A fair few resumes come across us this year as we have recruited on several occassions and some of our old job ads are still floating around cyberspace as I type this. Some of the resumes that come through to us are spectacular whilst some look like they were quickly done up in under 10mins by a 5 year old. Of the resumes that score highly on our radar though are neither ones that have qualifications such as university graduates who score a GPA (grade point average) of 4.0 or a high distinction. Nor are the resumes that have an impressive experience record. The ones that instantly stand out are the ones that have:

- A bit of Colour
- Consistent fonts
- A bit of creative flair
- A well balanced page structure
- Simple understandable duties in their prior roles

These stand out for the simple reason that these resumes instantly give out positive vibes about the individual such as: (in order of the points above)

- Care & Pride in their work
- Consistency in their work
- Creativity
- An eye for detail
- Ability to communicate effectively

A resume is much more than the black and white words it contains. A resume and the way it is presented is just as important as the content. It speaks volumes about the way you are and the way you work and is a simple easy snap shot for employers.

Incidentally Cubic Promote will be recruiting soon so if you would like to be in the promotional items industry , have a bubbly personality and a responsible attention to detail attitude then we would want to hear from you. So please drop us a call or an email and ask for Charlie!

The country in which a product has been manufactured within has over time become an indicator for quality. In my opinion though it is a very very poor indicator. There is a fair bit of stereo typing at work here because of the huge amount of product that gets produced a couple of bad products tend to easily give people the perception that everything from that nation must be either cheap or poor in quality or both. Places like India, China, Thaliand, Brazil amongst others are given a bad reputation for producing poor quality products. This is quite unfortunate though as these same countries are also responsible for some exceptional pieces of work which are so high in quality that they probably cant be created in other countries. Work quality you see is not related to country of origin. By saying something from China is cheap and then wink to imply low in quality is simply wrong. The old maxim you get what you pay for applies. Yes! many products from China and India are lower in price because of their labour costs. However at the same time they produce some stunning products from High End Audio Systems as well as production for leading European fashion houses. All of these products being as high if not even better than what others can.

On the flip side having a product made in America or made in England may not neccesarily mean they are better in finish. I have 2 pieces of Audio Equipment which are hand made in England. They costed well over $5000 in rrp price (i got them at a really good deal at cost price!!). The items are brand new but the casework was not cut correctly and the base was made from really low grade plastic. It performs beautifully the but the internal mechanism is playing up after 1 year of use. In summary the quality is bad. On the flip side though I’ve seen some of the tailoring done in England and headphones which are made in the USA which are amazingly high in quality too.

What I’m trying to say is that quality and design can come from anyone and anywhere. China India much like England and USA are all capable of producing flimsy products. These same countries though are able to produce product which are staggeringly well made. Our promotional items are made in a variety of countries. Around 15% from Australia, 5% from India and perhaps 80% from China and other places. Some of which are high in quality some of which are lower. In all instances all our products are high in value. The higher priced products is made with a superior fit and finish as well as a look. We do recomend Aussie made products all the time though but if for some reason that same product is not produced locally please dont assume that the overseas alternative mean a lower quality product, in many instances the opposite is true!

Spring is on us and a new month means a brand new set of promotional item specials. Check out our monthly deals where you get huge value for money products. This month in our specials we are offering a huge offer for promotional items. For custom printed post its we are offering:

- Purchase of 7.5 x 7.5cm Get Free Gift of 5 x 7.5cm post its for half your order
- Each Purchase 12.5 x 7.5cm a Free Gift of 7.5 x 7.5cm post it pad
- Each Purchase 15 x 7.5cm Get a Free Gift of 5 x 7.5cm post it pad
- Each Purchase 15 x 10cm Get a Free Gift of 5 x 10cm post it pad

On top of this we have our new best kept secret Aussie businesses in budget custom branded flashdrives. Our specials are not run out or clearance items. They are genuine discounts on some of our best selling ranges of quality promotional items. Throughout this week we will be offering even more september specials as we head towards the final quarter of this year. So check back to find out more!

In the recent months I’ve come to start shopping for baby clothing and seeking baby apparel that would keep my new bub warm during these winter months. I’m proud to announce we will soon be offering promotional apparel in baby wear! Imagine what a great opportunity it would be to custom brand baby clothes. We already have promotional clothing for kids, and now baby wear will be on offer. These would be a sure hit for recipents with new borns & infants and will be a great exposure for businesses wishing to market to families, mums and dads.

