The desktop is a fantastic place to fill up with as many promotional items as possible for your client base or potential customer list. There are so many products to choose from and it can often be a long term campaign to move from one successful item to something different rather than trying to replace an item previously handed out. Promotional mouse pads are a colourful way to tick off one of the great promotional desktop items and definitely something to consider for your next campaign.

Printed mouse pads have evolved considerably over the last few years and have kept pace with the technology of the computer mice which they are used to assist and which have in turn moved swiftly on from the traditional balled version, to the optical mouse. New and improved surfaces are required to ensure consistent and accurate mousing and the use of PC’s in the office is such a huge part of many people’s lives, this has to be right. Most mouse pads these days therefore have a precision coating to cope with the optical products and this has assisted in keep the promotional mouse pad high on the promotional shopping list.

One of the first pads to look at being 100% optical friendly was the Brite Mat Mouse Mat. A trade marked product allowing up to full colour printing along with a non-slip base. These mats 100% track an optical mouse and are now also available made from recycled vending cups at no extra cost.

Other promotional mouse pad options are the traditional hard top version with a foam base, the textile topped mousemat and the soft mat, which is ideal for direct mail campaigns. All of these options can take a full colour print.

Printing methods are now fantastic in the mouse pad range and the client has a full choice of screen printing, digital or litho options within most or all products available. For that something different, mouse pads can be cut to a special shape or the aqua mouse pad allows liquid to be inserted as well as floating shapes to reinforce your brand.

Should you be considering using promotional mouse pads for your next promotion, please contact a member of the Steel City Marketing sales team on 0114 2754150. Experienced in all promotional and business gifts, they are ready to provide, pricing, ideas, samples and visuals. Call now.

A great way to encourage a workforce or stimulate your staff is to look at giving employees gifts as a way of a thank you for achieving goals that have been set or as an incentive to work even harder than they are already doing. Staff want to feel appreciated and a business gift of this type for an employee can go a long way. There are many options that can be considered as employee gift ideas and these can fall into many product categories with certain items providing a high perceived value to the recipient.

Quite a few companies look to provide desk top items that not only make a uniform appearance to the office but also neaten up some work spaces, adding a splash of colour and giving employees certain items that otherwise might have become a little old and worn or even products that haven’t been used before. Products such as mousemats and coaster combinations, or pen pots and desk tidies can all carry corporate branding as well as give the employee receiving the gift a lift.

Alternative product ideas to be consider as an employee gift idea would be something that again can be used during a working day, and something that assists the staff and makes it easier to work or gives them a professional edge when seeing clients. Folders or business bags would fit neatly into this category, in other words something that would be well received, more than likely be used and would be noticed and commented on by customers or suppliers.

Christmas is a good time to look at a gift for the employees but nowadays most products cross over into other periods on the calendar. Pen sets, whether they are the brand names (such as Parker) or non branded metal options are really nice gift ideas.

An area that is becoming very popular these days is corporate clothing. This can come under a couple of categories, the first being staff workwear. Whilst not exactly a gift, it does give the staff a boost when everyone is provided with a really well put together workplace uniform, however formal or informal. On the other side, there are some great clothing items, such as jackets, or casual clothing ideas that can act as a great employee gift.

The final area to consider would be awards for either the entire staff when the company hits certain goals, or for indviduals as an employee gift for those who have performed beyond the targets set. This can encourage staff to want to be that person next time, or galvanize a workforce into looking to hit a level they have been set.

Steel City Marketing is a leading UK promotional gifts distributor. Should you be looking for any business gift or employee gift ideas, please call a member of the sales team on 0114 2754150.

If there is one single area in marketing and business development where organisations are continuing to spend it is in the business gifts they purchase for their client base. Whether this forms part of the relationship management strategy of the company or if the gift is aimed at winning new business, the importance of this area in building and maintaining your client base must not be forgotten.

One popular area for business gifts for clients is during events and these can take the form of an award ceremony with plenty of choice in the crystal and optical crystal product area. Other good ideas for event type giveaways could be specifically golf day items. Although for a specific event, there is always an attempt to make the business gifts memorable and for the clients to talk about the day, until the next one of course!

