PPB February 2016

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FEBRUARY 2016 • PPB • 39
46
Going, Going
Green
EDITOR’S PICKS 52
Avoid These
Common
Start-Up Traps
SMALL BUSINESS
A set of six brushed stainless steel
MoMA coasters in a brushed nickel
container will dress up any lounge or
cocktail bar. These coasters are
padded with a felt bottom and can be
laser engraved for customization. Each
set comes packaged in a black gift box.
Bonica Precision (Canada) Inc. UPIC:
BONICA
want to stand out from the crowd.”
To make typical items more appealing
to clients and their customers, Optigraphics
creates prize promotions with its Water
Reveal coasters. “Even low-level prizes like
a free drink work marvelously,” he says.
Bartlett recommends taking a mental
inventory of what’s already in use at the
restaurant, especially at the bar. “Napkins,
coasters, signs, swizzle sticks … all of it you
can supply them with their logo. …Make
sure—make triple sure—you ask about
upcoming holidays. An incredible amount
of spending goes into these events.”
Bird says one thing that sets bar and
restaurant clients apart from other indus-
tries is the frequency in which they order.
“They often don’t have the storage available
to hold thousands of different items [at
once], so they order smaller quantities—
sometimes monthly, or bimonthly. Popular
items are uniform shirts, pens, cups, bottle
openers, can coolers, coasters and mints.”
Bird says consultants should be mind-
ful of the client’s budget, but also be pre-
pared to show the value of promotional
marketing. ““The biggest hurdle to get any
client over is the cost. Bars and restaurants
tend to be very budget-conscious, so their
promo items need to be inexpensive,” she
says.
“You have to spend money to make
money, and promotional products have to
be looked at as an investment in your busi-
ness. In the long run they are a really
affordable way to get your name in front of
clients and help them remember you.
Provide your clients with a really useful
item that they carry with them and use
again, and you are also advertising to an
unlimited amount of future clients as well.”
Jen Alexander is associate editor for PPB.
Brighten up the bar with U.S.-made pint glasses
imprinted in full color, or delicately decorated 12.75-
ounce wine taster glasses with a footed stem, balloon
body and wide mouth. ADG Promotional Products
(UPIC: ADGPROMO)