Name Brands

As goes retail, so goes the promotional industry.  For a long time the promotional industry did not quickly adopt the new styles and trends of retail.  In recent history, the lines between retail and promotional have blurred.  I think that this first occurred in apparel where the promotional industry began adopting styles, colors and then even brands from retail.  It is now common to be finding brand names such as Tiger Woods, Nike and Adidas in the promotional apparel world.

It might have started in apparel.  But the trend is thoroughly entrenched in bags where lines like Alicia Klein, Cutter and Buck, Case Logic and Built are now available.  Many of these name brands are designing pieces specifically for the promotional market which are not available in the retail market.

Case Logic is a retail brand which began in 1984 with the mission to create a line of storage cases for cassette tapes.  (Remember those old fashioned audio cassettes?  Asking the question, reminds me how my brother was walking with his son when they spotted a vinyl record in the street.  My brother asked my nephew if he knew what it was and my nephew told his father that is was most certainly a frisbee.)  So Case Logic has grown and expanded its offerings.  It uses innovative design to incorporate a high degree of function into each of its products.  Case Logic's product offering include organizers for the car and assorted types of carrying cases for technology products.

Built is a brand which is primarily creating innovative design and packaging using neoprene (the wetsuit material.)  It started with a couple of wine totes.  Their products have earned a few design awards.  You can see their story here.  Their designs are now available with your corporate logo imprinted on them.  The products range from bottle totes and lunch totes to laptop / tablet bags and sleeves.  They offer bright bold designs and contemporary styling.  Here we see a promotional Macbook case by Built.

You can expect to pay a premium for a brand name.  Is it worthwhile?  That really depends on who you are and what your goals are.  You can certainly get equivalent quality when using generic brands.  You typically will find more cutting edge design in name brands.  There are different reasons you opt to use the name brands.  Sometimes, there is a value to being associated with a name brand.  If you go to a business meeting dressed in a designer suit or carrying a designer handbag, you certainly are making a statement to the people you are meeting with.  The same is going to be true when you are associating your company or organization with a name brand.  Is price and value a concern?  Then you should probably stay away from name brands.  They are available but you will likely be paying a premium just like you would for the name brand in retail.

Say - is that laptop sleeve from Built - pretty savvy!

Business cases

       The next category of bags are business briefs.  They can take on many forms beginning with basic briefcase styling and running the gamut to leather computer cases.  This case is not very elaborate but it can hold a decent amount of contents.  It has one main zippered compartment and a front compartment with velcro closure.  The material of this case is primarily a 600 denier polycanvas.  There is a snap ring for a key chain. Similar to tote bags, these brief cases can become evermore elaborate.
       Many of them have additional pockets for water bottles and tech toys.  There are organizational areas for business cards, pens, USB memories and all of the other assorted items which you need to carry with you to your meetings.
       Who uses these bags?  You might find professionals such as attorneys and accountants carrying these bags to meetings.  Professors and teachers are invariably using these bags for carrying their papers.  Of course, they want a bag that matches the image they wish to project.
       If you are a principal in an engineering firm, you might decide that you want all of your engineers carrying a bag with your firm's logo on it.  This sends a message to your employees about projecting uniformity and professionalism.  The employee feels a sense of pride carrying the bag, which states that he has "made it."  It even sends a message to your prospective clients regarding the company that they are considering working with.  When selecting a bag for your employees please don't cut corners to save a few dollars.  A bag which begins to fray at the edges after a short period of use is not conducive to creating a favorable impression on the people that you are trying to do business with.
       We have frequently provided these types of bags often as a souvenir for the attendees of conferences.  The educational proceeding are either published and placed in the bag or, as is becoming more common, the proceeding are uploaded to a USB Drive and placed in the special USB slot in the bag.  Recipients now have the important papers they need, as well as extra storage space, all in the same location.  Some educational conferences have a very loyal following and the attendees look forward to a new bag year after year.  This then becomes the bag they use on a day to day basis for their work needs.
       Business briefs are often used as gifts.  School PTAs give this type of bag to their teachers as a welcome back to school or thank you gift.  Executives give higher end briefs to their employees or clients in appreciation for their work or business.
       It is worthwhile to request a sample of the bags which are of interest to ascertain that you are making the right choice for your organization.  See more about getting a sample to review at the "What's that smell?" post.

