Maui Jim Fitting Events...the Ultimate Client Gift??

Many of my clients put together employee and customer appreciation events several times per year, and every time these events roll around, they come to me for a unique, "high end" gift that will be immediately enjoyed by attendees and remembered for years. If you don't want to be left throwing a logo on the same tired gift item every year, it's time you looked into a Maui Jim Fitting Event.

Maui Jim sunglasses are one of the top selling premium sunglass brands in the world. They rigorously police the marketplace to maintain brand value (no discounting is allowed anywhere at retail) and constantly introduce new styles to stay current with trends and market conditions. The product alone is worth consideration as a client gift, given its reputation for quality, leading-edge technology (PolarizedPlus2 technology), high perceived value and appeal to all demographics. When you add a personal fitting session to the package, the value and excitement ratchets up tenfold.

Picture your clients or employees falling over themselves to try on a $300 pair of sunglasses that you are providing them as a gift. This is the environment at an MJ event. We fly in a trained MJ fitting rep to your event, anywhere in the world, where they will set up a fitting station and provide a full selection of styles to your attendees. At the event, your attendees receive the glasses they choose, a custom storage case, and a custom cleaning cloth. You don't have to touch, store, ship or inventory any products...I can hear the sighs of relief...you have enough to do with logistics at these events!

Why I love the MJ Fitting Event:

1. Everyone loves a killer pair of expensive shades

2. If they alreadyhave a pair...everyone loves a SECOND pair of expensive shades

3. We can address prescription issues for Rx attendees...no one is left out in the cold!

4. Incredible buzz-generator...the energy level is astounding

5. Talk about an ice-breaker...witness the interactivity between fitter and attendee and amongst attendees: "Sue, what do you think of this pair??" "Do these look good on me??"

6. Flat prices per attendee, so you can easily budget the gift for your event

7. Turn-key programs

If you're looking for a unique way to reward employees or clients, you owe Maui Jim a look...

T-Shirts 101 continued...

OK, so we're all set on white tees. Now let's talk a bit about colors and options.

Once you go beyond the white tee, your options open up. The basic mill brands have huge color selections, so you should be good to go in matching a brand or theme.

Other options include pigment-dyed/garment dyed tees, fashion tees (Alternative Apparel, American Apparel, Royal Apparel, Bella, et al) and performance tees (microfiber polyester).

Garment-dyed tees use very soft ringspun cotton and have a washed look, think "gift shop on the beach." They are very durable and look better with age.

Fashion tees include many styles for men and women with cutting edge fabrics and treatments like acid wash, sheer, burnout, and "destroyed". These target a youth demographic with a slim cut and super lightweight fabrics. Expect to pay a premium.

Performance tees include cotton/poly blends and 100% poly wicking fabrics. Riding the Underarmour/Nike DryFit trend, these tees are perfect for sports and fitness promotions. Full color imprints can be digitally sublimated into the fabric to retain the performance properties of the polyester.

PRICE considerations:

1. Within the same style and brand, dark tees (colors) cost more than white or neutral (ash grey) tees

2. Each imprint color increases the price.

3. Each additional imprint location increases the price.

4. In a typical screen print operation, each additional color adds another setup charge

5. Digital sublimation, where appropriate, is a great option for multi-color imprints as there are typically no setup charges.

Imprint Limitations

As you look at a tee shirt and wonder about how you can decorate it, keep in mind that most screen printers limit the size and location of possible imprints due to the constraints of the screen printing process. We (typically) CANNOT imprint across side seams, over shoulder seams, onto or up to the neck seam, or wrap around the body. As you dream up designs, you must keep that in mind. I know...you've seen these wild designs, and may own some...but those shirts were almost certainly imprinted BEFORE they were manufactured. There are specialty printers that have the equipment to print some allover designs, but they are hard to find and very pricey. Printing blank tees AFTER they are made and sitting on a shelf (95% of promotional orders) limits your imprint areas to these locations:

Large Imprints:

Full Chest

Full Front

Full Back

Upper Back

Lower Back

Small Imprints:

Left chest

Right chest

Center chest

Bottom left or right

Back Neck (aka Between Shoulder Blades: BSB)

Left sleeve

Right sleeve

Next week I'll discuss complex, retail imprint treatments.

Plain White Tees

No, not the band.

Wearables, aka apparel, are the largest category of promotional products...and the ubiquitous T-shirt leads the way as far as being the #1 item launched into promotional programs. It's relatively cheap, it appeals to all demographics, it has a well defined perceived value and a long shelf life, and it's a great canvas for creative graphic design and branding. When in doubt...give 'em a T-shirt.

