Promo Pen Collector

Nowadays we have all sorts of “smart” technology. Phones are no longer just phones - they have morphed into portable computers that can do everything from provide internet access to keep track of your finances. So why should the pen industry lag behind? This “Smart Pen” made by Livescribe is a really cool step in that direction. The pen has all sorts of cool features, such as the ability to record a lecture while you jot down notes about it. You can then review the audio recording by tapping on your notes to hear what was being said at the time you were writing. Seems really cool for college courses or anyone who wants to make sure they get the most out of a lecture.

I wonder how long until the common promotional pens we see at tradeshows become mini-computers like the Livescribe Pulse Smart Pen? Hopefully soon…

Recently, the gym I’ve been taking classes at was trying to figure out how to promote their new Basketball courts. They finally settled on promotional basketball pens and I love them!

For the last week I’ve been slowly stealing a pen a day from the reception desk. They have basketballs painted on the sides and the gym’s name around the middle. That way, when people like me take them home we’re still getting the word out. Every time I whip out my basketball pen at the office I get tons of questions about it (or in some cases, giggles) so it certainly gets attention.

It’d be a great gimmick for a kids sports team as well, I know I would’ve gone bonkers over a Volleyball pen in Middle School.

Here’s one that’s even cooler than the ones I’ve been collecting (and customizable!). For any sports fans out there, I found some other fun non-pen sports merchandise at Teamschwag.com.

This is a really informative case study from the Promo Know-How Zone. Discovery Education was trying to promote its IT systems, learner assessment tools and standards-based digital curriculum resources to educating audiences. If you love multi-color highlighters, you’ll love Discovery Education’s promotional product choice. The entire case study is below.

Five-Colored Circle Highlighter Serves as Effective Educator Conference Giveaway for Digital Curricula and Tool Provider, Discovery Education

Challenge: Identifying useful, teacher-friendly products to keep a brand in mind year-round.

Discovery Education, a sister of the Discovery Channel and a division of Discovery Communications, delivers IT systems, learner assessment tools and standards-based digital curriculum resources that help “…over one million educators and 35 million students harness the power of broadband and media to connect to a world of learning.”

One way the Discovery Education team reaches those millions—one educator at a time—is by exhibiting at educational tradeshows and conferences, such as those held by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Education-related shows and conferences are prime venues that attract the team’s target audience; for instance, each NSTA regional conference, with some 300 sessions and 200 exhibits, regularly draws up to 4,000 attendees. The NSTA national conference provides an even greater reach, with up to 1,500 sessions and 1,100 exhibits, and draws up to 15,000 participants each year. According to the NSTA, exhibits, which give educators opportunities to sample and buy the latest in teaching tools and materials, are one of the most popular NSTA conference attractions.

Because conference attendees look forward to browsing the exhibition booths—and because it’s conference “etiquette” to give branded freebies and promotional giveaways to participants—the Discovery team stocks their booth with branded items that get—and keep—the Discovery Education name into the hands of booth visitors. Also, because the team selects gifts that teachers will find useful inside the classroom, their promotional choices serve not only to thank individuals for stopping by the Discovery Education booth, but also to keep the Discovery Education name all year long.

To keep the giveaways fresh and new, the team likes to vary the product lineup each year—they’ve given branded pens, t-shirts and DVDs, among other products teachers love. This year, again searching for a useful product teachers would use over and over again in the classroom—thus keeping the name Discovery Education top of mind—the team turned to ePromos.

Solution: A Discovery Education branded five-pronged, five-color circle highlighter.

Promotions Specialist Omer Cohen managed their order for this year’s selection: the 5-Prong Circle Highlighter, a charming, teacher-friendly giveaway that’s really five highlighters in one: yellow, pink, green, orange and blue. For double the branding, or to carry more messages, you may also opt for double-sided printing.

Result: Teachers attracted to recognizable highlighters; team budget and marketing goals-met.

The team tells us that they have received much positive feedback from their highlighter promotion, reporting that recipients recognized and were attracted to the fun, useful product immediately. This news, coupled with the fact that the circle highlighters are “made to order” for budget-conscious organizations, resulted in an effective promotion that met Discovery Education’s criteria and, even today, continues to help the team achieve their marketing goals.

(via The Promo Know-How Zone)

The past several months, Bic has done an oustanding job of utilizing promotional strategies in order to build brand loyalty for its products. Recently, the company has released a new line of promotional notepads which are manufactured in a four-color imprinted process. Many of the pads include a mini-pencil holder at the top; a promotional tool which businesses and its employees are beginning to like more and more. Its promotional pads, pens, and various other personal promotional products are now being manufactured in Flordia, making the shipping process that much easier.

As a connoisseur of the finer things, I appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of a solid promotional pen. They look good, are made of the finest materials, and work with your hand not against it. This reduces tension on your hands and wrists, and helps erase hand discomfort. Enjoy writing again, and indulge your inner writer with an sleek custom pen.

