A recent stay in a four star hotel in the UK had me wondering why more Hotel Proprietors and Managers, especially the larger groups do not communicate with their guests in a more novel and eye-catching form.  I have some unusual and effective ideas for all Hotels, large or small to assist with pushing promotions and communicating information.

Door Hangers – Nostalgia in a Modern World            

We are all familiar with the traditional Do Not Disturb Door Hanger but there are much more imaginative and creative ways of using a Door Hanger. Larger Hotels may have the card key system but they place a special hook or knob on the doors from which you can hang your Door Hanger. These days with early breakfast meetings becoming more popular there are hangers were you can order “Breakfast in a Bag” or “Breakfast to Go” in addition to the usual Do Not Disturb and Ready for Cleaning Hangers.

Laundry Wheels make life easier for Housekeeping

Two styles of Laundry Requirements Wheels products work extremely well and great feedback is received from them.  They are a novel product and your guests find them easy to use. The Tent Style Laundry Wheel with the wheel at the side stands on the bathroom or bedroom shelf or vanity unit and the Door Hanger can hang from the bathroom or bedroom door. Either way, towels and bedding are only replaced when necessary which is better for the environment. A palatial hotel in Dubai is using this style and has recently ordered more for its sister hotel in another country.

Table Talkers for Restaurant, Spa and Drinks Promotions

Special Offers, Discounts, Wine of the Month – whatever you are promoting table talkers do the trick.  Eye-catching designs with great graphics create bold and showy table talkers for use on restaurant tables, reception tables and desks – in fact anywhere at all within your Hotel where they will be picked up and read whilst your guests are having refreshments or at the reception desk.  They are not just for promotion reasons they can be a superb way of communicating opening times, mealtimes, swimming pool times – you name it and they can broadcast it! My favourite is the 3-sided table talker closely followed by the Prism Card which is becoming increasingly popular.

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

The Olympics 2012 Countdown Clock was started this month and before we know where we are we will all be engrossed in the games.  The athletes will be training hard to make sure they are on top form for the games and have a chance of a gold medal for their country.  B2B advertising needs the same dedication, power and strength to ensure it has the winning formula.  I have some super ideas for grabbing the attention of your customers immediately and achieving high response rates.

Over the Bar with a High Jumping Pop-up Box

Sending your customer a Pop-up box for your next B2B advertising campaign is a “dead cert” to be a winner!  The Pop-up box has so much versatility and potential and your customers will be extremely amused and impressed when the product jumps out of its custom mailer and springs into action before their very eyes.  Boxing clever with your design means that you can adapt the box to suit your services or products, and can even send a “mini” replica of your product!  Successful examples of this have been - a cereal box, a box of rice, a shoe box!

Swimming in the fast lane with the Push ‘n’ Pull

To capture attention and keep it you need interactive B2B advertising products and one of my ultimate favourites is the Push ‘n’ Pull.  This product will get your customers talking because they pull a tab at one end to reveal the full message and push it back to hide it again.  Always shown to others the novelty advertising product will get your B2B promotions winning the gold medal.  The Push ’n’ pull has worked so well for a Professional Magician that his diary is full right up to 2012– his message is - “now you see it, now you don’t”!

Light up the B2B Flame with a Pop-up Lantern

The Pop-up lantern is an adaptation of the unusual and successful Pop-up ball. By adding 2 handles the ball becomes a Pop-up lantern and is a very novel and eye-catching product.  Traditionally the Olympic Flame denotes the start of the games so why not send your customers something to light up relationship marketing and promote customer loyalty with the lantern.  Leaping from the custom mailer the lantern will delight your customers and will definitely be shared with others, which extends your advertising time greatly.

For more information see the website pop-up mailers

DM advertising needs to be rewarding and I know of no better way of communicating with your customers than with unusual and fun 3-Dimensional Mailings. Your customers definitely sit up and take notice when they receive an automated pop-up item of mail, my top three choices all have lots of novelty value and eye-catching qualities:

Turn your customers head with a Wobbly Heads Fun Pop-up card

Bringing humour to your customers is always a winning formula and using a wobbly head Pop-up Card will do the trick! Your customer will immediately respond to your direct mailing advertising and will share with others in the workplace and beyond.    Wobbly Heads have an unusual springy action which is not confined for use with pop-up cards; they can be added to many of the automatic pop-up designs for extra novelty value, always promoting customer retention. 