Another key area when looking at the business gifts for clients and making a strong impression is at Christmas. Often an area that is left until the last minute due to budget restrictions or time conspiring against the decision maker at an often-hectic time, it can be the single most important business gift decision made during the year. Whether this is a USB Flashdrive that can come gift boxed (and therefore something the user will get some use out of on a long term basis), or a choice from one of the high-end executive business gift ideas, there is significant choice and the more personal the business gift for your client is, the more likely it is to be kept. Wine is still popular and available, but clients want to feel as though time and effort has been put into the decision.

Business Gifts for clients can also be considered as a reward. Although this can be a sensitive issue in some industries, most do not have restrictions on this type of activity. Should you be looking to promote a new product to your existing client base, a gift could be given for all orders placed over a period of time after the launch. If you are looking to boost sales and generate much needed revenue, why not consider business gifts for your clients that rewards them if they achieve a set level of turnover with your organisation over a set period of time.

Steel City Marketing is an experienced promotional and business gifts distributor having been in the industry for over 28 years. With an experienced sales team contactable on 0114 2754150, you can discuss business gift ideas for your clients, set a brief to be looked into and ideas generated, or simply requests samples, quotes or visuals. Call now.

Number crunching during the current economic climate is a vitally important task. Whether companies are doing this to ensure they have the best price in front of new or existing clients as possible, or if they are looking at reducing overheads to cope with a drop in sales. A promotional calculator would be a fantastic business gift or promotional giveaway idea to get the message out to your target audience that you understand their situation and that you are providing an item that may assist. Given the tough times, it is very likely that a gift of a promotional calculator will be kept, used over a long period and give a lasting reminder to your company.

There is plenty of choice of calculators in the promotional desktop range of business gift ideas and most budgets can be catered for. At the lower end are the credit card sized models that can slip neatly into a folder, pocket or even a wallet. A great variation on this is the pocket calculator with integrated business card holder and pens, a fantastic low cost dual function product. Moving up in the price range, and there is a good choice of small calculators that act either as a desktop item or one that can be used on the move whether that be during travel or at a client visit. Most have a good print area just above the display screen.

Towards the top end of the price spectrum are some really good quality desk top calculators, either in heavyweight metal or combination metallic and plastic finish. The contemporary designs would compliment any office environment and due to the larger overall size, the print area is bigger as well.

The Eco angle is also something to consider when looking for a promotional calculator. There are of course the solar powered models, but more recent additions have been water powered calculators along with dynamo versions that require a shake to power up, making the user conscious of the non use of battery power and giving a greener appeal.

At Steel City Marketing, the sales team is knowledgeable on all aspects of promotional gifts, not just calculators. Should you be considering reviewing your spend on promotional merchandise, please don’t hesitate to call on 0114 2754150 and we will advise, quote competitively, provide samples and visuals as required to ensure you make the right decision for your company’s brand.

It is not surprising that the most common request when a client is deciding how to spend their next marketing budget is that they are looking for a good value product and therefore make a request for a cheap promotional pen. The choice of pens within the budget price range has always been considerable and this has not changed in recent years. In fact the competitiveness of producers has increased with most products frozen in price or even aggressively reduced in an attempt to chase the volume sales or encourage the end users to switch to a rival promotional pen.

Many of the brand names have some serious presence in the cheap promotional pen range with Senator, Bic, Papermate as well as a huge amount of choice in non-branded products that provide some excellent designs and a wide selection of trim colours. All fit in well with the price points that matter to the purchaser and will also be received well by the intended recipient.

Senator pens have one of the original budget promotional pens with the Super Hit now available in frosted, mix and match colours, a part recycled option as well as a model with an ergonomic rubber grip. Other pens have done well to establish themselves in this market. Bic have always had an exceptional retail presence, arguably the market leader, and they have some great lines in the promotional pen market and have a flagship product themselves in the Bic Media Clic ballpen that now also comes as a part recycled product.  Papermate have in more recent years made an aggressive move into the cheap promotional pen market to compliment the more expensive products they have Papermate, Parker and Waterman.

Unbranded budget promotional pens are also incredibly popular and due to the improvements in design, these site very well against any brand names. Examples of these are the Espace, the Rhin ballpen and the Baron colour, with high volume sales year on year.

There is definitely a cheap promotional pen to suit all tastes and budgets and you can be sure that once you start searching around, you will find one that will also meet your branding needs.  Steel City Marketing has been in the industy for over 28 years and is one of the leading promotional gifts distributors in the UK. Call one of the sales team now on 0114 2754150 and we will ensure you get the right pen for your campaign.

