There’s more to promotional branding than just putting your logo on branded merchandise. There are often times advanced logistics and information exchange in even the most basic of promotional programs – and these complicated programs can be greatly simplified using advanced technologies. What types of technologies your organization can benefit from is dependant upon your needs, and in this article we will outline several types of electronic platforms that Powertex Group offers which can help you simplify your promotional marketing program and increase brand exposure.

How Do I Distribute Goods to My Staff and/or Corporate Partners?

As was noted in the introduction, even the simplest programs can present extreme challenges and logistics hurdles when planning the final implementation. One such program design challenge that we often run into with our clients is how to get the proper amount of products and/or uniforms to those who need them. You have to take into account inventories, production issues, sourcing, warehousing, as well as the fulfillment chain. In addition, you need to have a proper trail that lends for proper accountability and reconciliation at the end of the day.

Tracking all of these individual components can be vastly simplified by an integrated, online ordering system. This system is essentially a product database which allows restricted access to approved members. The approved parties can log in to order items directly online, process the order, and request customer support. From there, the item request can be either approved or declined by your program managers. Once approved, the order is then forwarded to the Powertex Group staff for direct fulfillment or production. Product inventories are adjusted in real-time, the goods are shipped out , and the ordering party is sent a shipment confirmation automatically.

This program model provides a simple way to monitor, track, and fulfill direct orders while leaving an accountable trail and record of each transaction. The built-in reporting tools can ensure that your team is able to effectively monitor and manage your program spend.

There’s got to be an Easier Way to Reach My Clients!

Another major promotional branding program hurdle we run into often with your clients is how to cost-effectively sell and promote your promotional goods online. E-commerce is a great tool for offering your clients the ability to purchase your branded goods online, but that are a lot of hidden costs, human resources, and logistics that need to be addressed in order to run a successful online store. There need to be dedicated trained customer service and support representatives in place, there need to be established ”Service Level” protocols for each program issue and resolution possibility, and there needs to be a solid fulfillment and inventory management structure in place.

All of these things can be costly to implement, and Powertex Group has solved this by building the e-commerce infrastructure and offering managed, low-cost and free e-commerce solutions to our clients. By building the proper infrastructure and managing a large volume of stores, we can effectively build and manage a more ample, more efficient, and more accountable e-commerce system for less. Plus, we can customize your e-commerce program to your needs via our in-house developer staff in order to provide you with the program design and functionality that will fit your needs.

I’ve Got My Products, and My Store. Now What?

Powertex provides a wide variety of clientele with e-commerce merchandising and marketing solutions. Every day, we use high technology e-marketing tools to help our clients sell products to their customers. We combine technologies such as electronic gift certificates, coupon codes, email blasts, and detailed website visitor behavior analytics to garner sales.

Powertex Group takes an active role in the electronic marketing on behalf of our clients. We build and compile CAN-SPAM compliant, opt-in email lists, deploy targeted email campaigns, and measure conversion rates and sales numbers. We also work with many of our clients to offer electronic cross-promotions and social media communications. We also reach out to clients using advanced, online customer satisfaction surveys in order to gauge your clients’ satisfaction and gather valuable feedback and suggestions on your promotional program. Through the use of various interconnecting technologies, we have been able to help many of our clients grow their sales and cost-effectively maximize their promotional marketing investment.

If you have a promotional marketing or branding program that isn’t quite living up to its potential, let us help. We can analyze your programs, free of charge, to see what kinds of technological solutions we can implement to solve your program accountability issues, logistics, labor investment, or marketing potential. Grow your promotional programs and brand presence with smart solutions from Powertex.

To learn more on how you can maximize your promotional marketing budget through the use of online marketing technology, contact Powertex today at: Phone (800) 588-7111 Email: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Spring is in the air. All across America folks have been pulling out the warm weather clothes and getting outside. From concerts, to festivals, to sporting events, people are doing things outdoors. This presents an excellent opportunity for many organizations to maximize their reach and interact with their customers in unique ways. In this month’s article, we will discuss various ways in which you can take advantage of outdoor event opportunities to engage your audience.

A Smorgasbord of Events

The first thing to consider when eyeing up outdoor events in order to promote your organization is to consider the vast amount of opportunities that exist. The following are just a few of the available options: festivals,  parades, charity walks/runs, sporting events, fairs, auto and air shows, farmers’ markets, concerts, holiday events and more… The point is that there are loads of opportunities, and with a little research, you can be sure to find at least one event type that will provide a valuable avenue for you to promote your organization.

Not only are there a wide variety of opportunities, but there are many different ways to get your name out there too. For example, for charity events, you can do something as simple as become an official sponsor and get your logo on all of the event merchandise and marketing materials. You could also reserve a booth and have a team there to talk with customers and hand out promos. Or, depending on the type of event, you could just have a roaming band of representatives to “work the crowd” and hand out promotional gifts. Be creative, and don’t be afraid to combine different engagement tactics to maximize your investment.

Get Out and Engage

The thing that makes outdoor events a unique opportunity is that people generally are not in a hurry. Most of the time, they are there to relax and have fun. If you can get their attention, you can actually engage them more easily on an individual level in order to educate them about your product or service. There are very few other settings that allow for the level of personal contact and face-time that a weekend event presents. Not only that, but it allows the customer to see the human side of your organization. You can give them an opportunity to put a smiling face to a logo or a name.

Get out and engage your customers, talk to them, shake hands, give them incentives, and take the opportunity to develop lasting contacts. Try not to let them walk away without giving you some way to keep in contact. This way, once the event is over, you can come back to that client and continue to cultivate your relationship.

Consider the Time, Theme, and Setting

You want a successful event? Be absolutely sure to avoid one-size-fits-all approaches to choosing promotional gifts at events. There are a number of things you can do to increase your chance of success when you take these variables into account. For instance, an afternoon event in the dog days in July; you could make a great impression by bringing can coolers, personal cooling fans, or sun blockers. A nighttime concert event might go better with glo-sticks or l.e.d. light promotions. Or, if you have a sporting event in a stadium, thunder sticks, or stadium seat cushion giveaways would likely go over exceedingly well with the crowd. The idea is to design your promotion to match the event, rather than just sticking to what has worked previously in order to get the most out of your promotional budget.