“Dice” through your competition with the pop-up cube

A quirky fun automatic pop-up is such a surprise for your customer and the Pop-up Cube is one of the most popular pop-ups at the moment.  As soon as the mailing envelope is opened the cube leaps out and amazes your customer. Its’ simple box shape means it lends itself to lots of creative designs and another advantage is that there is a generous amount of space for printing. A wobbly head as part of the main design will guarantee that the cube has a long “desk life” and your message is delivered for much longer than normal.

Automatic Pop-up Pyramid guarantees a Smile

Similar in design to the pop up cube your customer is enthralled when the Pop-up Pyramid bursts into shape as soon as the mailing envelope is opened.  I always think of Egypt when I see a pyramid shape and since pyramids are generally considered to be the world’s oldest monumental structures they convey reliability and loyalty.  Adding pen holes to a pyramid pop-up is also a great idea to increase novelty value and the long life of the product. It will sit on your customers’ desk for a long time and will be seen by others too.

For more information see the pop-up mailers website

For your next Business to Business Direct Mail Campaign why not look at dynamic fun and very eye-catching ideas?  Nowadays, in the age of technology e-mail promotions seem to be taking over however, we all know how easy it is to hit the delete button without a second thought.  That is why by sending Direct Mail pieces with striking qualities and longevity your company is guaranteed to make an impact and will achieve not only a second thought but lots more thoughts too.

Pots of Potential with Desktop Pen Pots

Everyone likes to receive something that is multifunctional and the Power Pen Pal is a superb choice.  It arrives with your customer in its’ own custom mailer and leaps into action straight away which means that your customer is astonished.  The product will be a talking point instantly and will undoubtedly be put to good use immediately.  An Employment Law and Health and Safety Advice Company has been using this product for a long time now with its’ 24 hour advice line telephone numbers on which is a great idea.  Adding a calendar is another suggestion, two for the price of one so to speak. The Power Pen Pal is effective advertising that remains on your customers’ desk for as long time.

Double Up Cube Calendar and Pen Holder

The Pop-Up Cube is a very successful product in its own right; however by adding pen holes or a calendar this is another ingenious way of guaranteeing that your company will be centre of attention for a long time.  This product erupts from its custom mailer, much to the delight of your customer and begins working for you instantly.  The Pop-Up Cube has lots of room for promotional print and the list of design ideas is extensive. Currently the Pop-Up Cube with a calendar on from March 2011 to February 2012 is being used to advertise an Exhibition Centre and is highlighted with prominent dates. 

Pop-Up Ball for All Round Promotions

Another unusual shaped product is the Pop-Up Ball which can also be designed as a desk top pen holder.  This product is very popular in its own right, however by adding pen holes your customer perceives it as a “gift” rather than just a Direct Mail item. These products all make excellent trade show giveaways in addition to Direct Mail items – something that will be taken away and used will ensure that your company remains in focus.

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

For Local Government Offices recycling is of paramount importance and one way to ensure all the residents in the borough are recycling as much as possible is to use recycling wheels.  They are a novelty product, easy to use and can be a terrific aid towards recycling targets set by the Government.  The recycling wheels are robust and hard-wearing, another great reason to use them. Parking Permits are also available in this format.

Pictures for the Elderly Population

Some authorities with a high residency of older people use photographs and pictures to identify the different groups for recycling and the feedback has been great.  The clear photographs of items make the recycling wheels so easy to use that Senior Citizens become more comfortable with their recycling scheme and ultimately they are more likely to join in.

College and University Students Impressed

For areas where students come and go year on year the recycling wheels are a must.  To ensure that they are aware of “what goes where” in a different town to their own the wheels are perfect.  My own daughter and her fellow house-mates had one issued by the Local Authority where she was at  University and they all found it easy to use and referred to it constantly. 

Offices, Factories and Shops find them Useful too

Whilst we are all becoming more aware of recycling in the home, once we reach our workplace this is often forgotten. This is exactly why Local Authorities are now issuing the recycling wheels to Offices and Retail Outlets to make sure that more people are recycling – all the time.  Often we are conscious about recycling at home but forget about it at work, however if we are reminded and it is easy to define what goes where we are more inclined to do it.  In addition to recycling wheels for local government there are strong and robust parking permits aswell.

For more information please see the website pop-up mailers