A fantastic business gift idea that is seeing a great amount of interest is a small promotional digital photo frame keyring. This is of course a more executive gift idea, but certainly something that is now becoming a lot more affordable as the price on basic flash memory continues to fall.

With digital cameras, gone are the days when every photo taken would be printed out, saved in packs or placed in a photo album. These days all our photographs are stored on our PC’s, transferred from memory cards. They are carried around on iPods, mobile phones, portable flashdrives or hard disk drives. The digital photo frame keyring is another method of having your favorite photos to hand, showing them to family and friends and having a perfect reminder of a loved one or that holiday of a lifetime.

Although there are several variations in this type of product (and all of these can be sourced by Steel City Marketing), this particular one is on at a great offer price. It has a 1.5inch screen, up to 16MB of internal memory allowing up to 140 images to be stored. It is a true plug and play digital photo frame keyring and supports jpeg, gif and bmp files. Based on a 1 colour print to 1 position, 100 would usually be priced at £10.05 each. This current offer has the unit cost at £8.95 each (excluding screens, carriage and VAT).

Stocks are held in the UK, but these can quickly be taken up, meaning a restocking time of around 12 weeks.  Should this item be something that any company is considering as a business gift idea, an early order is recommended.

The sales team of Steel City Marketing can be contacted on 0114 2754150 about this or any other promotional or business gift. With a huge amount of experience, the flexibility on pricing and the keenness to build lasting client relationships, you can be assured you are dealing with the right promotional gift distributor.

With exhibition season now well into the planning stages, companies are deciding how to dress their stand and uniform their staff to make the best impression to existing and potential clients. An incredible amount of time is put into this and quite rightly so given that first impressions do count. A great way to give a professional touch to the company representatives on your stand is with a promotional lanyard.

There are several widths of lanyards and a few choices of materials. Sizes usually range from 10mm, 15mm, 20mm and 25mm with the smaller end of usually catered for by the tubular polyester material whilst the larger width items are produced in flat polyester. Lanyards can be dyed to match pantone colours and this can give a great corporate feel when branded up.

The “green” side cannot be ignored as now there is now an Eco Lanyard which is made using natural plant fibres, a really great talking point about the product.

The flexibility of the promotional lanyard does not stop with the materials, colours and widths. There is a wide range of fittings that can be used from dog clips, to mobile phone loops, trigger clips to retractable reels. This enables the lanyard to have a continued life span long after the exhibition.

Lanyards are not a promotional product limited to exhibition wear. These are often used in the workplace for ID badges, entry card systems or to hold other items such as mobile phones, pens or USB flashdrives. It is a truly versatile product. Safety breaks should not be forgotten, especially as lanyards are used in close proximity to machinery.

Should you be planning an exhibition or event requiring a promotional lanyard or are looking at workplace ID or entry cards, contact Steel City Marketing. An experienced member of the sales team is contactable on 0114 275 4150 to respond to any promotional or business gift requirement you may have.

The easiest way of getting something done is often the preferred way to go. It usually saves time and often this saving is more or less offset against any price advantage. This is not, however, always the case. The Promotional gifts industry is a classic example of where a little more effort can provide fantastic cost down opportunities. A great many businesses involved in design and print can source business gifts and it would be a lie to say that they cannot. It is an area that can be tagged onto several types of industries and it is also very easy for an end user client to ask an existing agency to source promotional merchandise for them. This provides the best option for many given the ease of which the entire marketing package can be put together. However, companies that do this have more often than not overlooked the possibility of using a promotional gift company to source their promotional gifts.

A company that is uniquely involved in an industry understands how it works, what it is to be a distributor of those products and is geared up to dealing both with the large supply base and the specific requirements of the clients. Companies that add this activity onto their core operations will more than likely have to use a promotional gift distributor anyway and these provide a very good client base as it would be foolish to ignore a set of reselling clients that have the drive, desire and a captive client base themselves.

This post is really aimed at current users of promotional merchandise reassessing their activity or companies that have never dipped their toes into this type of marketing spend. It would be a good move to look into several ways of souring your gifts or giveaways and it might well be that the decision is taken to use the printer or design agency already used. It may, however, with minimal effort be possible to check out a promotional gift company. This may not only provide a cost saving, but also a wider list of ideas, knowledge or thousands of products and the expertise in terms of branding and ensuring your logo or company name is enforced with the maximum effect.