Outdoor events can offer your organization a fast track to meeting new customers and develop lasting relationships. If you have not previously considered marketing at events like the ones listed above, we can help you take advantage of this potential area for growth. For more information on how Powertex Group can help you maximize your live event presence and help you meet more clients, please call us at: (800) 588-7111, or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

“What type of promotional program does my organization really need? Should I go with a resale (or retail) program, or a program focused around providing free giveaways? Should I do both?” Many organizations struggle with these types of questions, and simply understanding the differences and different applications can lead to a clearer understanding of what to use when. This article will strive to define a clear separation between the two different models, and briefly cover the applications of each.

Resale programs

Resale items are typically utilized by pre-established brands with loyal audiences and/or large networks that can be used to monetize brand growth through the purchase and resale of branded promotional products to your audience. Taking advantage of established brand power can lead, in certain cases, to an alternate revenue stream as well as continued brand visibility and growth.

These programs can also be used to effectively control brand standards and resell items to a national or international network of your brand locations. They are often employed by brands with large dealer communities in order to ensure that all the dealer locations can quickly and cost-effectively purchase consistently-branded, cost effective promotionally branded goods.

The most important thing to establish before committing to a retail line of goods is to establish what the potential market is for your goods. Certain industries tend to lend themselves more favorably to these types of solutions; outdoor/recreation, beverage, automotive, technology, certain food brands, music/media, charity, travel, and professional sports for just a few examples. It is important to remember that not all companies and brands lend themselves to die-hard fan followings who want to buy your branded merchandise.
As was mentioned above, one of the major advantages of these types of programs may be in the added element of national/international control over your brand and brand image. One of the challenges that many national or global organizations face is how to use volume to reduce overall prices while keeping your promotional items consistent across all locations. Rather than using these types of programs as an alternate revenue stream, they use it to centrally resell high-quality, cost effective, brand-controlled goods to their various locations. Many times, they choose to integrate co-op, or managed spend solutions in order to stimulate and assure participation.

Promotional Giveaway Programs

Promotional giveaway programs are typically used for new market penetration purposes and for bringing in new customers and/or increase the satisfaction of current customers. These are more ubiquitous and are often used by established brands as well as new and aggressive brands in order to stimulate and perpetuate growth. Whereas resale programs are typically designed to provide either a positive revenue stream, or a self-sustaining revenue stream, these types of programs are typically aimed at stimulating revenue growth indirectly. They typically focus on incenting your client base to purchase our product or service or by growing your marketing base through freebies and giveaways in exchange for customer action or contact/opt-in information.

These types of programs are and can be used by all types of organizations in all sorts of environments. It is not necessary to have an established brand and/or fan base to use these types of programs with much success. Whether at an event, through a free gift promotion, or as part of a lead generation program, they are proven to be effective at creating opportunities for interaction and growing brand identity with your audience. These types of programs are also very useful for customer and employee satisfaction/retention programs. In the case of employee programs, giveaway programs can increase productivity, grow retention, reduce accidents, and increase overall job satisfaction. For your customers, they can grow sales and improve conversion rates, as well as increase consumer confidence in your brand.

The most important thing to remember is that these types of programs can be difficult to nail down the return on investment (ROI) if designed improperly. The success or failure of each promotion depends solely on how much they help you grow your product or service sales. Since there is no direct revenue stream, you have to design these programs from the ground up to provide valuable feedback and customer conversion data. Once you are in a position to be able to gather your critical data, and can assign a dollar value to each promotional item given, you are in the powerful position of having the ability to effectively manage your spend in relation to your ROI. It is from there you can truly understand the effectiveness of each giveaway program dollar in your budget.

Companies often use multiple models and initiatives in order to stimulate growth though multiple channels and market segments. In fact, the two types of initiatives discussed above can often be combined in and cross-marketed in any ways to extend the synergy, reach, and overall success of each. For more information on how Powertex Group can help you effectively choose the proper programs for your brand-growth initiatives, and how we can put them to work for your organization, please call us at: (800) 588-7111, or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Trying to build your own online company store can be quite the endeavor, since most organizations just are not equipped to deploy their own online company store without a significant time and money investment. Fortunately, there exist simple, no-cost alternatives that can get your company store up and running quickly and efficiently. Companies like Powertex Group can handle everything from start to finish, and can lend their program experience to making your company store as successful as possible without the risk of it becoming a cost center for your organization. This article will cover the services that Powertex Group includes at no cost in its company store programs and how they can make your program a success.

Product Line Development/Sourcing /Production

Powertex Group’s professional creative and merchandising experts can assist your organization in designing your corporate clothing and accessories line from the ground up. If you can dream it, we can make a reality, with professional artists who know how to get the results you are looking for and long-term sourcing relationships with companies that can produce almost any type of promotional product imaginable. Add to that our ability to quickly order and decorate clothing items in our “Just-In-Time” facility, and you have the perfect partner in providing your branded product line.

Online Store Development, Launch, Maintenance

We offer several levels of service for the online store models for our clients. Most of our Powertex company store partners are a perfect fit for our “PTX Mall” online store model, which is a completely turn-key PCI-compliant platform that offers a high level of flexibility and simplicity, while keeping program costs low and allowing for rapid program deployment. Your online store will come with a custom-designed theme that will fit your branding profile. All web site setup, design and branding, maintenance, and product photography/setup is free for basic service. We also offer additional program customizations as well as a completely customizable enterprise-level online store solution as well.

Program Distribution/Warehousing/Logistics

Simplify your distribution chain and program logistics with a managed company store program. Many organizations have multi-channel distribution and supply chain needs, and Powertex Group are experts at designing programs that get your products where you need them to go. Whether you have one corporate location, or 50 corporate locations, we can develop a program that will fit your needs through creative distribution programs, location-based budget/spend programs, and tiered pricing options.

We manage inventory internally through our LEAN inventory management system which keep inventories low while ensuring adequate coverage for your day-to-day needs. We help to find the right inventory amounts that will make your program the most profitable.

Customized Reports/Billing/Accountability

Get the metrics you need to measure your program’s success. Powertex Group works with your team to develop custom program reports and accountable sales history reports so you can have the right metrics in front of you in order to best gauge how your program is doing. We also work directly with your accounting staff to make sure that the billing and reconciliation process is as simple as possible, thus making program management a snap for your internal team.

