Promotional Pens - A Very Effective Advertising Vehicle

In this edition, I'd like to champion the cause of promotional pens. And when I say 'promotional', I'm referring to the classic plastic pen that costs less than $.50. Sure, some will say 'People get a million of those' or 'You give out a pen and it goes right in the drawer'.....And while there may be some validity to those concerns, the ‘upside’ of promotional pens is too valuable to dismiss.

Cost Per Ad Impression- The Advertising Specialty Institute recently completed a study on actual cost per ad impression of the most popular promotional products...and it found that plastic pens actually have the LOWEST cost per ad impression of any promo item at $.002 per view. That's $.001 lower than even calendars.

And There’s More - Consider that the average plastic pen has 8 different owners in its lifetime. Pens are also the most remembered promo item (54% of owners, according to the study recall owning a specific pen and a whopping 84% recall the advertiser on the pen they currently own. And the study adds that the average pen gets used at least twice a day.

People Still Write- Yes, we’re in the age of Laptops, PC's, I-Phones and now I-Pad’s, but we all still need pens. Whether you’re jotting down notes, taking a message from someone calling the house or making out a grocery list, we all still use a ton of pens.

Puts logo in places other media can't reach- Do newspapers, the internet or billboards put your ad literally at a person's fingertips? Pens do. Branding Advantage- The pen itself can deliver a subtle message about your brand - i.e. is your company or product edgy, reliable, consistent, inexpensive, etc.....? Whatever your major selling point, here's usually a promotional pen available to match it.

3 of My Favorites-




Javalina- This pen from industry supplier, Hub Pen, burst on the scene a couple of years ago and has been so popular that it's spawned several different varieties, and tons of knock offs that frankly aren't as good. The real Javalina features a unique compressed ink delivery system that allows it to write far more smoothly than most pens - including many that cost a lot more than the Javalina. This year Hub introduced new 'Splash' color trims: Lime Green, Orange, Pink, Purple and Sky Blue. Cost with Geiger through June 30 - 250 @ $.40 each.




Rita Writer- This under the radar stick pen features the same compressed ink system as the Javalina, so it writes just as well. It also has a much larger imprint area than the Javalina or most other pens in the category. Available in white with a choice of 4 trim colors, the best feature of the Rite Writer is its $.25 cost.

Bic Clic Stic- This old standby makes the list because Bic’s graphic capability is the best in the industry. The vast majority of low end pens can still only be imprinted with one color – Javalina and Rita Writer included. Not so with the Clic Stic. Multiple imprint colors, tight registration – no problem. They also have a bunch of barrel and trim colors to choose from and there's even room for a web address or phone number on the clip (for additional cost). Bic has also introduced a new Easy Glide ink technology that’s similar to Hub’s compressed ink.

Cost @ minimum qty: $.48 ea.

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The Supplier Inventory Challenge

I've noticed a little problem with supplier inventories recently. I actually blogged about this situation back in September. And it's been occurring a little too frequently as of late.

Yesterday I placed an order for some dress shirts only to find out that some tall sizes are out of stock for the next 3 months. Got a pen order this week -- no stock in any colors till late May. Jacket order last week -- no stock in my client's desired color till end of JUNE. Notice a trend here...?

My take is we're slowly but steadily emerging from the economic meltdown of the Fall of 2008. Clients have ramped up their marketing considerably vs. a year ago and suppliers are busy once again. That's the good news.

Unfortunately, the slowdown of 08/09 coupled with the subsequent tight credit market forced suppliers to make some tough decisions -- like limiting inventories. They tried to project -- as they've always done -- which products would sell the best and they ordered from Asia accordingly. But business has picked up and some suppliers have been caught short -- and maybe weren't in the best financial condition to begin with thanks to the recession.

So what we're dealing with now is an environment where many promotional items -- a lot more than usual -- aren't available. And we as distributors have to make a lot more phone calls checking stock because (and trust me when I say this) people in my business absolutely HATE having to call clients back after an order is placed and be forced to say 'you know those _ _ _ _ _ you ordered yesterday? No stock till _ _ _ _ _.' Ugh.

We will however, get through this. And it's my job to either find alternative sources for out of stock products or show you ideas - to begin with - utilizing items that ARE available right now. That's where my experience and the great support we get through Geiger come into play. We WILL make it happen for you.

However on the supplier side of our industry I think we're in a shake out phase -- one that to me and many others -- was an inevitable byproduct of the 08 economic collapse and resulting recession. There's a reset going on in our industry that's going to cause some weaker vendors to reevaluate their long term strategies and some stronger ones to gain market share. We've seen it with the recent Bic/Norwood merger and the Corvest collapse and sale.

And I think there's more to come..... But be assured that given our collective experience and Geiger's position of leadership in our industry, we'll make sure your business rests in the proper stable hands.

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