The media today are reporting about the 83rd Academy Awards – who won what, who wore what, the after-show party gossip. You could have your customers talking about your company by using creative marketing products with as much pizzazz and showy personalities as any blockbuster from the movie industry. I now share with you three nominations for marketing products that are legendary for generating high response rates, all of which lend themselves perfectly to conveying a theme of growth or extension of product range:

Extender Card – The Epic Trilogy

The Extender Card is a very tactile marketing product which your customer is delighted to receive. Sent in a custom mailer which is intriguing in itself; to reveal the message your customer has to pull out the card and is very impressed when it is clear that there are three sections to the message. There is great potential for this product and it is currently performing well as a direct mail piece for a company who are expanding their range of services.

Box Office Success with the Telescopic Box

This new release marketing product has been a smash hit already; it is an Oscar winner for generating high response rates for direct mail campaigns.  The Telescopic Box is a favourite of mine since it is so versatile; the box has an element of comedy - your customer is amazed when on pulling out the end box it just keeps coming and coming – almost like a magic trick! Overall print area is feature length with this product and you can even have your call to action or main message inside the box aswell. 

Sideshooter – Double Take for Perfect Results

The Sideshooter is an action-packed marketing product which is ideal for direct mail campaigns and event invitations. With good graphic designs this product will have your marketing campaign “in the can” and your sales enquiries “reeling” in. The Sideshooter virtually trebles in size as your customer pulls the tab at one end and the other end shoots out simultaneously revealing your motion picture message, much to the amusement of all the audience. This is a creative marketing product which is perfect for any occasion, however is definitely type cast for a message of extension, growth, expansion, lengthen and additional. There is a “mini me” version of the Sideshooter, which is equally as action-packed. 

For more ideas and information see the website pop-up mailers

With a little imagination your advertising products can knock spots off the rest and have your company the talk of the town.  I can share some interesting designs with you now that are ideal for exhibition and trade shows for give-aways and DM items:

Back to Childhood with the Fortune Teller Cootie Catcher

For something that is very interactive and amusing this really is a winner!  Taking your customer back to childhood with a fortune teller (also known as cootie catcher) will be greeted with a smile and surprise. The product will be played with straight away to reveal the message it contains and will undoubtedly be shown to others.  Your customer and colleagues will share memories of their schooldays and all the while your company is in their focus.  This is a product with a mischievous personality – lots of fun but conveying your serious message.

Get Up- to- Date with the i-pod Swatch

From one extreme to the other – bang on trend with the i-Pod shaped Swatch cards. These have been very popular recently for marketing campaigns.   Your message can be carried with your customer and referred to again and again.  This is a product which lends itself to a trade show give-away or launching a new product range for example.  The Swatch card range can be made in different shapes in addition to the i-Pod shape to match with your marketing message. A recent example was a bell shape for a Wedding Emporium in a City Centre.  Each card advertised various elements of a Wedding Day, suppliers from photographers to venue dressers each advertised with contact details of the Emporium on the first one.  Easy to carry and refer to they are now on a re-order due to their phenomenal success.

Foldilocks for a Carry and Keep Product

The Foldilocks Card is a popular choice for advertising and marketing campaigns where you need your target audience to keep the information as a reference.   From Credit-card sized upwards this design is ideal when offering incentives. The folds are perforated which make the Foldilocks Card perfect for discount vouchers and special offers; especially staged ones over a period  of time to keep your customers interest for a long time.

For more information and to see demo videos see the website pop-up mailers

Making your bottles stand out amongst the others on the shelf is easy with bottle tags. I have some very unusual and effective bottle dressing ideas with bottle tags; and unusual collars and hangers too. There really is no reason why your bottles shouldn’t be the ones that catch the eye of customers first and get your sales increasing to magnum levels. I now share with you some of my favourites:

Double Bubble Bottle Tags

My favourite design of bottle tag suitable for any liquor or beer bottle is the Double Portrait.  It sits proudly on the bottle neck and attracts attention. With a decorative string loop it is easily placed on the bottle. Customers select the bottle from the shelf and have to open the Double Portrait tag to read your message. Products with customer interaction have a proven record of promoting extra sales.  A tip for an even more eye-catching bottle tag is a custom shaped bottle tag, recent successful ones have been – a bunch of grapes, a palm tree (promoting a holiday competition) and a beer mat!

