Creativity in Travel Mugs
Promotional gift-giving is by far one of the most competitive fields of advertising and marketing. In the current world of a demanding and volatile buying public, it is not enough that you tempt them with mugs, notepads and t-shirts. Your promotional gifts must be something unique and creative and will directly relate to the company’s name and products.
Promotional gifts should say something about the company and what it aims to give to the customers. Also, if you are launching a new product, it is best that the item chosen for promotion should give the customers an idea of what the product can do. In the past, it was enough to put descriptive texts and a few images on notepads and t-shirts, but people today will just dismiss these.
The idea is to catch their attention and fuel their curiosity. Appropriate promotional items must also be considered for the company and their products. If it is a new car that is being introduced to the public by an automobile company, a die cast miniature of the car would be an appropriate promotional item. It could serve as key chain or as decoration for the mantelpiece. If it is a luxurious new shampoo or soap that claims to be used by movie stars, the promotional item chosen should be something equally luxurious. Maybe a bath set consisting of soft towel and slippers could be distributed to customers. Or a silk or terry cloth bathrobe could be just as appropriate, giving the customers an idea of movie star lifestyle that they can directly connect with the product.
If the business relates to a specific service, such as a law firm, a perfect promotional item would be a travel mug which its clients can use. It can even be personalized with regards to color and shape and the company logo discreetly embossed in the corner. A laptop bag would certainly be appreciated by the firm’s customer base ensuring loyal patronage of their services. For clients with sales people on the road, a perfect item would be a classic tall travel mug in stainless steel with a locking lid which can be used in the car.
Promotional gifts must always be chosen carefully with the receiving party in mind. And it is always a great thing to choose items which can showcase the creativity of the company giving away the items. Remember, your products speak for your company.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Not a bad post on the good old travel mug, Has anyone noticed how quite it’s gone in the promotional distribution business?, are we seeing the credit crunch take it’s toll?
August 19th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
If you cast your mind back to the 1980’s Market Research and Marketing budgets were the first to get cut. Not the right move in my opinion as you still need to keep your name out there otherwise you will lose out on what business there is.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Sonny, think it’s difficult to keep spending in a what is now clearly a recession, but they say in a recession you never stop selling.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Stan and Sonny I think you are both right but surely the most important thing is still to be out there when the recession starts to improve.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
personally I think it’s the hard header people who will survive, they guys who can’t bear to give in, who have too much pride who will be struggling on breaking even year after year until the next boom comes along, Britain is really a boom and burst economy, thinks it’s a tax fiscal policy that drives this cycle.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I think its a great time to be in the promotional distribution business. Clever “Recession marketing” is a great strategy, offering discounts and rebates. There is always an angle in marketing at any point in the economy. When its down the profits are great when it goes up.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 pm
What ever the promotional gifts that you want to distribute, make sure you always spend much time thinking about the design aspects. Make it unique and long lasting, and travel mugs are one of the things that can last longer.
Classic or modern always don’t forget to be different from your competitors.
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
Smithy is right, in a recession, you learn to control costs and run a tight ship, it you can make money (even a little) you will make your fortune when the good times come back, I recon two years and everything will be better
August 24th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Promotional mugs are one of my favorite freebies to get! I don’t really care about the design because mugs are so durable and useful. I have many of those in my office and home, but I just can’t seem to get enough of them!
August 24th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
yes, I know what you mean, mugs and umbrellas are the best freebies, i break mugs and loose umbrellas all the time, so getting them free is handy and easy on the pocket…
August 26th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I think travel mug will be an excellent gift for those directly involved in the tourism industry.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Travel Mugs are becoming very popular with lots of people carrying them on the buses and trains keeping the brand visible in lots of public places. Great idea for Coffee Shops to get their message notices.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Personally, I am not in favor of using mugs as promotional material more from the practical point of view of bulk, packaging and shipping. If these problems can be minimized, mugs could be great promotional tools because they are useful and attractive.
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Definitely, Travel mugs can be a good choice to give more exposure to the company. People can take travel mugs to their office or somewhere else and during this other people can also see is which is the main point. I think this is a awesome idea.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Giving away travel may not be a good promotion. They don’t attract much, I mean they may not be much satisfactory giveaways. Apart from this fact, as you mentioned they may be mostly useful for promotion purposes such as marketing their company name.
September 3rd, 2008 at 5:41 am
my company has this habit of giving travel mugs too often.. whenver there is any conference or any other events they resort to giving mugs as an option.. i dont think its the best thing they can do . there are many options such as usb which can be much more useful.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Travel mugs can be really important for our business. But they have to be colorful or informative,since many people use them.The company logo,however is the most important because it represents the company itself.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Bec, I agree with you. Hopefully Coffee Shops get this messages. I’m sure, their customer will appreciate and happily with this. This travel mugs more suitable for coffee or tea lovers as me.
It’s really must have items wherever I go especially when travelling. However this travel mugs should fit into standard cup holders, have a non-slip base and come with secure tops, convenient to use and etc features.
September 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I guess there are pros and cons in whether to use travel mugs as promotional tools or not; the high production and shipping costs may act as deterents but at the same time, very much creativity can be exercised on the travel mug which has the great potential to travel far and have a long shelf life.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Wow really wish that the organizations take the advice on this article and hand out soft towels and luxurious bath robes. Many times when I’ve stayed in luxury hotels we have asked for their robes and taken them home because they were just so cool. I am a coffee addict myself daniel and would love to recieve ravel mugs with Starbucks written all over it:)
September 8th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I wonder why people just chat about the economic blooms and burst here One can earn when the market is down also. Use your resources to earn maximum and this promotional products will give you a niche and edge over the competitors. But am not sure in what way are the travel mugs and coffee mugs differ.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Jonesey and I are in the same book here.
