Industry Ideas & Inspiration

Senator® are a pen and stationery manufacturer based in Germany. Born in 1920, the business is family run. They not only product fantastic pens; but do so using sustainable and recyclable materials, using green energy. Senator® Values & Mission Senators mission is simple; to be THE preferred supplier of pens and drink ware worldwide. They don't just have 100+ years of manufacturing experience, but also have 5 factories in 5 locations across Europe. This allows them to deliver their products in good time; keeping their express delivery promise. This way of operating is not only better for their customers; but it is also better for the environment. A lot of manufacturers in the business use "new" plastics, non-recyclable materials and more fossil fuel; this is due to being imported from further away. A smaller ecological footprint is better for everyone!As a business, they value good craftsmanship, hard work and self-confidence; but they also value respect for others, colleagues, customers and the planet. From our perspective here at TB, this makes them a great company to collaborate with; as we share the same core values. Sustainability at Senator® We have told you that Senator® work sustainably, but we'd like to explain in-depth how they work to support and protect the planet. Senator's production takes place in Groß-Bieberau, which is a town around 35 miles from Frankfurt, in Germany. This obviously means that the products have a shorter journey from them to you; aiding in reduction of Co2 emissions. Senator also work to ensure their products are made from sustainable materials. Everything is recyclable or refillable; and they use bioplastics in the manufacturing of some of their pens. Bioplastics are made from raw natural materials like sugar cane, corn and tapioca. The company also strives to avoid waste, turning recycled plastic into new pens. They also offset their unavoidable Co2 emissions, through supporting climate protection schemes and projects. To offset carbon emissions, you simply take more carbon out of the atmosphere than you put in to it. This can be done through donating money to charities that work with developing countries helping them reduce pollution; or through planting trees on a big scale.  Senator® don't just claim to be both environmentally and socially sustainable, they have also been awarded "Climate Neutral" status on many of their product lines. Additionally, they are backed by the BSCI, Sedex, they're members of SMETA and conform to REACH regulations. These are all initiatives, organisations, independent auditors and EU regulations. They work to improve the social, environmental and ethical conditions in the workplace; holding businesses accountable. "It was nice to meet you, Senator®!" Now we've introduced you to the company, and you know more about them as a business; why not shop their range? Follow the link below to view our Senator category and discover the brilliance of Senator® today!

The new academic year is approaching, and the "back to school" season has begun in shops across the country. While students are off enjoying their summer, teachers are getting some well-deserved rest (we hope?). Meanwhile, the school is preparing for another year, with fresh new exercise books, crisp new uniforms and improvements to the school building. What better way to go back to school than with some great promotional products for your students and employees? To make this blog easier to navigate, we have separated our list into halves. The first half: Products for the students. The second half: Products for employees, teachers, administrators or otherwise, aimed at improving their well-being or to aid their teaching in some way. For the Students Back to School Bookmarks A branded bookmark would be an ideal product to give to any student, of any age. Bookmarks not only encourage reading but they can even make reading easier. Some use bookmarks to follow the text on the page. You could even get bookmarks in a range of colours; encouraging students to do more extracurricular reading by allowing them to collect them as a reward. The more a person reads, the more likely it is to become a habit. Check out our brand-able Page Markers, which are full colour printed and can be decorated with funky characters to appeal to the younger generation of readers. If you want something a bit sophisticated, perhaps for older students then why not try the Leather Bookmark, which comes with tassels and if foil blocked. Interestingly, bookmarks date back to the Middle Ages (5th to 15th Century). They were found in Mediaeval monasteries, used as scroll markers. Now they definitely weren't reading about Harry and his adventures at Hogwarts back then, but it’s so interesting to know that bookmarks go back that far in time. School Branded Leather Bookmark with Logo Back to School? Safety First! A clip-on pedestrian reflector is perfect for attaching to school backpacks or coats, especially on younger students. Anything that helps them be seen when walking to and from school will keep them safe. Reflectors work through retroreflection, which occurs when a bright light (e.g a cars headlight) is shone on them. They reflect that light back in the same direction, instead of scattering, like normal light reflection. This increases the chances that the driver will see the pedestrian and be able to avoid them. Check out the "Rfx™️ Full Reflective Meteor" which can attach to your bag via the carabiner and is also ideal as storage too! Students School Uniforms A kid's size baseball cap for all of your primary school students would be brilliant, as an additional part of the school uniform, you’ll be likely to recognise them in crowds if on a school trip. Not only this but caps can shield you from the sun, preventing sunburn and heatstroke, allowing the wearer to see better as well as help you to regulate your body temperature. Check out the "SOL's Kids Sunny Cap" which is massively popular with schools and parents!  Another über helpful product for any school student is a water bottle. Help encourage all your students to drink water by giving them a branded water bottle. Check out our whole range of branded water bottles here. Giving all students the same bottle to use at school would everyone has the same bottle, which prevents bullying if a student doesn't have the trendiest things. Our final suggestion for “back to school” products for students is a school branded t-shirt, perfect for their school P.E kit, you can even give them one based on their house colours! Check out our full range of childrens t-shirts! Embroidered kid's cap! For Your Employees We’ve already talked about staying hydrated, but we thought for the employees at the school could do with a multi-purpose bottle. Check out the "Insulated Vacuum Bottle - No Minimum Order", which can hold hot and cold liquid and you can have individual employee names engraved on them too. Get your employees a branded umbrella, helping to keep them dry while on a rainy-day playground duty or while watching the school's football team after classes. As well as that, they can take their school branded umbrellas with them everywhere, representing the school even on the weekend! Cosmetics, and we don’t mean mascara! I’m talking lip balms, sun screen and more! Again, not only helping to protect them from the elements, but to make them feel appreciated and better throughout the day. Making someone feel appreciated for their hard work can go a long way for improving their wellbeing.Need a low quantity of branded merch? No problem! No minimum order merchandise is available here! Time for a Cuppa? What does every teacher need on their break? A nice hot cuppa. Supply the staff room with branded, personalised mugs. Giving everyone a cup with their name on it will stop anyone accidentally drinking from someone else's cup and will help all employees feel extra appreciated. Check out this Full colour printed mug, with no minimum order quantity! which can be decorated with the school logo and personalised with names and coffee/tea orders! A fun and inclusive way of making everyone a cuppa in the staffroom! (Mines a drop of milk, one sugar by the way!) Get Organised! A school-branded diary would be extra helpful for teachers, so they can plan their weeks around each day, each class, even each lesson. It must be hard to keep track of everything all the time, so having a trusty diary will definitely help. They can also keep track of parents evenings, school events and their personal holidays too. FineGrain A4 Daily Diary Looking for More Back to School Products? If you want even more products perfect for the back to school season, and throughout the year, then check out our "Schools and Colleges" category, which contains all of the above and much more!

To understand what works as freshers fair freebies, you must first understand what a freshers fair is. Before I went to university, I had never even heard of a freshers fair. Upon my arrival, my new found friends and flatmates were all talking about the upcoming freshers fair. There was going to be free food, free stuff, free memberships, free everything! Basically, a fresher's fair a bunch of free stuff just waiting for be snapped up by cash-strapped student hands. It’s best the place to go to receive promotional products from local businesses, like bars, clubs, charities; sometimes they even have other services there, like the fire and ambulance services. A fresher, also known as “Freshman” is just someone in their first year of university. (In the UK we go by “First Years”). They’re often in a new city, surrounded by new people; what better way to introduce your business to a brand-new year group than at a fresher's fair? When is it, and What Freshers Fair Freebies Do I Take? The fairs themselves are normally held around September/October time, depending on when teaching starts at their university. So if you plan to attend to promote your business you’ll need to start getting organised. Find the freebies that you’re going to take and get an inviting display ready. When you think of students, you might think of excessive partying; busy schedules, or inability to cook anything but beans on toast and pot noodle (We aren’t all like that!). They are also currently the most vulnerable they’ve ever been, some having left home for the very first time; and unless they have a part-time job, they’re probably feeling the pinch, too. Did you know that 88% of students go to freshers fairs just for the freebies? That explains why they're always full of third years, too!“But what do I need?” You ask? Well luckily, I consider myself a "freshers fair veteran" (You don’t have to be a first year to attend). I’m here to help you decide what to take; and to give you some helpful hints on how to make your display stand out. Statistically, products that are useful stick better in the minds of anyone, let alone students. If you supply them with practical products like stationary, bottle openers and clothing, your brand will to stand out to them. Read on for our comprehensive list of freebie suggestions below. Freshers Fair Freebies! Any Stationary. When they’re not having fun, they’re studying. Supply them with some nice notebooks, some pens, highlighters and even a pencil case. Help them get organised with studying. It will aid them in the classroom; and you’ll stick in the minds of the students if you offer a range of stationary options. It's low cost and transportable, you wont have trouble getting it there. Check out our “Square Shaped Highlighter” which is a 4-in-1, full colour branded highlighter. They’ll need a highlighter like this when it comes to essay prep!At my first freshers fair, a charity was giving out posters, wristbands and pens. The pens were a type of “Printed banner pen”, which comes with a retractable internal banner. It allows for maximum branding for you, and they were great for something to fidget with in those dreaded 3-hour long lectures. What else is useful in a lecture? Somewhere to write all your notes! Supply some handy branded notebooks, which you can get in a range of funky colours and you’ll have every one waiting in line, hoping to get their favourite colour. To tie your bundle together, we have a natural coloured pencil case, perfect for keeping their pens and pencils in. It's not a necessity but it is a nice extra. They'll Need Fuel! If there is one thing that a lot of students need, it’s energy. Give them a branded travel mug and they’ll take your brand with them everywhere. “Have coffee, will travel” was my motto, and I didn’t go anywhere without my travel mug. There is nothing like a hot mug of liquid energy during that 9am lecture (especially when you didn’t get home till 3.) Check out the “Oregon Travel Mug”, which is available in a range of colours, BPA and PVC free and is extra sturdy – ideal for longevity! Due to the nature of travel mugs, they’re reusable which is also a big thing for the youth of today, being more eco-conscious than ever before. Whilst they need energy, they also need to stay hydrated. Notoriously bad at taking care of themselves, encourage them to stay hydrated with a branded water bottle! Have a look at our widely popular insulated vacuum bottles. Which are available in a wide variety of colours, can be branded in full colour and can keep your drinks cold (or hot) for up to 18 – 24 hours. Oregon Travel Mug Food and Sweet Treats! I know I said we aren’t all "baked beans on toast or pot noodle students", but a lot of us are pretty clueless when it comes to feeding ourselves. Provide them with sustenance whilst getting your name out there. At my fresher's fairs, there was free pizza (from a popular pizza place) and bags of sweets and chocolate on every corner. Why not think outside of the box and provide them with breakfast? Set them up for the day with our “breakfast gift box!” They’ll be likely to take it back to their halls and have it for breakfast the next day – so you’ll get more impressions even after the fair is over! Breakfast Gift Box Did Someone Say "Laundry Day?" Branded clothing such as socks, t-shirts and hoodies will get you straight to the top of the list of favourite stalls at a freshers fair. You can never have too many t-shirts or hoodies, besides, everyone loves a big snuggly hoodie. Promotional t-shirts and socks make great loungewear around the student halls. (Especially when they run out of other clothes!) You could even incentivise them by saying if they come to your bar or store wearing their promotional freshers fair hoodie they could get a further discount or perhaps a free shot at the bar. Any more Freshers Fair Freebies? We haven't finished yet! Here's a quick list of extra freshers fair freebies we think would work well for you! Travel card wallets Hand sanitiser Stress balls Calanders Hang over kits (I don't need to explain this one!) USB Memory Sticks Bottle openers Trolley Coin Key Rings Now We've Figured out the Freebies, Let's Sort the Display! The fairs are usually busy, and packed wall to wall with other businesses, clubs and societies, who are all vying for attention and traffic; so you will NEED to stand out. Have a look at our branded table cloths, ideal for dressing up your table and brightening up any display or event. You could even have your info printed on the table cloth; this way you won't need to print out as many posters or leaflets. Other ways you can make your display standout is with bright branded bunting and balloons. If you wanted to, you could even give the balloons away too. Get a pull up roller banner to make sure your display rises out of the crowd, and you're spotted from across the room. You can also check out our university and freshers fair categories as well as our exhibition category, where you’ll find everything listed and much more.

In this blog we will discuss what makes employee name badges important and useful, why customers and clients appreciate name tags, and how they can benefit your employees directly. What is an Employee Name Badge? Also known as name tags, name badges are an attachable badge, pin or button that displays the name of the wearer. They often include the company branding as well as job role. For example, Tesco employee name tags include the name, the job role and the date that employee joined the company. Some companies and businesses go as far as making them customisable and even have ways of attaching extras to the badges. 3 Reasons Customers Like Name Badges They can find and identify your employees. This will save the awkward “do you work here” questions; and will make it plainly obvious when someone is an employee or not. It also helps customers feel more familiar with that employee and they’ll build a better rapport with each other. This will in turn improve customer loyalty and keep them coming back. Giving your employees the authority to represent your business will show customers that you trust your employees, and this will increase customer confidence in your brand. Afterall, you wouldn’t want someone representing your business if they weren’t trustworthy. Regardless of how much you trust your employees; we all have bad days. If your customers unfortunately want to make a complaint; being able to identify the employee in question will make the process easier for them and for you. This also works the other way, if an employee provides excellent service. Customers may want to leave positive feedback for them – which will allow you to reward that employee for their hard work. Our Acrylic Name Badge 4 Reasons Employers Like Name Tags Name badges provide extra branding space for your business, which is always a plus. Name tags can come in a range of sizes, giving you space to display your brand logo or colours on the tag, or even helpful hints or tips for your customers. The more your branding is out there, the more likely you are to build customer numbers. Name tags hold your employees accountable for their actions while they’re at work. They’ll be more likely to work hard if they’re not only representing your business, but themselves as well. You might have a large team, and you may not always be able to remember everyone's name. Name tags will allow you to identify your own employees with ease, this will improve your relationships with them. It will also help them feel more “seen” in their role and they’ll be more likely to want to stick with the company. Over time, this will reduce employee turnover, which we know can become expensive. They’re relatively affordable and easy to have customised, so they won’t break the bank and their benefits are almost unmatched, especially if you run a very customer-facing business. Our Real Wood Name Badges 3 Reasons Employees Like Name Tags Showing your employees that you trust them to represent your business with a uniform and a name tag will boost their confidence in the role; and in themselves. They’ll feel wanted in their role and at the company. Some name tags come in the form of ID cards, which can allow access to staff only areas. Having spaces with restricted access will help employees feel safe while at on their breaks. This will also keep restricted areas secure from non-employees. Recently, a lot of companies have been investing in name tags that allow employees to add extra details about themselves, such as their personal pronouns. This is not only inclusive for all, but promotes allyship with the LGBTQ+ community. For some employees, being misgendered can be emotionally or mentally damaging, so allowing people to display this will aid in general employee wellbeing and help your employees feel safe at work. Our Metal Name Badges Looking for Your Own Branded Employee Name Badges? Look no further! We have a handful of brilliant name badges that are ideal for any company or business. Fully customisable, our range varies from wooden and bamboo, through to high quality plastic and metal branded badges. Check out or selection of employee name badges here!

