How do you choose the right bag?
Bags offer enormous opportunities for promotional marketers. The trick is to work with companies that understand your market, grasp your brief and know how to maximise its potential,” says Andy Steavenson director of Crazy:Bags.
It has long been accepted that using promotional bags at exhibitions to reinforce your brand presence during events and shows makes sense. So when it comes to your exhibition bag, how do you choose the one that will give you the edge over your competitors, creating stand out and long-lasting impact?
Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Crazy:Bags has picked up some of the most effective tricks of the trade over the last decade to ensure your brand is the one that people talk about.
1. Be brand-led & customer informed: It’s about creating experiences that people want to talk about and integrating that throughout the whole of your show campaign; creating real value rather than perceived value. Treat bags as part of your overall marketing campaign & capitalise on seasonal opportunities.
2. Gravitational Pull: People gravitate towards brands that have a fresh perspective. Don’t just stick to a branded bag with a logo. Think about printing images that convey the experience of using the product or working with the brand. Use vibrant messages that fit with your campaign.
3. Create a fresh concept and a new approach: Choose bags that are practical, fit with your proposition & suit your branding. The temptation is to opt for a one size fits all or a large & small approach. By opting for a range of bags, you create choice & flexibility. Don’t just go for what you think is cheap. It will be false economy in the long run.
4. Pre-Plan & save time & money: The longer the lead time, the wider your choice becomes; increasing the quality you can afford and your chances for stand out. Pay for the products you want and the ones that fit the bill, rather than the express service.
5. It’s easy being green: Think about the environment, still high on the agenda for business and consumers alike. Is the green message one that is integral to your brand? If so choose bags that reinforce this position and demonstrate commitment with an eco-bag. There are numerous styles, sizes and colours available so style & practicality won’t be compromised.
The ultimate intent of any promotional activity is to generate more revenue for the company, handing out promotional goodies and branded bags to give potential customers something to remember them by.
Business promotional products and bags in particular, can do just that and more.
They aren’t simply an advertising or promotional mechanic. They can also function as tools to increase performance or sales output, creating brand culture and recognition. They can compliment other parts of the marketing mix and advertising activity, offering exhibitors and marketers long lasting impact and returns, with a flexibility more traditional marketing mix staples cannot compete with.
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Salmonella Vs. Reusable Bags
Andy Steavenson, founder & director of Crazy:Bags reacts to recent claims in the Daily Mail, that reusable bags have increased the incidents of salmonella.
“The immediate concern or question is how the contamination is occurring. If the reports are accurate, contamination is stemming from meat products. The means for cross contamination with other produce would therefore stem from leakage from inadequate or damaged packaging.
“If there is poor packaging around meat products, the contamination could equally occur at the time of storage; in a fridge for example. It comes back to basic health and hygiene standards, ensuring that fresh produce is suitably packaged and stored before and after purchase.
“We must retain a sense of perspective here. It is not the reusable bag in isolation that has given rise to these reported incidents. It is important that we retain a sense of the real issue and the real cause leading to some cases of salmonella.
“However, Crazy:Bags does have alternative bags that would offer additional peace of mind for consumers.
The laminate canvas bag has fully laminated internal panels that enable the bag to be wiped to ensure it is hygienically clean.
“It is an ideal shopper, with its heavyweight canvas providing sufficient strength and support for the bag to stand up without folding or falling over.
“Tough and durable, the 10oz smooth finish bags offer a contemporary alternative to the more common Jute bag, whilst offering the same high level of environmental credentials. Available in natural canvas or black, the bags can be adapted and changed to meet your needs, with a choice of soft feel loop, rope or canvas handles.
“High quality CMYK images or the more intricate designs can be transfer printed, or standard screen print for the less complex designs with up to 10 pantone matched colours per side.
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
“The immediate concern or question is how the contamination is occurring. If the reports are accurate, contamination is stemming from meat products. The means for cross contamination with other produce would therefore stem from leakage from inadequate or damaged packaging.
“If there is poor packaging around meat products, the contamination could equally occur at the time of storage; in a fridge for example. It comes back to basic health and hygiene standards, ensuring that fresh produce is suitably packaged and stored before and after purchase.
“We must retain a sense of perspective here. It is not the reusable bag in isolation that has given rise to these reported incidents. It is important that we retain a sense of the real issue and the real cause leading to some cases of salmonella.
“However, Crazy:Bags does have alternative bags that would offer additional peace of mind for consumers.
The laminate canvas bag has fully laminated internal panels that enable the bag to be wiped to ensure it is hygienically clean.
“It is an ideal shopper, with its heavyweight canvas providing sufficient strength and support for the bag to stand up without folding or falling over.
