Big Frey Promotional Products

Many corporate recruiters make the same mistake year after year. They buy giveaways based on what they like, which usually doesn’t match up with what the students like. To run a successful campaign, you have to think like the students.

Most college students are tech-savvy, they have a laptop, iPod, and a smartphone. They’ll appreciate a new gadget or accessory for these devices. The micro spot (pictured to the left) is a great example. This is a micro-fiber screen cleaner with an adhesive on the back. Students then use the cleaner on their gadget and stick it to the back of their phone until next time. This gives your brand prime real estate right on the back of their beloved device!

Students are also very active. They’ll hang on to anything that can be used at the gym or on a run. The retractable earbuds (pictured to the right) make a great giveaway. When students are out for a run, they dont want the headphone cords dangling around. With these, the cord can be taut tightly to avoid the annoying dangling. It also provides a great imprint area for your brand.

Last, students have become very eco-friendly. A product that can be promoted as eco-friendly adds huge value to the giveaway. The seeded card (pictured left) is a great eco-friendly alternative to plastic giftcards. After the student redeems the giftcard, they can plant it in a pot and grow wildflowers. A unique idea that stands out very well.

So remember, when looking for on campus giveaways, think like a student!

When purchasing promotional products, you need quality that you can count on and QCA insures that quality. QCA stands for Quality Certification Alliance, which is a not for profit accreditation organization. QCA accredits factories abilities to detect and deter non-compliant products before they reach our clients. A non-compliant product can lead to a variety of problems such as poor quality products and safety concerns, which can easily damage brand.

QCA protects your brand through:

• Quality Assurance to verify a product will work properly, meeting or exceeding expectations.
• Environmental Stewardship to help businesses comply with “green” standards in the United States and worldwide.
• Product Safety to adhere to rules and regulations as set fourth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and like agencies. This includes product testing.
• Social Compliance to protect the health and well being of employees and factory workers with a fair and safe workplace.

Protect your brand image by using QCA certified products for your next order.

In a tweet earlier this week, we mentioned that some of our clients are saving money by using “program pricing”. We want to fully explain that concept in this entry.

If a client knows that they will be reordering a product multiple times in the future, we can often setup a program for that client. For this program, the client gives us an idea of frequency and quantity of future orders and from there we can setup special “program pricing” to save that client money.

Program pricing allows our clients to take advantage of volume discounts, without having to inventory the products or shell out the cash upfront.

Programs work well for items that need to be frequently replenished such as pens, highlighters, etc. Contact us to check if you could benefit from program pricing.

This entry, we want to make our clients aware of our unique employee incentives program available to them.

Many companies utilize a bread and butter incentive program that offers specific gifts for certain achievements. This often leaves employees with a lackluster gift that doesn’t achieve the desired result of rewarding the employee.

Here at Big Frey, we have the unique ability to create a POINTS BASED rewards system that functions much like an airline’s frequent flyer store. Employees earn points for continued service and for meeting goals set by the company. Those points then accumulate in their “bank”, and they are free to spend those points whenever they want on a large selection of brand name merchandise.

This program is fully automated from awarding the points to sending the gifts. It takes the work off your shoulders and lets your employees pick the gifts THEY want.

Contact us for more information, and stay tuned for more from Big Frey Promotional Products.

In an earlier video post, we stressed the importance of understanding that it is not about what YOU like, it’s about what your RECIPIENT likes. We set up a focus group with college kids to gauge their reaction to creative promotional products to find out what products REALLY build brand.

And the Survey Says…….

For an hour and a half, we had college students touch, feel and react to an abundance of promotional products in every major category – from tech to eco-friendly, apparel to food, office supplies and more. Without discussing the products amongst themselves, the students were allowed to ask the focus group leaders any questions about the products to better understand the products.

The Promotional Products College Kids Want

The data was recorded and then the results were compiled. In this blog, we are reporting on the students most favorite promotional products.

Focus Group Results

The graph above shows the items the students put in their “top ten favorite promotional products” most often. As illustrated in the graph, USB Drives ranked among the most popular item tied with the seeded download cards.

Creative Products also Build Brand on Campus

In related questioning, students responded that they like receiving creative products and they believe promotional products definitely help companies build brand when they are recruiting talent on college campuses.

In future posts, we will cover specific products that peaked their interest, so stay tuned!

Gifts and giveaways are an excellent way to build brand and stand out during the college recruiting process. Well thought out and creative gifts can give your company a leg up against the competition and help attract the best talent available. We have developed gifting stages to help you highlight your company/brand during the recruiting process.

