Promotional Products Archives - Page 2 of 4

Company Stores, Marketing, Promotional Products, Uncategorized

Apparel Sites for your Company

Are you interested in keeping your employees looking sharp and representing your company at the same time?

Cascade Print Media offers apparel decoration, whether it be silkscreen, direct to garment, or embroidery. We also offer online personalized sites with individual login for each employee. Our sites allow you to select approved apparel and accessories that your employees can select to be branded with your company name and logo.

With thousands of options available and some of the most popular name brands including Nike, The North Face, Eddie Bauer and Carhartt, you can choose from T-shirts to button-up shirts, sweaters, jackets, even hats or bags. Our sites are managed and updated with the newest arrivals to keep your options open to the hottest trends.

If you wish to provide your employees with a yearly allowance, we can allocate a specific dollar amount to each account providing funds for your employees to order with. Employees can pay out of pocket if they wish to order beyond their budgets. Our sites are managed by our in-house employees allowing updates, changes and account profile creation in real time. Part of our services provide monthly billing and spreadsheets so you can keep track of your site.

If you are interested in an apparel site for your company, please reach out to info@cascadeprintmedia.com today!

Print Marketing, Promotional Products, Uncategorized

Making a Custom Calendar

Creating a custom calendar is a fantastic way to promote your business services, employees, or just your favorites memories. This guide will help provide you with a better understanding of the many options available to you.

Decide on the Style of Calendar

The first step is choosing a style that best fits your needs. The specific style will influence the design, budget, and overall goal of the project.

Wall Calendars: A classic choice that is great for displaying large images. Perfect for color photos, showcasing artwork, or corporate branding. They offer a large amount of real estate for your design ideas and are easy to hang and use. You can choose various stock choices or layouts, such as one or two-sided.

Desk Calendars: They can be large or small depending on your needs. Larger calendars are popular for those with desks providing more space for writing notes, but smaller ones have their place as well. The smaller footprint can make them more practical for a user to keep on their desk and are a constant reminder of your brand or message.

Other Options: Of course you aren’t limited to just those two. Cascade Print Media can do self-standing flip calendars, tear off daily calendars, or even large entire year at a glance poster options.

Here’s a more detailed overview of some of the above options

Desk Calendars

These are a classic choice for a reason. They’re a must-have to help keep you organized and your schedule in check. Whether you’re working from home or an office, it’s a practical, accessible, and efficient way to help organize your workspace while also showing off your company’s branding needs.

a flat desk calendar on a blue background, with markers, a glass, glasses, and lilac camera

They can also be produced with a standing foot or even as a daily tear off piece if desired.

Hanging Calendars

Familiar to everyone, these double-sided wall calendars let you display a full-page image above the monthly grid below. This offers plenty of room to jot down appointments, notes or just reminders. The full header page is a great way to highlight your companies’ services, mission statements, local attractions, or anything else you want to design and add.

a february hanging calendar on a geometric pink, orange, and purple background

Usually bound with staples, they can also be assembled with coil that provides a more luxe look. If you prefer a more streamlined choice, you can make the date pages one-sided and tear off. Either choice allows for the personalized options you want.

Oversized Calendars

If the desk calendars just aren’t big enough, Cascade Print Media can turn them into large wall posters. Why view just one month if you need to be able to see the entire year at a glance?

a bulletin board with a 2022 year at a glance calendar pinned to it, a palm plant is on the desk to the right

Often seen in use by freight or logistic companies, they allow you to easily highlight or block out events or dates that are important to your company so the entire team can quickly see what upcoming events need to be kept in mind.

Finishes and Content

Cascade can work with you to make sure the paper choices and finishing options best highlight your specific needs and budget. We will verify the art and templates supplied to us are built correctly. Confirming high-resolution image use, fonts, bleeds, and layout suitability to best showcase your vision and produce a quality product you can be proud to use. Contact us today and let us make your calendar dreams become a reality.

Marketing, Promotional Products

Summer Essential Swag for Your OOO Adventures

With summer just around the corner, it's time to gear up for beach days, backyard barbecues, and those well-deserved Out-Of-Office (OOO) moments! But while you're packing your sunscreen and sunglasses, why not consider adding some fun and functional branded promo products to your vacation stash?

At Cascade Print Media, we’ve curated a list of summer essentials that’ll make your clients’ time off a breeze—and you don’t even have to leave the office to grab them! Whether you're looking to stock up for your next company retreat or give your customers a lasting impression while they’re lounging poolside, our summer-ready promo products will keep your brand shining all season long.

