DECE MBE R 2 018
NAME BRAND YEARLY RECAP Like many, 2018 was a good year for Name Brand Promotions. While it is normal to base success on revenues, and ours were strong, we made great strides in building the infrastructure and improving our process for success. We are realistic that we could not achieve these things without the loyal support of our clients and we promise to never take that for granted. We also understand we could not constantly push to exceed expectations without our staff, to whom we are grateful.
I was asked to highlight some of 2018‘s memorable projects. I am reluctant to do that because we treat each client’s order/ project with a high priority so if you don’t see your name please don’t feel less
valuable. To keep this focused I have opted to reflect on projects that utilized all of our resources and all of our strengths. 2018 was Micron’s 40th Anniversary and they put on quite a celebration. Part of that was supplying a gift to every employee in each of their worldwide offices. We were fortunate enough to be chosen as their gift partner and it was one of the projects where everyone stepped up and things simply clicked! The project touched all of our pillars of the business which included collaboration of ideation, creation of design, innovation of producing specs to custom manufacturing and finally to large scale fulfillment.
For the second year in a row Hilton Grand Vacations put us to the task of delivering an individual gift to 38,000 home addresses of their EEE Elite members all over the world. Like the Micron project it involved collaboration of ideas to fast creative design and fulfillment. I would love to share the project details, but this newsletter may be delivered before the project so let’s say it is an interactive gift that inspires customers to utilize the HGV product that is packaged memorably. Another project for the HGV that I would like to mention is in our annual order of custom padfolio gifts for new members. Years ago, when we developed the padfolios we included (on the suggestion of our
forward-thinking buyer) a location to hold a USB. This year we were able to use it by running a small test order (6,000+) of USB’s that will be inserted in the padfolio to take the place of the 200 page (plus) catalogs. If this test run goes well HGV will not only cut the cost of printing and fulfillment but will do its part in saving the environment with less paper use. Many more projects come to mind like our involvement in producing all the giveaways for the Overstock annual employee concert. I am close to the events team and they allowed me to come down and be a part of the event, which I did with my wife, and as a VIP (doesn’t happen often) was a highlight. CHG Healthcare gave us the opportunity
to create their gifts and fulfill them in Hawaii for their annual Presidents Club trip which rewards their top performers. We were proud to once again (3rd year in a row) come up with the product, design it and deliver Selecthealth’s annual enrollment gift for St Luke’s in Idaho. Idaho Central Credit Union expanded their yearly promotional products order with us again in 2018 and it was exciting to see all of our product at events in Idaho throughout the year. It is an honor to be a part of a few of Albertson Foundation’s great causes like Mission 43 every year and then Buck the Quo in 2018. The Buck the Quo project helped reminds us of the lengths we will go to deliver on time product. It also helped us launch a
new product line of magnet boxes that have been a big hit and highlight our packaging capabilities. I can go on and on bragging about our clients and the projects they allow us to work on but if you are like me, I enjoy reading short stories rather than novels. NBP learned a lot in 2018. We learned what we are really good at, what our clients’ needs are and how great our team is when we work together to exceed our clients and our own expectations. We spent the last quarter reflecting on what we learned and implementing ways to build on it to assure an equally successful 2019. Thank you to all of our clients and staff for the great year.
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT I trust that everyone that knows of Name Brand knows that we are obsessed with branded product and merchandise. Heck, our controller spent 6 years studing design trends in sports apparel design prior to joining Name Brand (check out the page he subscribes to: https://uni-watch.com/).
This passion leads to us poring through new ideas or trends and asking how we measure up to this task. At the start of 2018, we locked into the idea of bringing more diversity to our brand.
Not only would it force us to break the one color, one location mindset that hinders our industry, but it would also bring a freshness and vibrancy that equates to what promotional product should be to its core – fun and engaging. Wait, did Rhys just say that promo was fun and engaging? Damn Straight I did! This decision led to a collaboration with Lincoln Design, who embody a creative first mindset. Their swag game is also as tight as it comes.
Our collaboration, led to Dan’s team reworking a series of designs which we will start to introduce to our brand throughout 2019. Keep an eye out for the giveaways we will be offering with these designs! Here are some of the items we made for them. I want you to pay close attention to how ‘everyday’ these items are… yet how well they are executed. The magic sauce here, is that creativity through design leads to great promotional product.
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH The product, well set of products, for December are two drinkware pieces, one coffee cup and one stein glass, and a creativity kit that includes a notebook, pen, and pencil. The product of the month is usually considered something big, exciting, or doesn’t generally fall into the ‘normal promo item’ category. This month, however, we are choosing a set of items that were produced for Lincoln Design Comapny. At face value these pieces
could be consider boring but, we are emphasizing the quality of design. Even though this is a set of very practical items, we chose to feature this set because we love showing that great design can make a seemingly boring item very cool and desirable.
BEHIND THE SCENES At the end of November, Danny, Kevin, and Laura were able to go to Palm Springs, Florida to visit with one of our clients, Retreat. Retreat Premier Addiction Treatment Centers provides rehabilitation services to residents across the country and are dedicated to giving their patients a smooth transition back into society. Their facility and services are top-of-the-line, but how they currently brand themselves isn’t nearly at the same level. Their mission and goal as a company is a commendable one, and we wanted to make sure their brand is in the position to help them reach people who are struggling with addiction.
When we put Retreat’s printed materials together to compare them, we saw one consistent theme; their design and message wasn’t very consistent at all. One of the most important parts of building a brand that people can learn about and trust is a brand that they can easily recognize. Each of these pieces were full of redundant text, confusing points, and ultimately, an overwhelming amount of text to give someone who is seeking immediate help and information. This theme carried over into visual areas as well as it was prevalent in their color scheme, layout, and design elements. We decided that inconsistency is the biggest hurdle that we had to get over.
Our three key elements going into this redesign were: consistent look, consistent message, and a “less is more” ideology. A consistent look was handled by creating a booklet of brand style guides so that there is an established “rulebook” for how to best represent Retreat. The guide lists a color scheme, fonts to use, and even what images to use were established. All of these were put to use in new print materials by also using a grid so any layout inconsistencies were fixed. We discussed and focused their message so that the readers weren’t overwhelmed with different options and prioritized clear call-to-actions. Finally, to help us achieve a consistent message, we’re striving for
only necessary elements such as the logo, vital details and services, and a call-to-action. Using only what we need in a design, or “less is more”, will improve the quality of information shown and how it is going to be delivered. Using these three key points, we know that their new material will be more readable, eye-catching, and will deliver information more efficiently than ever before. Building a brand that is easily recognized can help Retreat reach a wider audience and get in touch with those who need their help the most.
THE MONTH IN PHOTOS
follow us
facebook instagram