A Jute bag is made from a plantation fibre (classified as a vegetable) that is made from the plantation family called Tiliaceae or Malvaceae. This fibre is spun much like a heavy duty rope to create strands of thread. Its typically rough and course in feel and commonly you can see them in their untreated brown form. Its a very low cost material similar to calico bags (cotton) as well as Non Woven Bags (PVC plastic material).

Jute Bags are our 4th best selling type of promotional bag behind:

1) Non Woven Bags
2) Calico Bags
3) Nylon Bags (like backpacks & duffle bags)
4) Jute Bagsjute

To create a Jute Bag the first thing that is needed is the stem of a Jute plant. Only the outer skin is used. This type of plant is mainly exported from Bangladesh and the crop is quite durable and easy to grow even with limited fertilizer and insectisides. Generally just natural rain sunshine and common soil is required. This plant is then processed and used to create the material.

The good thing about Jute bags compared to other fabrics is that it is extremely durable. It will take an enourmous amount of stress pressure to tear a Jute Bag which makes it very durable and resistant to “stretching,” which effects the aesthetic of a bag and how durable it is. Best of all the production process required means that it is very sustainable and less resource intensive when producing the fabric.

Today Jute bags can be found as:
1) Super market Eco Bags
2) Conference bags
3) Expo bags

They are a great promotional item because they are not only eco friendly but they also retain their shape a lot better than other bags leading to a typically longer use lifespan. The Jute fabric is also quite flexible in creating both a course fabric as well as a very fine fabric which is so smooth that it has been used as a substitute for silk. This allows the Jute bag to be created in many different variations in both quality and aesthetics to suit a wide range of use.

Our recommendation if opting for the popular middle of the range brown jute bag is to brand in Reflex Pantone Red Green or Black for maximum clarity. Other colours work but arent as nice on a brown surface. The typical promotional jute bag gives a lovely finish which is quite earthy and very appealing compared to the sometimes “plastic,” look and feel of a non woven bag or the flopy nature of a calico bag. When a Jute bag eventually reaches the end of its useable life the promotional bag becomes 100% bio degradable and simply dissolves harmlessly within landfill. A custom branded jute bag is not water proof though. In fact it is not even splash proof as the fibre is much more loose than both non woven and calico cotton fabric. So for events with an anticipated rainy day it is definitely a bag to avoid as it absorbs and leaks water very very easily.

I got some really cool dynamite sticks stressballs the other day. They were heaps cute and were a big hit as i saw scores of people wanting to get one. I was lucky and got one early so i missed the crowds. One thing that i noticed though was that the staff handing them out got a little lazy really quickly. Initially I observed them handing out 1 stress ball per passer by. They were even really diligent too as the product they were handing out related to a wine delivery service and they made an effort to only hand out to adults. However after a while they seemed to get either a bit tired or a bit lazy. They started out handing them out to anyone that would accept one and worse still they started handing them out by the handful. ie. 3 per person and even 4 per person.

What they were handing out was not cheap. It had a 2 position print and had a custom shape and based on the quantity I saw I can assume they costed roughly $1.80 each. The tricky thing about handing them out in bunches is that several things occur:

1) You run out of product very quickly
2) Recipients have more than they need and start disposing them

a 3rd scenario may occur being:

3) They hand out the excess ones to their colleagues and friends (you would hope this would happen)

However we may never know that the recipient will indeed give to others. Which means when your team members are handing out promotional items it is always better that they hand out 1 per recipient to really ensure your advertising dollar goes further!

Broadly speaking having any product branded with not the logo or brand of the designer or the manufacturer of the product but with your corporate logo can be considered a promotional item. This means that everything from the branded credit card book that you sign at the end of a meal in a restaurant to a sports bag with your local gym logo on it can all be considered a promotional item. So who are promotional items intended for? Well generally they are for:

1) People who may be a potential customer in the future
2) People who are existing customers of yours
3) As an incentive for fund raising
4) For team and staff members
5) As a thank you memento for participating in an event

For any of these purposes promotional items are fantastic. Being on the receiving end of anything that is free is always fantastic. Being on the receiving end of a product with a high perceived value and that is functional and looks great makes it even better. There are several positives that will be associated with the company giving out promotional items. This includes:

- An ongoing exposure of your brand and your logo for years to come to the recipient
- The same exposure of your brand to passerbys of the recipient like colleagues and reatives
- An initial euphoria emotion when a recipient receives something for free (not unlike the psychology that happens when we buy something from a shop)
- Attracts attention and traffic to you (such as a tradeshow stand or a marketing campaign)
- An assumption that your company is generous
- An assumption that your company is large

Given these positives promotional items are a fuss free simple low cost way to really effectively reach your intended customer.