Program Marketing, Customer Support and Promotions

It takes much more than just having an online company store to ensure its success. Powertex Group supports our company store with live, dedicated customer support via phone and email. In addition, we also work with your partners to produce and distribute marketing materials. We accomplish this through a variety of methods including: working through our clients’ existing marketing channels (i.e. internal newsletters and existing publications), building and maintaining Opt-In email lists, inbound/outbound calling campaigns, and distributing printed materials such as paycheck stuffers and printed catalogs.

Many of our clients have found the Powertex Group Company Store program to be the perfect value proposition, due to its full service nature and no-cost bottom line. From start to finish, these turn-key solutions are built to simplify the design, development, merchandising, warehousing, and fulfillment of you corporate branded merchandise. For more information on Powertex Group’s Online Company Store Program, and how we can put it to work for your organization, please call us at: (800) 588-7111, or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

This month we would like to highlight one of our value added services that gives our clients a distinct advantage in growing and promoting their brands; Powertex Creative Services.

Powertex Group takes pride in its ability to build brands and produce creative solutions for its clients. Our Creative Department keeps their fresh edge by staying on top of both the latest trends and the technologies used to implement them. From digital to print mediums, our Creative Team can help you build an all-encompassing promotional campaign that will help to promote your image and your expertise with: custom designed garments, custom headwear, customized promotional giveaways (such as pens, mugs, umbrellas, key chains, bags etc…), online stores, promotional emails, and branded catalogs. Read on for a more detailed description of our creative services;

Creativity – Our full service creative department has brought the “wow” factor to countless brands over the years; all while expertly maintaining each of our clients’ carefully constructed brand identities. Our in-house artists have the knowledge, experience, and ability to represent your brand at its best. Powertex Group’s in-house team of artists knows the screen print industry, as well as the latest trends. We can put our creative and technical printing skills to work for you in producing the latest in specialty screen print and embroidery technology.

Scalability – Whether you need to source a single item or a full line of private-labeled apparel and accessories, our winning combination of procurement experts and experienced creative staff can create a promotional products line that keeps your brand out front and in focus. One of the advantages of having a fully staffed in-house team is that our organizations can quickly and easily accommodate everything from simple art reworks to full-scale promotional campaign design.

Premium Identity Services – Powertex Group offers a number of creative services that help close the loop on your branding initiatives. Many of our clients demand a higher end retail-level identity experience for their branding initiatives, and we can accommodate. From private labeled merchandise to customized bagging and packaging, we keep your brand in front of your clients with end-to-end custom branded solutions.

Custom Catalog, Email, and Printed Promotional Material Services – When you need to keep your brand in front of your clients, you can rely on Powertex Group’s Creative services to provide top-notch materials of all kinds. We can design, print, and distribute your custom branded catalogs, banners, event displays, table tents, brochures and more. We can also help build your audience through targeted, professionally produced email marketing campaigns.

Custom E-Commerce and Email Marketing Campaigns – We consider our organizations to be industry leaders in technology, design, and application development. Not only that, but we can create carefully constructed online applications that enhance your brand by not only highlighting your brand identity, but providing a positive online experience for your customers. We feature experienced dedicated digital and online design specialists that work hand-in-hand with our print specialists to coordinate the online and printed branding efforts.

Through it all, our Creative Team follows one simple rule; the client’s brand always come first. We work hard to ensure that we keep within the guidelines of your brand’s identity while at the same time pushing it to its full potential. Trust in Powertex to help you design, layout, source, and produce top quality promotional products. For more information on Powertex Group’s Creative services, and how we can employ them to help build and grow your brand, please call us at: (800) 588-7111, or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Your clients are the lifeblood of your business. They are the foundation of your company’s existence, and the reason you are able to open your doors in the morning. Only with their patronage can your company continue to grow and be successful, and the holidays are the perfect time of the year to show your clients that you appreciate them. Businesses who know the importance of promotional holiday gifts don’t have to be told the importance of deepening existing relationships with your current customer base.

During the holiday season, the tendency of many companies is to focus purely on new client acquisitions. While it is important to plan for the future, don’t forget the customers you already have a relationship with. For most businesses, one single loyal customer can have a lot of value over time, so it goes without saying that customer retention is as if not more essential than new client acquisition to the growth of your organization. Of course there are many elements to building good client relations, many of which need to be nurtured year-round to be successful.

There are many holiday promotional item options available; something to match most any budget. The key is to make your gift both thoughtful as well as something they will appreciate and use. Meat/cheese and candy trays are one of the best holiday promotional gift options because they usually go home to the family to enjoy, or end up a tasty office treat to be shared by many people. Plus, companies who have implemented even the most strict gift policies often allow  food items.

Calendars are a great and utilitarian year-round reminder of your appreciation. Pens and pencils, notepads, and padfolios are great for executives, and there are almost limitless options available for each of these selections. Even a simple hand written, customized greeting card can express thanks if your holiday budget is tight. Whatever you give, the important thing is to let your customes know that you are thinking of them, and that you appreciate their patronage.

Another thing to consider when brainstorming Holiday gift ideas is longevity. When you give a gift to show your appreciation to a customer, you want it to last. Gifts like gift cards, cash, or coupons, tend to get spent quickly, and forgotten soon after. Promotional items tend to stay around and serve as reminders of your organization’s appreciation throughout the year. Customized gifts and personalized gifts also give more of a special feeling to the person who receives them. Leaving a lasting impression on your customer is essential, and your holiday promotional item should serve towards accomplishing this goal.

This holiday season, let Powertex help you show your appreciation to your clients through custom holiday promotional items. Our knowledgeable and helpful sales representatives can help you design a program to fit your budget. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Most organizations make use of branded promotional items on a regular basis, while very few organizations take advantage of private labeling for their garments and caps. Private labeling can add a level of professionalism and high-end retail feel that can greatly enhance your branded efforts for minimal added cost in most cases. Whether you are looking for stronger sense of brand identity, or looking to build a completely new brand; private labeling can be the final piece of the puzzle that gives you something to build your branded efforts around.