Steel City Marketing is a promotional gift company having been in business for over 28 years. With an experienced sales team, contactable on 0114 2754150, you can be sure they will take your ideas and move them forward quickly, cost effectively and with the passion and energy you require.

There are not many companies in the UK that produce their own promotional gift catalogue. Most companies take advantage of the various trade brochure options that are available with the distributor then having a small space to put their own logo on the cover. This does provide a selling tool. The down side of this is the potential restriction of suppliers to the one or ones that contribute to that particular version. The risk to the distributor is clear, they have had no input in the product selection, they are showing the shop window of ideas that they have not put together and have had no direct say in the end user selling prices that these brochures show. With a small selection of suppliers involved, should one of these go out of business, it takes out a selection of products, or gives the distributor the headache of explaining lack of availability or price increases should this product be available elsewhere. The down side for the client is that they see the same promotional gift catalogues time after time, just with a different cover.

Steel City Marketing has been in the promotional gifts industry for over 28 years. Since the first year in business, they have produced their own gift directory on an annual basis. This is put together from scratch from the entire business gift industry best sellers and new product ideas. A monumental task to put together, the continued decision to produce the directory has been taken in order to differentiate the company from other promotional gift distributors. It is also in our own hands what products are put in, what end user guide prices are shown and allows us to get to know and build a better relationship with the supply base in order to ensure that the items are genuine best sellers and the best the promotional gift industry has to offer.

The feedback from clients has backed up this decision, with comments that the selection is different from the norm, the directory is easy to follow and that out of all brochures received, the Steel City Marketing catalogue is one of the only ones kept to hand and one of the first to be selected when planning a promotional gift purchase.

The selection for the 2009/2010 has already begun. Behind the directory is a highly experienced sales team, available on 0114 2754150. Steel City Marketing has fantastically efficient sourcing capabilities and relies on the directory to show that the company can be a one-stop shop of ideas. Should you not see the item or idea you are looking for in the directory or online, please call and we will provide prices, options and samples as and when required.

A really good promotional product idea to giveaway is from the large range of note pad ideas.  These are commonly used desktop items and would therefore be something that the company would normally purchase through their stationery supplier. A branded note pad can be a very well received gift as well as providing a good reminder of your product, service or campaign.

The choice of promotional note pads is extensive with new ideas being available year on year to provide that something different should you have already had success with one type of pad but want to go for something similar.  Sticky note pads are the most popular and best selling within the paper range of promotional items. Available in several sizes and with printing possible in up to full colour process, these are items that are constantly in use within the office as a reminder tool, as a message for a colleague or simply as a daily task list. The most popular sized pad is the A7.

Desk pads are another commonly used item in the office environment with various sizes to allow use in various situations from seminars, conferences, meetings or just simply “to do” tasks during a working day. The most popular size is the A4. These products are card backed, can be printed in up to full colour and can also be inserted into folders and ring binder to give a nice finishing touch to a sales rep product or an executive business gift.

Memo blocks and pads are another really popular choice and a true desktop product. The small easy to tear off sheets provide instant reminder notes. Block pads themselves can be printed to the sides giving 4 great advertising areas and the sheets can carry up to a full colour process logo so each sheet, no matter what it is attached to, will also be branded. There is a good choice of memo holders, solid, transparent or even holders that take a full colour process insert.

The biggest and most important recent development in paper is the selection of pads that are now either made from recycled paper or from sustainable sources which shows a real effort is taking place to ensure that promotional note pads are still available whilst taking account of how this affects our environment.

Steel City Marketing have an experienced sales team to discuss note pads or any other promotional item. Call now on 0114 2754150 and we will ensure that you have the right ideas, great prices and the best way to promote yourself.

A great many marketing budgets are being cut and the decision makers are starting to think of the best ways to spend a more limited budget to keep enforcing their brand and to  ensure that the clients or potential customers are still aware of the company, product or service. Marketing is still a vital area and it is clear that focus is being given to making sure this is maintained, even if the funds available to do so aren’t as much as in previous years. End users are quite rightly becoming creative and clever in order to ensure that whatever they do is remembered for as long as possible. A great way to do this is by using business gifts and there are some really good value options that can achieve exactly the desired results.