“Tough and durable, the 10oz smooth finish bags offer a contemporary alternative to the more common Jute bag, whilst offering the same high level of environmental credentials. Available in natural canvas or black, the bags can be adapted and changed to meet your needs, with a choice of soft feel loop, rope or canvas handles.
“High quality CMYK images or the more intricate designs can be transfer printed, or standard screen print for the less complex designs with up to 10 pantone matched colours per side.
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Traditional Carriers in today’s marketing
Andy Steavenson, founder & director of leading stockist and distributor of promotional branded bags, Crazy:Bags, takes a look at the traditional carrier and asks: “Is the traditional carrier still relevant in today’s promotional marketing?”
Green, ethical and re-useable bags have become the staple product of choice when it comes to promotional branded bags; and quite right too. But this does pose an important question. Is there still a role for the traditional carrier in today’s promotional marketing?
Simply, the answer would be yes. Versatile and often more attractive, they definitely remain a good product and one worthy of consideration.
Traditional paper carriers offer enormous flexibility, with a wide range of designs, shapes, handle styles and sizes to choose from. Many companies, including Crazy:Bags, offer a customised design service enabling clients to mix and match designs, styles, colours and textures to create a paper carrier to exactly meet any given brief.
From spot UV finishes, laminated and hand finished to internal printing; there are infinite possibilities to create something dramatic, fresh and exciting for your brand. When brand and promotional marketing is about creating experience, the traditional carrier is perhaps the most easily adaptable blank canvas to work from.
It is also too simplistic to assume that the traditional paper carrier is a less environmentally sound option. Advances in technology and processing techniques, have generated alternative ways of being green. Kraft bags for example, are 100% degradable and manufactured from sustainable forests, with FSC and recycled products extending choice still further.
The ultimate objective of any promotional product is to generate awareness; to create a compelling message that gets your audience talking about you, heightening understanding and recall, so that yours is the brand that people associate with the product or service and yours is the number they call.
It’s about creating experiences that people want to talk about and integrating that throughout the whole of the campaign; creating real value rather than perceived value. By considering a sweep of products, you have the chance to continually refresh and update, adding flexibility and longevity to your campaign.
We have perhaps become guilty of losing sight of the bigger picture. Priorities rightly placed on the green agenda, have potentially led us to become blind to the wider marketing mix and the dexterity a range of products can offer our clients.
It is important we as an industry remember to keep a wider view; to look at the best and right products to suit your brand, your message and your event or promotional activity, deploying promotional items like bags to their full advantage.
It is a question of appropriateness. There are times when an eco-bag is the best and right choice. But equally the same is true of the paper carrier. They are still relevant and they do still have an important role to play in today’s promotional marketing.
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
Green, ethical and re-useable bags have become the staple product of choice when it comes to promotional branded bags; and quite right too. But this does pose an important question. Is there still a role for the traditional carrier in today’s promotional marketing?
Simply, the answer would be yes. Versatile and often more attractive, they definitely remain a good product and one worthy of consideration.
Traditional paper carriers offer enormous flexibility, with a wide range of designs, shapes, handle styles and sizes to choose from. Many companies, including Crazy:Bags, offer a customised design service enabling clients to mix and match designs, styles, colours and textures to create a paper carrier to exactly meet any given brief.
From spot UV finishes, laminated and hand finished to internal printing; there are infinite possibilities to create something dramatic, fresh and exciting for your brand. When brand and promotional marketing is about creating experience, the traditional carrier is perhaps the most easily adaptable blank canvas to work from.
It is also too simplistic to assume that the traditional paper carrier is a less environmentally sound option. Advances in technology and processing techniques, have generated alternative ways of being green. Kraft bags for example, are 100% degradable and manufactured from sustainable forests, with FSC and recycled products extending choice still further.
The ultimate objective of any promotional product is to generate awareness; to create a compelling message that gets your audience talking about you, heightening understanding and recall, so that yours is the brand that people associate with the product or service and yours is the number they call.
It’s about creating experiences that people want to talk about and integrating that throughout the whole of the campaign; creating real value rather than perceived value. By considering a sweep of products, you have the chance to continually refresh and update, adding flexibility and longevity to your campaign.
We have perhaps become guilty of losing sight of the bigger picture. Priorities rightly placed on the green agenda, have potentially led us to become blind to the wider marketing mix and the dexterity a range of products can offer our clients.
It is important we as an industry remember to keep a wider view; to look at the best and right products to suit your brand, your message and your event or promotional activity, deploying promotional items like bags to their full advantage.
