To everybody reading this I hoped you had a Merry Christmas and a 2013 Happy New Year in the coming days. We and our team are now on a short break and will return on the 7th of January 2013. So now that the year 2012 is almost behind us I thought to share through a series of 3 different posts a round up on what we have done in the past year and the types of products that have been insanely popular/unpopular, most innovative/perplexing, and best value.

1. Promotional products may fail.
2. Consider unique promotional product ideas.
3. Choose the right promotional products.

2012 Not So Popular Promo Giveaways

Starting with the products that were not popular this

Starting next year we are offering as an additional add on the option for your promotional bottle to come delivered with a squeezy squirt nib. These nibs are a step better than standard ones that we supply. For starters you only need one hand to grab your bottle and to start drinking. No fiddling around with pop tops or screw lids. Instant thirst quenching.

What makes these nibs special (other than the fact that they squirt a long distance) is that they don't need a cap to hold the water in. You see tipping them upside down like this:

Its Summer Time!...... it may not feel like it on certain days (such as today) but on other days like the weekend its definitely here. Another great summer promotional product is the promotional chiller bag. The cool thing about chiller bag (pardon the pun... i just couldnt help myself) is that their branding area is huge. They are meant to be seen! We have a huge range of cooler bags to suit all types of occassions.

Fill them up with produce and your team can use them to distribute taste test samples! Fruit, ice-cream, chilled drinks and the like would simply be perfect as taste tester pouches. Get your cooler bag in the same colour as your branding or event theme for that perfect look!

Other ideas would be to use them as corporate or event gifts. Hand them out to clients.... nicer ones for your existing important clients and dignitries and perhaps budget ones (which are still just as nice) to potential customers.

Promotional gadgets are products that are always amongst my favourite when recommending promotional gifts. Now gadgets mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For example some folks may think that a mobile phone or a digital camera is a gadget. To me they are not gadgets but absolute essentials because they perform a certain function that approaches the definition of "need" as opposed to a product that isa "want,". With gadgets I clasify as products that are merely to amuse or to entertain. This is where I think promotional gadgets are so good as corporate branded gifts.

Some low tech gadgets I personally love and would recomend them as being suitable for all ages include:

- Slinkies
- Promotional Yo Yos
- Novelty Promotional Pens
- Magic Colour change promotional mugs

For techie gadgets

It got me thinking. Here at Cubic Promote we do promotional gifting. Products which are branded with your logo from big to small and cheap to extravagent. However what have been some of the most elaborate and greatest gifts ever been used as corporate gifts. I decided to do some research and just for a bit of fun here goes:

The Top 5 Greatest Corporate Gifts Ever List!

(in order starting from number 1.)

1) The Statue of liberty. In no way will we ever have in our range of product something so absurdly beautiful and monumental. Yes we are good at product sourcing but the Statue of Liberty is possibly something even we will struggle with. The history behind what is essentially a corporate gift started in 1865 when a French politician thought it was a good idea to give the Americans something to remember and celebrate their independence. I do not ever think that a gift like this will ever be surpassed.

2)

Logos come in all shapes and sizes as we all know. We have worked with logos that range from simply having a single basic shape to ones that are elaborate and in full colour. Other logos we have worked with are simply text. Some with amazing looking font and some seemingly just in Arial. We have even worked with logos where seemingly there is a small paragraph of text that goes hand in hand with the logo. As there are so many different types of logos today I want to talk about layouts and how it can effect the way your product looks visually.

When it comes to branding on products or for that matter print or online media it would make sense to consider not just the size of your logo but if it will be a rectangle shape or a square shape. Or it may simply be a choice to consider, landscape or portrait orientation. Something as simple as the shape of your logo can mean the difference between a branded product that looks amazing or one that looks a bit odd and a little strange.

Having direct access to around 8000 products today means that it is not everyday that we go wow when we see a brand new product here at Cubic Promote. That changed when a brand new style of highlighter reached our showroom. The highlighter in question looked rather dull from the outside to be honest and we have other products that are by far more interesting to look at. This was until we were shown a demonstration of the product last week. You see this printed logo highlighter is made from wax!! Yes that is correct. Actual wax. The amazing thing is that the colour that these pens created were identical to the real thing. When a user is using the product the surprise and wow factor is akin to a Heston creation (ie. the famous nerdy bold chef in the UK that creates weird but amazing food) like biting into a citrus orange which is in fact a chicken sausage. Its simply