Here is another really great case study from the Promo Know-How Zone. A mystery novelist was coming out with a new book and needed a way to generate hype about it. If you are a writer, then clearly you are a huge pen fan, then using a promotional pen to promote your new book is an obvious choice. Below is the whole case study.

Mystery Genre Novelist Wendy Roberts Make Use of Spooky Promotional Giveaways in a Frighteningly Successful Conference Campaign

Challenge: A mystery author needed a one-of-a-kind promotion to introduce a new novel series to convention-goers.

Wendy Roberts is a popular fiction author best known for her captivating tales of mystery. With a new book series to introduce and the popular BoucherCon mystery genre convention coming up, Wendy wanted to find a thrilling giveaway that would help showcase her new “Ghost Dusters” mystery series to fans and aficionados at the show. For assistance with her campaign, Wendy turned to ePromos Assistant Sales Manager Caren Aardema.

Solution: Scary coffin pens imprinted with information about Wendy’s novels were given to BoucherCon attendees.

Since Wendy’s specialty is the mystery genre, she decided to go with a promotional product that fit well with this theme. The final choice was a Coffin Flip-Open Billboard pen, which featured a coffin that could be flipped open to reveal hidden messages. The spooky giveaway was the perfect choice for a mystery novelist. Wendy took her stash of pens to the conference where they helped her engage attendees and introduce her new book series.

Results: BoucherCon was a big success; recipients loved the coffin pen as well as Wendy’s new novels!

Wendy was delighted with the final product, and evidently, so were the conference attendees who were lucky enough to get their hands on one! Wendy reported that the coffin pens were definite attention-getters that had people coming to her display throughout the event. The pens gave her a chance to talk to mystery fans who were the primary audience for her new book. Overall, the conference campaign was a resounding success.

It seems that a Leeds, a popular promotional product supplier is changing the way they make promotional pens. Because of the current state of the economy, Leeds is changing their pens made with brass to aluminum, but why is this so good? For one it brings the cost down on promotional pens. Second the pens are lighter which helps bring down shipping costs, a great way to save money in a struggling economy.

I just found this really cool case study about a college that uses promotional pens to encourage participation in their tutoring programs. This promotional products company really knows their stuff, and they helped the University of Colorado come up with a great promotion!

Top-of-the-line Highlighter Spreads Positive Word-of-mouth and Attracts More Participation in Free Tutoring program at the University of Colorado at Boulder

Challenge: To meet student and tutor requests for a better highlighter—and to increase foot traffic in the tutoring office.

“Wow, where’dja get that pen?” Thanks to a promotional incentive campaign sponsored by the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Academic Support Assistance Program (ASAP), such is the question on increasingly more and more lips of students living in residence halls. The University offers free small-group and drop-in tutoring to on-campus dwellers; of roughly 6,000 students living on campus, 1,200 now take advantage. Wanting to further spread the word about the free tutoring services, the ASAP team had, in the past, worked with ePromos’ Promotions Specialist Jason Wallace to procure logoed highlighters.

The team recently called on Jason again to replenish their supply, but this time they wanted something different, something better, based on feedback from the last campaign. While tutors and students found the old highlighter useful—no student has ever made it through college without yellowing at least one meaningful phrase!—they also said they wished for different colors and thicker ends.

Solution: A high-end writing instrument with an ink pen at one end, a bold and thick highlighter at the other.

That’s why, this time, the ASAP team selected the slim roller/highlighter combo pen, a sleek and comfortable promotional pen with a translucent barrel, silver wrap and black and gray accents. One side is a smoothly flowing black roller-ball ink pen, the other a chisel point liquid highlighter in a choice of six neon colors—the ASAP team picked neon pink. Even better, a yellow spring hidden inside the pen cap prevents the highlighter ink from drying.

Result: High word-of-mouth, more foot traffic, an A+ promotion.

When the pens arrived, the ASAP team gave several to each of their 65 tutors, who then hand out the pens to help promote the free tutoring program. The overall tutor/student response has been great, typically along the lines of “I can’t believe you’re giving these out for free!” This also translates to higher than ever positive word-of-mouth among students, and more new faces in the ASAP tutoring offices. We at ePromos call that an A+ promotion!

(Via: The Promo Know-How Zone)

This collection of bic promotional pens, was taken from a whole bunch of casinos. I’m assuming these are the pens left in the hotel rooms so that you can fill out the guest surveys. If a casino were to give a client a pen as a gift I am sure they could find a much nicer pen, or some casino themed items to remind the customer of the place they stayed.

I get a lot of questions about this unique promotional pen. The PenAgain is a pen that is ergonomically designed to fit the contour of your hand, what does this mean? Simply put, this promotional pen relieves stress in your hand when writing.