Come summertime and there is a flurry of libraries attempting to inculcate a love of reading among school children by starting summer reading programs. These reading programs are a commendable effort by public libraries to get school children to get into the habit of reading in their free time.

Libraries choose the summer to start reading programs for a couple of reasons. For one thing, students who need extra help or personal attention are able to receive it. Another advantage of summer reading programs is that they are not held in school buildings. This helps the children to perceive the reading as fun instead of academic or boring. Summer reading programs also allow the teachers to experiment a little regarding the various ways they can make reading more interesting for children.

According to a study conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, students who are recreational readers academically out-perform those who aren’t. The study also states that voluntary reading helps students become better spellers, readers and writers. Therefore, getting more students to join these programs will only be beneficial for their future.

If you are interested in increasing the attendance at your reading program but aren’t sure where to start, then imprinted promotional products are a good idea. Handing out Brass Slide Bookmarks, imprinted with your logo, to school children will not only ensure that they remember you, it’ll also see to it that they give the program more than a passing thought. For students who have almost made up their mind to join but need a final push, these Photo Bookmarks will make the program more personal (and, therefore, more real) for them.

Rewards for achievements make any program more fun. As students advance through the program, give them fun items like journals and jotters. If the members of your program are middle and high school children, you could encourage them to write out whatever they like about the books they read in the journals. They could also conduct some research and make a list of books they are interested in reading.

And don’t forget about the parents! Parents are critical to a strong reading program. Children won’t learn to enjoy books if their parents don’t encourage this. Try giving parents an imprinted gift like an unusual desk clock to remind them to make time for reading.

Summer reading programs are an excellent way to introduce children to the magical world of books in a relaxed and informal manner. It’s the best gift you can give the kids of your town.

Old Faithful, the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, Times Square; these names are so closely associated with American history and identity that they make up the foundation of the American tourism industry. So it’s not much of a surprise that people within the United States, as well as other countries, travel extensively to take a look at these monuments, making tourism one of the largest retail sales industries in America.

According to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), international travelers spend around $91.1 billion in the U.S. and, as a result, they generate a tourism surplus of $8.6 billion. The site also states that shopping is the favorite activity for American and foreign tourists alike. In such a case, what better way to ensure that tourists always remember you than handing out promotional products?

When attracting tourists to your state, imprinted lapel pins in the shape of your state or state-shaped mini-magnets are fun ideas. If you’re trying to remind people about a particular attraction, you have a wide variety of choices, such as custom stress balls that symbolize the highlights of your tourist attraction. If all these sound too mundane for you, there is definitely room for you to be adventurous. For example, if you need promotional items for a zoo, then you can try out plush toys or rubber ducks.

The NASAA says that, by 2010, tourism is slated to become the foremost service industry in America and you can be in line for your share of the pie. The key is to think like tourists in order to connect with them.

Bumper stickers have become some cars’ best source of individualism. Like most trends, it started out slow, but the bumper sticker frenzy has turned into a free speech free-for-all. It is amazing the types of stickers one can find nowadays. Stickers exists for all types of people with all kinds of beliefs and opinions. And if you’re lucky when you’re stuck in traffic, a bumper bedecked in stickers can provide amusing or interesting reading material!

Companies would be smart to invest in these promotional items. Not only are custom bumper stickers a great way to maximize exposure of your company, but they also provide infinite possibilities to be creative, express an opinion or endorse a specific message.

During the recent presidential campaign here, custom bumper stickers kept to party lines, helping to separate and distinguish the candidates. They allowed people to voice their views and opinions as members of society, not just repeating the manufactured messages of a particular campaign. Instead of bumper stickers that simply stated, “OBAMA” or “MCCAIN,” numerous companies came up with their own creative twists on the entire “political” idea and made the whole movement much more individualistic.

Over the last few years, the focus of many bumper stickers has shifted to “thinking green.” Bumper stickers now circulate through every city in America with messages of going green and being more environmentally sound. With so many concerns circulating around our planet, people are becoming more and more aware of making the efforts to better the one Earth we have. Although it seems ironic that people choose to display these messages on their exhaust-releasing cars, people can still set themselves apart by the particular bumper sticker they choose to display.

