It might seem early to start thinking about corporate holiday gifts, but as any responsible shopper will tell you, now is the prime time to buy.

Why order early?

To Avoid Rush Charges. Waiting until the last minute to purchase client gifts could easily double your budget if rush production and/or expedited shipping are required to meet the in-hands date.

To Enjoy Greater Creativity. Some people get their best ideas under a tight deadline. We are not those people. A short turnaround time limits the number of products we can consider for your project. Give us time to find the perfect product for your project, not just the one that can ship in two days.

To Experiment with Design. More time to plan means more time to tweak and play with the artwork. Allow us to proof out a few options and explore less common decoration methods. Creative design is what makes a good product great.

To Outsource Fulfillment. We offer a wide range of packaging and decorating services to make sure your gifts are presented professionally and creatively. We can also take care of picking, packing and shipping your gifts to separate locations.

To Jump on Special Pricing. This is the time of year when we offer the best prices for holiday gifts. Edibles, holiday cards and calendars in particular are less expensive when ordered before the end of October.

To Lessen Stress. The last two months of the year are incredibly busy for just about everyone. Check this task off your list before it gets buried beneath other to-dos. You'll thank yourself come December!

You're probably familiar with the Five Ws and One H: who, what, when, where, why and how. In journalism, these questions are considered the basics in information-gathering; they comprise a formula for getting the complete story.

The Five Ws and One H are good questions to ask yourself when it comes to promotional planning as well. Don't rush a purchase until you've addressed these six topics.

1. Who is the intended recipient?

First and foremost, determine which market your campaign will target. Are you reaching out to college juniors at a career fair? Fortune 500 executives? Mommy bloggers? A product can easily impress one audience, and miss the mark with another.

Interns at the Human Rights Campaign, modeling some temporary tattoos.

2. Why are promotional materials needed?

"Why" goes hand-in-hand with "Who". Why do you want to distribute promotional products to this particular group? Promotional products are used to motivate a desired action. Do you want to drive website traffic? Encourage participation in a health and wellness program? Thank a loyal client?

It's silly to purchase branded materials "just because". If you look at it that way, your purchase is simply an expense, not an investment. Take the time to identify your objective, your goal. You want to be able to look back at the end of the campaign and assess whether the product effectively achieved the desired outcome.

Stadium cups for a .CO happy hour at SXSW 2012.

3. When is the event or program launch?

If possible, take some time at the beginning of each fiscal year to create a promotional marketing calendar. Note all major events (like trade shows, conferences, career fairs, and company picnics) and projected program launch dates. Reviewing this long term timeline will help you avoid rush situations. You might even spot opportunities to consolidate purchases and order in bulk. For example, if you have career fairs scheduled for both spring and fall, order enough inventory for both events in February, and store the extras.

Moreover, when you have several months of lead time, you open the door for overseas production, allowing for greater customization and potentially smaller spend. More time will give you better options, and ultimately better results.

4. How much money can be spent?

Budget a specific amount for each promotional purchase. You will find that each product category- drinkware, for example- offers an overwhelming variety of products across an extremely wide price range. By determining ahead of time how much or how little you're willing to spend, you automatically narrow the field of potential choices and simplify the decision.

Communicate your budget's parameters to your distributor partner, if you're using one (see #5), so that they can help you find a winning solution.

5. Where to purchase?

Here comes a personal plug. Obviously my response to this question is biased, but I strongly recommend sourcing promotional materials from a trusted distributor partner. Your company will benefit from the distributor's product knowledge, branding expertise, and their established relationships with manufacturers.

Additionally, you alleviate some risk by going through a distributor. Should something go wrong (a misprint, a missed deadline, defective product), your account representative is responsible for providing a solution.

6. What item is the right choice for my campaign?

It's smart to approach this question with a mind open to suggestions from your distributor rep. The reason being, a product often sounds great in theory, but fails in practice. Your branding might have certain properties that render it unsuitable for a particular piece. Perhaps the delicate lines of your tagline will bleed when sublimated on a lanyard, or the finer details of your logo will close on a pad-printed flashlight.

You might have your heart set on one product, but if a similar piece can be done in 1 week instead of 4 weeks, or can save you in shipping because it's produced in the same state as your event, it should be considered. A knowledgeable distributor will proactively spot production conflicts and opportunities, and he/she can guide you toward the best possible product for your campaign.

Think like a journalist when it comes to promotional planning, and remember the Five Ws and One H. These six questions will show the way to successful campaigns and responsible spending.

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.

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. 

I'm sure most of you have seen and used paper placemats printed with small business ads at some point. I often spot them at local diners, right before they meet their demise at the hand of my 7-year-old, armed with a fistful of crayons.



Cristy's, a fabulous breakfast spot on the Connecticut shore, has raised the bar from the placemat co-op and put the results in thousands of thirsty hands. The resulting branded coffee mugs received plenty of "grown-up" eye time at our table as my family attacked a pile of "crunchy" pancakes and  some delicious French toast during vacation. I think I downed at least three cups of joe myself!



Clearly, the mugs are popular among hot cocoa drinkers as well.

For retailers who carry major brands, many take advantage of co-op advertising to maximize their marketing budgets. If they include a partner brand on their in-store advertisements- a banner, tabletop display, printed counter mat, apron or hat- the partner provides funding for the campaign and offsets some of the cost of the printed goods.

The co-op partnership can accomplish significant goals for small businesses like Cristy's too. An inexpensive item, like a mug, becomes an engaging advertisement that benefits several local establishments looking to reach a targeted audience. At the same time, Cristy's saves a bit of money on the cost of drinkware and builds a feeling of community.

That's a win for all parties involved, especially the cocoa drinkers.