Other new promotional merchandise coming soon include new range of promotional toys and promotional teddy bears. Stay tune for more details, alternatively simply contact us at Cubic Promote for more information 1300 858 288.

It’s official Aussie companies are now fully embraced into social media! (Translation: companies use Facebook Twitter and other interactive websites a lot more) A recent report by AC Nielson found that 75% of Australian companies now allocated up to 10% of their marketing budget for social media. Our larger companies still have more precense than small and medium companies though and they have a very high social media precense. I can only guess that the 10% of the budget is allocated to staff salaries. Interestingly enough Aussie banks are increasingly using it more and more. I guess they have larger budgets. Check out our forrays into social media marketing by joining our Facebook, Twiiter & Youtube. We just did a hilarious skit on indoor promotional items on YouTube where our Team member gets pelted with products!

Statisticall the Nielson survey found the following:
- 72% of Businesses spent 10% or more of marketing budget on Social media
- 14% had a Facebook share button on their site
- 35% of respondents declared that they didnt know how to implement social media as a marketing platform.
- 21% of respondents used Facebook in marketing However not many companies use YouTube, MySpace, Twitter or Flickr
- 15% used their own blog (us included of course )

Interesting numbers. Most of our forays into social media has been more about informing, demonstrating our products and communicating with customers. We also try and have a bit of fun about it too! Feel free to join our twitter and FB and chat with us today!

Undoubtebly a large proportion of our clients use our customised products within corporate events and conferences. Because of that we are right in the middle of things when it comes to identifying trends and what is popular in corporate functions and entertainment for staff and clients. We work with companies big and small as part of their planning process. So here are some interesting observations:

- Events are becoming more tailored to be an emotive experience. They are purposely designed with emotion in mind to engage the participants. This is done by creating themes to events and not just placing your brand logo on a projector screen.

- More detail is placed at the events from the invitation to the decor to what food and niblies there are and not to mention the promotional gifts on offer. Entertainment is becoming more elaborate too with larger corporates securing performers and celebrities to their functions.

- More and more unusual locations are being used for events!

- There are an increasing number of family day events. This really focuses the work life balance emphasis.

- Events are typically streamed live with pictures and videos on huge displays. They are even tweeted on twitter and onto facebook too!

It is also precisely this greater need to cater for themes and the increased effort into events that have been the driving force behind our huge diverse range of product.

Hooray!!! Our long search for candidates has finally landed our first victim!! err hemmm I mean new team member. Courtney Josen has just started with us. She would be assisting with any queries you may have on promotional items.

A short snippet about Courtney:
Name: Courtney
Nickname: Courtz
Favourite Food: Any Type of Junk Food
Favourite Drink: Cranberry Juice or Vodka Lemon Lime
Favourite Quote: The heart is something you cannot control… you either choose to follow it or are left on your own.
In My spare Time I: Read, Watch Movies, Go Out and Sleep!
Favourite Holiday: New Caledonia
Favourite Music: Everything
Countries I’d Like To Visit: The Philippines and France

If you would like to make a produce query with Courtney or anyone of our sales team please contact us today!!

It never too earlier to start planning. Today I’ve received numerous calls from clients requesting promotional products to be custom branded by first week of May. However with the Easter & Anzac Day public holidays plus Labour Day in QLD, this has meant the number of working days available to customise promotional merchandises in time is limited.

May and June is a time for many upcoming conferences. June is also time for end of year budgeting spending!
Get in quick with your promotional items requests and this will help you with:
- ensuring you get the stock you wish including quantities and colours.
- if we don’t have the colours now, at least we can organise more to be stocked
- ensure we have the capacity to schedule your job in time
- offer you options to have your promotional items custom made using an indent service thus saving you money and better buying power.

So its never to earlier to plan ahead for custom branded merchandise, in fact we encourage you to contact us today so that we can help you plan ahead!

First of all…. we are SOOOOO SORRY…. there was a critical error on our website which meant all those kind people who sent through an enquiry did not reach us! What happened? We don’t know. Who did it? An external company working on our website.

So if you are reading this and you have sent through and have not received a reply within 2 hours please please resend your enquiry. We value each and every client and we never ever leave a response unanswered.