"Office Products: The Desk And Beyond"
By Cynthia Ironson
Advantages: 2004NOVEMBER
Office products have traditionally graced the surfaces of desks, filing cabinets or conference tables. But today product selection is broad, featuring items that perform a variety of functions and can be used in many different locations.
Desks are still considered prime "real estate" for promotional products. After all, that's where people work, day in, day out. When placed on a desirable item, a client's logo or advertising message stays within the worker's line of vision.
Yet today many people are telecommuting - sometimes part of the week, sometimes every day - from a home office, thanks to the Internet and e-mail. Other people travel around the country and the world visiting clients, attending seminars, meetings and tradeshows. Work is performed everywhere and anywhere these days, with the help of technology. This presents some golden opportunities for distributors who can sell a wide selection of promotional office products for the desk and beyond.
Product Diversity
Promotional products can assist with just about any work-related task, and some items perform several functions at once. For instance, Webb Co. (asi/95838) introduced a new item in 2004 - the pencil caddy clock combination, which tells time, date and temperature while providing a catch-all for writing instruments. Rick Thompson, vice president of the company, says pencil caddies are regaining popularity. "It's a functional piece that's been overlooked for years," he says. "Desk items are a tough market - there's only so much space on the desk. You have to have something that's unique and cost-efficient to get on that desk." Webb Co. has seen interest in this electronic item from the real estate, school and pharmaceutical markets.
Supplier PPC/Greatstuff (asi/75630) discovered a niche by offering a twist on traditional desk items. It manufactures products made of post-consumer recycled materials. For instance, memo trays are made from recycled yellow page phone books, retired U.S. currency, newspaper and industrial sawdust, and are filled with 100 sheets of 20% recycled note paper. According to Diana White, general manager, the company recently paired up the recycled memo tray and business card holder to form a desk set. "Its popularity triggered the idea of a gift-box for the holiday season," she explains. The items are individually poly-bagged inside a corrugated white box, which is printed with a festive design and "to" and "from" lines for easy personalization.
Even if clients don't have a need for traditional desk items, they could always use a way to organize and distribute documents in an eye-catching manner. Distributors should consider binders, cases and portfolios for use in promotions or to enhance the professional image of their clients. Supplier APF Marketing (asi/30214) offers three-ring binders (vinyl, poly and case-made), poly cases and document holders for papers, catalogs and other materials. These products would appeal to clients with an active sales force or companies that print up and distribute product catalogs. Also, industries like the insurance or legal field need to protect and distribute important documents, so portfolios and cases may be needed. Student book stores and the school market in general could also use these products, according to Jeffrey Burt, president of the company. "Getting our samples in front of the customer is the best selling tool," he adds, noting that the company offers free random samples.
Branded And Unique Products
Distributors can also sell branded office products to their clients, like the Post-it® Pads, Post-it® Notes Cubes and Post-it® Flag Pens and Highlighters available from 3M. "Nearly every market and business is a customer for promoting with 3M and Post-it® Note products," says Debra Obermueller Leptien, national sales manager at 3M/Promotional Markets Dept. (asi/91240). "When someone receives a Post-it® Notepad or 3M brand product, they use it. It doesn't get tossed in the junk drawer, or, worse, wastebasket. Therefore, the advertiser's message gets attention." These products are used as trade show giveaways, as brand awareness tools, in direct-mail campaigns, in training programs, as sales leave-behinds and more, she adds.
While branded products may get attention, so too do the products that are just plain odd. The Xsponge, from supplier Xsponge Inc. (asi/98746), is fun, practical and unique. It's a dry dusting sponge with six sides (made in a few different shapes), and is screen-printed on one side. According to John Earle, president of the company, the Xsponge picks up dust from surfaces like computer screens and keyboards, helping the user extract dust in hard-to-reach spots like between keyboard keys. He suggests distributors get clients to handle an Xsponge, feel its softness and use it to wipe a surface. "Curiosity about the Xsponge enhances its impact and appeal," he says. "The novelty of it reinforces the client's innovativeness and creativity."
The Xsponge and Post-it® products may start out on a desk, but they can migrate to other locations. Post-it® Notes may end up near the home computer or on an end table in a hotel room during business trips. Xsponges could find a home in a car's glove compartment (it can get dust in the nooks and crannies of car interiors too), a laptop bag or in a student's dorm room. That brings up another point: Office products, in general, are not just for the workforce. More and more seniors are using desktop computers and many homes have a space designated as an office. And a desk with a computer on it is now almost essential equipment for children and students.
Office Products At Work
Distributors don't need to look too far to find opportunities to sell office products. Here are some suggestions of how office products have been used in promotions, with a few case studies added in:
- .Xsponges can be handed out at trade shows to drive traffic to a booth and create a buzz on the show floor.
- Post-it® Pads and Note Cubes can help spread the word about a new product, service or other business announcement.
- A picture-frame company used a four-color process, three-ring binder as a product catalog so its sales reps across the country could show clients photos of all their products. New styles could be easily added and older styles deleted without having to print new catalogs.
- A company used the desk set made of recycled materials to promote its new marketing program to employees.
- An investment firm used light poly cases with handles so attendees could carry around materials handed out at a seminar. The product could also be reused by the recipients to carry personal items.
- Xsponges can be used as a reply-by incentive for a direct-mail or Web-site-lead-generation program.
- The pencil caddy/clock combo product can be used for internal promotions, to celebrate employee milestones or to reward perfect attendance.
Office products are versatile promotional items that will appeal to a variety of businesses and organizations. There's no better reason for distributors to "get to work" selling them!
Cynthia Ironson is a contributing writer for Advantages.
Used with permission of The Advertising Specialty Institute copyright 2005
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