This guide is to showcase 10 of our most popular fast delivery merchandise products, and to discuss the pros and cons of each item. As the producer and supplier of the products; we know what makes them work as promotional items; and what their possible cons could be. Why do I Need a Guide on Fast Delivery Merchandise? We have written this guide to help you choose the right product for your business; as we know that sometimes the selection that’s available can be overwhelming. It is even more overwhelming when you need promotional products in a hurry. If you’re not 100% sure what you’re looking for, or even what branded merchandise is, check out our guide, which explains everything! What do I Need Fast Delivery Merchandise for? We have this option for express production and delivery for our customers who need branded merchandise fast, perhaps because of a last-minute event or work party. Maybe you are a small retailer, and you outsource your products; then a customer makes a large order that you weren't expecting. Either way, our guide can help you find the right products for you, and most importantly, with the right delivery speed! Our Fast Delivery Merchandise Curvy Ball Pens are a great, low-cost, budget friendly pen. They're a comfortable pen that holds well, and comes in a range of different colours. Its main selling points are that it has a short lead time, with the option to speed it up even further; and it has a low minimum order quantity of just 25 units! This is ideal for small businesses that only need small runs and don't need boxes upon boxes of stock. It's cons are that it is made of plastic, which isn't the most environmentally friendly material, and it is also only available with black ink. Our "No Minimum Order Quantity Printed Tote Bag" is a highly popular fast delivery product. This is due to the tote bags visibility as a promotional item. It has a large branding area so your design or logo will be seen from far away. If you give these out as promotional items, they're likely to gain your business hundreds of impressions! (What is an impression? It is when a viewer / potential customer views your product or advertisement. More impressions can lead to more sales!) Some pros of these products are: The no minimum order quantity, as well as the high maximum order quantity. Order a little as 1, or as many as 5000; this undoubtedly gives you major scope for your marketing campaign. Additionally, the short lead time of 3 - 10 working days is a great plus. Although, they do have some downfalls; they're made from a lightweight cotton which is perfect for light travel, but may not be able to withstand a heavy load for too long. It also doesn't come in a coloured version; however, we do stock a similar, colourful alternative! Small quantity printed tote bags with no minimum order quantity More Fast Delivery Merchandise The Smart Power Arch Power Bank is an in-house branded power bank, that can last up to one full day with a full charge. They can be printed in full colour print and fit perfectly in a pocket, which makes them very handy promotional items as well as easily portable, as well. This means your customers will be more likely to keep them, which will mean there will be a higher return on your investment. The main downside to these powerbanks is that you have to remember to recharge it! Our "Printed Mugs" are a fantastic way of providing every employee with a personal cup for the office; this will improve their morale and keep them happy at work. They have no minimum order quantity, so you can order just the one when a new employee begins. Unfortunately, like most mugs, these are ceramic and therefore breakable, consider the type of work environment you have before settling on purchasing mugs. (Perhaps consider a less breakable flask or cup?) Printed caps are very popular with customers! Check out the "Beechfield Original 5 Panel Cap".  Clothing, Water Bottles, Stationary and Tech - We Can (almost) Do it All! Branded t-shirts make for a fun and exciting giveaway item, a free t-shirt is ideal for events and festivals, even club nights! They go down really well with younger people at clubs due, and they make great event souvenirs. Check out our branded t-shirts category.  Our popular insulated vacuum bottle is a great advertisement for your business, it has a large print area and comes with no minimum order quantity, so you can order as many or a little as you like. They aren't dishwasher safe which is a small downside but hand washing is just as sufficient. A twister USB is a prime product for promoting your business, especially popular within offices or tech based companies. They can be full colour printed which allows for maximum branding recognition. The USB's are only available in white or black, which isn't a massive downfall as they are full colour printed in-house. A 4gb storage capacity isn't the highest, but it is still functional. The best thing about our twister USB's is that they can be delivered within 3 working days! Branded logo USB Twister memory sticks Bonus! We have one more premium product to show you. Take a look at the "Promotional Wine Box" is an alternative to bulk merchandise; and makes for a more executive gift rather than a promotional product. With no minimum order quantity, they make great products for gifts (Think: The boss) and can be branded in full colour and have just 5 -7 day wait time. These are more pricey, which aren't ideal for smaller budgets. Promotional Wine Box Need More? This was just 10 of our fast delivery products, we have an entire category! Take a look at our entire range of express products here. Ideal for all promotions and events, trade shows, careers fairs and businesses.

What is a "Corporate Gifting Plan?" We all know what a gift is, so a "corporate gift" is given by a business to another party. Usually, they’re given to customers and employees as a way of showing appreciation for them. So a "corporate gifting strategy" is simply a plan in which a business will give gifts strategically to help grow their business. This can be to celebrate business miles stones, or to commemorate an occasion, or just to say thank you to employees and customers. Why are Corporate Gifts a good Marketing Strategy? Everyone loves receiving presents. People like to feel appreciated, and a gift is the perfect way of showing someone you know that you’ve thought about them. If you give corporate gifts to mark your company milestones, e.g. a year in business or a grand opening; you are inviting your customers to celebrate with you. This will make them feel included and important to your business and to you. This will aid in increasing public opinion of your business and will help spread the word about your company. The more people who know about your business the better, so free gifts to potential customers can aid in converting them into paying customers.Corporate gifts also help you form relationships with employees and customers; the better your relationship with them the more loyalty they'll have to your business. The better the relationship you have with your employees will also increase their happiness in their role at the company, and make them feel more appreciated; which in turn will increase overall staff retention. Basically, corporate gifts can lead to business growth. How to Create an Effective Gifting Strategy To have an effective gifting strategy, you need to have a plan. A gifting budget: decide how much you are willing to spend on corporate gifts and plan around that. You want to be able to spend enough that you see the gifts working; but you don’t want to spend so much that you have too much to give away. Branding: Your products should be branded with your information on, otherwise the free water bottle you give away is just be a plain water bottle, it means nothing. Branding will make you stand out. Sourcing: Where you source your corporate gifts from is important and will directly affect people's opinions of your business. Consumers place a lot of value on well made, environmentally conscious products. They like locally produced or sourced products too. If your company comes across as one that doesn’t think about air miles, the environment, or the quality of your products, then consumers may think you don’t care about these issues. When to gift: What time of year you give out gifts can make a difference too – a lot of companies like to gift with the seasons or during big national celebrations. However, if you’re a smaller business it would be good to celebrate your own milestones with the community too. This can be expensive if you want to gift year-round and you would need to plan this out in your budget. Put Your Corporate Gifting Plan in to Action So, whether you give out free pens and tote bags to your customers, or you’d like to offer gift boxes for loyal clients and employees, it's important to have a plan, and equally as important to stick to it. A well thought out strategy will allow you to keep track of your gifting budget, help you see growth within the business and increase employee and customer retention. If you are looking for the perfect Corporate gift, we have an entire category dedicated to it, click here to see our corporate gifts category!          

Whether you plan to celebrate Pride in the community, at home or in the workplace; show your support for the LGBTQ+ community with some of our branded Pride products! We have been gathering the best products for your Pride month celebrations, take a look at our top 10 below. What is Pride? Pride Month is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community; and to reflect on the progress made toward equality. It is also a time to remember those who have fought for LGBTQ+ rights. Our Pride Products! Manual Rainbow Polyester UmbrellaPride might be in June but in the UK, rain falls all year round! So go rain prepared to your parade this year! This Rainbow umbrella has 16 alternative rainbow-coloured panels with a metal shaft and a wooden handle to hold. Sunglasses Take some sunglasses for when the June clouds disperse and the sun starts to shine. These shades are available in multiple colours, with branding on the arm. They’re an ideal colourful marketing product which will also help shield people's eyes from the sun. Win win! Branded Hand FanBring your whole summer look together with your rainbow printed fan, which is plastic and fabric based. Perfect for keeping cool when its humid out; it is lightweight and travels well. Rainbow Drawstring BagThis drawstring bag is lightweight and allows you to carry your belongings while handsfree. Branded on two sides, it is colourful like a rainbow, so you'll stand out in a crowd. Rainbow Tote BagThis long handled rainbow shopper is eco friendly and perfect for carrying all your stuff on your shoulder with the handy long handles!  Bottle Opener KeyringBecause we love providing handy branded tools, we thought we would include this bottle opener keyring which comes branded via later engraving and in a range of different colours! Rainbow Lanyard This rainbow lanyard comes with a useful trigger clip which you can attach your ID or swipe card to as well as keys, or any other important things. You can then hang it safely around your neck allowing you to be hands free and not weighed down by what is in your pockets. This lanyard also has 3 safety break clips for easy escape and for length shortening purposes. Rainbow T-shirtWe've got a perfect t-shirt for all your pride events, plain white with the ability to be printed in full colour, with a subtle rainbow cuff on the sleeves. Check out our Rainbow t-shirt today! Rainbow KiteFancy flying the flag in the wind? Now you can with our rainbow design kite, provided in a pouch and perfect for summer pride events in the park! Coffee TumblerThe perfect universal tumbler, available in a choice of colour combinations and BPA free. Ideal for taking your drink on the go! Click here to check out all our pride related merch! A Month Long Celebration... Pride is an awareness month, with parades and Pride related events up and down the country. No matter who you are, or where you're based; you'll surely be able to stand up and show your support for the LGBTQ+ community. Pride isn't just about a party, it's about celebrating differences, and supporting those who are marginalised because of their gender identity, sexual preferences and who they choose to love. It's also a time to come together and recognised how far the fight for equality has come, but also to acknowledge how far there is still to go.

National Golfers Day was on April the 10th. In honour of all things Golf, we thought we would learn about the history of Golfers Day; and what it means in the Golfing Community. What is Golf? Golf is a sport where the player uses a metal club, typically on grass. The aim of the game is putting the golf ball into a series of holes in as few strokes as possible. Golf isn't a team sport, but participants will golf along side each other in friendly competition. A typical course will have 18 holes; who ever has the best score at the end of the 18th hole wins. This form of the game isn't for everyone, but there are other ways and places you can enjoy golf. For example; the driving range is a good place to practice your swing and work on your form. Alternatively, there is mini golf; which is similar to Golf in a lot of ways. It tends to have the same number of holes. However Mini Golf also includes shorter putting distance from player to hole; and obstacles like walls. The History of Golfers Day The game we recognize as golf originated in Scotland, somewhere in the 14th century. The earliest recorded reference to the game was a ban enacted by King James II in 1457; who thought that young men spent too much time golfing, and not enough time practicing archery! The first official “Golfers Day” was recognised in 1916, when the first ever professional Golfing tournament took place. This evolved into the PGA championship, which is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Ways to Celebrate Golfers Day Of course, this year's Golfers Day was on Sunday, but there are other Golf related events coming up, like “Golf month” starting in May! Besides, no one is saying you can’t just golf for the sake of golfing! You can always celebrate next year’s “Golfers Day” by playing the game! Get yourself out on your local course and have a go. If you’re not feeling quite that brave, you can always head down to the driving range now! Get some practice in and take on the full course next year! Alternatively, you can always find a crazy golf course for you, your friends and your employees. We have a selection of Golfing products that would be perfect for your next Golfers Day, or just any day you or your company are heading down the course for a quick round of Golf. Golfing Products Distance Logo Golf Balls These great Distance Logo Golf Balls are made with aerodynamic dimples for enhanced putting accuracy and are branded with your logo or chosen design in full colour on one side. You’ll be the talk of the course if you show up with your own branded logos! Fast Delivery Printed Golf Balls with no minimum order quantity Bamboo Golf Tees Why not have some branded bamboo golf tees to go with your branded golf balls?! These are made from bamboo which is a highly sustainable wood and it’s therefore more eco-friendly than plastic ones. Aluminium Golf Divot Tool Perhaps you're playing with amateurs so you need to do some last minute grass fixing! Treat yourself and your team to some new branded divot tool for your golf day? Enjoy Your Next Golf Day! Whether you decide to enjoy a round of Golf out on a course, or from the comfort of your own home by watching a tournament, or hitting up the local crazy golf course, have a great time!