More than Just Custom Tags –

On the surface, private labeling could be looked at as being as simple as throwing a custom-branded label inside or on the back/sleeve of a garment. In truth, private labeling really is a launch pad that allows you an incredible amount of latitude in promoting, marketing, and growing your program. It instantly adds a certain level of legitimacy, adds value, and creates the perception that the line is truly custom and exclusive. It also creates a branded name that you can more easily position for marketing and/or promotions. Take, for example, a

private labeled name like Macy’s ‘Alfani’ brand which features a line of modern and professional wear including: tailored clothing, sportswear, intimate apparel, jewelry, shoes and accessories. They have managed to be very aggressive with the marketing and growth of this brand by creating an unique brand image around the mark; while simultaneously creating an image of exclusivity and specialized identity that is completely separate from the main Macy’s brand.

Another example of a private label success story is the Mathews Solocam apparel line. Rather than separate their brand name from the products, they have chosen to stamp their custom line of private label goods with their own brand name for an added level of exclusivity. They have been very careful to construct their branded apparel and headwear line to closely match their core brand. In their case, they market their private label brand in close conjunction with their other products; thus using their private labeled items as a clever way to reinforce the brand though everyday lifestyle usage. This has led to increased sales through the apparel program as well as greater brand reach.

Private Labeling Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive Or Difficult –

It doesn’t take a ton of volume to make private labeling make sense financially. It will add some cost, and the higher the volume the lower that cost will obviously be. It is not for everybody and every situation, but the point is that it is generally more accessible then most people realize. It is always recommended consulting a competent promotional branding company before getting too deep into researching whether or not to private label. They will be able to more easily navigate the many private label decoration and supply chain options.

At the end of the day the greatest hurdle to overcome, more than pricing issues, are often supply-chain and logistics issues. Often, private labeling can increased lead times as well the number of stops along the supply chain. This can often lead to indirect cost increases such as higher shipping costs and higher inventory costs. These issues, costs, and risks can often be minimized with the proper industry know-how, which is why it is highly recommended to consult a qualified promotional provider before getting into private labeling. A good provider will have the connections and supply-chain network in place to minimize supply interruptions and potential cost increases.

Whether you are looking to create a new line, or enhance your current brand with a line of branded merchandise with a pre-existing mark, Powertex Group can help. We have experience helping our clients build everything from small simple brand-enhancing private label lines, to full independent retail apparel and accessory lines. Whatever your private label branding goals, we can help you get there. For more information on creating a private labeled line of apparel and headwear, please call us at: (800) 588-7111, or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Your employees are your most important resource: their appearance and dress can make a profound impact on their ability to provide the service and productivity you depend on to make your organization successful. This is the third and final part in our three part series on what to consider when developing employee uniforms to meet your needs. The three articles cover the three most important components of any uniform program: Part 1. Uniform look and branding, Part 2. Uniform design as it affects productivity, Part 3. Uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics. Read on for tips on how to successfully source and fulfill your uniform programs.

Establish Your Needs –

In order to properly design your supply and fulfillment chain, the first thing to do is fully establish your uniform needs from the perspective of understanding: who needs what uniform goods, how much volume you will consume annually, as well as what fulfillment infrastructure you need in place to get your items to your corporate locations/ employees. All of these needs will be dependant upon your corporate structure, the number of corporate locations, the number of total employees in your organization, what sorts of work your employees do and so on. Obviously, the complexity of the above combination of factors will differ for each organization.

The reason that understanding all of these factors is so important is that they will significantly impact everything from garment choice, to pricing, to inventory levels (read inventory costs), and to  your chosen shipping methods. The end goal of this portion of planning your uniform sourcing and fulfillment chain is to end up with a proper high-level map that will help you understand what available options will allow you to provide the most value and flexibility in your program.

Flexibility Versus Savings –

There is a direct correlation between volume and cost savings. It is possible to leverage high-volume purchasing power through sourcing and production overseas. Savings of 40-60 percent are not uncommon when compared to the costs of domestic production. Plus, it is much more affordable to develop and produce completely-custom uniform pieces overseas. There are two things to remember, however, when considering offshore sourcing: a.) overseas sourcing requires much larger minimum orders (typically in the thousands) and b.) overseas sourcing typically requires lead times of 90-120 days. Domestic lead times, by comparison, typically range from 48 hour to 15 days.

Which options you choose will need to be based on your total annual consumption. For most companies, sourcing an entire uniform line is out of the question due to the high inventory levels it would require. Oftentimes, the solution is best approached by identifying which items will have the highest turn/consumption rates and source those. Items that do not have a high turn rate, or change frequently, can then be domestically sourced to reduce inventory costs and maintain program flexibility.

Minimizing Inventory Costs and Maximizing Program Value –

One of the major mistakes many companies make is to order too much of either one item, or a combination of items in the quest to capitalize on volume purchase opportunities. What typically happens in these cases is the customer is forced to sit on these items until they are used up. This causes several serious problems: a.) Inventory costs build over time, thus undercutting the initial cost savings b.) The organization is prevented from being able to change or update its uniform program, even if the look is outdated with the current company image c.) The organization has a difficult time finding a new promotional partner who will help with program in which there is a plethora of pre-existing inventory (there is no money in helping a company move inventory that was not purchased through them). It is not uncommon to find an organization that is trapped in a situation where they are bleeding money in held inventory, wearing three year-old uniforms with outdated logos, and stuck with their vendor who pushed them to over purchase (and many vendors WILL push you to over purchase).

The way to overcome this is, as was previously stated, to really understand your program’s usage patterns and consequent purchase needs. Once you get a handle on these factors, the only remaining task is to adjust your sourcing patterns to as closely match your usage patterns as possible. Keeping your inventory lean while keeping ample inventories for your immediate usage can save significant dollars in the long run. Plus, if you have, enough inventory to keep your uniforms stocked for the next 90 days, you know you are always within 90 days of being able to update your entire line should your marketing department decide to redo the entire corporate look. Maximizing value is often more than just saving money up front. Also if you should decide to switch vendors, it will be much easier to leverage your position without 18 months of inventory on-hand. You always have to consider the long-term costs and consequences involved in your buying patterns, and try to balance those against short-term savings.