That said, there are some things you should know about T-shirt fabric, styles, imprint techniques, etc. Gone are the days when a white XL Beefy-T would do the trick for all your needs. Now the influence is from retail (Abercrombie, Hollister, et al) showcasing slim, fashion cuts with ultra lightweight cotton fabrics and cutting-edge imprint treatments.

Today's post dishes on the basic white T-shirt only. We'll get into other styles and issues at a later date.

The basic white cotton T is as close to a true commodity item that you will see in the industry. Prices fluctuate wildly in domestic markets, but most mills provide nearly identical styles within weight categories, so my advice is to choose a weight/quality level and just pick a shirt. For the record, my top 4 mills are Gildan, Anvil, Fruit of the Loom and Hanes. All provide specific women's styles as well.

1. The entry-level fabric is 100% cotton in a 5.0 to 5.5 oz. weight. These tees work well for large quantity promotions.
2. Next up is a "6 ounce" shirt (depending on mill, 6.0 to 6.1 oz fabric)... a little more heft, less shrinkage perhaps, better for holding complex imprints, slight increase in price. My pick for most applications, it does the job without going overboard.
3. At a premium price are the "ringspun" cotton shirts; most of you are familiar with the Hanes Beefy-T which set the mark years ago, but there are other very good selections in the category. Typically offered in a 6 oz. weight, this fabric offers a much softer hand than standard tees, and is worth the extra cost if you are looking for a premium luxury fabric for your promotion.
4. Cotton/poly blends: the 50/50 tee is a good choice if you are concerned about shrinkage and durability. There are perceptions that blends hold imprints better than pure cotton fabric, but I personally haven't seen any discernable difference.
5. Fashion tees from American Apparel, Alternative Apparel and the like are very hot right now. The fabric is very lightweight (under 5 oz.), typically soft ringspun cotton, and there are many styles to choose from. Yes, they are relatively pricey, but if you are targeting a tough-to-please youth demographic, they are the way to go.

Next week...colors, imprints, and pricing issues!

Jim

"Eco" water bottles...the real deal

OK, this is a hot topic...BPA (Bisphenol A) leaching into our water from the polycarbonate plastic in our beloved "Nalgene" bottles.

We were just getting used to the fact that you could kick the crap out of polycarbonate and it wouldn't break, plus it doesn't retain odors or tastes. So is BPA a real health risk? The jury is still out, but IMHO it doesn't really matter, because the market is demanding alternatives to polycarbonate, so we need to be ready. Luckily, the promotional products industry is already responding with several BPA-free water bottle materials. These are very popular items for summer promotions, gyms, walk-a-thons and all sports events, so as long as you know about the alternatives out there, you'll be fine. You also need to get a primer on PLASTICS:

All plastics that can be recycled have that little triangle on the bottom, and there is a number inside that designates the type of plastic. Here are the ones you should be looking for in your new sport bottle:
1: PET (Polyethylene Teraphthalate), the plastic that retail water bottles (Poland Spring) are made of. Although originally designed for single use, there are some great rigid sport bottle designs coming out that use PET.
2: HDPE (high density polyethylene), think "milk jugs" and detergent bottles, you'll be seeing this plastic in some of the new rigid water bottles.
4. LDPE (low density polyethylene), very popular as a squeezable material, think "bike bottle".
5. PP (polypropylene), used in medicine bottles and drinking straws, will be more prevalent.

AVOID:
(3) PVC, Polyvinyl chloride (although some 2008 styles are FDA approved)
(6) PS, Polystyrene
(7) PC, Polycarbonate

In addition to the new plastics, we're seeing more sport bottles in aluminum and stainless steel, which were pretty much limited to the hiking and mountain climbing arena until the BPA issue came up. These are great alternatives...very durable and high perceived value, plus stainless does not retain odors.

I hope this helps, please contact me if you have any other questions or need some specific styles to evaluate.

Jim

Welcome to Event Swag's Blog

Hello all!

My name is Jim Lynch and have launched this blog to introduce new promotional merchandise ideas to my friends and clients. As I come across anything new and noteworthy, I will endeavor to quickly put it on this blog for all to see. In addition, I will periodically write some educational articles for those tasked with sourcing innovative promotional merchandise, so you may want to check back often to learn about apparel imprinting techniques, overseas manufacturing tricks, etc.

Thanks for your support and I look forward to helping you with your marketing needs!

Jim