Many of the clothing we wear everyday is made from Polyester. Same with our range of promotional apparel. From promotional caps to promotional polo shirts we have both budget and premium options which use polyester. You see polyester need not neccesarily be associated as being a cheap substitute for cotton. In fact in many instances it has many advantages over cotton such as being less prone to creasing and having more “structure,” to give your garment a better look. It is also easier to care for polyester because they dry a lot quicker than cotton and is also a more durable fabric. So the reputation of polyester as being a cheap inferior alternative to cotton is very much misguided.

However although many people refer to polyester what exactly is it? Well polyester is made from a substance called: polyethylene terephthalate or PET. Sounds familiar? Well its actually the same substance found in PET bottles which are plastic bottles commonly used in bottled water or as Coke bottles. This PET is heated and turned into fibers through a chemical process. The result is a polyester fabric as we know it.

The advantages of Polyester meant that it is an excellent material when used in products such as promotional caps, promotional t shirts, corporate apparel and even sports wear. Over time there have been other advances in materials in combing polyester with cotton (sometimes know as poly cottton mix) and also other more exotic fabrics like elastacene and recently cool dry fabric which makes fabric resistant to water (hence wont stick to your skin) to make a sports garment more breezy and cooler for the wearer.

Violet! a word named after the flower. It is a colour that is commonly referred to as purple. In promotional items it is not a popular colour compared to others. It is not a colourthat is eye catching like red nor traditional like blue and neither does it have the timeless appeal that black or white promotional items have. However i is still a colour that can have quite a few symbolic meanings and is quite appealing in its own right. It is a colour created bu mixing red and blue (incidentally the 2 best selling colours of product in our range)

The colour purple is commonly associated with royalty. In many western and eastern colours it is a colour used to symbolize eliteness and in some cultures spirituality. Purple is commonly associated with these positive traits:

- Creativity
- Imagination
- A warm feeling colour
- Precious / Rare

The bad things associated with this colour is
- Moodiness when presented in large amounts of colour

Promotional items in the colour purple or branded using the purle colour has many positive attributes to it. However it is best to use in moderation. Some of the items that are available in purple include:

- Purple Stressballs
- Purple Mousepads
- Purple Promotional Pens
- Purple custom post its
- Purple Thermal Mugs

Promotional items is used to build a brand name and create recognition. It can give your company a favourable impression which then can be used to promote your products and services. This can give you an edge over your competitors and hence as a marketing tool it is supurb. However in the wrong hands promotional material can and has been used for evil!!!

I was reading this article on the Sydney Morning Herald and a gentleman by the name of Lord Edward Davenport has been arrested for fraudulently obtaining $6.5million dollars. He rubbed shoulders with celebrities and the rich and famous. There are heaps of pictures with him and people like Al Pacino, Paris Hilton amongst others. How he did it? Well he apparently fleaced people of their savings by posing as a business man. With a swish address and promotional material such as the products we sell on our website like Letterheads, business cards and merchandise which were all tastefully created to create an illusion that he was a legitimate company.

All this of course came unstuck (they always do) when he failed to deliver on his promises. However just the fact that he was able to use promotional items as well as his personality to create a strong enough impression for people to part with a total of $6.5 million just goes to show how effective merchandising with your corporate logo can create for your marketing purposes.

