The NEW Steel City Marketing brochure has been mailed out and the response has been amazing. It is the only independent Promotional Gift directory in the UK. The new concept, improved layout and the huge amount of ideas crammed in this year make it one of the standout sourcing tools in the UK for Business Gift ideas. To request a copy click here. If you have any questions, or cant find what you are specifically looking for, please let me know.

Product Update
Here are just a couple of ideas for this particular update. They have been selected either as new products or something that is currently on offer.

Combi Pad Plus

A great new promotional notepads product. The image shows this laid out with an A5 pad, 3 x A8 sticky note pads and a set of index tabs. Equally this could have different sized pads, totally up to you. Full colour branding to the cover really enhances this product and protects the pads. This is price on application due to the various combinations, but a really good new idea.

DEAL : Free of charge carriage for any orders on this product for the next month!

AntiBacterial Pen

This pens kills 99.9% of harmful viruses and bacteria and to show this moving forward in your promotion, the “Anti Bac logo” can be printed single colour onto the reverse of the pen free of charge.

DEAL : Free screen charges (usually £35.00 per colour) up to 3 colours.

Etched Mug

Great addition to the promotional mug range. Rather than screen printed, the logo is engraved, giving a really striking finish and something very different.

And so…..onto other news…..

Steel City Marketing is 30 years old as of June this year!!! We are so proud to have been in this industry for that long, working with the best manufacturers and having built up some amazing relationships with clients along the way. To celebrate, we have kicked in a rebrand which is incorporated into the 30th edition of the directory, which we feel is the best yet.

Away from work James Biggin completed the London Marathon in April this year in 3 hours 1 min and 12 secs at the same time as production assistants Deborah who was finishing in 5 place in the Sheffield Half Marathon. Watch this space for the next challenge!

One of the ranges of business gift ideas that remain popular to this day is the great choice of promotional mugs. These days, it is not so much about paying high unit cost for an elaborate design, the majority of enquiries are for cheap promotional mugs that tick the box on the ultimate requirement - to hold tea and coffee - and also allow great branding possibilities as well as being a gift that will receive significant usage.

Cheap promotional mugs make up the majority of the sales of this type of merchandise and again this highlights the trends in the business community to provide a promotional mug to a client or target audience that does the job, with no whistles and bells! The choice of mugs is fantastic these days and the coffee shop generation has contributed to some really contemporary designs coming into this market, but at the end of the day, you want your marketing spend to work to the maximum for you and you can rely on the cheap promotional mugs to do that.

As with most things, the higher volume selling products usually provide the lowest cost base to work from and this is true within the select few cheap promotional mug models. There are at least 3 best selling products that are worth highlighting. They provide attractive and appealing designs, a selection of colours to provide additional choice and the flexibility in terms of branding area and methods.  These are the Sparta, Durham and Bell:

Sparta Earthenware Mug
This design is probably the best known of all cheap promotional mugs. It is now available in several standard colours as well as traditional white. Printing methods are anything from single spot colour work, through to dye-suyblimation up to full colour process printing. This mugs sits well in an office or shop floor environment.

Durham Mug
Another of the traditional cheap promotional mugs. This has a chunkier feel and design, good capacity for drinks and a fantastic print area allowing all the techniques for the other mugs as well as photo mug and heat sensitive printing methods to add extra value. A real best selling option to consider.

Bell Mug
This is a mug that would again have fantastic universal appeal, male and female alike in any working environment. Like the other cheap promotional mugs, the bell has several standard colour options and a good branding area.

Please free to contact Steel City Marketing on 0114 2754150 to discuss cheap promotional mugs or any other business gift idea.

One of the most commonly purchased promotional item remains the mug. Essentially a product that has an everyday use and were it not given would almost certainly be purchased, the promotional mug is an ideal giveaway item to consider for the amount of impressions it can receive during its lifetime. The Sparta mug is probably the most famous of all promotional mugs, with popularity spread equally from the office to the construction site, male and female alike.