From time to time promotional gifts producers will put through offer prices to distributors and it is always worth asking what the best offers are. These can often be on pens and this could be purely down to the level of competition where every unit sale is competed for incredibly hard.

Often good value options have to be carefully hunted out, as something that ticks every box for one client might not do the same for another. A good example of a range of business gifts that could be considered good value is mugs. From the standard earthenware options, where prices for certain best selling products are really low to travel mugs that are becoming more and more popular and some of the plastic double walled options can be purchased at excellent price points. Mugs have great branding possibilities, up to full colour process on ceramic products and a good large print area across the board.

Recycled and Eco business gifts are another good value area which provide a feel good factor that there has been consideration of the environment when making the purchase. For a lot of companies, these elements can be more important than any other, with the ethical side of promotional gift buying being high up on the wish list.

A good value business gift idea is not always the product that is on discount or the one that has a free screen voucher or one that has 10% extra free. It is the one that provides the end user with the best value given the importance of their precious marketing spend. This can be a budget item or a high value gift, but time must be taken to search and more importantly your business gift distributor will be able to help you make the right decision.

Steel City Marketing is the right promotional gift distributor to talk to about your requirements. With an experienced sales team and a company that has been in this business for over 28 years, you can be sure you are speaking to the people that will help you get the right product for your campaign. Call now on 0114 2754150.

The promotional products that often perform the best for a company are the ones that have not been rushed into purchasing. They are also usually the products that have not taken up considerable budget and therefore can be bought in larger volumes and given out as merchandise to a larger audience of existing clients and target customers. With the potential for a mass giveaway item to provide your client base with a long-term reminder of your business, service, initiative or event, the advertising promotional products are certainly an area to consider for your next campaign.

Quite a large portion of the promotional products industry has some type of advertising product within the range. The classic area to look at first is pens, with a vast choice in the budget end of the spectrum, great colour choice and most importantly good branding and advertising space. Although the number of print colours has been a little restricted, more and more pens can now be printed in full colour process, allowing more and more logos to use this method of promotion.

Keyrings are another great advertising promotional product, given the good print areas, often to two sides, and this is certainly an item that will get used by the recipient in some capacity, even if it is on the spare set of car keys, providing a lasting reminder.

Other choices for good mass advertising are products such as fridge magnets, car air fresheners and other items that will be used domestically, all with great print areas, allowing up to full colour process print and can be direct mailed to the target audience or simply handed out at a trade show or exhibition.

Certain product ideas are meant to provide a little fun as well and message bugs, billbo men for example do just that. They are great when you have a campaign or are running an exhibition stand where children might accompany their parents, providing a good draw to the stand and hopefully a chance to pass on the required information to your target audience.

Steel City Marketing have been experts in the promotional gifts industry since 1980 and have an experienced sales team available on 0114 2754150 – ready to take your call and discuss any requirements, ideas or prices. Call now.

One of the most traditional promotional gifts has been from the wide selection of glass products. Not only have these been a common giveaway item in various forms, but also there is a good amount of product choice in the high-end executive business gift range as well as a fantastic choice of items that would come under an awards range of product ideas. With glass products, it is certain that the recipient will place a high perceived value on their received gift and this can therefore provide some great marketing for your organization, help retain clients or increase your client base – whatever is your ultimate aim.

The choice of promotional items made from glass is nowadays conclusive and there is usually a product that would fit the bill for most tastes, requirements and more importantly budget.  Starting at the lower end of the marketing spend and there are a selection of desktop items that would sit nicely in most office or board room environments. Examples of these would be coasters or paperweights and whereas items of this type would traditionally have been engraved only, they now can be ceramic transfer printed or even with inserts allowing up to full colour process printing – adding that splash a colour that many company branding guidelines will require.

Moving up the budget levels and the desktop range of products are still catered for with clocks that will also double up as a paperweight. A great set of glass products that require a decent budget are the 3D laser engraved items. They are worth mentioning now as they sit in the bracket of either being a desktop product or can be handed out as an award. Logos, product shapes or wording can be engraved to the center for a stunning three-dimensional finish.