What is Eco-Friendly Production? To understand eco-friendly, sustainable production – we must first understand what it means to be eco-friendly. The world around us has been calling for a more environmentally conscious approach to living for a long time – and only now are people beginning to notice.   According to the MET office, 2022 is likely to continue the trend of a hotter average global temperature, which we have been witnessing since 2015.   What Does it Mean to be Eco-Friendly? The term eco-friendly can mean different things to different people, but in general it refers to taking steps to protect the environment, such as using recycled materials, conserving energy, and reducing pollution.   How Can we be More Eco-Friendly?  Use public transportation where possible.  Always turn off and unplug electrics and lights when not in use. Reuse plastic bottles and containers instead of throwing them away. Buy local goods and produce to decrease your Carbon footprint.  Have a well insulated home. Why is it Important to be Eco-Friendly?  There are many reasons why it is important to be eco-friendly. One reason is that it can help to protect the environment. For example, recycling materials instead of throwing them away; this reduces waste and will help to reduce pollution.Additionally, conserving energy to reduce greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. This will help slow down the process of climate change. Green Materials  Depending on how they’re used and produced, many materials are considered eco-friendly. Some examples of materials that are widely considered eco-friendly are:  Bamboo  Recycled Plastic  Organic Cotton  Cork  Lyocell / Tencel  How Can We Fix Climate Change? Some possible solutions to climate change include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, planting trees to offset carbon dioxide emissions, and developing renewable energy sources, like solar or wind power.  As a business, we can do our bit to help prevent climate change. By using more recycled materials, keeping our carbon footprint down, and using suppliers that invest in renewable energy or use eco-friendly materials.  We try to keep our work in house, reducing the mileage that the products will travel, and when we do use other suppliers, we try to use local or UK based companies, meaning the product has 0 air miles from their door to yours. We work hard to source the best quality products, and this includes our fully recyclable, ethically sourced packaging. Eco-Friendly Products That We Stock  We stock a wide variety of eco-friendly, sustainable products, gadgets, bags and themed merchandise.  Recyclable Lanyards We stock Express Printed Lanyards, which come with express production and delivery because our supplier produces them here in the UK. The environmentally conscious business uses solar power and a biomass burner to heat and supply electric to their buildings. We spoke to our supplier via email to get some more information on their process.  “rPET is created by recycling previously used plastics, including plastic bottles. Once collected, it is sorted, cleaned, and transformed into rPET. When compared to virgin polymers, recycled PET (rPET) emits 79% fewer carbon dioxide emissions when produced.” The company also refrains from using single use plastics in their packaging and water-based non-toxic inks in their printing, making these incredibly green products when coupled with the fact that making them produces 0 air miles. Recycled Travel Cups We have some great eco-friendly travel and reusable cups. Have a look at “Americano® Eco 350ml Recycled Tumbler”! The double walls will keep liquid hot, and there is a spill-proof lid to prevent any accidents; and lots of colours to suit everyone. The best thing about this tumbler is that it is 75% recycled. Greetings Cards For something a bit different, we also have these lovely Branded “Seeded Paper Greetings Cards.” These cards are made from recycled paper and can be torn up and buried in the garden after the festive season. From them will grow a lovely wildflower patch. Not only are you using recycled goods, you’ll be filling your garden with pollen-rich flowers, perfect for the bees! All of this is really positive and helpful for the environment.   Senator Pens We also stock Senator pens, a really great company, who are leading the pen industry towards a greener future. They are a climate neutral company; with products made in Germany, they have a lot fewer air miles than another stationary might have. They produce a wide range of different pens from recycled plastic pens, to anti-bacterial pens, steel ball pens and bioplastic pens.  To produce bioplastic, the company use a type of acid from sugarcane. This means most of the pen (excluding the spring and ink cartridge) is biodegradable. Have a look at the “Senator Skeye Bio Ball Pen” – which is a bio plastic pen that comes with a wide range of colours to choose from!  Organic Cotton Products We stock a number of organic cotton products, from beanies and bags to t-shirts and sweatshirts. Our favourite organic cotton hoodie is the “SOL’s Unisex Condor Hoodie”. It’s made from 80% organic cotton and 20% recycled polyester. It’s available in a wide range of colours and sizes!Organic cotton is better for the environment. Farmers use zero toxic pesticides to grow meaning it doesn’t , it also produces around 46% less CO2e compared to conventional cotton. It also uses far less water to grow since organic cotton growers typically utilize rain far more than irrigation.  Working Towards an Eco-Friendly Future Everyone can do their bit for the environment, but here at Totally Branded, we are working towards an eco-friendly future. Not only for our business, and ourselves, but for our planet.  

Italian Design Castelli, the Italian notebook and stationery company, was born in Bergamo, Italy. This is in the Lombardy region, which is also home to Milan. This is the global capital of fashion and design. Bergamo itself, particularly the upper district (Known as Città Alta) is rich with art, history and ancient Venetian architecture.   Creative husband and wife duo, Lindo and Maria Castelli began creating notebooks and diaries by hand in their small Italian workshop in 1965. Since then, they have nurtured their family and their brand into the one that we know and love today. Castelli notebooks and diaries boast sleek Italian design, an array of stunning colours and exquisite attention to detail. However, it’s the family’s love of their craft that makes this brand so special. From their ethical process and sourcing of materials; to their admiration of paper as an art form itself.  Materials used by Castelli Castelli products are made from FSC certified paper. This means the Forest Stewardship Council has certified the paper, making Castelli products a responsibly made and sourced. The FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization, established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Certified paper is traceable from source to point of sale, whereas non-certified paper is not. This is better for the environment and the worlds forests. The Castelli notebooks, journals and diaries are bound in PU fabric, which is a type of faux leather and a synthetic material made from polymer resins. The most common polymer resins that PU fabric is made of are Polycarbonate, Polyether, Polyester. These all have different unique qualities and can be used in combination to get the best looking faux leather. This is then usually lined with a material or fabric in a matching colour – creating the soft and malleable PU fabric perfect for binding Castelli notebooks.   Creative Castelli Castelli as a company really value their creative process – and they feel very strongly about the importance of family within their company and value pride in their practice. A quiet workshop allows them to focus on new projects, but other times, they thrive off the sound of a bustling environment. The whole workshop from designers to creators all get to co-exist in the same area where they can all feed off each other’s creativity.   Castelli on Human Rights Everyone at Castelli is important. As part of their recognition of Human Rights – they vow to treat all employees equally and fairly, regardless of gender, orientation; marital status, age, creed, ethnicity, nationality or physically and mental ability.The company also refuse business from those with links to governments, businesses or regimes that uphold oppressive ideals or lack support for basic human rights.   Castelli on the Environment Castelli care about the environment. This is why the products they make are sustainable, through recycling and reduction of waste. The company support other businesses involved in renewable energy, and encourage sustainable living amongst their staff and their clients. Our Favourite Castelli Products Pocket Ivory Tucson Diary One of our favourite diaries that we stock is the “Pocket Ivory Tucson Diary”. It has 160 pages of luxury FSC certified ivory paper, with 15 months available to pencil in dates for. Ideal to keep track of all things from leisure to business. The elastic closure prevents damage and will keep your loose notes safely tucked inside. There is a pen loop, so you’ll never be without a pen; with a ribbon page marker so you never lose your place. Not to mention an internal pocket just to add that sense of grandeur. This stunning notebook is available in graphite, coral red, and china blue, with branding and debossing to the front. Pocket Ivory Tucson Diary in China Blue Nature 100% Recyclable Diary  The environment is important to Castelli. They only use responsibly sourced products. The environment is important to us too, that’s why we stock the “Nature 100% Recyclable Diary” by Castelli. Like its name suggests, this diary is 100% recyclable. It comes in two natural colours, green or graphite; has its own internal pocket, ideal for storing notes or scraps in. Castelli Nature 100% Recyclable Notebook Castelli Ivory Tucson Notebook  The stunning “Castelli Ivory Tucson notebook” is 240 pages of pristine, FSC certified, lined ivory paper; perfect for all your notes whether for business or for daily life. This stylish notebook comes with rounded edges, an elastic closure, a pen loop and a ribbon bookmark. The large range of colours is why we love this product; it means we all get to have a notebook in our favourite colour! Castelli Ivory Tucson Notebook in black Our Selection While these are our favourites, there are so many great Castelli products to choose from! So if you’re looking for more of a range, then check out our selection! “Living a life less boring means for us that we want to be endlessly, curiously creative.”  Castelli

  Are You Looking for the Perfect Branded Pen? Are you overwhelmed by the multitude of choices available to you and not sure which one to choose?Luckily, we have compiled a guide on picking the best branded pen for you, depending on your company’s needs. We created this guide to help you get the most out of your branded promotional pens. The use of pens as a promotional gift is a tried and tested method of promoting your brand; allowing your customers to have a physical reminder of who you are.  Your Choice Matters! As a business it’s good to give back to the customer! Without them, where would we be? The branding choices you make for your company should reflect the message you want your business to send. Things to Keep In Mind Before You Buy The size of your printed branding on the pen will depend on the type of branded pen you choose. Keep this in mind when making your choice; some pens have bigger or smaller print sizes than others. Each pen will have different specifications in the product description, so be sure to take a look! Other things you should keep in mind are things like the colour of ink in the pen; when you need them for, and what message you want to send with your products. Our Picks Working to a budget? No worries! Here at Totally Branded, we have a wide range of cost effective yet stylish pens; these are perfect for large scale giveaways or working with a smaller budget. The “Curvy Ball Pen”, a stylish plastic pen with black ink, available in a range of colours; so you can find the best match for your brand. Due to having an improved wider barrel, this pen now has more space to promote your brand. This can be done in spot colour or full colour print – our dedicated account managers can help you with this! Curvy Ball Pen Looking for Something More Detailed? A couple of our favourite interesting pens are: The “Tyler Pen” and the “Turbo Ball Pen with Rubber Grip”. Both are stylish and have a low cost, ideal for companies on a budget!The Tyler Ball Pen comes with a colourful textured rubber grip available in a range of colours; the plastic outer casing comes in white, so our logo and information will stand out from the crowd.Our Turbo Ball Pen with Rubber Grip comes with a black textured rubber grip; a handy matching black clip, a barrel with a range of colour choices; a stylish chrome tip and push action button and barrel detailing. These make for an interesting and stylish pen that your customers will love receiving as a free promotional gift. Branded Turbo Ball Point Pen With Rubber Grip After Something More Interesting, More Unique? Do you have a very specific message, or a particular theme for your event? For example, at a Halloween or even medical event you can “inject” some humour with our branded syringe ball pens. They are made from recyclable plastic, filled with a coloured liquid. (Choice of 3 colours) Customers are not likely to forget where they got their syringe pen from!If you need more branding space on your branded pen, a great choice for you would be our banner pens. They are plastic pens with a pull-out retractable banner. We stock two types of these pens both of which come with a double-sided printable banner in a range of colours. Syringe Ball Pen Multipurpose Pens Whether you’re looking for pens with stylus or torch attachments; pens with multiple ink colours, Totally Branded have got you covered! They can be personalised to your business, so they will be completely unique to your company!  One of our favourite stylus pens are the “Branded Curvy Stylus Ball Point Pen”. They not only come in a range of colours, a stylus which can be used on touch screen devices (great for tech users!) but it also comes with that same amazing low cost! Perfect for if you want something more than a standard pen, but still need to work within a budget.Depending on what you’re looking for, we do have more sophisticated stylus pens; branded with your company logo. Check out the Branded Stylus Pens sub category on Totally Branded to see our full range! We have some great tool and torch pens, ideal for the mutli-taskers out there. Perhaps even those that work in construction or design settings. Our “System Tool Pen” comes fully branded, and packed with 7 must have handy functions. With a black ink pen it also includes a Phillips and slot screwdriver, a CM and inch ruler on the barrel, a useful spirit level and a stylus. Owning one of these handy pens is like carrying a mini tool box around in your pocket!   Not Quite What You’re Looking For? We have the “Brando 3 in 1 pen” Which comes with black ink, a sleek and stylish aluminium barrel, available in a choice of 5 colours and 3 different functions, include a stylus lid cap, a pen, and a light up LED barrel tip. System Tool Pen Multi ink pens are some of our best multi-purpose pens. While they don’t have all the benefits that our multi tool pens have they do have multiple inks. This makes these pens perfect for people who like to colour code their writing; or have a need to use different coloured inks. Take teachers as an example, you’ll often find that they use different coloured pens for marking.  Why not make your staff’s lives easier by providing a branded printed multi-ink pen for all their marking and teaching needs? We have the “Quad 4 Colour Pen” which features four ink colours with a push down retractable mechanism, making this the perfect choice for marking homework! The barrel comes in white and has a rubber grip, a choice of black red and blue is available for these. The branding on the barrel can be in full colour or spot printed, the white barrel allows for a bold background on a reasonable branding area – perfect to display your company (or school) name proudly. We also have the “BIC 4 Colour Stylus Pen” which comes with the same choice of 4 colours, full colour print on the barrel. The handy clip will prevent anyone misplacing their pens and it comes with a stylus, perfect for anyone who uses touch screens as part of their everyday life. Want a Bit of Luxury in Your Branded Pen? You might be looking for something that is more luxurious, either as gifts to dedicated staff members or for large corporate event where you need something that looks high end without breaking the budget. For a luxury pen that feels special, have a look at our “Waterman Expert Ballpoint Pen”. Each one comes with its own luxurious box, with a free refill, laser engraved and a choice of colours. Waterman Expert Ballpoint Pen As you can see, picking the right branded pen isn’t always straight forward, and there is so much to choose from, but we hope that this guide has helped inform your decision making process!  Need branded notebooks to go with your amazing branded pens? Totally Branded have you covered!