Get Your Uniforms Where They Need To Go –

One-location organizations are generally pretty simple to manage from a fulfillment perspective. It is when you are looking at multi-location or even multi-national organizations that the complexity increases. Typically, these sorts of solutions will involve a combination of different shipping methods and distribution patterns. For illustration let’s say, a multi-national organization needs uniform garments shipped to Central Europe, Russia, the U.S. and Canada. In this example the organization has distribution centers in Russia the U.S, and office locations in Central Europe and Canada. One solution would be to arrange for overseas sourced uniform goods for Europe and Russia to be shipped directly to the Russian Distribution center, whereas the US promotional partner would service all U.S. and Canadian orders. In addition, for lower-volume goods, the U.S. promotional partner would organize quarterly consolidated orders of lower-volume products for the Russian and Central European locations, thus being able to proactively stock uniform items to those locations while defraying volume and shipping/tariff costs to the overseas locations.

The above example is just one possible solution to the problem, there are other, more flexible options available, but again, flexibility and cost often come in direct proportion to one another. The final choice will always be dependant on your needs as an organization. What is most important in this regard is to find a promotional partner who truly understands the complexities of both large and small scale distribution channels in order to help you maximize your program’s value and meet your needs.

There are many factors to take into account when developing a uniform program for your organization, and each organization is unique in its needs. The trick is not to just create a uniform program, but to create on that provides the most value for the money in the areas of branding, productivity, and flexibility. For more information on what to consider when designing and developing your next line of uniform goods, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Your employees are your most important resource: their appearance and dress can make a profound impact on their ability to provide the service and productivity you depend on to make your organization successful. This is the second part in our three part series on what to consider when developing employee uniforms to meet your needs. The three articles cover the three most important components of any uniform program: Part 1. Uniform look and branding, Part 2. Uniform design as it affects productivity, Part 3. Uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics. Read on for more about how uniform design can vastly affect your employee productivity.

The mental aspect –

This aspect is often the most overlooked of all uniform design considerations, yet can have as much, if not more impact on a person’s job than any other consideration. In the previous article, we touched briefly on how the customer uses visual queues to identify members of your organization’s roles subconsciously. This works the other way around as well. When you employees slip into their uniform, they are slipping into a role. How well the uniform is designed can play a critical role in how that person is perceived in their uniform, and can thus significantly impact their ability to fulfill that role.

The nursing profession is currently, on the whole, moving away from the starched white nurses robes to more soft-looking patterned and colorful garb. This allows the nurse to feel more approachable and friendly, while still being easily recognized as a nurse. This can lead to less of a frightening or cold outward appearance, especially with children, thus making it easier to interact on a more comfortable personal level with their clients.

Police and uniformed guard companies around the world are constantly researching uniform cut/style and coloration as a way to improve their daily interactions with people. For example, wearing commando-style pants and darker blue or black colors, forces can appear more mysterious and authoritative. On the other hand, wearing lighter blues with a cleaner cut can give off a more approachable, less commanding vibe. By changing their uniform appearance, these organizations can better define their presence and image within their respective communities. Communities in certain areas would reject a more authoritarian tone, while others may benefit form it.

Uniforms have been used since time immemorial to convey a sense of belonging, a team atmosphere, and to inspire confidence. Uniforms can help to bring coherence to the outward physical appearance of your staff, as well as enhance the sense of unity and pride in being involved in a professional team. In fact, studies have been performed that show there is absolutely no correlation between the amount of customer contact an individual has and the positive effects of professional uniforms. This means that the uniforms themselves had a positive impact through serving to reinforce the professional role of the individual.

Make it comfortable –

When designing your uniform line, be sure to pay serious attention to garment comfort. Spending a few extra buck s on your employee uniforms can yield high returns in attitude and productivity.

First of all, you have to make sure your garments allow your employees to move effectively. There are many styles of uniforms and garments, some more restrictive from a movement standpoint than others. You want to be sure that your employees will never have to “fight” with the uniform while performing their duties. For example, if one’s job duties include a lot of stooping and heavy lifting, you want to make sure the uniform pants will fit relatively loosely; in order for the person to squat, bend, and lift effectively. Kitchen and wait staffs, on the other hand, typically need lots of movement in the upper body area. They often need to stretch their arms and shoulders to do their job duties. A uniform shirt that is too tight can be very costly in both employee attitude and efficiency lost.

Many job duties may need multiple uniform sets to meet changing or seasonal temperature conditions. What works in January, may be horribly uncomfortable in July. Plan ahead for these changing conditions and provide our employees with seasonal options if necessary.

Jobs such as kitchen or outdoor summer wait staff, who constantly are in hotter conditions often benefit greatly from modern moisture wicking, breathable fabrics. These types of fabrics, while generally more expensive, can help keep your staff amiable and professional in the heat.

When cold weather strikes, be sure to be prepared. Oftentimes, organizations forget that there are more than two seasons; winter and summer. There is typically a wide range of variation in between, and there are many options between a summer tee and a winter jacket. Designing your uniform schemes to be easily layered can be extremely utilitarian in these cases. For example, a uniform could consist of a long-sleeve shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and a lightweight jacket for spring and fall weather. In the morning, the employee could wear all three layers and take them off as the day heats up in order to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Practical and functional –

The third important piece in affecting your employees’ productivity is in functionality. Safety, fabric choice, and construction all can be directly linked to your organizations’ success. Subtle changes in these three uniform aspects can have significant impact on how well equipped your staff is to do their job.

No matter what the job is, safety is always a factor. In jobs around heavy machinery, you will want to ensure that there is no loose fabric that could be potentially caught up in the machinery. In construction or warehousing jobs, where there is heavy equipment present, you will want to make sure that the uniforms are colored so as to make the employee highly visible. Reflective materials aid in this regard as well. Non-slip shoes, protective eyewear hard hats, and gloves all can play an important role in safety.

Fabric choice can play an important role in safety as well. New, anti-bacterial fabrics can be an important tool in preventing food contamination and/or laboratory contamination. In certain jobs flame-retardant or chemical retardant uniform fabrics can serve to protect your workers as well.