On the business gifts side of the glassware range, the traditional best sellers are still popular with a good choice of whisky tumblers, champagne flutes, wine goblets and decanters all of which can be engraved to commemorate an event or an anniversary for example.

Lastly on the awards side of the glassware range, the choice is immense. From curved frame type products that have simple lines and details, to optical crystal designs with a solid base, there are some incredibly attractive products to choose from and time should be devoted to ensuring the right product is selected.

Should you have any promotional gift requirements, please contact a member of the Steel City Marketing sales team on 0114 2754150, who will be happy to discuss prices, arrange samples and visuals and make the process of purchasing your products as easy for you as possible.

A really popular choice for a promotional item is something relating to motoring and there is a fantastic choice of products available that can be given out to your target audience at exhibitions or as part of a direct mail campaign that are perfect for this particular end use. Most of the products that will be looked at in more detail certainly fit the bill as an item that would in most cases be purchased were they not given and this is the ultimate requirement when considering your promotional merchandise.

Keyrings are still a high selling area for promotional and business gifts, with all budgets catered for. At the lower end are acrylic options with a paper insert that can take a print up to full colour process. Numerous others are found in the cheaper price range, with most items produced in plastic or pvc. The move up in unit cost then brings other options, such as bonded leather, metallic keyrings and keyrings with a dual function, such as an ice scraper, trolley coin or even a hand warmer.  At the top end are keyrings that are either all metallic and require engraving or in good quality leather combined with metal where various branding techniques exist.

To move onto other areas to consider when look at a promotional gift for motoring use and first on the list should be car air fresheners, which can be made to any shape (which may require a tooling charge). These can be printed up to full colour process and can have a choice from a large selection of scents.  Car stickers are another item that can be printed in up to full colour, and again punched to any shape. The sizes are wide ranging and these can be on self-adhesive or self cling vinyl depending on the use. Whilst discussing vinyl products, tax disc holders should not be overlooked. With a good choice of styles and sizes, this could be done as a membership card combination product, or a simple circular holder, but all products can be printed to the outer and inner facing surfaces.

Safety should also be considered when looking at promotional items for the motoring recipient. There are tyre depth measurement tools for example. Disposable cameras are also a good idea as these can be kept in case of an accident that needs proof of fault. Safety kits are starting to become law in certain countries and these can be put together on a budget or can cover all items that may be required during a breakdown.

Steel City Marketing keep a close eye on all new products available to the promotional gifts industry. With an experienced sales team that can be contact on 0114 2754150, they will be happy to discuss best selling ideas or new products should you be looking for something a little different.

It is very clear that most companies are looking to maintain market share as a minimum and build on the client base by promoting their organization and working hard to win new business. The reinforcing of your brand is one of the main ways to tackle both sides and an ideal method of doing this is with the use of business gifts. These not only act as a long term reminder of who are you, where you are and what you do, but can be a real incentive to your clients to retain your services and can encourage new customers to talk to you and try you for the first time.

Some of the best promotional gift ideas are the simple ones, and with effective branding these can serve you very well for the long term.  Promotional pens, whether they are from the budget range (where high quantities can be an effective tool) or a more expensive business gift selection, pens are still the best selling of promotional merchandise and is certainly a one to consider.

The range of desktop promotional gifts is great for a certain type of target audience, with a host of ideas from mousemats, coasters, highlighters, pads and many more. The recycled range of products should not be ignored with new products constantly coming on stream that have been produced using recycled materials. Flashdrives are probably the biggest desktop promotional gift item at present, with so many models to choose from it can be quite hard to keep on top of the new ranges!

Promotional mugs still remain popular and with a good branding area, they can be an excellent reminder of your company details. Mugs are always well received and it is amazing how possessive people can get about a certain one, so these are very much worth considering.

Travel and leisure promotional products are becoming very effective and this area is huge and worth taking time over such a large selection. From the activity side such as sports bottles, MP3 players, pedometers to torches, ice scrapers and winter high visibility items, there are some fantastic and useful business gift items to consider.

Choosing a business gift idea to reinforce you brand effectively can be a very daunting task. Brochures can give too much choice and certain websites can have far too big a selection. At Steel City Marketing we have our own 96 page promotional gift directory, a website with only best selling and new product ideas and a great sales team waiting for your call on 0114 2754150. We are experienced, passionate and will ensure the process is smooth and trouble free.