    What Are The Made of? Latex balloons are made of latex rubber, a totally natural product that comes from the sap of Hevea Brasiliensis, a tree that grows in very warm climates. It breaks d own when exposed to the elements of nature. So, basically they are just tree sap which has been moulded and dried. Tiny amounts of non-toxic colouring were added to the sap to make them yellow, orange, pink, purple and all other colours!     Do Latex Balloons Harm Wildlife? No. Some cases have been reported, but balloon fragments are unlikely to cause harm if accidentally ingested. This is because latex and the dyes used in latex colouring are non-toxic. Some latex balloons have been eaten by sea turtles. Documented evidence shows that these balloons pass along harmlessly through the turtles’ digestive system and are expelled as waste materials.   How Long Does It Take For A Latex Balloon To Biodegrade? Oxidation is the first step in breakdown of a latex balloon, and it begins within approximately one hour of inflation. Oxidation is visible in some types of balloons as a cloudy appearance. This is the most when the balloon is exposed to direct sunlight, heat or normal outdoor conditions. Research was carried out in July 1989 with a variety of balloons under various conditions. This study indicated that the decomposition time for balloons in about the same as an oak leaf – 6 months.   What Happens To Latex Balloons When Released? – Do They Pollute Nature? Have you ever walked into the woods and found a balloon that was littering the ground? But you do find cans and plastic litter almost everywhere? There’s a reason for this. Here’s the technical bit… It’s because of what happens to latex balloons when they go up in the sky. Most of them go very high, about five miles, where there’s very little pressure and the temperature is very cold. The helium inside them expands past the ability of the cold rubber to keep it in, and then they shatter into small spaghetti-like fragments and float five miles back to earth, scattered over a very wide area. A maths formula, based on a release of 500 balloons, shows that those that  don’t explode would be scattered enough so that only one balloon would fill an area of fifteen square mile area. And if it did, it would join leaves, wood chips and other natural materials which decompose and naturally recycle themselves. Conclusion: Latex balloons filled with helium and released into the air start decomposing quickly, and that the wind and air currents scatter them far apart. It may be that balloons found in wildlife or on our beaches were carelessly disposed of by people and not mother nature. Balloons are made of natural rubber, not man-made rubber or plastic. Natural rubber comes from nature own rubber tress. And those tresses really help the earth, wildlife and us!

Must Have Winter Promotional Products   Winter is not for everyone, in fact, most of us spend the majority of the cold months inside counting down how long it is until spring. But let’s face the truth, unless you jet off abroad for the next four months, there is no way of escaping. So why don’t we all just put on our woolly hat, zip up our layered coats and try to enjoy it! Did you know that over the last 10 years, British winters have actually got milder and milder? It’s true! Back in 2019 the average winter temperature was around 1.6 °C (one of the coldest winters for over 30 years!), today the average temperature is around 5.3 °C – that is a lot warmer! Whilst the winter may be warmer than previous years, it’s definitely not t-shirt weather yet! So, why don’t you capitalise on this opportunity to find some practical winter warmers that are perfect for your customers’ lives a little easier during these blitzy months! No matter who your target audience is, we have the perfect season friendly piece of merchandise to keep them happy! 10 Mini Tissues in a Branded Packet Aside from winter being gloomy and horrible, another downside to the draining season is the flues, colds and illnesses that all seem to come with it. So, why not help your customers and staff power through any bugs that are floating around by giving them a pack of tissues printed with your company logo. This fantastic little packet would make for a great giveaway for all winter events, such as exhibitions, trade shows and indoor fairs. What’s more, to compliment your printed design, each of these packs are available in a choice of six colours!   Custom Printed Ice Scraper Is there anything worse than being already being late for work, only to realise that the whole car is frosted over? And then of course you have the aggravation of going back indoors to find some hot water to throw over the car. It really doesn’t get much worse than that. But not to worry, we have a solution… Branded Ice Scrapers! Here at Totally Branded, we have a wide range of custom printed ice scrapers available, you will find different colours, styles, shapes ad designs, so feel free to choose the one which will match your printed logo best. What’s more, there are multiple branding method available. The Executive Walker Umbrella   With the British rain never failing to make an appearance in the winter, or any season through-out the year. It was obvious a branded umbrella was going to make its way onto our list! Whether your customers decide to use their personalised umbrella during a heavy rain shower or on a snowy down-pour, they are sure to become essential for them. This best-selling Executive Walker Umbrella is available to order from as little as 25 units and is supplied with an attractive crook handle for a premium look. Each umbrella is suitable for Pantone matching to your company colours!   LED Dynamo Torch With the evenings become darker and the days are getting shorter, it’s a good idea to gift your customers and staff with a torch printed with your logo. Help them to combat the pitch-black nights whilst shining a light on your brand. Each of our Dynamo Torches are available in a wide variety of colours and are inclusive of two LED lights. All promotional messages can be printed on to the front in up to full colour.  Promotional Challenger Travel Mug   Hot drinks in the winter months are a must-have for all. Nothing, and I mean nothing, goes down better than a scorching hot coffee on a brisk cold winters morning! Whether your audience prefers a tasty tea or a sweet hot choccy on their early start, when they store in a branded travel mug it’s guaranteed to stay at its original temperature for longer, as well as offering your brand a complete advertisement.   This unique challenger mug is design with option to Mix’n’Match the colours of your brand to the sections of the mug. This means you can create a completely customised giveaway related to your brand. Promotional Beechfield Beanie Hat Keep your customers and staff warm during the cold months with a promotional logo embroidered beanie hat. Customised beanies are a great way to advertise your brand, not only are they stylish and warm, they are also super practical for wearing when outdoor work needs to be done. Our favourite beanie hat is our Beechfield Original  Cuffed Beanie, a branded beanie that is available in a variety of trendy colours and features your logo embroidered on to the front.  Don’t worry! Our winter themed promotional giveaways don’t end there. We have a whole category with all of our Winter Themed Promotional Giveaways essentials that are ready to be printed with your branding. Check out our full range of seasonal themed today!

How to boost your festive campaign with branded Christmas tree decorations. Everyone knows it’s coming, whether you love it or not, Christmas is just around the corner and, just like every year, we never know when it starts. Whether you wait till the last second or start in October, one thing is for certain… the Christmas Tree must come out eventually. For a short time, the tree is the main focus point, admiring the lights, the tinsel, and of course all the decorations. For many businesses and companies Christmas time is the most important time. Everyone wants inspiration for presents and not always sure where to go. However, one great way of getting people in that festive spirit and reminding them of where to shop is with branded Christmas tree decorations. Not only are these small pieces easy to mail but are also quite cost effective. Whether you want a bespoke wooden decoration or  festive baubles, these are fantastic ways of reminding people who you are. Choosing a bespoke wooden decoration is great for easy recognition while also having fun with it. With this option you can choose the shape and design and, best of all, doesn’t have to cost so much. Bespoke Christmas Decorations Buying Christmas tree decorations can be a much more cost-effective way of marketing. Many places offer cheaper prices when buying in bulk and can sometimes be better than sending standalone cards. These decorations can be sent to many types of customers, whether they used your services long ago or the other day. Having a physical gift that can be used year after year will leave a longer lasting impression, and keep customers coming back. These tree decoration giveaways don’t have to be sent by itself; these can be great with a personalised Christmas card. You could also combine these with other small giveaways, create a small hamper, or if you want to really get in the Christmas spirit, include these in a Christmas stocking. A great way to boost your festive campaign. Jumbo Plush Stocking Sending out branded Christmas tree decorations are also great for employees. Receiving a gift is always nice and can make employees feel appreciated for the work they do. Not only do these tree decorations have to be sent to customers and employees, but these can also be for decorating around the office. If your business has walk-ins or reception area with many people coming in and out, having your brand on Christmas trees can help with recognition and used as a handout. By having personalised Christmas baubles and decorations helps to not only ensure your tree is on brand, but also helps get the office in the festive spirit. Adding these branded decorations to trees can help boost morale amongst everyone and be a cheaper alternative. The long-lastingness of these decorations means they can be used over and over again. With personalised tree decorations you could have them individually named, given to each member, making them even more special. Sending out branded Christmas tree decorations are also great for employees. Receiving a gift is always nice and can make employees feel appreciated for the work they do. Not only do these tree decorations have to be sent to customers and employees, but these can also be for decorating around the office. If your business has walk-ins or reception area with many people coming in and out, having your brand on Christmas trees can help with recognition and used as a handout. By having personalised Christmas baubles and decorations helps to not only ensure your tree is on brand, but also helps get the office in the festive spirit. Adding these branded decorations to trees can help boost morale amongst everyone and be a cheaper alternative. The long-lastingness of these decorations means they can be used over and over again. With personalised tree decorations you could have them individually named, given to each member, making them even more special.

The Best Corporate Christmas Gifts Ideas for 2021 With the Christmas period slowly creeping up on us, now is a good time to start thinking about the office presents for your employees! With what was such a stressful year, maybe now it is a better time than ever to really show them how much you appreciate all their hard work throughout the pandemic. Why not reward them with one of our best corporate Christmas gifts? Here’s a few corporate gifts what will go down a treat at the office: DL Long Edge Desk Calendar  DL Long Edge Desk Calendar A thirteen paged desk calendar that is digitally printed to one side of each page! Perfect to sit on your colleague’s desk to make it 10x easier to manage their workday and keep track of meetings! Just a handy product that will be useful and keep you in their good books! Florence Gift Set Branded Florence Gift Set This gift set features a pillow clock with a shiny finish, a Millbrook keyring that is offered in either brown or brown leather and it also features an Elba Ballpen with a silver barrel. Each item is then laser engraved to the design that you have chosen! All 3 items are very handy in and around the office. They are also presented in a black gift box! Lexington Clock Branded Lexington Clock A low arched desk analogue clock with a high-quality shiny finish! Laser engraved with your design and then supplied in a box! Great gift for those working at a desk all day! Torch and Pen Gift Set Torch And Pen Gift Set Supplied in a small black gift box that includes a keyring torch and a corporate pen. That’s either full colour printed, or laser engraved. Available in 12 vibrant colours to match your companies’ colours! Jumbo Plush Stocking Branded plush Stocking How is a stocking a corporate gift? Well, it isn’t! However, it is great to use as a gift bag! Not only is it right in with the Christmas spirit, but we can put individual names on to the stocking! So, for example, you’ve brought Janet a box of chocolates, a small bottle of prosecco and a teddy bear for Christmas, don’t wrap them individually, get your stocking embroidered with the message ‘Merry Christmas Janet!’ Then put the gifts you’ve already brought inside the stockings! Theses are just a few of the sophisticated corporate Christmas gifts we sell, feel free to look through our site at our other products! And get them in time for Christmas! How is a stocking a corporate gift? Well, it isn’t! However, it is great to use as a gift bag! Not only is it right in with the Christmas spirit, but we can put individual names on to the stocking! So, for example, you’ve brought Janet a box of chocolates, a small bottle of prosecco and a teddy bear for Christmas, don’t wrap them individually, get your stocking embroidered with the message ‘Merry Christmas Janet!’ Then put the gifts you’ve already brought inside the stockings! Theses are just a few of the sophisticated corporate Christmas gifts we sell, feel free to look through our site at our other products! And get them in time for Christmas!

When it comes to personalised shirts for work we know it can be difficult to decide which style of embroidered shirt to choose for your team. With hundreds of different shirt brands, materials, and styles it can be difficult to choose online which is the right ‘fit’ for your business. Here at Totally Branded we have embroidered hundreds of different corporate shirts and blouses for our clients over the years. Creating embroidered corporate shirts for businesses of all shapes and sizes has lead us to know a thing or two about personalised shirts. This week we thought that we would show you our own staff embroidered shirts! Our team have trialed many different styles and materials but we have finally discovered our favourite embroidered work shirts! Whilst smart work shirts aren’t the preference for our production team, who prefer an embroidered polo shirt, our office based team opt for a smart but comfortable oxford style shirt which is embroidered with our subtle company logo to the left chest. We find that less is more when it comes to the branding. Applying just the icon of our branding rather than the full logo creates a stylish and aesthetically pleasing finish. The beauty of our in house embroidery facility is that we can run embroidered clothing without any minimum order quantity as our embroidery heads can operate separate designs simultaneously. When new members of the team join our office we are able to just produce a small quantity of shirts in our new team members specific required size. By the way, our favourite shirt is the Mens Oscar Knitted Shirt and the Ladies Anna Knitted Shirt. Embroidery of our company shirts to the left chest When it comes to branding locations with this style of shirt though, the possibilities our endless. Unlike some shirt styles it does not feature any chest pockets which allow us to personalise to the left and right chest and even the arms for added brand exposure if required. Another great thing about this style of shirt is that it is PETA Vegan Approved. This certificate highlights that the garment is made of vegan alternatives to animal-derived materials. Made from 95% cotton, 5% elastane this micro pique knit shirt offers a closer to the body fit than most classic fitting shirts. The shirt stretches and moves with the body like a t-shirt but yet still delivers a smart appearance when worn.   Close up of White Work Shirts Cotton Material. The shirts wash up nicely as well when washed at 30 degrees but we don’t recommend tumble drying them. The beauty of having a logo embroidered to the shirt rather than imprinted is that the stitching will last the test of time and is extremely durable in comparison with printed designs. The sleeves offer a button close and soft cotton material for superior comfort whilst at work. Buttoned Sleeve of work shirt Whilst this shirt wouldn’t be ideal for staff that are wearing a corporate tie as part of their work uniform, this shirt combines comfort with a smart casual uniform. This shirt bridges the gap between a smart corporate uniform and a comfortable, relaxed work shirt for both male and female staff uniform.   Formal meets casual comfort with the Oscar knitted shirt If you would like embroidered work shirts for your team just contact one of our dedicated account managers who can walk you through the best solution for your business. Email: info@totallybranded.co.uk Call: 020 3481 6600

Branded metal drinks bottles are more popular than ever before. Regardless of your industry, job role, or marketing campaign, promotional metal bottles are quickly becoming the most popular promotional product for 2021! It is fair to say that millions of us are now making more and more environmentally conscious choices in our daily lives. Doing our bit for our environment has become a prominent topic recently resulting in organisations finally starting to contribute to sustainability within the workplace. As a direct result it is amazing to see the unprecedented surge in the popularity of eco-friendly promotional products. The clear front runner is certainly the reusable metal drinks bottle. Creating a company personalised drinks bottle that is high quality, stylish, and most importantly reusable is a recipe for success for businesses looking to create a promotional product that ticks all of the boxes. Manufactured using hi grade stainless steel, metal bottles are designed to be used time and time again by the recipient creating maximum exposure for your branding. What’s more, the innovative double-walled insulation and vacuum seal of these bottles allows for the recipient to choose between hot or cold drinks! The insulated vacuum bottles will keep hot drinks warm for up to 12 hours, and cold drinks cool for up to 24 hours. Which Campaign Are Metal Drinks Bottles a Good Giveaway Choice For? Staff Wellbeing Campaigns Staff welfare and health is an extremely important topic at the moment. Producing a sustainable branded drinks bottle for each member of staff to promote hydration within the workplace is a very well received initiative. Company Health and Fitness Campaigns Holding a company sports day? Fitness challenge for the team? Why not create a personalised staff drinks bottle for each member of the team that they can use on the day. As we have already discovered the metal bottles are so diverse in there uses so you can be sure that the company bottles will be used by the staff time and again once back in the office. The branded drinks bottle from the day will act as a great keepsake of the fun filled fitness event at work though. New Starter Bottles Gifting new starters with a company branded merch box packed with practical goodies are more popular than ever! Including a high-quality water bottle is a must! We can even personalise the bottle with staff names or initials. The above seem to just be a few of the most common uses for branded bottles. Let’s not forget we all need to keep hydrated throughout our day so quite frankly personalised company drinks bottles are even a perfect giveaway at events and exhibitions. Pantone Match Your Bottles to Your Company Colour Palette Whilst we do have a large selection of stock bottle colours to suit most brand colours, we understand that sometimes your metal bottles need to be spot on when it comes to the base colour of the bottle. Our bottle pantone matching option is then the perfect solution. Once we have powder coated the entire exterior of the bottle with your chosen pantone colour, we can then overprint the bottle or engrave with your custom design for maximum brand exposure. Use Metal Bottles to Promote Sustainability within the Workplace Encouraging people to use sustainable and reusable options in place of throw-away pieces is a small yet important way for your business to take a stance on the heart breaking statistics that we hear on the daily damage to our planet. Use sustainable promotional products within your business to promote your corporate social responsibility (CSR). Branded metal bottles create a statement that speaks volumes of your organisations intention to do right by our environment. Want to find out more about our range of insulated metal drinks bottles? Click here to view our range of Branded Metal Bottles. Contact us today to request your sample, quotation, and visuals. Our team are on hand to help you create your custom branded metal drinks bottles.