The fabric you chose can have more impact than just from a safety standpoint, however. Jobs such as mechanics or janitorial positions can come into contact with grease, oil, dirt and cleaning materials. Choosing a fabric that repels such things is imperative in these jobs in order to ensure both longevity and proper appearance. In addition you want to be sure that in jobs where there are repetitive movements, you get a fabric that does not irritate. Pay special attention to the collars, sleeves, shoulder/armpit areas as these are several areas where skin irritation can be quite common.

The final piece to consider when designing your uniforms is general functionality. Things like placement of pockets, the size of pockets for certain tasks, sleeve design, and ease of wearing can be incredibly important in day-to-day activities. For this part, you will want to observe the general tasks your employees perform on a daily basis. Could they use an extra pocket? Where could it be placed? What are they using their current pockets for? Do they need closures for their pockets? Are certain existing uniform elements not being utilized, and why? After observing your employees, what sorts of things do they struggle with in regards to their uniforms? A perfect, yet common example of one of these types of struggles is in the food industry. Often it will happen that the uniform look will take precedence over the function, and the sleeves will be made too large. What will commonly occur is kitchen and wait staff will end up with their sleeves brushing or dipping into the food. In this particular example, this results in not only lost time, but increased food waste, as well as a potential bad experience for the customer (longer wait times, possible food contamination, seeing dirty sleeves on the staff, etc…).

Check in next month for the final entry into our uniform series as we continue with a look at how uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics. We will look at how your choices in designing your sourcing and distribution channels can significantly affect your uniform program. Until then, for more information on what to consider when designing and developing your next line of uniform goods, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Your employees are your most important resource, and their appearance and dress can make a profound impact on their ability to provide the service and productivity you depend on to make your organization successful. This is the first part in our three part series on what to consider when developing employee uniforms to meet your needs. The three articles will cover the three most important components of any uniform program: Part 1. Uniform look and branding, Part 2. Uniform design as it affects productivity, Part 3. Uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics.

Uniforms don’t exactly have a reputation of being highly fashionable, but it is important to remember that uniforms can be more than just a necessity. Through proper, thoughtful design, uniforms can add a touch of class, enhance your brand image, and enhance the customer experience. In part one, we will be covering uniform look and branding, which is the most immediately visible component with perhaps the most direct impact on your brand.

Uniforms as Fashion – The main pitfall most organizations make when developing uniform programs is to follow convention and not even consider alternative designs. Too often uniforms are looked on as a necessity rather than what they really are; a prime opportunity to enhance your organization’s visual appeal and provide a stylish way to establish your identity. There are limitless uniform options available. By giving careful consideration to: uniform design, fabric color, fabric type, garment cut, and sizing options, you can develop a custom look all your own. Through custom overseas sourcing, it is literally possible to design your own uniform line from the ground up.

Of course, it may not always be necessary to keep pace with the latest runway fashions for your organization. Keep in mind, however, that there are thousands of high-quality domestically sourced alternatives on the market. You don’t need to necessarily settle for a standard look. You should be sure to partner with a uniform provider who has experience in sourcing a wide variety of uniform goods. Given the available choices on the market it is a relatively small task to put together a line that makes your employees stand out. With a minor amount of coordination, it is possible to develop a line that will not only enhance your brand’s visual style, but that can improve productivity through both practical and motivational means.

Uniforms as Branding – Obviously the uniform is a central piece in your organization’s branding presentation. Your employee’s visual look, demeanor, and professionalism all reflect on your brand image. Your uniform line development choices can be instrumental in positively influencing all three of these factors.  When designing your various uniform pieces, you will want to make sure that all pieces are all consistent from a branding standpoint, as well as from a design perspective. This goes beyond just making sure the uniforms are color-coordinated. Everything from the decoration design and decoration method to the garment type, cut, and fabric need to be taken into account when putting together a coherently designed uniform line. If any of these elements are ignored, the result can be a visually scattered and confusing brand representation.

You also want to step back and make sure that your line, as a whole reflects your organization’s philosophies. Imagine yourself as one of your customers in front of your uniformed employees for the first time. What would you infer from your employees’ manner of dress?  What exactly would their uniforms tell you about what to expect from your organization? Would it stand out as a dynamic example of industry innovation? Or would it perhaps reflect quality, dependable service? Or maybe it would represent high-end comfort and performance? The point is, that your customers will form assumptions based on how your uniforms are designed and branded. Make sure your team members are given the best opportunity to succeed by matching your uniforms to your branding message.

Uniforms as Customer Experience Enhancements – There have been many studies about the perceptual and emotional impact of uniforms on an organization’s customers. Uniforms can be a critical aid in helping to define the customer experience by helping to clearly establish visual queues as to your corporate structure, thus helping people to find the individuals they need. Take, for instance a common experience from the retail environment. The last time you were in a big-box retailer, and needed assistance with a product, what was the first thing you did? That’s right; you looked for a colored polo shirt with a tag on it. If you found one, great. If you found one that was a little different from the rest, even better for finding a manager.

We pick up on these queues all the time subconsciously. It’s how we differentiate between the bellboy and the receptionist, the cashier from the help desk person, the machinist from the janitor. Imagine being in a store and not being able to tell the customer service from the maintenance staff, or even worse, the employees from the customers. These visual queues can be carefully implemented in order to strategically guide the customer through your sales process with the minimum of confusion and hassle. Not only that, but they can lead to higher morale, more positive customer interaction, and higher customer satisfaction rates.

Check in next month for the next entry into our uniform series as we continue with a look at how uniform design and construction can affect employee performance. We will look deeper at how everything from the fit of the garment to the fabric should be considered from a productivity standpoint. Until then, for more information on what to consider when designing and developing your next line of uniform goods, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

When developing your company’s promotional programs, it is always important to consider just how they will be implemented, who will do the implementing, and what the benefits of each of your options option would be. Of course, each organization is differently structured, has different specializations, and has a different infrastructure; but in general, it usually ends up being far better for an organization to partner with a quality promotional marketing company than to try to build it on their own. This is due to the three primary benefits that a qualified promotional marketing company can bring to the table: more competitive pricing, higher efficiencies due to optimized infrastructure, and greater flexibility.