Companies reaching for a new way to express their messages and interact with clients should consider custom bumper stickers. Besides speaking politics and thinking green, bumper stickers are also inexpensive, result in high exposure rates after being applied to a vehicle, are extremely durable (meaning they can last for years), serve as elements of personality for many drivers and their vehicles, and, most importantly, encourage freedom of speech and original thinking.

So the next time your company is brainstorming about new ways to promote, perhaps instead of choosing pens or coffee mugs, these decals could be the smartest, most innovative way to make your company’s message wider-known and, well, stickier!

In any business, there are certain qualities that every salesman must have. Being personable is first; if you’re not good at talking to people or making idle chatter to get to know someone, you may want to consider a profession that involves a desk and a cubicle. Being approachable and able to engage in conversation with all types of people is imperative in this business. Of course, there is also responsibility. We all know that. Then there’s memorability. Being forgettable won’t get you clients. To round yourself out, you should have a decent sense of humor. You don’t have to be humorous, but you should at least have a good idea of what’s funny and what’s not.

A good business card should be a little bit of all of these qualities. If you are a straightforward, all-business-all-the-time type of person, then you would probably be alright with the traditional one-sided business card that everyone in the world uses. But, if you want to be personable, memorable, responsible and show your good sense of humor, you should think about doing something different.

Let’s say that you are at a trade show and you’re trying to attract new clients. You know that everyone looks for free stuff. But what if your “free stuff” was also your business card? Check out these business cards that double as magnets for all of your contact information – and can even print a photograph. These freebies are different enough that they will be memorable to a lot of people and aren’t as easy to lose as traditional business cards since they can be stuck somewhere in plain sight.

Or maybe you’ve been in contact with a potential client whom you know will give you some really great business. You have a meeting with them and you want to leave a lasting impression. As the meeting comes to an end and you bust out this chocolate business card, it’s not likely that they will forget you. This chocolate card is a delicious treat that would also show off your sense of humor and personality.

Of course, there will be people who don’t like chocolate or don’t use magnets to clutter their refrigerators, but there are plenty of other options to spice up your business card. Just remember that your business card should be a slice of you. By using a different model than the traditional business card, it’s likely that you will gain an advantage. Your clients will be impressed by your creativity and want to know more about you. And isn’t that the main point of a business card anyway?

If you’ve been here before, well, you may not recognize much, as we’re redeveloping this site as a blog. But we hope you’ll still find us your one-stop resource for information about the promotional products industry.

The promotional products industry can overwhelm anyone with its sheer mass of products, suppliers, distributors and information. This is why we’ve created the Promotional Products Knowledge Base. We’ll update this site regularly with new content designed to help you get acquainted with the wide world of promotional products. Our intention remains to give you the information you need to make intelligent decisions – to help you get the most use out of your money AND your promotional products.

The value of promotional products

With the economy in its current unsettled state, it’s easy to overlook the power of promotional products because purchasing budgets have gotten smaller. But promotional products can pack a lot of advertising punch into a small budget. According to the Advertising Specialties Institute Impressions Study, released in 2008, the average cost-per-impression of a promotional product is just $0.004 – much less than just about any other advertising means. People tend to hang on to promotional products, too. The survey shows that more than 75 percent of respondents kept the item for more than six months. Just think about tote bags, for instance: They’re useful, reusable, and will keep your logo visible for as long as the bag lasts.

And promotional products can be fun! Sure, there will always be pens and notepads and coffee mugs, but with thousands of items that can be customized with your logo, any campaign can be made a lot more memorable with the right kind of product. As a bonus, people who get free promotional products from you will remember your business in a more positive light, simply because you gave them something. The ASI study showed that 42 percent of respondents had a more favorable impression after receiving an item, and 24 percent of respondents said they were more likely to do business with the advertiser who gave them the product.

A little history

Promotional products have been around for nearly 200 years, in one form or another. The Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), a trade association for promotional item distributors, says that the promotional market dates back to when George Washington created buttons for his campaign! Although the promotions market has changed and expanded a great deal since then, the original concept behind the message remains the same: Make your message visible.

Promotional items are increasingly becoming a regular part of companies’ budgets. People are realizing that potential business growth can be directly related to the use of promotional products and creative advertising. Sometimes this means having to spend a little bit more on promotional products while creatively thinking outside the box for new ways to express your message. The promotional products industry is currently one of the fasting growing industries in the nation with total sales exceeding $18 billion in 2008.