Promoting your brand can often be a difficult task. Practical items may be too small or not noticeable enough. For this reason, we believe wearing your brand is the number one way of getting people to consciously and subconsciously take note of your name. Here are the best ways to wear your brand.

1. Promotional Caps and Visors

Logo branded caps and visors are the staples for brand recognition. Headwear is worn throughout virtually every season of the year, meaning it is a regular form of marketing. More importantly, when talking with someone, your face/head is the first thing that people see meaning your brand or logo will instantly come to their attention!

2. Custom Branded Sunglasses and Eyewear

What better way to complement your promotional cap than with some branded eyeglasses? Eyewear has the same applicability as headwear but is lightweight and puts a trendy tweak on promotion. These are great for indoor, outdoor, sporting and work-related activities. You would be remised if you did not pair your promotional caps with sunglasses.

3. Casual and Workwear Apparel

The last and most obvious means of promotion is through shirts and jackets. Strapping your name across a jacket is a great way to get noticed. Similarly, neatly placing your logo on a business shirt is also bound to get people talking. One of our most popular options is a classically embroidered promotional polo shirt. The permutations here are endless and wearing your brand is certainly the most effective means of promotion.

Long hot Australian summers are my absolute favourite. I know that I am not alone and that many Aussies feel the same way too. So what better way to maximise your brand value (or your event) with merchandise that is tailor made to suit our Summer Aussie way of life. So what are my suggestions for products that will really be a hit with your guests this hot summer of 2016? Check them out here below.

Personalised Items for BBQ's

Throw a Shrimp on the Barbie. Where on earth did that phrase come from? Australians love a BBQ, but Aussies do not use the word shrimp (we call them prawns), and realistically most Australian BBQ's are with Steak, Snags and Burgers. Here are some great promotional item ideas that are perfect for BBQ's.

• Barbeque Grilling Set (fork, spatula, tongs etc)
• Custom Branded Aprons
• Cooler Box
• Camping Chairs
• Picnic Rugs

Personalised Gear for the Beach

Getting to the Beach on hot summer days is where most Australians will want to be. I have compiled some great items which will surely enhance your guests day out on the beach. 

• Sunglasses
• Frisbees
• Sunscreen
• Printed Bags of Candy

Promo Products to Help Stay Cool

Staying cool in Summer will be on the mind of most people on most days. Having a custom branded product, that will aid your guest, or potential customer in staying cool will definitely make your brand name or logo stand out. I have compiled a great list of products which I think will be an absolute hit for people trying to stay cool this Summer:

• Hand Fans
• Water Bottles
• Chiller Bags
• Caps & Visors
• Cool Dry Shirts

Customised Items for Kids

Summer is a great time for kids as there are heaps of school holidays. If you have a custom branded product for kids that are fun and interactive, not only will they be entertained and happy, but also their parents will be very thankful to you too. A win win for everyone, especially for your brand name that will be recognised by both parent and child. So here are my top picks for promotional products for kids.

• Bubble Blowers
• Printed Tile Puzzles
• YoYo's
• Colour in Sheets
• Putty Tubs (like play-doh, but these actually bounce)
• Bouncing Balls
• Colour In Pencils

I think this list of products will suit virtually any Australian business wishing to giveaway a corporate gift, or a general promotional item gift for their team members, existing clients or potential new clients. Take advantage of our fine Aussie Summers and take the opportunity to market your brand name with merchandise.

Each year, billions of plastic bottles end up in landfills which generally do not bode well for the environment. Aside from the fact that they are not biodegradable and can consume so much space, they also pose a threat in terms of the chemicals that can possibly leach and contaminate groundwater. Add to the fact that manufacturers involve the use of fossil fuels; it is not surprising why plastic has earned such a bad reputation.

But this reputation is actually unwarranted as long as these plastic are disposed of properly and water companies choose re-usable, biodegradable or chemical-free plastic bottles. Also, consumer education is important which is why you should consider these following facts:

• The most common plastic used for bottled water is crude-oil derived polyethylene terephthalate. 1.5 million barrels of this crude oil is used each year to meet the demand of a country as big as USA.
• Bottled waters are popular because of their purity, taste and healthiness. At present, there are different types of bottled water including Spring water, Sparkling Water and Mineral water.
• A lot of water companies have made concerted efforts in the reduction of the negative effects of bottled water in the environment. Some have shifted to the use of corn-based plastic bottles which could be naturally degraded in 80 days while there are companies, such as PepsiCo and Coca Cola, which have cut their plastic use by producing thinner bottles.

Reusable Drink Bottles

Consumers obviously, have a lot of say on the impact of bottled water on the environment. If you would like to help reduce such impact, consider these suggestions:

• Re-usable water bottles such as glass or aluminium bottles are great alternative for bottled water.
• Invest in a water filter so you can consume filtered tap water instead and refill your personal water bottles. Better yet, invest in a distillation or reverse osmosis home system.
• Buy 5-gallon refillable water containers, if you prefer to buy mineral or distilled water, instead of small water bottles for use of home.
• Spread the word and increase awareness. For businesses, it would be a good idea to hand out promotional products such as reusable water bottles and jugs. You can include a message along with your corporate name or logo for more impact.

