Apparel Case Study - How to create Buzz Around an Upcoming Movie Release

THE PROBLEM: How to create buzz around an upcoming movie release

Producers of The Mechanic, an action thriller starring Jason Statham as a hit man, needed a unique promo to stand out amid the din of movie madness bombarding the media and consumers today. They were thinking T-shirts, but the promotional supplier they worked with had a variation of that theme in mind.

THE PITCH: Running with the “weapons” theme, Brad White, vice president of sales for San Diego-based supplier AddVenture Products (asi/31940), worked with a distributor to produce a series of unique compressed T-shirts, says Angela Bankston, who heads up marketing for AddVenture and worked with White on the project.

Rather than giving traditional T-shirts to members of the press covering the movie, as well as to other potential moviegoers, Bankston and White had a more radical idea. They suggested that the movie’s marketers should have the shirts shrink-wrapped and compressed into the shape of guns, playing into the movie’s theme to make a bigger impact on T-shirt recipients.

To boost the film’s visibility, AddVenture also suggested adding a quick response (QR) code to the compressed tees, which, when scanned by a user’s smart phone, takes the user directly to the movie’s website and trailer. The technology, in conjunction with promotional items, and particularly apparel products, is an increasing trend, says Bankston – “something that’s going to be huge for 2011.”

The best part? QR codes are free for end-users, making them an ideal marketing tool to combine with product promotions.

THE OUTCOME: The movie was released this month, and the verdict is still out on what kind of box-office draw and revenue it will generate. But the initial promo helped to garner a wealth of media attention for the film’s release.

Case Study - "Green Queen" Uses Eco Message

Recycled tote bag is a self-promotion success.

Sustainability has become a key selling point in the real estate industry. This is why Susan Singer, senior vice president of sales for The Corcoran Group and a self-proclaimed “eco-broker,” has branded herself “The Green Queen;” she promotes the sustainability of the properties she is offering, and drives potential clients to her website with an eco-friendly promotional product.

“Years ago, I used refrigerator magnets and a mouse pad, and they both got me a lot of mileage,” says Singer. “But I wanted to do something that was eco-friendly this time and that could be used in an eco-friendly way.”

To help spread the word about her business, Singer ordered plenty of imprinted tote bags made of recycled plastic material. The bags feature a stenciled image of the historic London Terrace apartment building, which she is a broker for, as well as her contact information and branding for Corcoran Group Real Estate. She says she decided not to include the name of the London Terrace building so that the bag would have wider appeal – she wanted it to be, “just about living in New York and having an eco-friendly bag … that way people will want to use them and it’s just free advertising.”

Singer sent the totes to her neighbors, clients and potential clients – and gave one to every unit in London Terrace. She also distributes them at events when the opportunity arises. For example, she recently offered the bags after she spoke at an Earth Day seminar at Baruch College in Manhattan.

The totes direct people to Singer’s website, where they will find information about her properties ranging from Brooklyn to Uptown Manhattan, as well as Tales of the Green Queen, a regular comic strip in which a cartoon version of Singer tours the city, helping people save on energy costs.

While Singer acknowledges that these days the economy often weighs on real estate buyers more than the environment does, she says the totes get an enthusiastic response. “I’ve had people call me or e-mail me saying, ‘I am so grateful for this tote, it’s so sweet and reminds me of the building,’ and people from the building have just stopped me on the street,” she says. “It’s really been very good for me.”

The Power of a Pen

I recently received a case study from a supplier that I wanted to share. I think this speaks volumes to the power promotional products have.

The following simple stories illustrate the usefulness of promotional products that goes way beyond the statistics. People DO remember what they have been given.

This case study is written by a co-worker of the subject, Alvin Badiner.

Anyone in the upper Midwest either knows or has heard of Al Badiner. Al has been a "peddler" of promotional products for 50 of his 80 plus years. In his early 80's he still maintains being in the top 10 of his company's sales force. Why? Because he believes in what he sells. He promotes the industry by promoting himself.

Anyone who meets Al is immediately given a pen with his famous To a friend of Al Badiner imprint. The longer you know Al, the more and varied items you'll receive with this imprint.

• Years ago while trying to obtain a car loan I was at a bank and being asked a series of questions. When it came to employment, they asked where I worked. When I said Spartan Group, the loan officer stopped, thought for a moment , and then lifted up his To a friend of Al Badiner pen and said, "Do you know Al?" After that, my loan process somehow became smoother and much more relaxed.

• Al's family was at a hotel and one son received a room less than adequate. After trying to change rooms and the hotel being "full" the clerk was jotting down some notes and asked his name. Once the Badiner name was established, the clerk looked up and said "Oh, are you related to him?" while proudly showing his recent gift, a To a friend of Al Badiner pen. Suddenly a room became available, with a view no less.