It is a question of appropriateness. There are times when an eco-bag is the best and right choice. But equally the same is true of the paper carrier. They are still relevant and they do still have an important role to play in today’s promotional marketing.
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
Friday, 1 October 2010
BAG DOMINATION
The last 10-years have seen a 90% erosion in brand differentiation according to a recent survey by Young & Rubican. Add that into the exhibition mix, one of the toughest environments to achieve true stand out, & you would be forgiven for considering a career change.
But it’s not all as stark as the industry ‘gurus’ will have us believe. If you understand the new reality and work within it, there are some fantastic opportunities to ensure your brand is the one that people remember.
Don’t just stick to a branded bag with a logo. Think about printing images that convey the experience of using the product or working with the brand. Use vibrant messages that fit with your campaign. Go for a new approach and pick products to suit.
Everybody has bags at shows. Make yours the one that delegates keep and the one that all the other ‘bumph’ is put into. Make it desirable, something delegates will want to use again and again; add longevity and increase returns.
Bag domination may sound simplistic, but it is one of the most effective weapons in your event arsenal. People talk about their experiences of brands and what they are doing for them, not what they are saying.
It’s about being brand-led & customer informed rather than the other way round. It’s about creating experiences that people want to talk about and integrating that throughout the whole of your show campaign; creating real value rather than perceived value.
Crazy:Bags has worked in the promotional arena for years, picking up some of the most effective tricks of the trade to ensure your brand is the one that people talk about. Its’ experienced team can help you achieve ‘bag domination,’ and advise you on the right products to ensure your brand is not eroded by the crowd, at a price you can afford.
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
Saturday, 1 May 2010
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND, ETHICAL PRODUCTS - May 2010
Andy Stevenson, director for Crazy:Bags comments;
“Many misconceptions surround the issue of green and ethical products. For example, few people realise that whilst ‘green’ alternatives may not end up in the sea or littering our towns and countryside, it is not necessarily right to automatically assume that a reusable bag is more ethical and environmentally sound.
“Plastic bags use less energy during manufacture than some of the ‘greener’ options. Advances have also meant that additives can be used during the manufacturing process at virtually no extra cost that will ensure the bag is 100% biodegradable, leaving nothing behind.
“There are also great differences between recycled products and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) alternatives. A global standard that ensures genuine good practice in forest management and sustainability, FSC products are produced responsibly with full traceability from tree to end product.
“Recycled products are no less important, but they can often incur higher energy and environmental costs than their FSC counterparts. So it is important that when it comes to choosing environmentally sound or ethical products, that people know the questions to ask and what to look out for.
“A promotional bag may say it’s green, but just how eco-friendly is it when you factor in how the materials have been produced, where they’ve come from and how they got to you? Where has the product been sourced, can it be traced and are there ways of checking the ethical standards of the factory, its working environment and working standards for example.
“It is these questions that our clients need to ask and it is our responsibility to encourage them to do so, answering them fully and legitimately, helping them to make informed choices.
“To put this into context; at Crazy:Bags we handpick SEDEX and Fairtrade accredited factories. This means we know the conditions the bags have been produced in. We know for example, that all employees have access to union representation, with strict working hours, mandatory breaks and monitored, healthy working environments.
“The secure ethical data exchange that SEDEX membership provides allows us to investigate the supply chain as a whole, from the cotton grower to the manufacturer. It gives us full traceability, enabling us to make confident, ethical buying choices.
“This knowledge is not only important to ensure we meet our own ethical standards, but because we can provide our clients with a guarantee that their products have been ethically produced as well as being environmentally sound.
“There is a great deal of choice and varying levels of environmental credentials. All are valid and all are strong, ethical choices. The point is that we need to help our clients understand these differences and all the options available so that they can buy with confidence, choosing products that fit with their brand message and CSR as well as fulfilling their ultimate role.”
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
“Many misconceptions surround the issue of green and ethical products. For example, few people realise that whilst ‘green’ alternatives may not end up in the sea or littering our towns and countryside, it is not necessarily right to automatically assume that a reusable bag is more ethical and environmentally sound.
“Plastic bags use less energy during manufacture than some of the ‘greener’ options. Advances have also meant that additives can be used during the manufacturing process at virtually no extra cost that will ensure the bag is 100% biodegradable, leaving nothing behind.
“There are also great differences between recycled products and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) alternatives. A global standard that ensures genuine good practice in forest management and sustainability, FSC products are produced responsibly with full traceability from tree to end product.
“Recycled products are no less important, but they can often incur higher energy and environmental costs than their FSC counterparts. So it is important that when it comes to choosing environmentally sound or ethical products, that people know the questions to ask and what to look out for.