More than a week ago, the Philippines was hit by what experts believed is the strongest typhoon for 2013, with international name "Haiyan". If you have been following the news, you will learn about the devastation that super typhoon caused, killing as may as 10,000 and displacing more than a million individuals.

The graphic story - telling by international media resulted to the outpouring of help from government of various countries including United States, Japan and Australia. People all over the world are making donations to non-government and humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross, UNICEF and World Food Programme. Even a small cash donation goes a long way. For example, a $5 can buy as many as 10 bottled waters. If you have some cash to spare, you can simply go to the websites of these organisations to find out how you can donate.

Corporate Merchandise Donation

As Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the Phillipines, a UN meeting discussing climate change also held in Warsaw, Poland. Many believed that the super typhoon is the first of many strong typhoons that the Pacific Ocean will give birth to because of global warming.

If part of your advocacy involves supporting campaigns to stop global warming and promote environmental awareness, then you might want to make your choice of product aligned with such advocacy. You can opt to send out eco friendly merchandise made of recycled material or sustainable products such as bamboo. Other branded merchandise which can be considered as good choices include the following:

First Aid Kits - these items will be very practical for both natural and man-made catastrophies especially during earthquakes and typhoons. They contain basic supplies for cuts and wounds and prevent injuries from getting infected and worsening.

Flashlights and Torches - will be very useful in any situation where power and electricity have been cut off. Choose flashlights with LED Lights as they tend to have longer lifespan than regular light bulbs

Pocket Knives and Tool Set - these come in handy as part of your emergency kit and be used for something simple as opening a canned food.

Make sure to include some instructions to use, contact details as well in case you run an awareness campaign under your corporate social responsibility program

Online and offline marketing goes hand in hand. Yes, you can simply do one without the other. In fact there are many companies that are immensely successful simply by doing marketing online, whilst others only go offline in their marketing efforts and surprisingly there are even companies that succeed with no marketing for example Zahra, the international clothing retail brand that does close to 0 marketing.

Examples of companies that exist online and have outstanding award winning social media strategies would include Asos, Facebook and countless other examples. These companies have limited if any offline marketing and you would be hard pressed to see these organisations advertising on your favourite TV show, magazine or any local event.

However despite these outstanding examples of companies having amazing success they are definitely not the norm. If you are a typical business big or small you need to advertise and take advantage of marketing both offline and online. In other words offline marketing and online marketing goes hand in hand.

Why Must Offline and Online Marketing go Hand In Hand

Is all your traditional marketing which exists in the real world including merchandise such as what you will find on our website. Your offline marketing needs to go hand in hand with your online efforts and it is no co-incidence that much of our merchandise that we supply to our clients now include not merely their logo and tagline but also their internet URL as well.

You see offline marketing combined with online strategies will put your visibility through the roof. Not only will you merely have more exposure to more people but the PR that your offline efforts will generate significant brand recognition and word of mouth online. What this means is that you will get more chatter about you on social media. As a side effect this recognition will help your search engine ranking efforts. It all sounds good and easy right? Well not really. Marketing on all channels drains resources big time. It is very hard to get the exposure you want online compared to offline as the results more often than not are unpredictable and worse still not really measurable. This is where you would want the assistance of professionals such as http://www.onlinemarketinggurus.com.au/ can help and not just any old SEO company.

Difference Between a Content vs a SEO Company

An SEO company can provide you with a lot of great pointers and ideas when it comes to making sure your website is perfectly configured for maximum visibility. A content company that specializes in SEO takes things one step further by increasing your web visibility by generating great sharable content. The difference is night and day!

Your content offline will generate PR which when utilised properly will boost your online presence in every single aspect. Pretty good right? So despite success stories you read about all the time to succeed you must go hard with your marketing efforts using everything available at your fingertips in order to have your organisation any chance to succeed!

When it comes to durability, it is not surprising that aluminium and metal products are among the top favourites. Aside from the exclusive look and tough material, metal is also seen as a cutting edge and modern, qualities that many businesses would like their brand to be associated with.

A lot of our customers have no trouble picking metal products for customisation. But in terms of choosing what process to use, some are confused on whether they should be laser engraved or printed.

To make it easier for customers like you, we broke down the pros and cons for the two branding methods so you can make an informed choice.

Laser Engraving Pros

• Low cost
• Doesnt use chemical hence environmentally friendly
• Creates crisp marking for fine detailed artwork
• Logo is permanent and will not fade overtime
• Extremely fast turnaround

Laser Engraving Cons

• Subtle finish makes it less noticeable
• No colour
• Not suitable for low cost items such as plastic material

Printing Pros

• Ideal for multi colour logos
• Vibrant branding

Printing Cons

• High costs for multi colour logo
• Print will fade over time
• Colour results may differ from one product to another

The three candidate cities that are selected to host Summer Olympic 2020; Istanbul, Madrid, and Tokyo are proposing their logos. Even though all seem flowery the are absolutely stunning, what do you think?