The Best Branded Travel Mugs For Winter 2021 What’s the most valuable thing to you on a cold winter's day? Is it your coat? Your scarf? Your gloves? Or is it your mouth watering, hot, cup of tea or coffee? For us, the most important thing on a cold morning would be a flavoursome coffee. Powering us through the cold by adding a little warmth to our day. Although we may not be going anywhere due to global restrictions, there are still plenty of scenarios where a travel mug can be used including out on walks and general use around the home. Totally Branded have a wide selection of un-brr-lieveable promotional travel mugs that your customers and staff are sure to love! Winter Snow Whether your after Promotional Mix’n’match Travel mugs, Branded Miniature Travel Mugs or even something completely unique, we have the perfect custom printed mug to fit in with your marketing requirements. Individual Name Printed Tumblers New to our extensive travel mug range is these popular individual name mugs. Available for mix and matching to your company colours, our customised travel mugs are suitable for both printing of your logo as well as a team member or customer individual name. The unique personalisation is sure to make your customers feel highly appreciated.   When printed with your promotional design these practical tumblers are guaranteed to fit in with a whole range of marketing campaigns and budgets. Promotional Challenger Travel Mugs Our best selling promotional Challenger Travel Mugs are perfect for taking your brand out and about with your staff. Whether they are used for coffee on the dreadful commute to work or for a tea whilst walking during the day, there are endless opportunities for them to become a valuable part of their daily lives. Promotional Challenger Mugs are available in an array of stylish solid colours, as well the option to mix and match body and lid colours. So you're sure to find the perfect option to compliment your promotional design. Custom Printed Ancoats Travel Mugs Did you know that us Brits drink around 95 million cups of coffee every single day and over 100 million mugs of tea? It's true.. we really are a nation of hot drinkers! Enjoying your favourite drink on the move has never been easier thanks to this trendy anocats travel mug. Suitable for holding 450ml of liquid these mugs are made from double walled stainless steel and are completed with a pp-plastic interior. Designed with a silver body and coloured trimmings, this unique take out cup can be printed or engraved with your logo. Oregon Black Travel Mug Attractive, prominent and sleek, these promotional travel mugs are the perfect companion for morning commuters. Whether they decide to store their coffee or tea inside, it's sure to become their saviour of those cold winter mornings! Take your pick from a range of bright colours for the handle, lid and base. When branded with your logo in one or full colour, your design is sure to stand out on crowded public transport. Folding Pocket Cup These unique pocket cups quite literally do as the name suggests. When there is no liquid inside they can be folded down to a small size that won't take up space in pockets and bags. Choose from a variety of stunning colours for a practical giveaway that your customers will be over-brr-moon to receive! Browse our full range of branded travel mugs and tumblers to find the perfect match for your business.

How To Use Promotional Merchandise In Your Christmas Marketing Campaign Yes we know. Halloween has only just passed and we are already thinking about Christmas. As hard as it may be to believe, if you haven't started planning yet, now is the time to start! Although this year may feel slightly different to the norm, there are still various opportunities to be had and you don't want to miss out! In this blog you will discover how to forge a killer Christmas marketing campaign and ultimately maximise your customer relationships. But What Does Christmas Mean To Your Customers? Every audience has a different approach to the Christmas spirit. From bars to charities, we are going to help you achieve your marketing goals this festive season by using promotional merchandise. Bars & Restaurants Christmas is a time for socialising with friends and celebrating another year with colleagues. But to where do the merry makers turn? To their local bar or restaurant of course! Even though things may be different this year, bars and restaurants are still likely to see a seasonal surge of customers. After the rocky year we have all had, most of us are going need an impressive boom this Christmas to help us get back on our feet. Some of the goals you are going to want to achieve to ensure you get the customer capacity you need is: Strong Advertisement of Christmas reservation slots Keeping premises safe for customers and staff Promoting your festive menu and any special offers Featured Products To Help You Achieve Your Goals Promotional Waiters Friend - Pop bottles in style with our branded Waiters Friend. This promotional accessory may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you imagine increased sales but by gifting this professional tool to regular or new customers, you are reminding them of your brand whenever they crack open a beer. Printed Tulip Pint Glass - A pub without a pint is like a dog without a bark, it's unheard of! Spice up your pint pouring by kitting your bar out with a variety of pint glasses all printed with your company logo. Shaped as the classical drinking vessel these glasses are trendy and easy to keep a grip off. Branded Beer Mats - Kill two birds with one stone by protecting your tables and promoting your brand. These practical beer mats are designed on a quality absorbent pulp board that can be printed in full colour with your promotional design. Customised Automatic Hand Sanitiser Station: Lots of bars and restaurants will have added sanitiser stations to their regular furniture in the wake of coronavirus. Why not update your station with new festive artwork. Up-selling Opportunity: consider adding anti bacterial surfaces on to items that are going to be handled by lots of different people such as our Anti Bacterial Printed Liberty Pens! Retail Open Shop When it comes to retail at Christmas we've got one word for you... sales! High street stores will be filled with bargains and bundles to entice passers by. Owners are also likely to redesign everything within their store to look more festive, even in places where they're not promoting a particular sale. Given how many opportunities there are for promotion in your store, this could be a lot of work! Here is our guide to help you make your festive promotions stress free! The biggest day for retail sales throughout the year is of course Black Friday. Every shop on the market will be flaunting their promotional message to encourage customers to purchase with them. Pavement Signs - The most common way to encourage people to attend your store on Black Friday is through informative signs. Signs are often placed on pavements to provide passers-by a reason to enter your store. Our promotional signage offers a large area for your sale to be written bold letters alongside your holiday opening hours or a reminder to wear a face mask. Christmas Decorations- Entering a store in the Christmas season and seeing no Christmas decorations on show is like attending a cinema and no films being pictured, it's unprecedented! This is why it's essential to bring Christmas into your store at every opportunity - you can do this with a whole new set of Christmas decorations. Promotional Festive Baubles are a great example of this. They will add a touch of Christmas your store whilst advertising your corporate logo throughout the whole season! Confectionary- Christmas and Food: the ultimate duo throughout the festive season. A friendly way to encourage people to enter your store is by offering a tasty treat at the forefront of your shop. What's more, we can brand the treats with your company logo to provide an everlasting reminder of your company with the recipient. Charities Charities There is something about the Christmas season that brings out peoples generosity, and charities are happy to nurture this feeling! Classic Christmas fundraisers include, Christmas Markets, Santa Dashes and of course the selling of greetings cards. You're going to want to take advantage of the seasonal goodwill in anyway you can! Here's some things to think about: Generating interest in your fundraising events Providing quality practical gifts to sell or give Promote seasonal appeals for donations Corporate Gifts For Regular Donators - whether you know it or not your supporters are your most valued assets so its essential to care for them. Thanking your donors is something you think about all year round but it's especially important throughout the festive months. A luxury notebook is a great gift for donors. You could pair a prestige notebook with a corporate metal pen to make the perfect gift set to let them know how much you appreciate them. Overall this blog should have helped you learn how to increase customer retention and strengthen business relationships by pointing out what merchandise will help you achieve your seasonal promotional goals. If you need any further assistance with finding the perfect merchandise to fit in with your Christmas marketing campaign, contact one of our friendly and experienced account managers on 02031502818

Thinking of New Ways To Promote Your Brand? Thinking of new ways to promote your brand can be slightly challenging, especially during the Christmas months when all of your initial list of ideas have been burned through already. However, its your challenge to keep your marketing techniques fresh so prospects remain engaged. It's always vital to ensure your strategies impress your customers. Flexible & Durable Tote Bags Branded tote bags open a gateway to maximising brand awareness whilst making a lasting impression on your customers. Printed totes are flexible marketing tools that work for schools, estate agents, marketing firms, online businesses, supermarkets and many more. An Outline of Your Marketing Strategy We have put together a list of the key benefits of implementing promotional bags to your marketing strategy, along with useful tips you can follow to optimise your advertising campaign for success. Growing Brand Awareness Design an appealing tote bag that will turn heads every time someone walks past, this will make a great impact on your brand awareness. Showing of your logo in a generous printable area can be a highly effective way to showcase your brand to hundreds of people in your target audience. Your strategically placed design will draw the attention of those walking by when the recipient uses your branded tote bag to go to the shopping centre, tote bag or elsewhere. The Average Number Of Impressions Branded Merchandise Makes. The majority of people should be able to notice your brand from a distance. If necessary, why not add contact details on the bag to increase likelihood of sales. Ask yourself if your bags are appealing to your audience, are they physically attractive to look at? Do they show off your brands message? Branded totes aren't just a great tool that encourage growth of brand awareness, it can also help you spread the word about social media campaigns, sales, festivals, causes and any any other event that's taking place. Creative approaches work well for charities, marketing agencies and pretty much any company that is looking to create excitement for any campaign. Keeping Within Budget One of the biggest worries about promotional merchandise is costs. In comparison to other marketing tools like banners, printed tote bags are a relatively low cost way to get any message across. Tote bags are great for companies on a tight budget. Let Prospects Touch & Feel Your Promotion Half the time we loose track of how often we check our mobile phones throughout the day. But believe it or not, it is actually much more likely that you will remember a real life item rather than an online advert. Customers are more likely to keep in mind a face to face conversation and the moment they receive your totes. Make a statement, include your logo and encourage recipients to use your bags! A Mixture of Style & Functionality One of the main benefits of custom tote bags is their functionality. Everyone loves a freebie. They are useful products and much awaited. A great way to add style to your tote is with a funny message or a stunning picture. By adding something appealing and broad more people are likely to recognise your brand from a distance. Top Tip: insert items that relate to your business to make your tote bags even more remarkable. For example; nail polishes for a nail salon, beer glasses for a pub, house shaped key rings for an estate agent or a plane usb for travel companies. Increase Brand Recall There is no surprise that customers will be likely to remember outstanding campaigns. With custom tote bags, the recipients will be able to memorise your brand for as long as they use and reuse your branded bags. Apart from your logo, choose a design that represents your product, or come up with a specialised piece of artwork for your trade show or campaign, and remember... Totes are not just souvenirs, they are a powerful promotional platform! Eco Friendly Connection With Customers Unlike your usual harmful plastic bag, tote bags are sustainable. This helps you to not only contribute to the health of the planet wellness but it will also it help you build customer trust. See our large eco range to help convey your sustainable message. There you have it! Using customised totes to promote your brand is a win for both your customers and your business. Stay creative by thinking out of the box and expressing your brand in a unique way! You will develop the attention of your audience whilst gaining customer loyalties.

