hotline.co.uk, Promotional Products Blog

How to use Embroidered Polo Shirts

If I say to you ‘promotional products’, your mind probably automatically thinks about promotional pens, embroidered caps, printed stationery and promotional giveaways.  I guarantee you mind will not even consider the possibility of a polo shirt! But why not?  They are to me, the most obvious way to attract attention and raise your brand awareness instantly.  It doesn’t matter where you go, at what time – your logo will always be looked at and recognised.  People will start to remember what your company logo looks like and will make the link to your personalised products and services.  This will normally then lead to an enquiry and then finally a purchase.

One popular use of promotional polo shirts is uniforms and work wear.  Dressing your staff in quality printed polo shirts presents a professional and reliable image which makes an immediate positive impression on your customer.  Due to the polo shirt’s flexibility , they are available in a variety of bright and vibrant colours to suit your corporate image or colour scheme!  Promotional polo shirts can be printed or embroidered depending on your specifications and our experienced team will always advise you on all the possible options.

Another popular use for polo shirts is event staff.  If you are hosting an event, manning a stall at a trade show, co-ordinating a conference or need to identify your staff in a busy place, promotional polo shirts are the way to stand out in a crowd.  They are also an inexpensive way to advertise you company logo/brand.  They are also a great way to identify staff which are offsite and they create a walking advertisement in themselves.

This month’s most popular embroidered polo shirt is the value polo shirt which is currently on offer. We are offering you 25 value polo shirts, embroidered with up to 12 different colours for only £219.70.  You won’t find a better bargain anywhere else.  The Value polo shirt has a classy rib flat knit collar, twin needle stitching and is 100%cotton!  Click here to find out more.

The top 8 uses of promotional products

It sounds obvious but it is still good to know the top ten uses for promotional products.  Have you thought of these yourself – could you use this blog to aid you advertising campaign further?  Have you covered all areas?

Trade show promotion:  The most popular reason for purchasing promotional giveaways.  They are the perfect inexpensive novelty promotional item that everyone loves to receive at an exhibition or tradeshow.  Freebies are always welcome and set a nice tone when approaching potential customers.

Customer retention:  Promotional gifts to existing customers can range from an executive desktop item such as a fancy desk clock to a promotional pen to a tin of promotional mints.  They are a superb way to show your appreciation and thanks to loyal customers

Goodwill gesture:  Companies are constantly trying to get their name out there in the big bad world and promotional products and giveaways are one way of doing this.  Sponsoring a major event or supplying a local football team with some printed football shirts is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

Incentives:  Incentives are a great way to motivate staff.  Staff incentives are said to help reduce absenteeism, reduce work place silliness and increase productivity.  Whether this is true or not, i don’t know – but it is certainly worth a try!  Remember that trophies and awards come into play here as well.

Launching new products:  Promotional giveaways and items are a great way to introduce a new product or service that your company is offering.  Promotional products are a great way to raise awareness and push forward initiatives.

Reinforce your company objectives:  Promotional items can be used to remind existing and potential customers of the products and services that your companies provide.  A little gift of Post it notes / a promotional pen or a bug eyes rascal does the trick within seconds and leaves a lasting reminder.

Generate Leads: most companies nowadays rewards customers for taking up special offers, responding to a direct mail, or generally taking an interest in what is being said.  People are more likely to respond to something if they know they are getting something in return.

Fundraising:  The most popular use of promotional giveaways is fundraising events to raise money for charities, events and sponsored activities.  Promotional giveaways are inexpensive and can be tailored wholly to your event.

The top 7 promotional gifts to advertise with

So you want to know the top 7 promotional gifts to advertise with for 2010? Well, let me let you in on a little secret – we have some fantastic credit crunch deals on all the most popular promotional products of 2009, so you can really start the year with a bang!  All these fantastic promotional items can be customised with your company name, message, logo and contact details and most qualify for free delivery! So have a read below and decided what takes your fancy this month!

Pens:  Promotional pens are the obvious choice; lightweight, inexpensive, a large variety to choose from and a decent print area to display all your text.  They are found in most office around the world and are an effective message carrier in schools, businesses universities, tradeshows and corporate days and outings.  Get you message out there and enjoy the benefits they provide!

Mugs:  What can I say – people become very attached to their personal mug and sometime use it for years at a time.  Printed promotional mugs are found on desks, in sheds, in hot shot meetings, on TV and in staff rooms.  They are a great way to stand in the midst of your competitor’s environment and are a superb way to get noticed!
 
Promotional Keyrings:  It’s a true fact that if you have a set of keys - you are more than likely to have a key ring to go with it. And many companies have cottoned on to this fact and started to partake in some subtle yet effective advertising!  On offer this month are the novelty Ad Loop Keyrings.  It is simply an ad in a loop!  They are the perfect visual reminder of your company name and message and they come in a large variety of colour combinations to suit your corporate image.

Mouse mats:  Everybody loves a promotional mouse mat whether they are a child, teenager or adult!  In today’s day and age mouse mats have really become a modernised desktop accessory!  The new innovative thing at the moment is the hard top mousemat.  Forget the foam – this mouse mat has it all!  These promotional mousemats can be printed with a favourite photograph or your company artwork and are on offer at the moment – 100 mousemats for only £208.90!!! Go, go, go!