• At a local store after the holiday I was trying to return an item I was given as a gift. The clerk asked if I had the receipt, as they would only accept the return with an original receipt or gift receipt. I apologized that I had "no receipt" and I understood policy. She looked up studied me for a minute and said "Didn't you give me this pen?" Sure enough, it turned out I had been in the store months before, and when she couldn't locate a pen - I pulled a To a friend of Al Badiner pen from my purse and let her keep it. She proceeded to take the return. Without a receipt. You can imagine how grateful I was.

• Just recently at a beloved customer's funeral, I was talking with a woman who said she was a granddaughter of the deceased. I introduced myself and then Alvin. She was beside herself "Oh , you're Al Badiner! I have your pen in my purse. I've used one all my life. My friends want to meet you - they all have your pens as well. I feel like I have known you forever!"

• A few years ago, one of our customers-a large national insurance company put on a a vendor appreciation luncheon. Al had attended this for many years. They had collected To a friend of Al Badiner items. As a gift for the 50 or so people being honored as top vendors were a couple of different To a friend of Al Badiner items at each place setting to share and to promote the vendor they knew and loved.

You never know when and how a promotional product will have an impact and be remembered. Think of all the people who believe they are a "friend of Al Badiner," And indeed it turns out to be true.

The industry studies show that over 76% of recipients of a promotional product recall the advertiser's name on the product they received. In addition, over 75% said they actually kept the promotional product - because it was useful!

This study was provided by Sweda USA.

Boru Takes Battle of the Bands Online

Anyone who has ever attended college has likely experienced at least one battle of the bands competition. The scene generally involves a few wannabe rock stars with semi-tuned instruments and loud amps. Boru Vodka, for the second year, decided to pay homage to these rockers via its online “Defend the Bar Band” competition.

Consumers were invited to visit www.borubarband.com and vote for their favorite bar band. A panel of judges spared viewers’ eyes and ears by selecting 14 semifinalists from among 800 applicants representing 47 states.

To generate interest, Boru brand ambassadors hit the bars hosting “Defend the Bar Band” nights. Patrons were spurred into competing in impromptu Guitar Hero competitions. For their hard work and hard rocking, they received promo kits containing posters, T-shirts, hats, tattoos, coasters, napkins and other items.

A band called The Loveblisters emerged victorious after voting had ended. The band received a professionally produced music video of their song Devotion as well as $10,000 in new equipment. The Castle Brands-owned Irish vodka also delivered the track to 650 radio stations using Yangaroo’s eNotes technology.

“This year’s Boru ‘Defend the Bar Band’ competition was extremely successful, with more than eight times the number of bands participating over last year’s number,” says D’Arcy King from C2 Creative, Castle Brands’ agency of record. “Fan involvement through online voting helped The Loveblisters, capture the top spot in the competition and claim the title of the most passionate and authentic bar band.”

Thanks to the success of the campaign, Boru is looking to vastly expand the competition in 2009 in hopes of finding the next The Loveblisters.

Green is the New Black

By Kenneth Hein

Organic apparel is all the rage. Here are four case studies showing how using green items can help boost a brand.

It wasn’t long ago – really, just a few years – that eco-friendly apparel seemed like one of those nice ideas whose time was far into the future. It was akin to such fascinations as plug-in cars and wind-generated power plants. However, much like these other “green” trends, the demand for such products has finally begun to take hold today. In the promotional products world, suppliers offering shirts, jackets and hats made from recycled plastic, coconut fiber, bamboo and organic cotton are quickly becoming plentiful. The trend is so front and center that Coca-Cola, one of the best-known brands in the world, has even begun selling branded T-shirts at Wal-Mart made from recycled plastic bottles. Companies that want to be portrayed as eco-friendly have quickly realized that the ad specialties they use in promotional efforts are equally reflective of their commitment to the environment as the amount of energy their manufacturing plants use or the volume of carbon emissions they release into the environment.

"Organic apparel is growing in popularity because consumers are looking for easy ways to clean up the environment,” says Lynn Syman of the Organic Trade Association. “By choosing green products of all types, they are reducing pesticide runoff, toxic exposure to farmers, mill workers and ultimately everyone. We all live downstream.”

The OTA estimates organic apparel sales will increase by 40% by 2011 compared to last year. In 2006, the last time it tracked purchases, sales were $203 million. Many distributors agree that last year, clients began asking about “green” apparel, but it wasn’t until this year that the tipping point occurred, where actual demand for the products began to pick up. “Every industry seems to be asking for it,” says Scott Alterman, co-owner of The Icebox, a promotional products distributor. “There is a lot of attention around these issues, and all of these companies are starting to get involved.”

For Karen Rankin, president of Quality Life Promotions, a marketing consultancy, living off of the land is already a part of her life. For the past seven years, she has stayed in a tent in the mountains when she makes her sales calls at West Carolina University – albeit a tent with carpeting and a full office. “I live green and sell green,” she says. “I haven’t found a ton of customers yet, but it’s going to hit pretty hard in the very near future.”

For many companies concerned about their eco-friendly image, it already has. Here are four examples of marketers who have already wholeheartedly opted to embrace promotional products that even Mother Nature would approve of.

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