Branded Beach Towels

There’s nothing quite like lounging by the ocean with a towel that screams “vacation vibes.” Our branded beach towels are perfect for company swag or giveaways that get your brand noticed even on the sand. These towels are big, bold, and perfect for customizing with your logo, ensuring that every dip in the ocean or pool is a reminder of your company’s sunny side.

Custom Sunglasses

Keep your clients' eyes protected from the sun in style with custom sunglasses. These affordable yet high-impact promo items are a hit at any summer event or giveaway. Available in a variety of colors and styles, these sunglasses are the perfect way to ensure your brand is seen everywhere—whether on the beach, at a BBQ, or while strolling through a summer festival.

Personalized Coolers and Drinkware

Stay refreshed and hydrated while keeping your brand cool with custom coolers and personalized drinkware. Whether it’s a cooler bag for beach picnics or a water bottle that keeps drinks cold all day long, these essentials will make sure your clients stay hydrated and stylish. Think about branded tumblers, insulated bottles, or even custom beach bags that carry everything in one go.

Picnic and Beach Blankets

Picnics are a classic summer activity, and a branded beach blanket can make it even better. Not only are they functional for outdoor dining, but they also serve as a perfect backdrop for your brand to be showcased all season long. Plus, they fold up neatly, making them easy to pack for any getaway. A cozy, custom blanket is bound to be a favorite summer essential.

Custom Tote Bags

Heading to the beach or a summer event? Custom tote bags are a versatile and eco-friendly option to carry everything you need—whether it’s sunscreen, snacks, or a good book. Personalized with your logo, these bags make it easy for your brand to travel everywhere, from the beach to the boardwalk. Bonus points: They’re reusable, making them great for eco-conscious customers!

Portable Phone Chargers

Let’s face it—no one wants their phone to die in the middle of a beach selfie or while navigating through their summer vacation. Keep your clients' devices charged and ready for action with custom portable phone chargers. These compact chargers are perfect for travel and can be branded with your logo, ensuring your clients never miss a moment to share their summer fun.

Sunscreen and Lip Balm with Your Logo

Protect your clients from the sun’s harsh rays with branded sunscreen and lip balm. Perfect for vacationers, these small but mighty items fit perfectly into beach bags, and your logo will be on display every time they reapply. Whether they’re protecting themselves from the beach sun or the summer heat, these products will keep your brand in the spotlight.

Beach Chairs and Umbrellas

For those longer days on the sand, branded beach chairs and umbrellas make the perfect summer companion. Your clients will appreciate the shade and comfort while you gain exposure as their go-to brand for relaxation and fun. These items are perfect for giveaways or corporate events, ensuring your brand gets a front-row seat at the next summer beach day.

How to Order Your Summer Essentials:

All of these summer essentials (and many more!) are available for quick and easy ordering on our website. Whether you’re looking for something fun and functional for your employees, clients, or event guests, Cascade Print Media has you covered.

Visit Cascade Print Media's website or get in touch today to shop for your summer-ready promo products and keep your brand shining bright all season long!

Get Ready for Your OOO Adventures:

The summer sun isn’t just for enjoying—it’s for promoting! Whether you're lounging at the beach, hiking in the mountains, or attending a summer event, these branded products will help keep your company top of mind. And while you're out of the office, we'll handle the details to make sure you have everything you need for a stellar summer.

Promotional Products Return on Investment (ROI)

Eco-Friendly, FAQ, Marketing, New, Print Marketing, Promotional Products, Tips and Tricks

Promotional items

A study by the Advertising Specialty Institute found that “business promotional items are one of the most cost-effective advertising mediums for businesses.” The recall rate for promotional goods is around 89%, meaning that roughly 89% of customers can recall the advertiser on a promotional product they received within the past two years. A further 80% of people can also recall the messaging of the brand if they receive a promotional product from them. A physical item can also be much more effective than other types of campaigns. Promotional mugs and tumblers rank as more effective than radio/TV advertising. Studies report 57% of people can recall a brand’s advertising on a mug vs only 28% against recalling the advertiser on TV.

So why aren’t more businesses leveraging this growth opportunity?

One of the main reasons businesses may not be investing in corporate gifting or custom products is a perceived upfront cost. Certainly, depending on the products chosen, the upfront costs can look higher than expected. It’s important to consider more than just the raw cost when looking for promotional items.

Calculating ROI on promotional items

While not as easy to measure as a digital marketing campaign, this post challenges you to consider the ROI on promotional goods. The ROI is based on impressions – the number of people who are likely to see the branded product. When comparing investing into a marketing plan here’s a way to calculate the return on promo items.