More Competitive Pricing – One thing your promotional products company brings to the table right away is something critical to providing the highest value possible; volume. A high-end promotional partner will typically push hundreds of times the volume annually through its supplier when compared against an individual company. The promotional company is then able to leverage that volume to negotiate much better pricing than an outside organization could ever hope to. A good supplier will also have developed long-term relationships with worldwide sourcing partners in order to provide high quality goods at extremely competitive rates. Overseas and domestic relationships can be hard to develop, and even harder to maintain for an individual organization.

One of the reasons our organization has been so successful over the years is that we have been able to offer full scale self-supporting, or even profitable, value-added programs for far cheaper than our clients can. This is simply because our organization has both the volume and the advantage of being able to maximize our economies of scale in regards to our extra value-added services. The bottom line is, due to our highly specialized service platform, we can typically offer higher quality services for less when compared with going it alone.

Higher Efficiencies Due to Optimized Infrastructure – Most companies are good at what they do, but then again most companies aren’t promotional products companies either. With a qualified promotional partner, you can rely on their finely-honed suite of value-added services and the infrastructure that goes along with that. From product sourcing to design, to warehousing and fulfillment, most companies simply aren’t equipped to cost-effectively build the infrastructure necessary to manage a large scale program. The complexities increase even further when you include other high-end services such as custom e-commerce, program marketing, and customer support. Chances are, to build the program from scratch and fund it; you will spend more than it is worth.

In addition to the costs of building a program, there is the cost of managing a program. A good promotional program will be able to offer dedicated in-house support staff to handle things like customer service, program accounting, and technical support for all of your programs. Your partner should also be able to offer tools that make your part easier and more efficient: specialized reports, online program management, custom program support systems, etc… The daily cost of managing and supporting your promotional program can quickly spiral out of control if you are not careful. A quality promotional marketing partner can help absorb or even eliminate those costs.

Greater Flexibility – Promotional needs change over time, and your promotional programs will need to adapt as well. In other words, what works well today may need to reverse course tomorrow. Your organization will need to change with the times, and you can avoid throwing away your carefully earned investment dollars by going with a partner who has the flexibility to adapt to you needs in a cost-effective way. Chances are, if you have a promotional program need, your promotional partner has ideas and solutions ready to implement to help you reach your goals. Typically they can have these solutions ready to deploy quicker and more efficiently than by starting from scratch.

It should also be noted that the promotional product industry itself changes rapidly as well. Something that was impossible yesterday may be a simple matter today. Most organizations don’t have the time to follow new developments as they arrive. For organizations like Powertex Group, keeping current on promotional trends is not only helpful, but vital to our ability to remain competitive in our market. With a solid promotional partner, you can be sure to get feedback on new program ideas, new products, as well as new business-enhancing techniques involving promotional marketing.

It is important to consider that there are always exceptions to the rule. For example, at Powertex Group, we have several trucking companies that we service. Distribution is what they do, and they can definitely do it competitively. In these cases, Powertex Group provides a whole range of value-added services while working with these partners to utilize their pre-existing distribution channels. The most important part to remember is that your organization is unique; your solutions should be as well. That is why you need a partner who is able to maximize promotional program value while working within your specific environment.

For more information on how a quality promotional supplier can help you, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

One of the most challenging aspects of designing and implementing promotional marketing programs is accommodating each of your primary audiences. It can be easy to slip into a one-size-fits-all mentality, which is often a sure recipe for failure. The truth is, each audience is different, and in order to effectively sell to them, their solutions should be different as well. Being aware of the important differences between your primary audiences segments is one thing, being able to design programs that accommodate each audiences’ need is another.

In this article, we will look at some of the more common high-level audience segments, and look at what drivers typically motivate them, as well as some quick tips on how best to reach them.

Retail Audiences – This segment can typically be broken down into many sub-segments, each with their own habits and/or motivation. In reaching out to your retail market, it is often helpful to keep that in mind. Always be aware of who your audience is, what your end goal is, and most importantly, what value your products and/or services bring to your clients. In order to effectively reach your clients with promotional marketing programs, you may have to strategically separate out your audiences and fine tune your message and/or offerings to suit each segment.

A perfect example of this is in a recent promotion we designed with one client; we had a large incentive program that consisted of an online signup promotion with a subsequent visit to the nearest dealer location to redeem their signup form for a custom-branded cap. During the design process we identified that, for this particular client, a large portion of their potential customer base would be considered either light internet users or loyal to another competing brand. In order to effectively reach this segment, we designed a complimentary walk-in program component that functioned completely independently of the online portion. It was deigned complete with point-of-purchase displays, and physical signup forms that would allow retail/dealer locations an incentive to entice that potential customer segment with the same promotional benefits as the online users.

Dealer Networks/Retail Locations – Dealer networks and retail locations differ from retail audience segments generally in the fact that you are not as much marketing to them as giving them the tools they need to effectively market to their audiences. Consequently, program such as promotional product kitting, dealer promotion discount purchase programs, dealer custom-branded merchandise catalogs, and even employee uniform and incentive programs work well for Dealers and Retail location segments.

One of the most important things about creating promotional marketing programs aimed at this group is to consider how it helps to build on the clients’ relationship with their dealer or retail location. Every promotion should be designed either to help your retail locations make the sales conversion or to get customers to know your brand through your dealer or retail location.

Another thing, when creating promotions aimed directly at the retail customer, you want to make sure that you are not alienating or bypassing your dealer or retail location base. It might make sense, in many cases, to modify your promotion to drive sales and conversions through these locations rather than a central website or catalog. This will help to add value to your retail network while simultaneously driving sales.

Corporate Members/Employees – Corporate Members and Employee promotions look very different from retail or dealer/retail location promotions in that they are generally aimed at promoting the brand from within and improving employee morale. This can be more difficult that it seems, since often times it is hard to gauge what will work and what will not within each organization. Each organization typically has an extremely large range of workers, from retail workers, mechanics, and manual workers to executives, sales persons, and technical workers. This tends to make it much more difficult to find a one-size-fits- all promotional incentive solution, and often requires a delicate hand in making sure you are properly incenting each group while making sure you are not appearing as favoring one group over the other.

