How do you feel about lollipops?

I have to admit, they're not my favorite candy. As a kid, Blow Pops and Tootsie pops generally littered my Halloween pumpkin well into April. Mounds Bars, Almond Joys, and Whoppers had priority, in case you wanted to know.

Despite my indifference to Tootsie Pops, I never failed to check the wrapper for a hidden star. Everyone knows that a star-marked wrapper is gold in your hands. Hello, free lollipop!

I never really thought twice about this promotion until my coworker Michael sent me this article last week.

Apparently, it's a total myth, and no one is entirely sure how or why it came to be.

The full illustration shows a boy dressed as a Native American chief shooting an arrow at a five-pointed star. It's said that roughly one third of Tootsie Pops are wrapped in this print, so the star is neither rare nor special.

Check out the full article to read more about how the company responds to letters and crinkled wrappers from kids hoping to redeem their freebie.

Pretty neat how a little 3 inch square piece of coated paper can cause such buzz for a candy company!

As product consultants, our job at Sonic Promos is to advise and guide our clients' choices in branded materials. Much of the time, this entails recommending apparel styles, brands, colors and decoration techniques.

Our choice in product must be synonymous with the campaign's message and budget, but it's equally important that the product appeals to its target audience. If the item's recipient doesn't like the look, feel, or quality of the product, the branding impression loses value.

Pleasing everyone is especially tricky when it comes to apparel. People tend to like clothing for various reasons: the cut fits them well, the color flatters their complexion, the material feels nice against their skin, or the imprinted design appeals to them visually. Unfortunately, these preferences aren't always homogeneous across a target marketing group. Your intended audience probably contains a mix of ages, a mix of body types, and a mix of blondes/brunettes/redheads.

Despite these surface differences, there are generally features in clothing that most people can agree on.

Just for fun, I asked a few Sonic employees to send me pictures of their favorite T-shirts. Though we are a varied bunch in terms of appearance and style, you'll notice several similarities in our choice of tees.

Jamie



These are my favorite shirts for two reasons: 1) the soft fabric and 2) the vintage-style decoration. The blue Red Sox shirt uses a washed, soft-hand ink for its screen print, and the grey Red Sox shirt is decorated with a distressed appliqué. The Celtics shirt is also really soft, but I like the color more than anything. Green looks good on redheads. It brings out the "Irish" in me.

Seth


The Quactus shirt is for my brother Gabe's band. I think the logo is fun, and the colors look nice together. It also makes me think of my kids when I wear it. There's an adorable photo of them wearing the same shirt, taken about four years ago.

The Judge shirt is another favorite of mine because it's red, and I can wear it at Caps games. I get a lot of comments when I wear it... mostly people yelling "JUDGE!". I like to respond with, "I'll be the judge of that" or "This is my Judge Reinhold fan shirt" or "You can't judge a shirt by its color, or can you?"

Lindsay

I bought this shirt a few weeks ago, and if it's not on my body, it's in the wash. Of course I love the cute imprint, but it's the comfortable material that really won me over. This is the American Apparel Track T-shirt, and I've used this model several times for work projects. For some reason, I've never owned one of my own... until now. I also adore the faded blue grey color. In the same vain vein (heh) of Jamie's reasoning above, blue looks good with blonde hair. 

Eve


This shirt is one of my favorites because it's the first T-shirt I bought when I visited Austin before moving there. Being a New York girl, I thought it represented the city's vibe well. Now I know that the "Keep Austin Weird" shirts are much more appropriate!

Jen


I got this shirt at one of the last concerts I attended in El Paso before moving to the DC area, so I associate it with good memories. I also really like the material; it's very comfortable to wear.

Michael


This sweatshirt is one of my favorite pieces to wear. It was a gift from my lovely girlfriend, and it was made by a small apparel company in Cleveland, Ohio. It's very soft, and the neutral grey color goes well with brown, orange, blue and red (Browns and Indians).

I realize this little office poll isn't exactly statistically significant, but it does show you that people look for similar features in a T-shirt. Comfort seems to be a consistent theme in our responses, for example. Though standard heavyweight cotton tees are an economical choice, it might be worth it to invest in a better quality, brushed cotton or fine jersey tee for your next apparel campaign.

