Golf Balls as Promotional Gifts

I've been imprinting golf balls for clients for years and, sure, I love them as a promotional item. But I think you've got to be careful before you start slapping your brand on a little white orb that you are going to hand out...and that will find its way into the golf bags of all sorts of people (as well as deep woods, ponds, parking lots, etc.).
First off, all golf balls are not created equal. Just look at the prices for a dozen balls at retail, ranging from a low of about $16.00 to a high of $46.00. Construction, materials, branding, marketing, PGA Tour use...these all have an impact on the price and perceived value of a specific ball brand, and with few exceptions, price tells us where a ball fits in the hierarchy of quality and playability. The good news is, since this hierarchy is defined, everyone knows which balls are the best and which are the bargains. Simply fit the ball to your needs.
Here's what you need to take into consideration as you think about which brands to purchase and imprint:
1. Budget: we've carved the golf ball market into these categories: Pro Level ($40 per dozen and up), Top Amateur Level ($25 to $40), Recreational Level ($20 to $30) and Promotional Level (under $20). Figure out what you can drop and whether you will be breaking up the dozens into sleeves of 3 balls each...then pick a good brand.
2. Who will get the balls? If you are greasing top clients, go with the best out there. You don't want to risk the perception that you saved a few bucks...Titleist Pro V1 and V1x are the most expensive balls and they are played by the majority of guys on Tour. You can't go wrong giving them away. If you think the Pro V1 isn't creative enough and want to mix it up (hey, all golfers are looking for the magic potion, they will try anything once), go with an alternate pro model from TaylorMade (Penta TP), Callaway (Tour iz), Srixon (Z-Star), Nike (20 XI) or Bridgestone (B330). Sponsoring a golf outing and you're going to be there in force? Don't go on the cheap...opt for a mid-level ball in the high $20 range. Sponsoring an outing and you only need a basic ball to get some credit? Stick in the $18 to $23 range. Need to have some sleeves lying around for occasional client use and employee gifting? Look in the high $20 to mid-$30 range and watch for promotions (buy 12 dozen, get 2 dozen free). At the low end of the scale you can find "rocks" that run $3.50 per sleeve. I do not advise going there. You wouldn't put your logo on the cheapest plastic mug out there, would you? Why put your brand on a product that is know by all to be the cheapest one available??
3. What is the promotion? Golf outings do NOT need golf balls to be provided by a sponsor although it seems to be a knee-jerk reaction these days. If you get stuck with supplying them, look at the attendees and choose based on the audience. Inventory for ongoing client gifting should include pro-level and top amateur level balls. Employee company stores and catalogs can get by with a single top level recreational ball such as the Callaway HX Diablo.
4. Packaging. Most folks opt for retail packaging; the brand of ball is obvious, so you benefit from that perception. Don't totally ignore the various custom packaging options, however. They make a huge impression and allow you to break up dozens into smaller, equally high value gifts.
Hope this helps, folks...hit 'em straight!

Drinkware for 2011

"Drinkware", the industry term for bottles and mugs, is exploding. A few years back it was the Nalgene(R) bottle tearing it up, then stainless steel water bottles and other environmentally friendly materials (turns out the polycarbonate in the Nalgene was bad for you). BPA-free plastics to the rescue! Here's my take on drinkware: awesome promotional product because everyone needs a new coffee mug/water bottle to replace the nasty one they are currently using. Seriously, these things do not have an infinite shelf life; your clients will love you if you give them a replacement for the brown-ringed plastic DD mug they picked up at the drive-thru 3 years ago. What to look for? Water bottles: cool designs, pop-up straws so you don't have to tilt to drink, double wall construction for thermal insulation, 20 oz. size and up. Coffee tumblers: cool design, double wall construction, SS lining, secure closure and open/close function that actually works and is easily cleaned. Brand exposure is super on all drinkware, they sit on desks and inside cars, are carried around in offices and on the weekends. When Starbucks is getting $24.00 for a coffee tumbler, you know there's a market. It's time to be the hero and offer one to your clients.

The Opener Ballcap

Hey everyone! I'm glad to be back and cranking out ideas for my clients...I'll be posting to the blog regularly, keeping everyone up to date on new products and techniques for promotional merchandise. Big show next week in A.C., NJ, so stay tuned.

A funny thing happened to me last winter up in snowy VT, thought I would share it with you. I head up for an early spring boy's weekend every year, and we invariably hit a few of the famous micro-breweries for...lunch. Yeah. Anyway, we were hanging in one of them and the crew headed over to the brewery merchandise store. Lots of very cool items, I mustl admit. Bike jerseys, tees, bottle openers, ballcaps, etc. I happened to be wearing that week's swag selection (oh yeah, we style it every year), a bottle opener ballcap. Invented and perfected by some good friends out in CA, I've been a big fan of this item since its inception. That said, it only works as a promotional piece if you can get around the not-so-subtle "alcohol" connection. So here we are in a BREWERY that sells SWAG promoting their brand all day long. The perfect client??

I made the perfect pitch to the store manager (it wasn't hard, we were all wearing the unique checkerboard patterned caps). "You sell caps. You sell bottle openers. You could be selling caps WITH bottle openers...CHECK THIS OUT!!"

Now, I was looking for a big reaction but didn't get it. But she didn't kick us out, either. Not yet. She picked up the phone, punched up the CEO (sitting around in his Birkenstock's, I'm sure) and gave him the skinny. "You have to see this, boss." I'm thinking, "Slam dunk". He's thinking..."we don't want to promote drinking". I know that for a fact, because that's what he TOLD THE MANAGER.

My buddy Bill said it was the first time he had seen me rendered speechless. I mean, how do you come back to THAT?

High Impact imprinting techniques

Why be ordinary? With so many options for high impact branding on promotional apparel and merchandise, I am often disappointed that most clients simply stick with basic screenprinting and embroidery. All it takes is a little creativity and (admittedly) a little help from the graphics team, and your item becomes a full-fledged billboard for your brand.
The tote bags shown are sporting fully sublimated four color graphics...quite a difference from spot colors, huh? It doesn't take much more to create these one-of-a-kind products, and the results are well worth the effort. Keep sublimation in mind when you are planning tote bags, duffels, even tees. The technique is perfect for high visibility events like show openings, milestone achievement dates, and press-heavy events.