I have dozens of travel mugs of all sort of companies and occasions but I always have room for more! They’re so handy and I think that’s why they keep being one of the favorite and traditinal promotional gifts around.
September 9th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
My guess is you’ve heard the phrase, “To need to spend money to make money.” Fact of the matter is a business will not get up by itself and walk into a room. Creating a business name and website is just the start. Your business needs to be promoted. There are several ways to advertise your business: On page SEO, link building, phone book and newspaper ads. Are those the only ways to promote a business? The answer is no! Promotional traveling mugs is a very popular form of advertising. Your mug should include a well thought out customized theme. Maybe a picture of a baseball diamond with a scoreboard that shows off your business name. Everyone loves “free” stuff. Capitalize on this professional looking mug. Run a contest at your website.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Travel mugs is a good choice as a promo tools. It is widely use and can be useful but that’s not it. It doesn’t work if it is dull-looking mug. Must put some creativity on it. Give some impact to the people so that you can get a good impression from them. Well design ‘free gift’ mug show your sincerity even it is actually a marketing tools.
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 am
Travel mugs must be of good quality, well designed and visually attractive in order to avoid the fate of being thrown away. There are so many shoddy mugs going around and sitting in the office, so do a job well or do not do it all as it cost quite a bit to produce a mug.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
Rightly designed travel mugs find their place for a long time. The best thing about the travel mugs are that they are cheap and can evolve as a great marketing and promotional tool.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Just like in most areas, creativity wins out.
The more creative you can be when advertising for your company generally the more successful you will be at it.
Most people are bombarded with huge amounts of advertisements every day.
Only when you differentiate your company and make it unique in the eyes of your customers or future customers, can actually have an impact on your market.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Travel mugs - great idea but…
they do not last too long IMO. Simply people lose them all the time (just like Stan said) so you give it to someone, the person will use it for a short time, lose it, get a new one with probably another logo an again lose it…
Unless you can make it really nice (good design etc.) so people will want to keep it.
September 30th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I agree with Carlos. I don’t think it is a better idea to give the Travel mugs as promotional item. Usually the promotional items should really attract others so that the information about the gift provider spreads. In my view, I think the travel mugs are not that much attractive.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
A travel mug always wins my heart! When I’m running out the door for a meeting in the morning, don’t have time to stop at the store for a cup of coffee or even enjoy one at home, I grab the first non-spill mug I can find in the cupbord and fill it with coffee so at least I can enjoy some on the road. I’m one of those that is a sucker for practical promo items. I don’t care that the plastic cup is a cheap gift that I recieved at some convention, I care that company ABC has allowed me to enjoy my cup of coffee before going to deal with the vultures at work!
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
A travel mug is always a win for me! When I’m running out the door for a meeting in the morning, don’t have time to stop at the store for a cup of coffee or even enjoy one at home, I grab the first non-spill mug I can find in the cupbord and fill it with coffee so at least I can enjoy some on the road. I’m one of those that is a sucker for practical promo items. I don’t care that the plastic cup is a cheap gift that I recieved at some convention, I care that company ABC has allowed me to enjoy my cup of coffee before going to deal with the vultures at work!
October 8th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Excellent post…..
October 10th, 2008 at 5:16 am
All my mugs collection in kitchen has some sort of company name. Yeah, I got it free all of it from my purchase of their brands. Some of it, I have used it for years already. My favorite mug is the green color from MILO brand which is big and solid. Selecting big mugs instead of small ones can be a good choice because most of us will keep the water near computer table and hate to run to kitchen always.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I have to disagree with one of your statement Atniz.
About size of mug, I think it’s depend on what product it is.
If it’s a coffee, then we should just use small mug or called coffee mug. But for milk like MILO, it’s best to give big mug as their promotional gift.
It’s to keep their product image I think.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Nestle, the maker of MILO, is always running some promotional items from time to time. And there are time that they are giving away travel mugs. Well, I always appreciate companies giving away products for their loyal customers. It creates brand loyalty and a big amount of goodwill. Plus, there could be some word-of-mouth effect out of the promotion.
As we are experiencing global recession, most companies will cut back advertising budget and promotional items will be severely affected. But I tend to disagree with this notion. The best time to advertise is when your competitors are cutting back and withdrawing. Of course, the biggest limiting factor will always be the budget.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
guy like me wants to have a big mug for coffee itself, I am a great coffee freak, well according to me what you say does not match for all. I think people will also like to go for a big mug for coffee too.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
i’d love to have a travel mug, as if your travelling all around the world with your mug, the promotional ability is huge, such a vast audience.
I myself love a hot chocolate in a mug :). But many people collect mugs from different companies. They are the most used freebie.
November 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
pretty interesting article i really enjoyed reading.Mugs,something we use daily and is loved by most of the people and if someone gets a really stylish travel mug just as a free gift then he would be happier buying more products to get more free mugs in the future.
Travel mugs in my opinion are best promotional technique and after reading your article it seems more popular and successful marketing stunt.thanks
November 15th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Great article! Mugs are a great investment. Especially if you can get some local coffee shops to use them or sell them. The more people you can get to use or even buy your mugs the more you should buy. People always like free mugs, especially mugs that have some fancy designs or look very nice.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:59 am
You can’t go wrong with travel mugs as promotional items. People use cups everyday. If you’re on the go, you can really benefit from a travel mug. They can be used with hot cocoa or soup on the go. Good idea.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I had the same problem!…