Here are the looks at each logo:

Madrid

Original design

Final design

This is their third consecutive attempt to be summer Olympic host. Bright colour petals remind me of a crown. Although it looks beautiful the legibility of “M20” has been mocked on Twitter big time.

Instanbul

Being their fifth attempt to bring Olympic to Turkey since 2000, Turkish international Olympic Committee asked for public opinion to vote the five Tulip logos

Most voted:

Upper orange part is a symbol of sunset over the city and European side of Istanbul. Lower turquoise part represents Asian side of the city.

Tokyo

Having hosted one of the greatest game events in 1964, Tokyo easily beat Hiroshima as the candidate city for Japan this time. The cherry blossoms circular wreath that incorporates Olympic colours and purple colour as symbol of Japanese heritage In my opinion this looks spectacular!

What do you think of the logos? Who do you think will be the host? I guess we have to find out when Olympic committee will elect host city in early September 2013.

Business Tips: 10 Networking Facts

What is networking? Why is it so important? We know that it helps make the business successful. It is as if you are looking for a job.

The more people that you know, the easier it will be for you to land that dream job. The most important networking facts include:

1. Networking works for everyone Networking is great. To start, always give a sensitive and warm welcome to guests in every meeting. The aim for networking is ensuring that all feel comfortable and relaxed enough to connect you and other people. 
2. Enduring relationships are set up Networking works best when enduring relationships are built. It is not wise to network to promote the services and product or just searching for sales opportunities. The main aim should be establishing enduring connections and profitable relationships. Networking helps you build long term relationships that generate huge benefits in the long run
3. Enhances effectiveness Networking is very effective. It has proved one of the best ways to expand and increase advertisement through word of mouth. Much of the sale, about 80%-90% sales of their business are achieved through networking organizations.
4. Networking builds on quality A crucial fact about networking is that focus more on quality than quantity. It helps business professionals grasp the importance of understanding the basic needs of people and work on improving them rather than giving away or collecting hundreds of business card that will do your business no good. Being able to understand the business or a person generates better insight in identifying the possibility of an arising opportunity. An opportunity can be of useful information.
5. Identifying opportunities The present networking organizations will help you in accessing opportunities all over the world. Being a part of an online networking group will help your business expand greatly.
6. Gives important information Networking is not just about selling a service or a product or just getting a job. It goes beyond that. Its main reason is providing important and useful information. Its purpose is to provide the best research tools that will help a business succeed.
7. 3rd party synergistic opportunities facts Networking is responsible for the creation of these opportunities. These opportunities provide your business with a number of professional contacts. These contacts introduce you to other new customers, relatives, clients, associates among others thus expanding your business.
8. Sharing techniques and protocols Another fact is that, networking works due to other networks availability and ability to share. This is possible because they are able to share unique protocols, techniques and tips used in their successful organizations and you and learn from them and expand your business.
9. The networking purpose facts Another fact is that networking happen all the time. It happens even when someone thinks that it does not. It is always active to help you achieve your goals even during the times that you have no idea of the way to turn. All that a person needs to do is initiate a thing and networking will keep it alive. Making the first impression is what really matters most.
10. Networking takes the pressure off you The last but not least of the networking facts is that it strives to help you understand the importance of taking off the pressure of everyone networking with you. This is easily done through asking general questions. Direct questions are discouraged.

As you have seen, networking will do your business a lot of good. Remember, the person who has the most contacts will make the most sales at the end of the day. He will also have more suppliers.

Year end is approaching fast and with only couple days left here are 5 quick and easy steps small business owners can consider and act upon with not too much hassle:

1.      Pay all your Expenses before 30 June

These are invoices you will need to pay eventually.  If cashflow permits it is best to pay & recognise them in your books before 30 June 13.   That way you are able to claim the tax deduction in the current financial period.

2.      Purchases in advance & Fixed Assets

If there is still budget in this years finance, order and pay for the those things now.  Things like office supplies, computers that you were planning on purchasing, order and pay for those good now and claim the deduction in this years records.   Things like ordering promotional items won't have an expiry date and is part of marketing your business, are a worthwhile investment.  Fixed assets below $6500 now get immediate full deduction and does not need to be depreciated.  

3.      Pay  your staff superannuation before 30 June

Superannuation is mandatory and must be paid.  Payments made to superannuation fund before 30 June will be deducted in the current period.  Don't forget, from 1 July the rate changes from 9% to 9.25%.

4.      Declare a dividend or directors fee with an intention of paying it

If you plan on issuing a dividend or directors fee, do so before 30 June.  This means having the meeting minuted and declared.  That way even if you don't physically pay it out until post financial year end, it will still be tax deductible.

5.      Write off Bad Debts

Unfortunately this does happen, and its probably happened to us at least once in our business life time.   It the debt has been outstanding for a long time and deemed non retrievable.  Write it off.  You will be able to claim it as a deduction this year.

These steps are not hard and can still be carried out before the end of the year.   Businesses with spare budgets should consider how best to utlise those funds bearing in mind future business opportunities.  A good way is to spend on marketing for your business.  There's no better way and easier way than to order promotional merchandise!

Hope you've enjoyed these helpful tips and if we can assist, we would love to hear from you!