American Idol has been on for how many years now? I remember the first season with Ms. Clarkson. My, has she come a long way or what? Eh, maybe she hasn’t, but that first season was something to remember. Then again, first seasons always are since they tend to make or break an entire series.

But that’s all beside the point. I won’t bore you with my view on television politics. I will, however, share with you some pretty interesting information I stumbled upon during my morning surf (on the Web. Wish I could say in the ocean, but then again, I’d probably end up in the hospital or something. Ah, and I digress). Michelle Bell, Counselor magazine’s senior editor, blogged back in November about “Rollabanas.” Rollabanas are nifty self-rolling mini banners that can be printed with full-color images or just words advertising and promoting your organization’s name. Besides being portable, the Rollabana has optional suction cups on its ends allowing you to stick the Rollabana to your car window or somewhere in your home or office. These promotional banners are an accessory and advertisement rolled into one. Absorbent, Ink. is now offering this unique product (currently ON SALE!) for you and your recipients to enjoy.

I bet you’re wondering what the American Idol punch line is gonna be, aren’t you? Two words: Justin Guarini. Memory not working for you? He was the curly-haired runner-up during season one. Still not ringing a bell? He also starred in the smash cinema hit (not so much) From Justin to Kelly alongside his former competitor, Kelly Clarkson herself! Really, the point is that Guarini is the spokesperson for Rollabanas. That’s right. He’s gonna stick these little banners all over his car windows and maybe even sing a tune about it (if we’re lucky).

Order these creative and out-of-the-ordinary banners for your organization today and remind your clients that the only time you suck is when it’s on their windows.

Justin Guarini 4ever,

Abby Ink

Eco-friendly products are everywhere. At least that’s what we’ve been told. But it’s hard to know fact from fiction, and there are no clear guidelines for what a product must be to be considered eco-friendly. We’ve seen manufacturers list their products as “green” and wonder about their criteria.

We have developed our own guidelines for our ThInk Green section. One of our ThInk Green product groupings is Reusable. For a product to be considered Reusable, it must be intended to replace a disposable product. A watch or backpack is reusable, but not in an eco-friendly way.

We’ve seen a significant increase in sales the last couple of years in our Sports Bottles. Especially this last year in our Stainless Steel Water Bottles and Aluminum Sports Bottles. If our customers are using these promotional bottles to replace disposable water bottles, then these bottles are indeed very green!

Doing a little research on the need to move away from disposable plastic water bottles, I ran across this article from Pace Butler. Though this article is recommending that we all do a better job of recycling, which I’m all for, I think it would be even better if we would all use reusable Sports Bottles from Absorbent, Ink.!

The promotional products industry has seen a significant increase in the sales of Non-Woven Tote Bags this last year. While they’re certainly part of the eco-friendly product movement, these bags have become popular for more reasons than for being green.

Non-Woven Polypropylene Bags are popular because they offer many useful qualities. These bags are soft, durable, water resistant, fire resistant, and have many uses. While many eco-friendly products can be more expensive than their non-green counterparts, Non-Woven Totes are competitively priced, removing the financial barrier to their purchase. These bags have also become more fashionable. Evolving from the early Non-Woven Grocery Totes, manufacturers are now producing a wide range of attractive and trendy Fashion Non-Woven Bags.

From a marketing standpoint, Tote Bags are incredibly useful promotional tools. Tote Bags are used over and over again, providing repeat exposure for your logo and promotional message. Non-Woven Tote Bags offer one of the best CPI’s (cost per impression) among all promotional products.

Non-woven polypropylene is made of spun bond polypropylene which can be recycled, naturally decomposes, and incinerates without any production of poisonous pollutants. While we list our Non-Woven Bags as recyclable, not all communities have recycling centers that will accept these bags. Many of our Non-Woven Bags are also made from recycled content, adding to their eco-friendly qualities. And of course, these promotional bags are reusable. By offering an alternative to disposable plastic bags, Non-Woven Tote Bags will show how green your company is, while leaving a little green in your pocket.

[If they can make up the word ‘Bracketology’ we can get creative too!]

College basketball teams are deep into their conference schedule and March Madness™ is just around the corner. Bars and restaurants can benefit from the excitement of March Madness™ by implementing marketing strategies that optimize their brand exposure and increase sales traffic. Traditional marketing strategies such as newspaper ads or radio spots can be effective, but including a sales promotion or premium product in a marketing plan has been proven to be even more successful. These ideas can be customized to fit your business and customers’ expectations to create a fun and exciting atmosphere for March Madness™.

Tournament Brackets: Spice up bracket contests by awarding participants who correctly complete a region or round of games on the bracket. Discounts on a product or service or imprinted products can be given away as prizes. Breaking down the bracket and prize pool increases the number of winners, which boosts traffic at the business. Display the grand prize at the business location to increase word-of-mouth or “buzz” marketing for the prize and brand.

Prize Drawings: Create a prize drawing for a March Madness™ watch party sponsored by your business. The winner can invite friends to watch a basketball game and enjoy snacks, refreshments and other special treatments provided by the business. Other prizes can be given away such as imprinted bottle coolers or tee shirts. Not only are drawings a great way to attract customers, they can also be used to survey participants. It gives your business an opportunity to ask customers about your product or service and how it can improve.

Promote Game Day or Night: Create a calendar and label featured games that will be broadcasted at your business. Place the calendar on dining tables or at a bar where customers can view the schedule. A great way to attract customers to game nights is to create a trivia game. Trivia questions can be general or customized for different themes. Get creative with prizes and include your brand name. Glassware imprinted with the brand logo or message is a great giveaway.