Blog posts of '2017' 'July'

2017 Champagne Supernova 2

I have only just committed to this years ride as my wife has been suffering from an acute prolapsed disc. I really thought that she would need an operation but thanks to a revolutionary new treatment called IDD (contact Anthony Padgett at Back in Shape Shirley) she is making a miraculous recovery. So now I can turn my attention to helping my charity of choice. Ordinary 2 Extraordinary is dedicated to encouraging ordinary people to do extraordinary things to raise money for children that probably won't ever have the chance to do so themselves. As always with O2E any event is totally self funded so that every penny raised goes to the children that need it most. As I expect that it will be the usual suspects that make donations I would just like to thank you all so much for the support. I know that every cause is a good cause and you just can't support them all which makes every donation even more appreciated. 

One of the most comfortable pens you can use now is what is known as a 'Soft-feel rubberised' pen. 

In the past although this was a lovely pen to write with and hold they had the disadvantage of only being printed on in a single colour due to the very material that makes them so nice to use. Due to the ever increasing demand for these pens considerable investment has been made to conquer the difficulties presented in branding them.

We are delighted to announce that we can now supply these highly desirable pens branded in full colour if you so desire. Just think how pleased your customers or potential customers would be to receive one of these gorgeous pens.

Portable lithium batteries or 'power banks' have become the must have promotional tech gadget over the past couple of years. The global market for these devices is forecast to grow to £14 billion by 2020. They typically offer an increasingly good branding opportunity / cost per item ratio. With the added bonus that they will definitely be kept and used.

The potential problem though is that due to their ever growing popularity some suppliers are sacrificing quality to maintain margins in an increasingly competetive market. They are subject to the same compliance requirements as other electrical items and need CE, Reach and RoHS certification. They also need battery reports to allow them on cargo aircraft and the handling rules for dangerous goods need to be followed. Even with all this though some lower quality models have found their way onto the market and some highly respected brands such as Samsung have suffered as a result. 

Clearly a more stringent certification would be nice and the world renowned American testing facility United Laboratories has developed a specific accreditation for power banks - UL2056. We make sure all of the power banks we supply meet the existing standards and will be looking out for ones that meet this new standard with interest. 

A superb branded gift but not one suitable to be in the 'cheap and cheerful' price bracket.

A device to make it easier to take a good selfie with your cat has won the BPMA Student Design competition. George Hill took first place and suggested a brand like Whiskas could incorporate it in its packaging. You're supposed to shake your phone a little bit to ring the bell and attract the attention of your cat.

Well done George. Second place went to Jonathan Slater who designed a Klipsi to help resolve the problem of phone charger cables breaking and third place went to Areeb Ali who created an innovative seed pot holder that could be flat packed.

Clearly new products that can be branded with your logo are being created all the time. Congratulations to everyone who took part.

On March 28th this year the Royal Mint introduced a new 12 sided pound coin. Lots of you have 'Trolley Coins' produced to promote your business as they are very useful they tend to get kept and used by your customers. The old style coins will be removed from circulation mid October this year giving another few months to convert any mechanism to accept the new pound coins. The industry maintains that the new mechanisms will accept the old style and the new style coin. This means you do not have to throw away any old stock you have. When it comes to replace it though the new styles we can offer will show how up to the minute your company is.