Combining the marketing of your business with the seasons can really spruce up your promotional campaigns. With a bit of sun, there’s so many great memories to be made. From holidays, beach trips to golf days and BBQ’s. This creates a fantastic opportunity for you to maximise your brand exposure through summer related promotional merchandise. Although UK summer weather can be extremely unpredictable, we can still expect to see temperatures in the region of 15 to 25 degrees celcius. However, the UK has experienced even warmer conditions (over 30 degrees celcius). We can, of course, expect some rainy days throughout the summer, so Branded Umbrellas are an all year round promotional product. After careful consideration from our dedicated Account Managers, we are delighted to outline our top summer promotional products below. Stay hydrated with Branded Bottles! Staying hydrated is extremely important on warm days to avoid fainting and other health complications. This creates a perfect opportunity for brand exposure through water and sports bottles printed with your logo. Whether it’s fancy coloured promotional bottles, metal bottles or insulated bottles, we have you covered. Tide Insulated Bottles.   Branded Tide Insulated Bottles are an extremely popular promotional summer bottle as they keep your water or cold drink cold for up to 24 hours! Amazingly, the Tide Insulated Bottle is leak proof and can also keep hot drinks warm for up to 18 hours. Not only do these fantastic promotional vacuum bottles have a generous volume capacity of 500ml, they also allow for spot colour printing, laser engraving and full colour wraparound prints.   We dislike having to tell our customers that there is a minimum order requirement on our products, so we launched our Low Minimum Insulated Bottles, allowing you to order as little as 5 Insulated Bottles. Choose from either silver or white insulated vacuum bottles printed with your chosen full colour dye sublimation design. Sports Bottle 500ml Finger Grip Branded Sports Bottles make fantastic summer giveaways for schools, gyms and sports clubs to keep their students and players well hydrated whilst going about their daily activities. These popular promotional Sports Bottles feature a comfortable grip section and a large print area gifting you a greater chance to promote your brand.   Best of all, this bottle has a choice of lots of popular lid and body colours, allowing you to mix and match to create the perfect branded sports bottles to suit your brand. Protect your customers with Branded Sunglasses! Sunglasses are worn by most of us when out and about our daily lives during the summer months. This offers a great opportunity to gift your customers and prospects with a practical promotional product that they will use time and time again. Branded Sunglasses are fantastic for festivals, events and trade shows. Available in a fantastic range of colours, creating the perfect, on brand sunglasses has never been more exciting! Give yourself some shade with a Printed Gazebo!   There’s nothing worse than hosting an event or attending an outdoor trade show when the weather forecast predicts scorching weather. Having a shaded area for short regular breaks is extremely important during hot conditions. Printed Gazebo’s are a fantastic way to ensure you have a shaded area while promoting your business.     Printed Gazebo’s come in all shapes and sizes, but we have found that our most popular Branded Gazebo is our 3m x 3m. Our printed 3m x 3m pop up Gazebos are manufactured on a durable base frame of aluminium which are built to last at your outdoor events. The bespoke printed PVC canopy has the option of having numerous interchangeable walls. We work with you to create a bespoke designed gazebo to suit your needs! Stay safe with Branded Caps! A cap is a must have in the wardrobe during the summer months! Not only do they protect your head from the sun, they also protect your face, hair and eyes from the dangerous heat of scorching sun. Caps provide the user with permanent shade on their head so they can go about their day without worrying too much.       Show your customers and prospects how much you care by gifting them with a Cap branded with your logo. Choose from a range of branding methods including printing and embroidery for extra durability. With a fantastic selection of brands, colours, shapes and sizes, ordering promotional caps for your summer marketing campaign has never been easier! Stay cool with Branded Phone Fans! Let’s face it, these days everyone loves a technology related promotional giveaway! Combine a tech related branded giveaway with the summer season and help to keep your clients cool this summer. Simply plug the fan into your phone for an instant cool breeze! This personalised phone fan is available in 6 bold colours, meaning you can colour coordinate your fans with your brand colour.     Keep your customers sweet with Branded Ice Cream!   Amazingly, you can promote your business through branded Ice Cream Tubs! Promotional Tubs of Ice Cream are ideal for those looking for a unique promotional product. Filled with premium ice cream, these tubs are sure to leave your customers wanting more of your brand, and your ice cream!   Our tubs of ice cream are available in 7 stunning flavours (a list of flavours can be found in the detailed information). Bespoke flavours, colours, and swirls are also available on orders of 1,000 tubs. Furthermore, you can choose between 4 fantastic lid colours. With all this choice, and a full colour wrap, you really can make each tub perfect for you, and your brand. This product features a 125ml tub, filled with premium ice cream. It also has a handy plastic spoon stored in the lid. Ingredients and specifications are enclosed within your order (also available on request). To assist with your promotional ice cream giveaway, we offer branded freezers with your logo on 3 sides. Full graphic wrap options are available. There are four freezer sizes to choose from. If you are looking for a unique way to promote your business, branded ice cream is definitely an option for you! Stay protected with Branded Sun Cream! Sun cream is so important to prevent skin cancer and sun stroke. Sun burn can cause very uncomfortable symptoms. Help to prevent this by supplying your clients with Sun Cream printed with your own logo or design. Branded SPF 50 sun lotion cream is formulated with coconut oil that provides UVA and UVB protection. We have endeavoured to ensure that our sun lotion cream is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. This white tube of sun cream with flip-top cap is branded using a printed sticker that contains your logo, promotional message and contact details which is applied to the front of each bottle, making our sun cream a perfect promotional giveaway during the summer months! 

Here at Totally Branded, we print your logo or design onto products that both your staff and customers will love. So, why not treat them to some branded Valentine’s Day gifts?   What is Valentine’s Day? Who was Saint Valentine? The history of Valentine’s Day is one that is both wrapped and shrouded in mystery. The truth is, nobody really knows exactly how Valentine’s Day began! Some say that Saint Valentine performed weddings in secret when the Roman Emperor Claudius II outlawed them for young men. When he was finally arrested, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, and sent a note on the 14th February signed “Your Valentine”. Others say that Valentine’s Day originated from an ancient Roman ritual called Lupercalia. However, some other people say that the Valentine’s Day the we know and love only became symbolic of romance because of Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem “Parliament of Foules”. As for Saint Valentine himself? Well, the Catholic Church actually recognises THREE saints called Valentine or Valentinus. Of which of these three saints is actually responsible for this loving day is actually up for debate! What are the top 5 promotional products that you can giveaway this February? Any of the products in our range of Valentine-themed merchandise is perfect for your special February giveaways, conferences, event, and trade shows. From chocolates, to mirrors, to heart-shaped stress balls, we have it all. 5. At number five, we have the Love Heart Sweets. These recognisable sweets are perfect for putting a smile on the faces of your staff and your customers. They also taste great (one of our marketing guys, Jack, confirmed this!) Printed in full colour, these great little packets are sure to do your logo or promotional message justice. Try them for yourself! 4. Coming in at number four is the Silver Compact Mirrors in the shape of a heart. These handy little romantic mirrors are great as a promotional giveaway item for beauty parlours, make-up shops, and hairdressers. Featuring two mirrors, this fantastic bit of kit is sure to fulfil all of your customers need. We can engrave them to 1 position with your logo, design, or promotional message, leaving them with a high-quality finish. Take a look by clicking the image below… 3. At the mid-point of this list, we have the Stress Heart. This fun item is great for those that often find themselves tearing out their hair, and for those that just need some squidgy love. With this heart-shaped stress ball, you can show your potential customers just how much you love them this Valentine’s Day! 2. In the runner-up position, we have the Ukiyo Deluxe Candle This great candle is perfect for setting the atmosphere, creating a nice aroma, and for promoting your branding! Each of these candles come in their very own box, and are a very high quality, making them great for the customers that you love the most. Take a whiff of information by clicking the image below… 1. Drum roll please… In first place, we have the branded White Chocolate Champagne Spheres. These brilliant (and tasty, according to Jack) chocolates come in packs of six in their very own flow tray. Two things that are always associated with Valentine’s Day are chocolate and wine. These sweet treats combine the both of them to create the perfect Valentine’s gift for you, your staff, and your customers. Each pack is printed in full colour with your design, and is sure to be a fantastic promotional item for your brand. Why not try them for yourself? In Conclusion… So, you now know about the mysteries surrounding Valentine’s Day, and Saint Valentine himself. You’ve also seen our Top 5 Valentine’s Day promotional items, so the rest is up to you! Our range of branded Valentine’s Day gifts is always growing and updated, so you’re sure to find a product that you love. Love is what it’s all about. READ NEXT: GET READY TO PARTY!

Get ready to Party! If you’re like us, then you’re probably looking out the window at the rain-filled, cloudy, glum, overcast sky. If you are, then the last thing you will be thinking about is summer. But fear not. Festival season, while seemingly ages away, is quickly encroaching on us. That means that now is the perfect time to start stocking up on your branded festival necessities, and getting ready to party... At Totally Branded, we can supply you with all of your branded needs – including all of the festival fun stuff. We offer a total branding solution. Whether it be bottle, cups, ponchos, or even socks, we have something for you. Promotional festival gear is a perfect way of showing off your branding to THOUSANDS of people, meaning that you can skyrocket your brand exposure, and gain enormous amounts of attention from potential customers. You can also help people to look great! According to Consultancy.uk, about 700,000 people attended festivals back in 2017. We’ve laid it out nice and simple in this chart for you to look at:   From looking at that, you would be crazy to think that festivals aren’t great places for splashing your branding. We offer a wide range of promotional products that are ideal for both businesses that are looking to advertise their branding, and businesses that are looking to hold their own festivals. OUR FESTIVAL PRODUCTS: One of our best-selling festival products is undoubtedly the Mini Hangover Cure Kit. This handy little product provides the user with quick, effective relief for those mornings after a fun-filled night. Featuring wet wipes, eye spray, and even some mints (for the morning breath 🤢) this pack is sure to make the user remember your company as the people that helped them in their time of need. It also offers fabulous printing opportunities!     Another hygiene related handy pack that is great for your branding is our promotional Travel Toothbrush Set with Toothpaste. Each set is supplied in a white box – this is where your branding will be – and includes a travel toothbrush, along with 3g of Colgate toothpaste. The incredibly helpful nature of this product will make it much easier for your potential customers to remember your company.     Festivals in the UK are notoriously wet and muddy, despite most of them being slap bang in the middle of summer. That is why the rain poncho is one of the most popular items. Here at Totally Branded, we have two great ponchos available for your branding. Our eco-friendly option is the Recycled Bio-Degradable Poncho. This amazing product allows you to print your logo or promotional message all over a highly effective and efficient poncho. This will keep the user dry. Furthermore, its ECO-FRIENDLY. So, you’ll not only be helping your brand, but also the environment! We also offer the Disposable Rain Poncho with Pouch, which is available in a range of colours, though doesn’t boast the same eco-friendliness as the other poncho.         Carrying along with the eco trend, the Recycled PET promotional wristband is essential for festivals. It’s ideal for branding, security, and identification. Perfect for high-impact logos and bold designs, these wristbands will almost certainly spread awareness for your brand and draw in attention from potential customers.   If the recycled event wristbands aren’t to your taste, then not to worry. We offer a wide range of promotional wristbands, so you will be able to find the printed wristbands that are perfect for you on Totally Branded. In Conclusion… It is clear that festivals are a great place to advertise your business, with nearly 700,000 people in attendance each year - and that number is growing, so it won’t be long before it’s in the millions! With the correct promotional merchandise, you can really spread the wings of your company’s marketing, and gain plenty of brand exposure. Soon enough, your sales figures with be flying through the roof, and your targets will be absolutely smashed! Promotional festival products work. Really well. now, get ready to party.

Quick, get some Lanyards! Here at Totally Branded, we can get your promotional lanyards to you quickly. We offer a range of Express Delivery Lanyards – ideal for bailing you out if need some last minute lanyards! Lanyards are fantastic for displaying your branding or promotional message at trade shows and conferences. With lanyards on, you become a walking, talking billboard for your company. Our lanyards are useful for plenty of reasons: You can easily hold name-tags, event passes, agendas, and keys They are great as a tool used for networking and marketing Creates a sense of unity between your staff members – it’s a type of uniform Our express lanyards grasp at the attention of all those that are around the wearer. This makes those potential customers more likely to see you, your branding, and any other details you want to give out. This ability to attention grab is what makes promotional lanyards so important to your company’s marketing strategy. Build your branding and turn stone cold customers into one of your loyal clients, with our Printed Express Lanyards. It’s been seen, time and time again, that having your very own branded company lanyards leads to more successful customer traffic – this of course, leads to an increased sales revenue. So, why not have a look at our Express Lanyards, so you, too, can have some amazing promotional lanyards. Even if you have accidentally left it until the last minute!   Our Express Lanyards: 5 Day Express 15mm Dye Sublimation Lanyard These speedy delivery lanyards are our most budget-friendly product in the Express Lanyard range. If you opt for this product, we can, and will, have your lanyards fully printed and delivered to your door in just 3 working days! We can pantone match your lanyards with your logo colours to the nearest CMYK colour – therefore, you can make the most out of your branded lanyards. 5 Day Express 20mm Dye Sublimation Lanyard These full colour printed lanyards are great for displaying your logo and branding. With a full colour print, you can make the most out of your branded lanyards and include a wide range of fun, vibrant colours. Typically, these lanyards are delivered in 10 days. 20mm Dye Sublimation Lanyard with Badge Reel These lanyards are very similar to the product above. However, these come featuring a handy badge reel. This product is ideal for those that work in a place with many security ID passes. In Conclusion… Promotional lanyards are excellent for your company, and marketing, and can help drive attention and sales. So, if you need some last minute lanyards, and you find yourself in a bit of a pinch, our range of Printed Express Lanyards are perfect for you – make sure that you’ve got them in time for your event! READ NEXT: PROMOTIONAL WEBCAM COVERS - WHY DO YOU NEED THEM?

Promotional Webcam Covers - Why Do You Need Them? Not worried about hackers sneaking in and peeping at you, your staff, and your potential customers? Believe you me, you should be. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to being safe on the internet. Our promotional webcam covers might be just what your business needs! There are plenty of reasons on why you should get yourself (and your staff) a webcam cover: Its recommended by academics and professionals From tech experts, to Mark Zuckerberg, and even the FBI. With all of these people advising that you get yourself a webcam cover, why wouldn’t you? We’re all on our computers more and more Due to the recent surge of online business, it’s no wonder that most businesses spend loads more time on their computers and devices than they used to. So, it would do well to just take a step to increase your internet safety. Webcam spying is more common than you’d expect Most people would say that you’re just being paranoid when they see you with a webcam cover on. However, it’s incredibly simple nowadays to hack into a device and access the camera and the microphone. It has also been said that hackers will swap and share your information and camera footage if they’re given the chance. So, it’s well worth protecting you and your staff. With a range of cool, and practical webcam covers on our website, you can be sure to find the best one to suit your budget and your requirements! Not only will they stop those prying eyes, they will also make your office look way snazzier and more professional. Furthermore, a sense of subtle unification is created between your team when they are all rocking their awesome branded webcam covers! When plain, these products are simply just basic bits of sliding plastic or metal. They get the job done. However, with your branding printed on it, they can get the job done in style! OUR RANGE: Here at Totally Branded, we offer a variety of promotional Webcam Covers to suit all uses and budgets. Our best-selling Push Webcam Privacy Cover is ideal for those looking to bring a colourful and protective spark to their office, and it’s one of our most budget-friendly products in this range! However, if you’re looking to go with a more professional, sleek look, then we would recommend our Privy Aluminium Camera Cover. This product is fantastic at blocking prying eyes, and offers a sleek and unique aesthetic for your office. When it comes to practicality, the Clip-on Webcam Cover with Screen Cleaner takes the cake. Featuring its very own soft side for screen cleaning, this product is easy-to-use, great looking, and will most certainly get the job done! Here at Totally Branded, we’re good at getting your branding seen. So that’s why our Webcam Cover with Backing Card is one of the best products in our range. Offering a full colour print to both sides of the card, this item is fantastic for giving away at your next company event, conference, or trade show. The large print area on the backing card, as well as the print area on the actual cover, will create great brand exposure for your company. It will also help to draw in attention from your potential customers, and ensure that they remember you and your services. In Conclusion… So, you now understand the dangers of hackers and unwanted eyes. You also have a range of branded webcam covers to choose from. We have plenty of promotional printed webcam covers to choose from, and we’re always updating them. If you can’t find a Webcam Cover that suits you, then you can contact us, and we will see what we can do!