Printed umbrellas are a big hit with both male and female clients.  No one wants to get themselves wet or their important documents – so this is slowly becoming one of the most popular promotional gifts on the market!  You could opt for the budget priced umbrella, the more executive style umbrella or the storm proof golf umbrella.  Any of the former will guarantee grand exposure wherever opened and a chance for everyone to see you company logo bold and clear!

The final two in the final top 7 promotional gifts are: promotional printed bags, Recycled pencils.  Both can be customised and both can be delivered to your door within days.  If you are having trouble trying to pick the perfect promotional gift, please do not hesitate to give our experienced team a call.  We are here to help and advise on the best deals around!

Use promotional giveaways to drive sales

Where has all this snow come from?  One minute it was mild and sunny and the next minute people were stranded in a snow blizzard!!  I feel for those people without gas and electricity and for those people in Oxfordshire who are experiencing temperatures of below -15!  Oh well, I guess we should make the most of it.

There are many promotional giveaways that you could tie in with the current climate and many of them are promotional items that are useful and sort after in these treacherous conditions.  The most obvious promotional gift would have to be the printed promotional ice scraper.  It is one of those things you have in your car all year round yet it is the most useful thing on the planet when Jack Frost decides to immerge. You can also opt for the recycled version which is just as good but helps save our planet too.

The second most obvious promotional business gift would be the fashionable beanie.  It is surprising how warm you are when you head is covered and with these embroidered caps you can display your company name and contact details to all!  Think about how many times you look at a person’s face when you are talking to them.  This is how many times people will be glancing at your logo!

Promotional giveaways are also a fantastic way to incentivise employees especially in these dia times.  Office/department competitions are a great way to motivate employees and create a feel good factor around the office.  As we all know a happy team will drive sales to the maximum.  It is surprising how such an inexpensive promotional item can create such great team morale even if it is just a promotional mug, alarm clock or mobile phone accessory!

Get ahead in advertising with Embroidered Caps

We all knew it was coming and no doubt it is a good thing too.  Scotland has banned under 18’s from using sun beds due to the fear of contracting cancer. Research from the BBC has shown that more than one hundred deaths a year of cancer could be accountable to sun bed usage. A scary but realistic fact.  Coin operated sun bed shops have also been banned and they say the UK will follow in Scotland’s footsteps in the very near future.

So if you want to get a tan – you need to go back to the age old methods, (however let’s make it clear sun bathing is not being promoted here). Sit in the sun with your chosen sunscreen and watch the gradual blue tinged skin turn brown (ish)!!  You know for a fact that there is going to be a mass increase in the demand for promotional embroidered caps.  They are a great way to look cool and they enable you to avoid the sun’s glare when you are reading on the beach, attending a outdoor launch or even attending a corporate day! Perfecto!  They are also a great promotional gift to give away at corporate golf days, tradeshows and exhibitions.  Promotional caps not only protect you from the sun, they are also a fantastic advertising tool.  Where ever you clients, customers, employees go, their embroidered cap will follow and allow you to advertise for FREE!! And I mean FREE – a word that has been taken out of the dictionary nowadays!

Embroidered caps are also a great way to kit out your staff, whether it be in the catering industry, retail business or leisure sector.  Promotional caps can be embroidered with your company name and Logo and can display contact details and/or a message or slogan.  Baseball caps also come in a variety of styles to suit every occasion and every budget.  All you need to do is let us know your specifications and away we go...

A promotional clothing makeover for Santa!

I think Santa Claus needs a ‘2008 makeover’ with some new promotional clothing treats.  A stylish leather jacket and outdoor fleece not only provides warmth but an air of sophistication as well.

The promotional clothing could be branded with the ‘St Nick LTD’ label and he could even distribute his own designer stockings!! Come on Mrs Claus bring Santa up to date. The red suit, black belt and snow boots just don’t kick it anymore!

Promotional Giveaways UK

Quality promotional gifts, printed products and promotional giveaways are becoming increasingly popular amongst businesses in the UK. Browse the Hotline Group website for some inspiration.

Hi there, Fireman Sam here, I just thought I would drop you a quick line to let you know how successful our printed promotional products were that you supplied at our last event. Our sole aim was to raise awareness amongst the community and get our message across - "Put it out, right out."  We organised a fun day at the fire station and invited families to join in the fun.  The promotional showstoppers were fantastic and the free promotional yellow t-shirts went down a treat.  Your friendly team at the Hotline Group advised us that promotional neon pencils in yellow would get our message across, along with a bright red DS3 Prodir Ballpen.  We also provided yellow and red Ad loop keyrings with the telephone number of our local fire station on and a red silicone wrist band with the message wrapped around it. The promotional merchandise was delivered to the event on time and the the print was of the highest quality.  We decided to give the helium filled red, orange and yellow balloons to the children and they loved them! We were very happy with the products and the service we received, we will certainly be using the Hotline Group again for our next promotional event!