The Sparta mug falls into a set of the most popular earthenware mugs. Along with several others, these remain at the lowest promotional mug price points due to the volume sold per annum allowing greater purchasing power from the Far East by the various UK importers. So not only does the Sparta mug have a universally appealing design, it also ticks the box as being the lowest priced earthenware mug on the market.

Traditionally earthenware mugs were restricted to white ceramics. As with most things, advances in manufacturing have improved choice. The Sparta mug is now available in several colours.

Promotional mugs now have the additional feature of covering all the bases in terms of branding possibilities. Spot colour screen printing is obviously fine, along with  additional techniques such as dye sublimation, and full colour process printing. The Sparta mug can equally take a transfer print to the inside rim or base, which can be a great impact branding method for messages, websites or phone numbers.

The benefit to using promotional mugs in your campaigns is not only the likelihood of the item being used over and over again, but also the great print area possible. The Sparta mug does not disappoint here either with a healthy 185 x 70 mm screen print area.

Packaging should not be ignored when looking at purchasing a mug such as the Sparta mug in bulk. Obviously these are usually packed in large cartons of 36, but equally, individually poly boxing can be purchased, allowing these promotional mugs to be sent out as a direct mail campaign, or business gift.

A promotional mug such as the Sparta mug is an incredibly popular choice. Should you require a price, please contact a member of the experienced sales team at Steel City Marketing on 0114 2754150 who will be delighted to assist.

The promotional items that often show the best results are the ones that have an initial impact, encouraging the recipient to show others, to keep the product and therefore gaining many valuable impressions as time progresses. Heat sensitive mugs fit the bill as that type of promotional item perfectly. Earthenware mugs continue to remain towards the top in terms of sales of promotional merchandise and business gift ideas, and often this is due to the value for money they offer, the guaranteed daily use a “favorite” mug will get and finally due to the great print area. To add value and make your mug a heat sensitive one is a really good idea to make sure it is the one used over and over again.

Heat sensitive mugs are produced and printed in much the same way as any promotional mug, with screen printing, dye sublimation and full colour process all possible these days on good “wraparound” print areas. Transfer printing methods even allow branding to the inside rim or base, adding a secondary message that can have significant impact.  Where heat sensitive mugs slightly differ is the final stage of production. This heat sensitive coating is applied to either partly or fully cover the message you want to reveal and when hot liquid is added to the mug, this becomes visible. As the mug cools, the heat sensitive coating is restored to its original colour, which can be in either a black or blue. It is also possible to have a screen printed logo or message constantly visible by adding this after the heat sensitive coating has been applied, another idea to consider for your promotional mug.

Traditionally the heat sensitive mugs have been restricted to the straight-sided Durham style earthenware promotional mug. This still remains the iconic and best-known heat sensitive mug on the market. However, as with most things, advances in technology has allowed other styles to be produced and made available with the same feature. Available now are the small latte heat sensitive mugs as well as the large version, providing the coffee shop generation something to purchase on the promotional side that has a unique feature.

Although the heat sensitive mugs are microwave safe, prolonged heating should be avoided. As soon as the colour change process is complete, the heat sensitive mug should be removed from the microwave in order to maintain the condition of the mug. The heat sensitive mugs are not dishwasher safe due to the nature of the coatings and harsh abrasives should be avoided. In order to keep the mug looking good, the suggestion is to use mild cleaning detergents in moderate temperatures.

Steel City Marketing have been distributing promotional gifts for over 28 years. Our experienced sales can be contacted on 0114 2754150 to discuss heat sensitive mugs or any other promotional and business gift idea you may wish to consider.

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.

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.

The prospect of being handed a smaller marketing budget but having to achieve more with that spend must be incredibly daunting this year and this is a message we are hearing up and down the country as we speak to current and potential clients. It is proving difficult for everyone involved and we are all being put to the test in various ways on a daily basis, be that on price, on ideas that are different or making sure service levels are maintained to the highest standards.