Keeping your customers dry in 2020 – The Promotional Essentials Not very many people like a wet and rainy day. Being caught in a downpour, with no cover, is a complete and utter nightmare for some. Here in the UK, the weather is unpredictable. That’s why promotional merchandise that works to keep you, your colleagues, and your potential customers dry is a great addition to your company marketing. Umbrellas are especially versatile. Over the years they’ve been used in loads of ways – such as stopping heavy rain, stopping sunshine, as a cool walking stick, and in some more extreme cases, floating (We’re looking at you Mary Poppins…)    So, why not do an extra bit to help out your business prospects and help them find shelter from the rain! Here at Totally Branded, we have a wide range of products which all offer unique and fantastic ways of spreading your branding or promotional message. Take this product for example: Bedford Budget Walking Umbrella:     This brilliant umbrella has loads to offer. It’s both strong and durable, and perfect for stopping rain. With a metal stem and ribs, this umbrella can withstand even the most British of storms.  The Bedford Walking Umbrella is great for those looking to spend a little less, but also get a great promotional product. You might be looking for a smart looking, high quality umbrella to take along as the perfect accessory to your next golf day. We have umbrellas that are suited for you! Check out this product: Fibrestorm Auto Umbrella:     The Fibrestorm Auto Umbrella is brilliant for stormy conditions. With both a flexible and durable make, this umbrella is perfect for printing your brand all over it. If you’re not looking to spend as much on your promotional golf umbrellas, then you might want to take a look at our Budget Storm Plus umbrella – this product can be printed with up to 4 colours, so that you can make the most of your branding opportunity.  Recycled Bio-Degradable Ponchos:   Want a way of avoiding the wet while waving both your hands? Totally Branded has a few promotional printed ponchos that might be just what you’re looking for!     Our Recycled Bio-Degradable Ponchos are perfect for an eco-friendly approach to staying dry. Admittedly, they wouldn’t do that great in a fashion contest, however they are super practical. Practicality shouldn’t go under-rated though. The more useful your promotional products are, the higher likelihood that your brand will stick in the forefront of your customer’s mind. The cherry on the cake? After they’ve been used, they won’t leave a lasting and harmful effect on our precious environment (If you want more eco-friendly merchandise, you can check out our post on OUR TOP TEN ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS). Disposable Rain Poncho with Pouch:     We also offer another printed poncho, the branded Disposable Rain Poncho with Pouch. While not being so eco-friendly, this fantastic product is also fully equipped to shield you from the rain – and it’s brilliant for branding! In Conclusion… These are just some rainy-day products that we supply at Totally Branded, and you can check out our site to discover more. If you can’t necessarily find the exact item that you want, then don’t be afraid to contact us and we can see what we can do to help. We are dedicated to also keeping your customers dry in 2020. Stay wet-free in 2020!

Our Top Ten Eco-Friendly Products: Our range of eco-friendly products is diverse, and has recently been updated to include items that we think your company and your customers will love. Due to the multitude of new additions to this category, we thought that it would be a great idea to share our top ten favourite eco-friendly promotional products. So here we go… No. 10: Bamboo Travel Mug No one likes to spill their drink all over the desk, do they? These handy travel mugs are great at keeping your hot drinks from spilling over, meaning that your desk stays spillage free. What’s more is that they are a perfect eco-friendly addition to your promotional merchandise collection – with an impressive printing area, through Totally Branded these travel mugs will be sleek, professional, and practical, with your branding plastered all over them. Our promotional travel mugs are made from a bamboo fibre composite, which really is a brilliant material to be manufactured from. Here’s why: Bamboo is a natural resource and can be easily sustained and renewed within the environment. Research suggests that bamboo fibre travel mugs will break down in approximately 1 year – that’s 50 times as fast as a regular travel mug! The material is lightweight, yet sturdy (and most importantly, bio-degradable) This ideal eco-friendly product is sure to keep you, your company, and the planet, happy. These travel mugs are a fantastic addition to our eco-friendly range and were almost guaranteed to make the list of our top ten favourite eco products!   No. 9: Chilly 2.0 large recycled plastic ice scraper We all wake up on those cold, wintery mornings – when thoughts of de-icing the car just make you want to cling to the warmth of your bed just a little bit longer… Well now, you needn’t worry! Our Chilly 2.0 large recycled plastic ice scrapers are brilliant at clearing away the chunk of ice on your car windows, and, thanks to our team here at Totally Branded, you can promote your company at the same time! These promotional ice scrapers are also made in the UK from recycled plastic, and are an ideal approach to your company’s eco-friendly marketing. This product almost made our top ten list based on its usefulness alone, so when we took into account the positive effect it has on the environment, and the fantastic promotional opportunities, we just had to choose it.   No. 8: Eco-Friendly Pallet Coaster Looking for an eco-friendly printed coaster to put your branded mugs on? Well, look no further, as our Eco-Friendly Pallet Coaster is the perfect product for you. Made from recycled pallets, these coasters are a brilliant example of taking a non-degradable item, stripping it down, and re-utilising the gathered materials. By deciding upon products that recycle the wood from old pallets, you’ll be saving loads of energy – therefore, reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses. These coasters are good for both promoting and drawing attention to your branding/company, and sustaining our precious environment. As you may be able to see from the image, you can get these coasters in a range of weird and wonderful shapes; here at Totally Branded, our experienced team can ensure that you find the perfect eco-friendly tyre coaster to suit your needs, and your brand! No. 7: Smart Eco-Straws It seems that, nowadays, everyone is concerned with saving the turtles – and rightly so! Plastic pollution in our oceans is growing day by day, threatening the wildlife and the watery habitats. That’s why these smart eco-straws are an ideal promotional product to own, as you would not only be making an investment into your marketing, you would be investing in the preservation of planet earth and its wildlife. There are many benefits of owning branded eco-straws, for instance: They are portable, and make for handy item to keep on your person – this is great from a promotional viewpoint, as your branding is going to be receiving constant attention from prospective clients and customers. They are simple, safe, and very easy to clean With the outstanding benefit that these printed eco-straws have on the environment, there was no way that we could leave these amazing products off of our list. No. 6: Recycled Hudson Pens Everyone needs pens. Your company needs branded pens. The world needs more eco-friendly pens. Luckily, our Recycled Hudson Pens provide a printed solution to all of your pen-related needs. Made in the UK from recycled plastics, Totally Branded’s recycled Hudson Pens can help your company contribute to saving the environment while effectively promoting your brand. The eco-friendly pens are a perfect piece of branded giveaway merchandise, and with them being available in a vast array of colours, our team can certainly help you to find the best pens to suit your brand! Our Recycled Hudson Pens can be printed with your branding, allowing for maximum exposure of your company. Alongside the amazing promotional opportunity, you will help your potential customers and clients to associate your company as socially responsible and supportive of the growing push towards being environmentally friendly. We love our branded eco-friendly pens, and so will you and your company. This is why the Recycled Hudson Pens have earned their place on our list of top ten eco-friendly products! No. 5: Bamboo Toothbrush (18cm) You’ve already heard some of the benefits of branded products that are manufactured with bamboo. So, apply that information to this eco-friendly bamboo toothbrush, and have some more: Bamboo is naturally antimicrobial – so these promotional bamboo toothbrushes provide more lasting protection against harmful germs, unlike the standard plastic toothbrush. You don’t get a release of harmful toxins when our bamboo toothbrushes degrade – again, unlike the standard plastic toothbrush. On top of all of the eco-friendly benefits that our branded bamboo toothbrushes provide, they are also incredibly aesthetic, and are perfect as a giveaway item at your next company event, conference, or trade show. Recently, the popularity of eco-friendly bamboo toothbrushes has exploded due to their numerous benefits, so can you blame us if we put them on our top ten? No. 4: Universal Bio Tumbler Much alike the bamboo travel mugs, Totally Branded’s Universal Bio Tumbler is brilliant at keeping your hot drinks safe from spilling. This tumbler is also great at spreading your company’s branding and gaining attention from plenty of potential customers. The Universal Bio Tumbler is a great product, and it does it’s best to help sustain the environment – every step towards saving the planet is a good one, even if it is the smallest of steps! The handiness of this product is what enabled it to make this list, as it is ideal for use around the office, on the go, and at home – and it can take your branding with it wherever it goes! No. 3: Mendel Recycled Notebook You like the look of the Recycled Hudson Pens? Well wait until you hear about our Mendel Recycled Notebook… This eco-friendly notebook is made with a recycled paper cover, and features 60 lined sheets of high quality recycled A6 paper. This makes the Mendel Notebook both great for the environment, and fantastic as a promotional giveaway item or office accessory. Our recycled paper Mendel Notebooks are beneficial to the preservation and protection of the environment, as the creation of new paper requires a large volume of water – whereas recycling paper does not. This makes them the perfect eco-product to brand with your logo for eco, effective, and efficient promotion! These Mendel Notebooks are a staple of our eco-friendly range of promotional merchandise, and we are proud to include them on our top ten list. No. 2: Recycled Bio-Degradable Ponchos Festivals and other outdoor events are a common culprit in the wasting of un-degradable plastics, with their masses of wasted tents, cups, and plastic ponchos. Help make festival season a little bit kinder to the environment by promoting your brand on our recycled Bio-Degradable Poncho… These ponchos are perfect for your next promotional giveaway, and will aid your customers in remembering your brand – and stay dry! Our recycled ponchos are manufactured from a recyclable and bio-degradable PE plastic, so are not as detrimental to the environment as your standard plastic poncho. Furthermore, the print area is perfect for printing your company logo and gaining attention for your company from far and wide! Totally Branded’s eco-friendly promotional ponchos are great for if you want to show that your company, and brand, cares about the environment we live in. They’re also fantastic at showing that your company is socially responsible – which is sure to build customer’s confidence in your service or your products. The promotional potential of this product, along with its eco-friendly material makes it the perfect addition to this list of top ten eco-friendly products. No. 1: 4-In-1 Pen Pot Natural This is, hands down, an amazing product. It is unique, fun, practical, and most of all: Eco-friendly. With this branded pen pot in your roster of eco-friendly promotional giveaway items you can’t go wrong! These sustainable pen pots are such a fantastic product that we use them here in the Totally Branded office to hold our pens and keep our desks tidy. So, it’s almost guaranteed that, if you giveaway these pen pots with your branding printed on them, your potential customers will use them – meaning that your company gains repeated exposure day in and day out, and people will remember your brand. This practical desk accessory is inclusive of everything you could possibly need in a day at the office! And to make things greater it's even made from sustainable materials! Each high quality 4-In-1 Pen Pot is inclusive of a pen holder, a smartphone holder, a wireless charger and a USB port; what more could you need! Just in case you forget the charger this handy companion is also supplied with a metre long white micro USB cable. In Conclusion... So here we have it - Totally Branded's top ten eco-friendly products. While our personal favourite is the Recycled Wheelie Bin Pen Pot, all of these items are brilliant for promoting your brand at the next company giveaway, conference, or trade show. Each of the items on our list are eco-friendly, and each of the products can show that your company cares about the step towards a healthier planet...