It is also important to note that we all personally identify with the branding/imprint. The boys are all proud to support their favorite sports teams, and Jen, Eve, Michael, and I all have fond memories of travels and time spent in our hometowns.

So, while selecting the style(s) and color(s) for your apparel campaign are important decisions, remember that your branding is often the trump card. Ultimately, the whole point is to promote your organization/band/team/company and to connect with your supporters. Work the power of brand equity. Your fans already like you... just give them something fun and comfortable to wear, and they will.

Where will you be on April 22nd? Helping your neighbors? Beautifying the community? Making a difference?

More than 10,000 Jewish teens around the world will be!

J-Serve, the International Day of Jewish Youth Service is scheduled for April 22nd this year.* Taken from the J-Serve website- "J-Serve provides teens with the opportunity to fulfill the Jewish values of gemilut chasidim, acts of loving kindness, tzedakah, just and charitable giving, and tikkum olam, the responsibility to repair the world. Across the globe, teens will join each other to make their community and the world a better place."

For several years now, Sonic Promos has been proud to be involved with this great event. Starting in 2008, Sonic took on the job of designing an event T-shirt and organizing a national order to unite community projects around the country. 

Each year, all shirts share the same front design...

... and information about national sponsors on the back.

Communities have the option to customize the shirt's upper and lower back with their city name(s) and local sponsors.











There are several advantages to group purchase programs-

1. High total quantity and a great price for all: As is true with all promotional products, the higher the quantity of items, the lower the piece price. Some parties might need a large order of 400 pieces while others require just 50. By grouping everyone together, they all benefit from a lower price. 

2. Branding consistency: Printing all materials in one location ensures that there will be no inconsistencies in artwork. Avoid color variations, size discrepancies, proportion distortions and other errors by centralizing production.

3. Centralized invoicing and customer service: This feature of group purchasing is especially advantageous when a central finance department foots the bill for purchases made by multiple branch offices. Would you rather receive invoices from 12 different suppliers in 12 different cities or a single invoice from a single vendor? Easy decision.

If your organization could benefit from group purchasing, contact us at info@sonicpromos.com to organize a program.

*Several communities conduct their community service activities on alternate dates.

In recent weeks, several projects at Sonic have revolved around Bryn Mawr College's rebrand.
 
The college's new logo has a fresh, updated look, and it serves an important role in the school's efforts to engage and connect with students, alumni and faculty. Sonic will be working with BMC closely to ensure that all promotional materials adhere to their new branding guidelines. 

Whether your organization is currently rebranding or not, consider developing a set of basic logo standards or more detailed branding guidelines to protect design integrity. At a bare minimum, develop 1-color, 2-color and full color versions for both light and dark backgrounds, define allowable sizes and proportions, call out PMS colors and list font styles. 

More developed guidelines often include clear examples of how the brand should look across various media, a "Don't Do" section highlighting common errors, and guidelines for copywriting and tone of voice. 

Check out this very helpful article to learn more.

Do you remember learning about fixed costs and variable costs in high school economics? Fixed Costs (FC) + Variable Costs (VC) = Total Cost (TC)

In short, the total cost of a project is comprised of fixed costs that are independent of output and variable costs that vary with output. 

Why the lesson in economics? The reason I bring this up is to help explain certain aspects of promotional products that people sometimes find unfavorable. Chiefly, order minimums and set up charges.

We often have clients request a small number of an item, only to be discouraged by a large minimum. Minimums are in place to protect the manufacturer's profitability. If they incur X amount of start up costs to burn a screen or create a die, set up the machine and prepare the order, they have to recoup that cost in some way, or it makes no sense for them to take on the project.

Does that mean you have to scrap the idea when you had your heart set on branded reusable bags for a 50 person event? Absolutely not.

It might just mean you have to think creatively and use the same item on multiple occasions.

Here's a creative example from client Victory Fund. At a brunch event in San Diego, they used branded Flexi Vases to hold flowers as a centerpiece for each table. Flexi Vases are an inexpensive item, so you can't just run 25 of them for each of your 25 tables. No, a larger order was placed, and the extras were either stored for future brunches or gifted to guests. 

Another good example is paper napkins. Instead of ordering the minimum for a small event, think ahead to your needs throughout the year. Place one large order at the start of the year, and reduce your inventory through events, cocktail hours, and breakfast or lunch sales meetings with clients.