However, on the promotional products side of marketing there is always an option and it must be remembered that these are some of the best marketing tools to use to promote your company or brand and that something can be purchased to suit pretty much any budget no matter how small.

Businesses often have a standard set of promotional merchandise that they rely on and the weigh up facing most marketing buyers this year is having to look at obtaining products that achieve the same results but reducing the spend.  This can be done in a number of ways.

1. Use the same product, but reduce the quantity. This is a solution many companies are using, allowing them to maintain existing merchandise and maybe target a smaller client base.

2. Using the same product, but reducing the quantity and purchasing a cheaper alternative as a back up. This follows the theme of point 1, but for the same spend, a cheaper alternative product could be used in conjunction with existing giveaways, allowing new client list to be targeted. For example a Prodir pen may be relied upon, but a Super Hit Icy ballpen could be used as an alternative.

3. Move away to an alternative product. This is something we are seeing a great deal of. Marketing departments message is that they are satisfied that promotional gifts do work, but are not loyal to one particular product. Therefore with cost down requests from superiors, time is being taken to find a good alternative that provides the right savings. A company that traditionally buys the Marrow earthenware mug, is more like to consider swapping the order for a Bell earthenware mug in tough times for example.

Steel City Marketing have been established as a promotional gifts distributor for over 28 years and have an experienced sales team who are ready to take on any challenge in terms of reducing your unit costs, coming up with new ideas or discussing ways to promote your brand effectively.  Call now on 0114 275 4150.

There is a fantastic new item in the mug section of promotional gifts and it is something that is receiving a good amount of interest. It is an earthenware mug with a black coating, supplied boxed with a piece of chalk to accompany it. The Chalk Mug is something different, is a good impact item and with the addition of your corporate identity is a product that you can be certain will be talked about and used for a considerable amount of time.

Should you have run out of post-it notes, you can scribble down you note or message on the mug. If you have lost your pen under a pile of paperwork on your desk, then you can write on the mug and action your idea later. It is a promotional item that encourages a degree of interaction and could be used simply to personalize the mug with the owners name or note down the tea or coffee requests, including how many sugars! A meeting planned can be jotted down and the mug will act as a reminder not to forget where and when.

The surface can be wiped clean easily to start again. As with a standard earthenware mug, the print are is great, 185 x 70mm and it is probably a good idea to consider adding your logo to just one side, leaving the other side as a blank canvas to doodle away. 

As with any product, please take advantage of the in-house studio which can put together visuals to show how products can look. Contact Andrew (studio@steel-city.co.uk).

As a sales team, we are always seeking out new business gift ideas and will try to make people aware of new ideas as much as possible. Should you want to be included in our non entrusive email marketing campaigns, please mention this to your account handler when you call on 0114 2754150 with your next promotional item enquiry.

One of the most consistently purchased and popular of promotional gifts is the mug. Even though it is always greatly received it is an item that were it not “given” would be something that would still be needed and therefore bought. Most people will have a promotional mug, and these are one of the most commonly used items in our daily working lives (possibly just behind the PC, phone and pen!)

The promotional mug has certainly evolved and where the designs in both china and earthenware would have been historically restricted in choice, there is now a large and varied range to cater for various budgets or in order to display a corporate identity in a given style.

China mugs maintain their popularity and are there is certainly still a good level of prestige attached to a china range. The printing methods are not restricted – and full colour process is possible on china, although the price does reflect this with a considerable hike in overall spend.  The most popular china mug is Windsor followed by the Balmoral.

The choice of product styles takes on a new level when looking at earthenware mugs. There are some traditional best selling items such as the Durham or Sparta, ideal for office, shop floor or building site working environments. The Durham in particular offers varied branding methods included photomug, pantone matched spectracoat finish and heat sensitive magic ink, creating a simple but versatile product to consider.  There are now some very contemporary styles of promotional mugs to consider and the Marrow, Metro, Prado offer that little bit of something different and a more memorable piece perhaps.