Top of the Cork Pops Bottle Collars

There are so many very distinctive and unusual bottle collars that I find it hard to choose a favourite. There are the traditional styles of bottle collars; cones and collar and tie to name a couple. For more glamorous and striking designs there are novel shapes, rosette and stars for example and these are definitely attention-grabbing.  The bottle collars wrap around the bottle neck, rather like a scarf and entice your customers to pick them up – you can choose from many exciting designs and add wobbly bits and extras for more pizzazz.

Bottle Hangers with Attitude

Bottle Hangers have had a place in the market for a long time now and you may ask “Why re-invent the wheel?” My answer is simple, don’t! Simply adapt bottle hangers to be even more dynamic and unusual, use double hangers for extra message space or use custom-shaped hangers for extra attention grabbing qualities.  Bold and showy bottle hangers work extremely well to enhance your bottle promotions.

For more information see the website pop-up mailers

When you have planned the dates for your Trade Show and created your list of attendees to invite you need to ensure you achieve great footfall numbers and grab your regular and potential customers’ attention. With novelty invitations that will not get lost in the post and exciting giveaways that will make you stand out from the rest of the exhibitors you are on the road to a successful event and increase in sales:

Push your Promotion and Pull in the Crowds

A Push ‘n’ Pull is a unique interactive product that makes a fabulous event invitation. This product always stands out in the post commanding attention and the message is revealed by pulling a card from the bottom at one end; the surprising element with this product is that as you pull the card another card appears simultaneously at the other end.  There have been some fantastic graphic designs used with this product.  It has also been used to house CD and DVD presentations at trade shows and exhibitions.

Make a feature of your Message with Picture Dissolve

The Picture Dissolve comes in a variety of sizes and always generates extreme interest. Another very interactive product it has gained the reputation of a first class event invitation. The main image is displayed in the window and by simply pulling a tab the picture changes.  A Professional Magician recently used the Picture Dissolve to attract visitors to his stand at a Conference and Events Exhibition in London and has reported huge numbers of acceptance notifications.  His message is “now you see it, now you don’t”; however it also has a superb reputation for a trade show give-away.

Give them a Gift with a Difference

As attendees walk around the stands with their obligatory carrier bag full of brochures, leaflets and the usual promotional pens why not give them a pen holder?  Break from the “norm” with a pop-up pen pal.  Custom printed with your company details on it will begin to work as soon as they get back to work.  Adding a calendar is another good idea, especially if you highlight any forthcoming events at your company.  You know the pen pal will sit on your customers’ desk for 12 months at least and most probably a lot longer.

For more information and demo videos see the website pop-up mailers

For eye-catching marketing products that stand out in the post, reach the intended target and are a joy to open you need pop-up products.  By using pop-up products to surprise your customers you are guaranteed a higher response rate to any Direct Mail campaign.  Boring flat mail may not even get past the Receptionist but custom mailers will. All the pop-up products I recommend here will delight the recipient by the fact that they jump out of the mailers and surprise them:

Think Outside the Box

What a great idea to get your customers thinking about your company in a fun and unusual way – a pop-up box.  The pop-up box can be designed in various sizes and the thing I like the best is the fact that it can represent your product in miniature if you so wish.  This is great for brand recognition and recent examples of this very novel way of sending a pop-up box have been – box of cereals, box of chocolates and a well known Slimming Aid brand biscuit box. The list of possibilities with the pop-up box is endless with a little imagination and good graphic design.

Construct Excellent Relationships with the Pop-Up Pyramid

When I think about the pop-up pyramid my thoughts turn to Egypt and the years of toil and sheer determination to build The Pyramids and the fact that they have stood the test of time, still standing very proud and attracting millions of visitors from all over the world each year.  By using a pop-up pyramid you can build up your customer loyalty in the first place, and ensure that you are in their thoughts for a long time as the pyramid sits on their desk. If you add pen holes to one face the pop-up pyramid becomes a “gift” and will add even more longevity to your marketing promotion.

Shine above your Competitors with the Pop-up Gem

A Pop-up Gem is a unique marketing product that will definitely be a talking point.  There are various designs available; all will have the sparkle to give your Direct Mail marketing campaign the cutting edge above your competitors.  It is also worth noting that at Christmas time it is a great way to send Seasons Greetings, and by simply adding a gold or silver loop to a Pop-up gem it can be hung on a tree!

For more information and demo videos please see the website pop-up mailers