The strategy consists of four stages of giving:

1. On Campus Recruiting: This is typically the “first touch” your company will have with prospective recruits. Giveaways at this stage typically have a lower price point and are used to draw attention to your brand. Example: Music Download Card
2. The Interview Process: Once a recruit has made it to the interview process, companies will give something to continue to highlight the company brand.  This gift might be something that can be used during the interview such as padfolios or jotters that recruits can use to take notes during interviewing.
3. “Say Yes” Gifts: Recruiting talent is extremely competitive and it is important to lock up the best talent available. Companies use the “Say Yes” program to remind recruits how valuable they will be to the organization and entice them to say “yes” to your job offer.  Companies have given picture frames so the recruit can “picture themselves” working at the organization or food items so recruits can have a “freebie” night!
4. Welcome Gift: Once a recruit is an employee, a welcome gift is given to onboard them into the company. Typically, these gifts have a higher perceived value then the previous giveaways and can be used in the job, such as a computer case or apparel.

Proper implementation of a gift giving strategy can effectively build your brand with potential employees and lead to an overall higher recruitment success rate.

If you are a Midwesterner like me, it is sometimes hard to remember the balmy days of summer. The same day I dug my car out of what seemed like an eternity of snow, a client called about summer internship preparation. Summer internship prep? HUH?

Who is the 2010 Talent?

I have heard from a lot of clients asking about various resources for the tried and true institution of the summer intern – a mass exodus of exceptional people working extremely hard for very little pay while engaging in brief moments of team building and play hoping that a full-time offer will be extended within the following year.

The 2010 pool of available internship seekers are job hungry and certainly worried about the job market upon graduation in 2011. I want to touch on the importance of “touching these individuals.” If these folks indeed are the best options for full time hiring, then you want to show them how valuable they are to your organization.

Lower Your Cost Per Hire

How can you maintain a strong marketing program in this economy? Easily. As we have said time and time again, know your audience, know your budget and employ promotional tools that will attract attention to your company. The more attention you pay to the preparation and planning process, the less it will cost your company in the end. Recruiting and training are costly, so keep turnover at a minimum!

Here are some imminent times that you can “touch” the interns and enhance your brand:

Opportunity 1

• PRE-ARRIVAL to the internship program including campus events, career placement office events, during the midterm and final exam study period, etc.
• WHY: Pre-arrival gifts help differentiate your brand from the competition

Opportunity 2

• A WELCOME GIFT at the start of the internship program.
• WHY: First day gifts can help you set the tone of the program and set expectations

Opportunity 3

• THEMED gifts for special events such as golf outings, luncheons, sporting events, “end of the summer” party, etc.
• WHY: Interns will certainly remember the work but also make sure they remember the play!

Opportunity 4

• OFFER gifts immediately after you extend a full-time employment opportunity
• WHY: Reiterate their value to the organization and your continued support.

Always keep in mind that a well run internship program, from planning to execution to follow-up, means LOWERING YOUR COST PER HIRE and real ROI for the company.

So many of you have heard us talk about the Group Buy concept.  It is something very new to our service offering and a powerful tool that helps clients leverage buying power within an organization.  The Group Buy offering has many advantages for both promotional product buyers and management.

What is Group Buy?  Basically, Group Buy connects buyers within an organization so they can leverage their buying power and take advantage of economies of scale. For example, a sales person for firm X is interested in purchasing a branded pen with their information imprinted on it. They can place the order through us and we will create a “group buy” that can be sent to fellow colleagues in any department within the organization.  The original buyer sets a time period for purchases to be made by colleagues – typically the time range is a week to 10 days.  Each colleague can order the set minimum quantity, put their own messaging or brand on the product, have the product shipped directly to them and receive separate invoicing. As more pens are added to the order amongst the various departments, the price drops for everyone involved in the Group Buy. At the end of the Group Buy, everyone who ordered gets the lowest price achieved. Group Buy saves everyone involved time and money!

Group buy can also be used by management to “bless” products that meet cost limitations and brand guidelines. Through Group Buy, management can pick out certain products and release them to promotional product buyers for a set period of time. Additionally, upon completion, management can create promotional product tracking reports to help management plan for future promotional product spending.

When utilized, group buy is an effective tool that saves money, controls the brand, spreads creative ideas, and manages cost reporting.

We just wanted to drop a quick blog about something we have going on here at BigFrey. We recently received a request from a client to bundle a group of different promotional products and ship them to different addresses as part of a customer appreciation program. To do this, we needed to find a fulfillment house to pick, pack, and ship these packages.

So, we partnered with Countryside Association, a state government supported program that employs developmentally disabled adults, to help us complete this task. It has been a great way to give back to the community during the holiday season, while still providing the top-notch service our client expects.