The final area to consider when looking at a potential business gift purchase of mugs, are the travel mugs. The increase in popularity of outdoor pursuits, coupled with the boom in construction work (until the recent slump) has made the insulated mug a very popular product. Our daily lives have become hectic and more and more people are taking drinks on the move, making these a great growth area. Although not a low budget spend, there are versions that insulate with plastic, providing a slightly cheaper alternative to the traditional stainless steel version.

For an item that features so regularly on the promotional gift wish list, it is certainly worth putting time and effort into ensuring you have the selected the right style for your brand / campaign, have given careful consideration to the amount of information you are looking to print and have thought about your target market. If you would like to discuss the choice of mugs available, please contact a member of the Steel City Marketing sales team on 0114 2754150 who will be more than happy to quote prices, send samples and ensure you choose the right product for your needs.

As we are close to acknowledging our national and international sporting heroes via BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, it seemed logical that we put forward the heroes of the promotional gifts world.

We have seen many strong performances in an action packed year of business gifts, with the usual names cropping up as best sellers such as paper products, mousemats, promotional mugs and clothing. Promotional Pens as always lead the way on volume and total value.

But lets move straight on with the awards….

Team of the Year…
Runner Up : We have chosen USB Flashdrives – a great and varied selection, larger memory capacity added during the year and a high level of sales.
Winner : It has to be Recycled & Eco Business Gifts – showing the new technological advances – good colour choice, great branding options and products being constantly added to a highly evolving area.

Promotional Gifts Personality of the Year…

In 3rd place
Durham Earthenware mug – a fine gritty year long performance by a great best selling item, with branding up to full colour process, dye sublimation photo print, heat sensitive WOW mug and pantone matched spectracoating all possible.

In 2nd place
Senator Super Hit Ballpen – an extremely popular pen – the original budget click pen.  Now available in a vast number of colour combinations and on express lead times. New for 2008 is the Super Hit Eco (barrel approx 96% recycled ABS)

In 1st place
From the Team of the Year comes the winner, the Twister Flashdrive. An extremely good purchase, giving the general downward pricing trend in memory. Protective metal plate avoids losing a cap and this product has pantone matching option to the main barrel.  Engraved or printed to the plate and can be supplied bulk or gift boxed.

Twister Flashdrive

What to look out for in 2009
Rubiks cube – Retro appeal with full colour branding possibilities.
USB People – A great item putting the fun factor on the desktop.
Flip Video – a fantastic video camera, not cheap, but easy to use and great results.

It is still surprising how many enquiries for promotional gifts and merchandise are received with the client still unsure of how many colours can be printed onto the item they are interested in.

This is not a problem for us - we love talking about what we do and the ultimate aim is match a clients exact requirement to the end product delivered.  Now more so than ever before this is achievable and advances in technology mean that progress in branding items will continue.

Companies are rebranding and redesigning logos to make them fresher, we are becoming more service led and new businesses are being established – this is a continual cycle. There is so much marketing being done, that promotional products need to keep up and be well received once produced.

Full colour print was often the Holy Grail – and only certain items offered a digital print option – mousemats and paper products spring to mind historically.

Most products areas now have a suitable option for a full colour process print:

Promotional Mugs : Full colour can be achieved through several print methods, from dye sublimation, to transfer print, to full colour process. Even the contemporary Latte mugs are getting in on the act!

Promotional Pens : Most pen producers now have the ability either to print a full colour digital wrap and apply it to the barrel, or print directly onto the pen in full colour.

USB Flashdrives : Certain popular models lend themselves to full colour process print, such as the Aluminium, plus new styles now come with epoxy labels which take a digital print extremely well.

Full colour print on sports bottle

Sports Bottles : Aluminium Sports bottles are now not only ticking the box from the reusable angle - avoiding the wastage of plastic - but they too now can take a digital wraparound print, with fantastic results.

The list DOES go on…

The best suggestion we can make at Steel City Marketing is to contact a member of the sales team (0114 2754150) if you have any questions about your branding, the products or the restrictions (if any!!) that might apply.