We’re known to brand a few products from time to time, but this got me thinking that perhaps its gone too far. Then I noticed it was an idea branded by atypyk - They have some cool stuff. Supposedly this puzzle is meant to be a collection of the world’s most important brands, well most important American brands maybe. So if you wanted to give your little ones a head start in the promotional products industry, this might be just the tool you’re looking for. Otherwise at 36 Euros, it’s what the Americans would call an expensive promotional schwag!

I can’t really argue with Coke, Apple, Macca’s and Nike but I’m not so sure about Playboy and the hanging Pine tree car freshener??

Here is another unconventional article on promotional schwag that looks at the greatest moments in promotional product history. It’s a Wired article so it’s a little US-ish.

via swissmiss

According to Sebastion Coe “…it will define the venues we build and the Games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world.” I don’t exactly know how a logo can do that but considering it cost a figure just short of $1M AUD, you’d hope it’s one pretty talented logo. (Gregg probably would have done it for a case of Red Bull) Read more »

M&C Saatchi Sydney developed a simple little promotion for ebay HK involving nothing more than a cardboard box and some copy that read: “Quit your day job and start your own business”. The objective was to tempt office workers into resigning from their cubicle jobs (I guess there are plenty of them in HK) and move to creating their own business with ebay. Read more »

Earlier I posted about a short book from Marty Neumeier. If you haven’t read it yet, you may not have to. Marty and his brand consultancy have produced a slideshow that does a very good job at explaining how to bridge the gap between business strategy and design. Worth a look here people - Don’t let the 162 slides put you off, it’s quite succinct and annoyingly good.

I love a clever promotion and I really love sushi! If this was a real promotion by the Disney people, hats off to them and the agency who did it. Somehow I don’t think the target audience would have been too impressed but perhaps the parents would have found it amusing enough to take their children to see it. Read more »

I’ve been a fan of Google Earth since it was introduced, I don’t know the precise reason, but theres a lot to be said for flying in and out of cities around the world like a superhero. It makes you feel all conquering (even if they’re merely satelite images). The business model for Google Earth however leaves me curious. Is it a tool for Google to dissemate information to the masses? Or is it perhaps just another ‘information capture’ application to help Google better match and deliver contextual advertising. Read more »

I’ve come across some figures mined from a Marketing Sherpa report in the US on how Promotional Products are out-performing TV and online mediums. Whether these figures ring true outside the US has yet to be proven (at least by us) but some interesting numbers nonetheless. Read more »

Its still early in the year but this promotional campaign must be leading the way for a high impact promotional giveaway. The New York City Condom giveaway is a fine example of how to integrate promotional products into the broader marketing mix and drive home CAUSE realted message. NYC already distribute free condoms at a rate of about 1.5 million monthly but this is how they got their latest exposure. Read more »

This is the latest in Consumer Generated Content. One commissioned by the actual company, the other not. Both are great examples of New Marketing. Read more »

When everybody zigs, zag. This is what Marty Neumeier had to say about brands in his short, manifesto-like book “ZAG - The #1 Strategy of High Performance Brands”. Sound interesting? I haven’t read it yet but judging by whats on Zagbook, I’m eager to get a copy. Read more »