What's that smell?

I was speaking to someone last week regarding promotional bags.  She remarked to me that in the past when her organization ordered bags they came with an odor - not entirely pleasant.
It reminded me of another conversation I had with someone who humorously described getting a sample bag that he was considering for his organization.  This bag also had an odor.  He placed it in the back of his pickup and went for a drive hoping that the smell would dissipate on the open road.  He brought the bag back to his office and decided that he couldn't bring it inside because the smell was just too powerful.
Fortunately, he got a sample before selecting the bag in question.  Imagine how he would have reacted if he had ordered hundreds of promotional bags without a preliminary sample and they had arrived with this powerful scent.  Suffice it to say, that he would not have been happy.
For this reason, I always recommend to our clients to plan in advance.  Request a sample of the bag (or other promotional items) of interest to insure you are getting the quality you want and need and not a smell which you don't need.  When you select a promotional item which you are distributing to friends or possible clients, you want to make a positive impression.
A highlighter which is dry;  A bag which falls apart at the seams;  A USB memory with a virus on it.  A poor imprint on a mug... All of these items create an impression on the recipient.  And although it may be true that a person formulates his impression in the first half a minute after meeting you; a gift or promotional item will send a long term message about your business.  An inferior product gives a message that your image is not important to you.
Plan in advance and get your samples.  Don't be caught unaware.

Totes III

     Once we get past no frills totes, there are a variety of pockets designed for accessory or organizational purposes.  Totes can have pockets or loops for pens, business cards, USB memories, sunglasses, water bottles and other assorted items.  These pockets can be open, zippered, velcroed, elasticized or have a drawstring closure.  The size and placement of these extra pockets varies, but these organizational goodies handle the tiny, loose items which you might otherwise just toss into the bottom of the tote, the items you need to have handy, or just items you wish to keep separate.

     Totes designed for trade shows and other business purposes will often have exterior pen loops and a small pocket for business cards.  These pen loops can be found as part of a bigger pocket or even by themselves on the handle of the bag.  A D-ring is often attached to the bag for keys.

     With the advent of so many personal technology products, special pockets built especially for cell/smart phones, mp3s and tablets are becoming more and more popular.  It's important to have your connections handy, without the need to search for them.  And if you are already carrying your devices, you need to have an earbud port to listen in.

     Water bottle pockets are typically mesh and usually found on the side of the bag.  If the bottles are dripping or leaking, the water does not get trapped inside these pockets.  Since it is an exterior pocket, the contents of the main compartment remain dry.  For the same reasons, this type of pocket is also handy for an umbrella

Tote on!

Totes II

     As discussed in our last post, the most basic tote styles have no additional features.  This pictured tote is a step up.  It is 14" high x 16" wide x 4.5".  The last dimension is known as the gusset.  Many basic totes have no gusset.  They are great to carry a couple of catalogs or a water bottle and snack - anything which does not have too much thickness.  A bag such as this with a gusset has greater utility.

     A gusset can be created by sewing a triangular seam inside the bag at the bottom.  This gives depth to the bottom and side of the bag by what seems (pardon the pun) to be an extra piece of rectangular material sewn on the bottom of the bag.

     There are other tote styles which are made of a front and back panel with a long rectangular piece sewn between the panels.  In this design, the long piece creates the gusset.

     Gussets can range in size from less than an inch to six inches or more.  Most grocery totes have gussets in the 6"-8" range.  You also will find a similar sized gusset on the classic boat totes.  Even a small gusset in the 1"-2" range will allow a basic tote to hold considerably more material than a tote without a gusset.

     It is possible to have a bag w/ just a side gusset where the bottom comes together but the sides expand.  You might see such gussets in those big department store paper bags.

     Last gusset topic - inserts.  In order to strengthen the bottom of some bags, a thick (and sometimes not so thick) cardboard rectangle is placed in the bag.  Sometimes it is covered with a fabric,  while other times it's just the cardboard.  Some people like them, but I think they tend to fall out and end up being thrown away.