With so many companies jostling for customers’ attention, it can sometimes seem like an impossible task to get your small business brand to stand out. The good news, though, is that many companies have built successful brands from scratch, gone up against the big players, and won out. Don’t underestimate the power of branding. Dollar Shave Club was a startup just a few years ago, sending men hungry for bargains on shaving utensils kits in the post for much less money than the big established brands, Gillette and Wilkinson Sword. Both those firms had been gaming the market for years, charging men inordinate sums of money for what were, essentially, basic razor products. Sure, they were of higher quality than the Chinese versions, but they weren’t worth the asking price to many. What was so interesting about Dollar Shave Club’s success was how it tapped into a latent hatred that was already there. Men who bought Gillette products disliked what the company was doing to them, and the moment Dollar Shave Club came along and showed them that they could have cheaper razor products, that all changed. All of a sudden, men realized that they had been taken for a ride by the big companies and abandoned their brands in droves. Getting a brand to stand out in 2019 is possible, but you need to be smart about it. All the usual methods are still important, but now there’s a realization among top marketing experts that there’s more to it than just being loud. You’ve got to tap into customer’s emotions and give them satisfaction. A killer brand does that.   Use Branded Merchandise First, let’s start with the basics: branded merchandise. Branded merchandise is a great way to promote your business and educate your clients/prospects. With branded merchandise you can inform customers about your existence, what you offer, advertise special offers and deal, and give them dates to remember (just in case you’ve got a product launch or event coming up). Branded merchandise is a necessary part of low budget marketing and ongoing brand awareness. The reason for this is simple: branded merchandise tends to stick around because it provides people with ongoing value. Branded mugs, for instance, will sit in an office cafeteria for months, if not years, providing cheap, constant brand exposure to multiple people. Likewise, branded pens are a great way to celebrate your brand while also providing people with something inherently functional. Branded lanyards offer excellent brand exposure when reps of your business interact with multiple people say, at a conference. And finally, branded umbrellas give you the opportunity to have your brand appear in a large format as people walk down the street in the rain, particularly the winter. Branded merchandise increases the lifetime value of your customers and uses them as a springboard to subtly inform those who have yet to come into direct contact with your firm. Using branding in this way helps to get your brand to the forefront of your audience’s mind whenever they use one of your branded products.   Carefully Craft Your Remarketing Strategy The next step is to create a carefully crafted marketing strategy. No, you don’t have to be a digital marketing guru to do this: just know enough about remarketing to ensure that customers who interact with your brand online do so again soon. Remember, as a new brand; you’re not instantly recognizable. It may take several separate instances of exposure to your brand for a person to remember it and be able to identify it again. This is where remarketing is so helpful: it displays your advertising content on a network of websites to customers who showed an interest in your products or services in the past, giving you another chance to get your brand seen. Companies use remarketing all the time online: it’s standard practice When you think about it, physical merchandise is another way of achieving the same effect in the real world. You gift (or a customer buys) one of your branded products, and then every time they use it, they’re reminded of your brand. Some marketing managers and sales directors are sceptical that these kinds of micro-interactions can be effective at building a brand. But branding isn’t something that works in a single, giant gulp; it’s more of a drip-feed, where brand awareness and familiarity grow slowly, yet inexorably, over time. Slow osmosis is the strategy of many brands. Top marketing managers aim to get their brands into customers’ head so that the first thing that they associate with a particular need is the company the marketer represents. “I am thirsty,” says the customer, “therefore, I need a Coke.” Or “I want to go on holiday. Therefore, I will check Trip Advisor.”   Tap Into Customers’ Emotions Dollar Shave Club became a global success because it was able to tap into the latent emotions of its audience and change things for the better. Now millions of men can save money on the cost of shaving every month, and they’re grateful for it. Dollar Shave Club, as they see it, delivered them from the evil clutches of the incumbent firms. Apple did a similar thing with the Mac and then the iPhone. The company knew that the players already in the market weren’t giving customers what they wanted – a smooth, hassle-free, non-technical home computing experience. So the company not only worked hard to do all those things but made a song-and-dance about it too in its marketing. Apple moaned about Microsoft and PCs in general, saying how they were boring and not user-friendly, and the strategy paid off. Sure enough, there were a bunch of people out there who agreed that their computing experience wasn’t good enough and made the switch. Whatever product you sell, you can tap into the emotions of customers too. You don’t have to do it by tapping into the anger. You can do it as Red Bull did through people’s need for thrills, or through other feelings, like nostalgia. The point here is that it doesn’t matter how great your product is unless customers also feel that it’s great too.   Be Clear About Your Strengths (And Weaknesses) No company can do it all. Each has clear strengths and weaknesses, and each needs to understand what they are before making any branding decisions. Take gaming platform, Steam, for instance. The company behind the app doesn’t focus on anything else but marketing itself as a place where people can download games and do so in a secure environment. The firm used to make its own video games, but has become so successful as a host, it no longer bothers branching out like that. Other companies, like Coca-Cola-Schweppes, stick to what works: making soft drinks. When a person is thirsty, the company wants to be the first thing that pops into their minds. If they diversified into other products, like video games, it would pollute its brand and might harm its appeal.   Tell A Story People love stories. Humans have been telling each other stories for thousands of years. Stories provide an engaging framework in which you can build a brand in 2019, and provide customers with a real reason to buy from you. Swedish oat milk brand, Oatly, for instance, tells its story right on its packaging. The company wants to change the way that people consume milk, moving them away from traditional dairy and onto plant-based alternatives that are better for their health and the planet as a whole. Oatly is clear about this: it doesn’t mince its words. The side of most of its packaging for its products is covered in what is essentially an essay which describes why the company decided to do what it does. Oatly is on a mission, and so are its customers: both see it as imperative that the world move away from intensive dairy production and towards more sustainable sources of milk, even oats. What’s so amazing is that with a few simple marketing techniques like this, Oatly is fast becoming a global brand, taking on the likes of Alpro, now owned by a dairy conglomerate. It provides that storytelling is an advantage, especially if you are a small company with genuine rapport with your customers.   Being Sincere Finally, brands need to be sincere. Customers want to see that what a brand says matches up to its actions. So, for example, if a brand promises that it will provide a personalized service to all customers, then the brand should do so. It shouldn’t just cut and paste standard responses to reply to customer queries on social media. Being sincere is all about following through on your promises. If you promise the lowest price in your industry, then that’s what you need to deliver. If you promise not to harm the environment, then you mustn’t. If you promise to support local charities, then you should. Customers will take note of brands that are sincere while at the same time showing their human side. Branding is all about building trusting relationships with people, which is why even the largest companies try to get you to speak to sales reps on the phone to give their organizations a personal feel.

Think for a moment, do you know many people that actually believe that Domino’s pizza is the best value for money takeaway pizza you can buy? And yet, every day, all across the country, millions of us order Domino’s pizza to our front doors even though for many of us there are other take away pizza stores in our local town offering pizza at a fraction of the price of Dominos and yet millions of us choose Dominos over another local pizza takeaway. Why is that? The answer is consistency, always! It is human nature that whenever our brains sees a familiar logo that is a representation of a strong brand we immediately know what it is that we are going to be getting, we know when we walk into any McDonalds in the UK the menu is consistent, the colours are consistent, the uniform is consistent, we order in the same way, the taste is consistent, its familiar to us, and we are comfortable with that. This is why we would choose a provider with a strong brand that is familiar to us as opposed to a provider that we do not recognise. This is why strong brands invest huge amounts of time, effort, and resources into creating a consistent brand for their business to build trust and loyalty from their customers. When it comes to producing promotional collateral, it is often so easily overlooked how easy it is to have a strict brand guideline in place that ensures that any physical marketing materials that are produced for your business have a consistent message, a consistent colour scheme, and consistent print colours. When you are producing branded promotional products throughout the year to hand out to your customers or visitors at your next company event it is imperative that your printed company notebooks branded with your logo are printed with the same pantone ink colour that your company branded ballpens where printed with a few months earlier. What will not look great is if your company logo is one shade of green on your pens and another shade of printed green on your nice new notebooks. This is why consistency is key when it comes to your personalised promotional merchandise. Keeping brand consistency with personalised promotional products is quite straight forward once you have the basics in place. First things first, it’s a good idea to send your promotional merchandise supplier a copy of your company branding guidelines or master vector logo files that your designer created for your business, this will save you time in the future when working on branded company marketing materials with your merch supplier as they can quickly produce on screen artwork visuals to give you a better idea of how a particular product could look once personalised with your company logo. Here at Totally Branded, whenever a company sends us across there company brand guidelines or master logo files and pantone colour references, these are stored on our secure servers with our customers permission so that each time we produce different printed giveaways personalised with a company logo our customers receive complete consistency across all of their company branded giveaways without the need to constantly be resending and approving logos and pantone colours with there account manager, this is all part of our commitment to be a total branding solution for our valued customers and to make the promotional products ordering process as easy and hassle free as possible so that our customers can focus on growing there businesses.

When it comes to attending an event, exhibition, trade show, and you need a personalised giveaway for your business or you are just generally looking to personalise a nice gift to giveaway as a thank you to your clients, let’s face it the list of potential ideas is endless, you can flick through tons of websites and promotional products catalogues and instantly view thousands of branded giveaways to suit a whole range of budgets. Something that we find is very often overlooked by many customers when ordering there promotional giveaways is how they are actually going to present these to their customers. For example if a company wanted to order an executive branded parker jotter ballpen and personalised Moleskine Notebook for there field sales team to take and giveaway to top clients in meetings this would be a great idea and very highly perceived and effective branded giveaways but is the sales person supposed to just walk into the clients office with the notebook and parker pen just tucked under his arm? Providing a way of presenting these branded gifts would take the perceived value much higher by presenting them in a form of packaging, or more appropriately in this case in a Branded Promotional Bag! Promotional bags are one of our best selling and most popular promotional products due to there practicality and usefulness in today's society, however, when looking for branded bags with your company logo branded onto them there are so many styles, shapes, sizes, branding methods, and materials to choose from it really can be difficult to know which is going to be the most effective branded bag to giveaway for your campaign or event. So this week we have decided to put together this helpful guide to some of our most popular promotional bags to provide a little more insight as to the pro’s, the con’s, and the ideal uses for some of our branded bags. 5oz Natural Cotton Shopper Bags First up is our all time best selling printed bag, the 5oz Natural Cotton Tote Bag. Promotional Cotton Tote bags have always been a popular branded giveaway due to there low cost and usefulness for a wide variety of people however since the government introduced a new scheme that meant supermarkets and large stores across the UK had to charge 5p for each carrier bag that they provided shoppers with back in October 2015 the rise of the reusable tote bags personalised with company logos and contact details began! Companies realised that people became frustrated with the constant 5p charge for each bag of shopping and so more and more people became grateful to be able to take their own re-useable cotton shopper bags into the store with them to save on the 5p carrier bag charge. And with plans by the Environment Secretary to further increase the plastic bag charge to 10p by January 2020 it looks as though the value of receiving a freebie branded bag will only become greater. When it comes to choosing a branded tote bag we can produce 3oz tote bags all the upto 12oz + bags. For anyone that isn’t aware Oz or Ounces of a cotton bag refers to the weight of the cotton spun that creates each square yard of the base of the bags material. Oz is a measurement of the bags fabric density but not actually the weight of the bag itself which is important to bear in mind. In simple terms, when referring to printed cotton bags the higher the oz the thicker the feel of the bag. The 5oz printed tote bag has cotton sturdy, stitched in handles which when dropped down are 26cm in length which allows this tote to be slung over your shoulder when out shopping. Screen Printing Cotton Tote Bags is our standard branding method as this allows the best value for money and the most durable, long lasting printing method when printing onto cotton bags. So what are the benefits of promotional cotton shopper bags? Low cost printed bags, perfect for giveaway bags on a budget Offer a large screen print area on either one or two sides of 310mm x 280mm Tote Bags will often be taken home and used frequently by homeowners when at the weekly supermarket shop, therefore promoting your brand on a weekly basis! Good for the environment, rather than printing traditional plastic carrier bags, giving away promotional cotton tote bags shows your business is doing there bit for the environment So what isn’t so great about them? Cotton Shoppers do not have an internal pockets, it is just one open main compartment so unfortunately if you put change of money inside then sometimes this can easily get lost at the bottom of your tote bag. Unfortunately they aren’t waterproof so it isn’t ideal if you get stuck out in the rain! If you need a coloured cotton shopper bag, these do cost a few pence more per unit than the natural cotton totes. What are Printed Cotton Tote Bags most used for? Low cost exhibition bags to put brochures, flyers, and other marketing collateral inside and hand out on your exhibition stand personalised with your logo. University giveaway bags for students, cotton tote bags are very popular with university students and lecturers who have a large amount of folders and stationery to carry around the campus with them each day and they are proud to promote the university logo as they are proud to have worked hard enough to study at that University. Re-sale merch bags for Artists and Designers who want to print there creative illustrations onto a cotton tote bag love these bags with a beautiful screen print on. Rope Handle Paper Bags Many people often refer to as ‘The Selfridges Style printed bags’ is what we like to call the Luxury Rope Handle Bags. These thick card, full colour digitally printed luxury bags are most certainly retail quality with many high street retailers opting to produce this style of gift bag for there brands rather than the traditional polythene carrier bags as they just have that luxury, high end, feel about them. Printed Rope Handle Bags are available in a wide range of different sizes such as oversize A5 rope handle bags, oversize A4 portrait rope handle bags, large exhibition A3 rope handle bags and even bespoke sizes if required, the great thing about rope handle laminated bags is that they are produced made to order and so the level of customisation and personalisation is unrivalled by other promotional giveaway bags. As standard the bags come supplied with short white rope handles however we can also customise the handle colours and handle lengths to your bespoke requirements. So what are the benefits of promotional rope handle carrier bags? Rope Handle Bags provide a high end, executive style of promotional bag for your event or conference. Fully customisable with your choice of coloured fitted rope handles to suit your brand guidelines. Available in a wide range of sizes and orientations, A5, A4, A3, Landscape, Portrait, etc. Manufactured in the UK! So what isn’t so great about them? Because rope handle personalised bags are usually made to order and have a large amount of hand finishing involved the production time from receiving your order and artwork is usually between 7-10 working days and so this style of branded bag for your event isn't always a viable option if you have a tight deadline. Obviously with being paper based with a matt or gloss lamination these rope handle carrier bags aren’t going to withstand being carried around outside during a UK winter storm unfortunately! What are Printed Rope Handle Bags most used for? Luxury Retail Bags for shops and clothing stores to give to customers after purchasing something from there store. Exhibition Printed Bags with either a gloss of matt lamination to the outside of the bag to hand out as sponsors branded bags at exhibitions and trade shows. Field sales teams company merchandise goodie bags to take into clients as gift bags. Drawstring Bags Printed Drawstring bags are a hugely popular promotional sports bag and are constructed from nylon material and are fitted with black drawstring and have reinforced imitation leather corners where the ropes are affixed to for increased durability. So what are the benefits of promotional drawstring bags bags? Our budget nylon printed drawstring bags can be printed and delivered within just 48 hours of receiving your order and artwork approval, making this one of our fastest delivery promotional bags so perfect for those last minute rush requests. Drawstring bags are available in a range of stock colours and high stock levels of each colour are always held due to personalised drawstring bags being so popular so that we can always meet those last minute event deadlines. So what isn’t so great about them? Drawstring bags aren’t so popular as a corporate branded giveaway so we would suggest a rope handle bag or perhaps a cotton shopper tote bag for this. If for example you are a cricket club, a branded club drawstring bag may not be large enough to hold all of the equipment that you require for the game so in this case we would suggest one of our large sports holdall bags for large sports equipment branded bags. What are printed drawstring bags most used for? School’s love Printed Drawstring Bags personalised with the school logo to give out to children and students. Drawstring bags are a great practical giveaway for sports clubs, gyms, and leisure centres for members to use as kit bags to carry there towels, water bottles, and sports kit to and from the club whilst promoting the club to attract new members who also share a love for the same sport. We hope that this weeks helpful promotional bags guide has given you some insight into the pro’s and con’s of some of our most popular branded bags but should you need any more advice or information on personalised bags for your business then our dedicated team of account managers are on hand from Monday through to Friday from 9am to 5pm to organise free promotional bag samples, artwork design and visuals, and quotations.