No. of Items x Cost Per Item = Total Spend

Impressions per Product x No. of Items = Total Impressions

Total Spend / Total Impressions = Cost per Impression

Let’s break it down in a simple example using custom coffee mugs:

72 mugs x $10ea = $720

50 impressions ea x 72 = 3,600 views

$720 / 3,600 = $0.20 per impression

So, 72 mugs infrequently used only 50 times a year will get an estimated 3,600 impressions at an average cost of just $0.20 per impression. To put this in perspective the average CPC for Facebook advertising across all industries is roughly $2.00 per click.

With customers who consume coffee every day you could be looking at 72 x 365 or over 26,000 impressions a year. That takes the cost per view down to just $0.02 an impression. Those numbers don’t include others who might see the branding as well, which only drives down the impression costs even further.

Approx number of impressions

Clothing generates the most overall impressions over the expected lifetime of a product. The only exception being polo shirts, which can give the impression of a work uniform, making the wearers seem like employees and not casual users of the product. On average any product is expected to generate multiple hundreds if not thousands of impressions over its lifetime.

Know your target audience

Pick promotional products that your target audience will find useful or enjoy. Narrow in on products that are relevant to your business and will see use. Choosing well focused and quality products helps them stay around.

Approximately 87% of people keep promotional products for longer than a year while 4 out of 10 keep them for more than 5 years. That means people will continue to see your brand over and over, helping give you even more return on investment.

While at first glance promotional product expenses might seem more costly than alternative marketing options the actual cost per impression of promotional goods are extremely cheap. They provide long last lasting and consistent brand reminders to current and potential customers over a long lifespan.

Let Cascade Print Media help you grow your brand by offering solutions and options to stay in your customers’ minds while meeting your budgeting needs.

Sources: PPAI, ASI

Packaging: Tips and Tricks

Eco-Friendly, FAQ, Marketing, Print Marketing, Promotional Products, Tips and Tricks

Guest Post by: Cori

Packaging is a key essential in promoting your product and making it stand out next to your competitors. When your product is on the shelf, what does it say about your company and the product you are selling? Here are a few key factors in choosing your packaging and how it can make you more successful.

Branding

Who are you, and what are you selling? What about your packaging makes it stand out compared to your competitors? Use your packaging to get your name out there, using images of your product and examples of why someone should invest in it is a key essential to selling your product.

Quality

The quality of your packaging says a lot about your company and the product you are selling. On average 10-40% of manufacturing cost go into packaging. It is essential to make sure your packaging holds up and protects the product inside.

Product Differentiation

Create unique packaging, something fun and exciting that catches the attention of the consumer and draws them to your product instead of the competitors. Consumers want to know why your product is different, how it is better and why they should choose you.

Information

Use your packaging to tell consumers what your product is, and how it was made. Is it made in the USA, is it more economical than others, is it safe for you and the earth? Can it be recycled, or reused? These are all important reasons why someone might want to buy it, use your packaging to draw the consumers’ attention to these important reasons as to why your product is better.

Physical & Emotional Appeal

Give your packaging some personality, find a way to connect to consumers through your packaging. Bright colors, legible fonts and even textures are all great ways to give someone a reason to pick your product up off the shelf. Once they are interested in the packaging, you are halfway there to them being interested in the product inside.

Sustainability

Rather you are selling your product in stores or shipping it to the consumer, it is very important to make sure it is well packaged and will withstand the handling. Just as it is important to use the outside of the packaging to draw attention, it is just as important to make sure the product inside is protected. To ensure your product arrives safely and intact, make sure to use a well-fit sustainable package filler to mold your product and hold it in place. Make sure you use a thick enough material that protects the product but is also easy and user friendly to remove. Using recyclable material makes it easier on the consumer and better for the environment.

Production

Mass production is usually the best way to go to get a better unit cost. The more you print the less each piece’s cost to produce. This is true in most cases unless you are packaging an item that requires certain compliance and safety regulations, these often change, especially for food and cosmetics. If you print this information directly to the packaging, you may find yourself having to waste the packaging due to a reprint. There is a simple solution, print generic packaging for information that won’t change, and use labels to provide more fluid information such as product ingredients, warnings, and expiration dates. Although labels and the cost to apply may increase your production costs and time, this will save you money in the long run.

Testing

How do you know if your packaging will hold up? Before shipping your product to the consumer or retailer, conduct some tests. Ship yourself a package using your local freight company, store your package in a hot, cold or frozen environment to make sure the packaging doesn’t deteriorate.

If you are shipping to a retailer, visit the stores, conduct a survey of the product to make sure it stands out on the shelf and consumers are showing interest.

If you are shipping your product, add a comment card or a QR code where your customers can visit and provide feedback with information and images of the product they received. Asking someone’s opinion of your product shows you care and want to improve if needed.

Packaging says a lot about your product and brand, is a key element in promoting your products. Looking for ideas to get started? Contact us today!