Here is some pictures of this con man:

Black is a colour that can represent many different things and appeal to various emotions. That and the fact that it is a known slimming colour for clothing. It is a very strong no nonsense colour that can meanings of strength and power in the right amount though. As a promotional item the best colour to brand on a black background is white. Other shades of colour we recomend to print on a black promotional item includes yellow, red or pink. Branding on black using greens or blues simly dont turn out well and we do not recomend it. Most of our products include the colour black. So this includes items such as:

Stressballs
Branded Business Card Box’s
Promotional Pens
Promotional Bags
Promotional Caps
& Much more

Black is a colour that does not reflect light. It absorbs light. In various countries the colour black has different symbolic meanings. For example:

- In martial arts the black belt is the highest honour for knowledge and technique in their discipline
- A colour worn to grieve for a deceased person.
- In England Taxi Cabs in England are Black
- In China Black is associated with Water, Winter and the direction North
- An old fable says that if a woman is buried in black she will come to haunt the family

Black coloured promotional products are probably our 3rd best selling colour behind the ever popular blue and red. It is simple and is a very safe option when you are presented with lots of options and suits most logos and corporate colours and themes.

1 Stressball makes for a great promotional item and one happy recipient. However in a tradeshow setting where every one of your competitors is competing for the same attention of a particpant it would take a lot of creativity to draw their attention in the first place. I have seen all sorts of gimicks in conferenes such as free popcorn, fake cash giveaways, video games, gigantic inflatable balloons and more! However how about this for an idea for your next conference. Typically for any tradeshow a client will easily go through 500 stress shapes. Typically a thousand stress balls is enough to keep up with demand over a normal 2 day tradeshow. So how about using your promotional stress toys to attract attention? Here are 3 easy tips to get the most out of your stress balls for your next event!

Tip 1) Really show off your stress shapes by sticking with 1 colour. If your logo is red and your trade booth is red in theme then obviously go for a red stress ball only!

Tip 2) Why not opt for a fun custom shape so instead of a red round stress ball go for a red stress shaped tomato! It still in your theme colours and will make things interesting. If your colour is yellow try a stress hamburger. Green? Go for a stressball green apple. Blue? Go for a blue pyramid or a blue water drop stress ball.

Tip 3) In your trade booth dont leave brown paper box’s visible. Hide them. If the stress balls came in one some how get a big vase or a big box…. any container that can be used to utilise your stress shapes as a decor and a visual point of interest.

3 Easy tips which can be implemented easily and along with friendy approachable staff and good booth decor you are guaranteed to attract good attention.

There is more than one place to decorate when it comes to embroidery on Polo Shirts.

The left hand side on the chest area is the most common request for our branded jobs but there are also other areas which can be embroidered as well. The collar is actually a good location to embroid a business logo and can often look very sleek. It is also good location to brand to avoid the awkward looks one may get when trying to check out a business’s branding (which is on a ladies chest!). Another place to decorate polo tshirts are the sleeves, especially for co-branding. Remember MasterChef? Well it was obvious that Qantas had sponsored MasterChef, their Qantas sysmbol was on the sleeves of the contestants branded shirts.

Back of the Promotional Polos you may ask? Screen printing Yes, but not for embrodiery. Embroidery on such a large space won’t look good we always recommend screenprinting instead.

What other promotional products would be suitable for embroidery? Promotional Caps, Branded Scarves, Beanies, custom towels and promotional bags. All fabric products would be suitable. Don’t forget, with embroidery you can have full colour logos. Pricing of embroidery will be based on the stitches required and not based on the number of colours. This could be more cost effective than to chose printing. Contact us if you would like to discuss your decoration options when you need promotional products next time.

Having an entire colour represent your event is a masterstroke in advertising. With thousands of logos and thousands of slogans it is very easy to have your event or your message mixed in with others so that the normal everyday person may either

A) Get Confused
B) Ignore and Tune out

So when Pink becomes a colour synonymous with health care and in particular health care for women it is truly a super smart marketing idea. Its almost like marketing the USA as a gigantic cheeseburger. eg. Think USA & you associate with cheeseburgers. Making pink a mascot is like patenting a colour unofficially for your events use.

So it is with this colour Pink in mind that we are pleased to announce that we are have stocked a range of promotional products in the colour Pink! Such as:

Pink Branded Caps
Pink Fitness Towels
Pink Promotional Bags
Pink Promotional BackPack
Pink Branded Beach Towels
Pink Highlighters
Pink Promotional USB drives