“A promotional bag may say it’s green, but just how eco-friendly is it when you factor in how the materials have been produced, where they’ve come from and how they got to you? Where has the product been sourced, can it be traced and are there ways of checking the ethical standards of the factory, its working environment and working standards for example.
“It is these questions that our clients need to ask and it is our responsibility to encourage them to do so, answering them fully and legitimately, helping them to make informed choices.
“To put this into context; at Crazy:Bags we handpick SEDEX and Fairtrade accredited factories. This means we know the conditions the bags have been produced in. We know for example, that all employees have access to union representation, with strict working hours, mandatory breaks and monitored, healthy working environments.
“The secure ethical data exchange that SEDEX membership provides allows us to investigate the supply chain as a whole, from the cotton grower to the manufacturer. It gives us full traceability, enabling us to make confident, ethical buying choices.
“This knowledge is not only important to ensure we meet our own ethical standards, but because we can provide our clients with a guarantee that their products have been ethically produced as well as being environmentally sound.
“There is a great deal of choice and varying levels of environmental credentials. All are valid and all are strong, ethical choices. The point is that we need to help our clients understand these differences and all the options available so that they can buy with confidence, choosing products that fit with their brand message and CSR as well as fulfilling their ultimate role.”
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
Monday, 1 February 2010
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND, ETHICAL PRODUCTS - February 2010
Andy Stevenson, director for Crazy:Bags comments;
“In 2007 the environment became a marketable concern, with demand for eco-products soaring ever since. Now representing 65% of our sales despite the downturn, the environment remains high on the business and consumer agenda.
“This increased awareness has generated a need for alternative products, with branded eco-bags an effective platform to not only highlight a brands message, but also its commitment to the environment and CSR, limiting the environmental impact of promotional activity; adding value and increasing brand credibility.
“All of our eco-bags have been sourced to meet our strict environmental standards. It depends on the product a client chooses as to how and why it is environmentally sound, but all our eco-bags are 100% reusable.
“A good example is our cotton shopper range. We handpick factories that are both SEDEX members and Fairtrade accredited. This means we know the conditions the bags have been produced in. We know for example, that all employees have access to union representation, with strict working hours, mandatory breaks and monitored, healthy working environments.
“The secure ethical data exchange that SEDEX membership provides allows us to investigate the supply chain as a whole, from the cotton grower to the manufacturer. It gives us full traceability, enabling us to make confident, ethical buying choices.
“This knowledge is not only important to ensure we meet our own ethical standards, but because we can provide our clients with a guarantee that their products have been ethically produced as well as being environmentally sound.
“A promotional bag may say it’s green, but just how eco-friendly is it when you factor in how the materials have been produced, where they’ve come from and how they got to you? It is these questions that our clients ask and it is our responsibility to ensure we answer them fully and legitimately.
“There is no doubt this trend will continue, with ethical, eco-products playing a long standing role in the future of the promotional industry. The only unknown is the extent of this role and how much of the market it will occupy.”
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
“In 2007 the environment became a marketable concern, with demand for eco-products soaring ever since. Now representing 65% of our sales despite the downturn, the environment remains high on the business and consumer agenda.
“This increased awareness has generated a need for alternative products, with branded eco-bags an effective platform to not only highlight a brands message, but also its commitment to the environment and CSR, limiting the environmental impact of promotional activity; adding value and increasing brand credibility.
“All of our eco-bags have been sourced to meet our strict environmental standards. It depends on the product a client chooses as to how and why it is environmentally sound, but all our eco-bags are 100% reusable.
“A good example is our cotton shopper range. We handpick factories that are both SEDEX members and Fairtrade accredited. This means we know the conditions the bags have been produced in. We know for example, that all employees have access to union representation, with strict working hours, mandatory breaks and monitored, healthy working environments.
“The secure ethical data exchange that SEDEX membership provides allows us to investigate the supply chain as a whole, from the cotton grower to the manufacturer. It gives us full traceability, enabling us to make confident, ethical buying choices.
“This knowledge is not only important to ensure we meet our own ethical standards, but because we can provide our clients with a guarantee that their products have been ethically produced as well as being environmentally sound.
“A promotional bag may say it’s green, but just how eco-friendly is it when you factor in how the materials have been produced, where they’ve come from and how they got to you? It is these questions that our clients ask and it is our responsibility to ensure we answer them fully and legitimately.
“There is no doubt this trend will continue, with ethical, eco-products playing a long standing role in the future of the promotional industry. The only unknown is the extent of this role and how much of the market it will occupy.”
For further information on the UK’s leading importers and stockists of unbranded promotional, paper carrier & eco-bags, please call on 01892 752 154 or visit us at www.crazybags.co.uk.
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