More than any other market segment, employee and corporate incentives can easily backfire if not applied correctly. They can easily engender feelings of inequality or favoritism, or they can sometimes be seen as insincere gestures. This is why we recommend, more than for any other type of promotion, consulting an experienced promotional partner before implementing any sort of employee incentive program. You will want someone who can ask the right questions about your organization’s internal structure and your particular corporate culture. Be wary of programs that don’t take into account these things as each organization is vastly different. Their employee incentive and corporate programs need to be designed around that.

When properly implemented, corporate and employee incentive programs can vastly improve employee morale, increase sales, decrease costs, reduce accidents, or any of a whole number of possible goals. They can help you get your organization where it needs to go, and should be considered a valuable part of any organizations’ promotional plan.

When designing your promotional marketing programs, it is always important to consider who you are marketing to in relation to what your end goals is. This article discusses only a very small fraction of the possibilities relating to only a few of the more common market segments. These subjects become incrementally more complex as you divide them down further, add more potential audiences in to the equation, and take into consideration each brand’s individual audiences and culture. With the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right partner, it becomes much simpler to design, implement and deploy programs that help you and your individual audience segments reach their goals. For more information on how you can design effective programs ofr your audience segments, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Connecting with our clients to learn more about their needs.

It’s no secret that the last year has brought significant changes to the promotional products industry. Many in our industry have found that it is no longer enough to simply offer competitively priced products. In order to compete, a company now HAS to offer a complete service platform to survive. They have come to understand that each client is unique, and so should be their solutions.

This is something that we’ve long understood at Powertex Group, and it is part of the reason why we have been able to remain strong despite the current economic crisis. In fact, we feel that we have gained valuable insights and been able to take advantage of the last year to position ourselves for significant continued success throughout 2010.

That however, is not enough to ensure long term growth. We have to continue to drive innovation not only this year, but next year and beyond.  It is in that spirit that we recently reached out to a cross-section of our clientele to ask them their opinions on what they currently are pleased with, where we offer value, and where we can potentially raise our service level to meet our client’s needs. I would like to point out, before we go any further, that while it is impossible to conduct interviews with each an every single client on our list, we are leaving this informal customer survey open to all. If you have feedback that you feel strongly about, or you have service and platform suggestions, please call us or email our customer service desk (information at the end of this article) to give us you thoughts. We want your feedback, and would love to discuss your ideas. The whole point of this process is to be able to better provide a more comprehensive service platform for our clients.

The following interview questions were asked of our clients. We have provided summaries of the responses provided, as well as a synopsis of what it means for us.

In your opinion, what services/products that we provide offer the most value to your organization?

We were very honored to have, throughout the course of our survey process, to hear our clients mention nearly every single department at least once. From accounting to production we had someone show appreciation for just about all aspects of our business. There were, however, several things that rose above the rest: distribution and fulfillment, e-commerce, understanding of our client’s corporate environment, and our creative team.

It was good to know that many of our clients see us in very much the same light that we see ourselves. We view these things as our real separators within our industry, and in the end, there were few surprises here.

What competitor’s services/products provide better value than what is offered by Powertex? Why are they better for your organization?

There were a lot of different suggestions, but what it boils down to is the following areas were mentioned the most: More on-demand production (pointing to direct-print competitors), Several E-Commerce features that are offered in the marketplace that we should look at (especially at the entry level), better call center (dealer relations) integrations, more creative product ideas at better prices, more name brand options, and more international marketing/distribution options.

The good thing about this list: 5 out of 6 of them have some solutions being developed, tested, or are ready to launch this year. You can bet we’ll be revisiting each of these near-term, and we are already discussing the remaining item on the list. More to come on our solutions as we get closer to wrapping them up and rolling them out.

Are there ways in which we can further save you valuable time in terms of our business relationship?

We didn’t get a lot of feedback on this question. What we did get broke down for the most part, in the following two suggestions:  better and more timely sales/information reporting (i.e. sales data-item breakdowns etc.), and a greater selection of sure ship items (i.e. items available within 48 hours to 10 days of order).

We are always looking to get better and more timely information to our clients, and we are currently researching create a client dashboard of sorts, where clients of all types can log in to take the pulse of their programs in real-time. As far as the sure-ship items, we just released our new ’10 catalog this week, and we will be revisiting that soon, due to its popularity.

If you could change one thing about our business relationship, what would that be?

The most common responses to this question were; to look at working out more programs to better turn certain inventoried items, and provide even lower prices.

With regards to the inventory issues and lower prices; those are projects that are ALWAYS in progress. They both require our organization to walk the fine line between flexibility and competitiveness. We are looking into revisiting our sourcing, warehousing, and distribution methods in order to try to develop new solutions for each of these. These are at the core of what we do, and we need to be constantly pushing the envelope one these.

Do you have any ideas on how we can increase the value we provide to your organization through additional products and/or services?

What our clients’ said: Better international shipping/distribution options, improvements in reporting and transparency in billing and shipping, developing a combined platform where we can combine our clients’ vendors with our own offerings (i.e. sell parts, accessories, and branded merchandise from a completely managed platforms), more options for product customization and individual item customization.

What we say: We are on it. Many of these items have already been discussed internally, and several of them are already in progress.  We are not surprised at these entries, because they have come up across many different client types. Most of these were touched on in the feedback above as well, and we see each of these four projects as being key to improving our service levels to our clients.

All in all, there weren’t too many surprises that came up within this survey process. There did result, in our conversations, a lot useful suggestions on HOW BEST to accomplish these needs for our clients. For that, we would like to extend a sincere thank you to all who participated. Your feedback is essential in helping us get better, and remaining competitive in our market. We will be providing updates on where we are with our service offerings throughout the year. There is a lot in store already, and we are looking forward to an exciting 2010.

For those who have other feedback or suggestions for any of the content in this survey, we would be glad to take our feedback as well. We need to know how what we can do to not only provide value, but what we can do to become invaluable. To submit your feedback, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Powertex Group
Director of Creative Services
Eau Claire, WI

JOB DESCRIPTION:
High growth, fast-paced company looking for a dynamic leader for their creative services staff. Candidate will be responsible for a staff of three, as well as coordinate project management for all clients.

Candidate must possess outstanding graphic design skills. Practical experience and knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop are essential. A thorough understanding of the Macintosh operating system with the capability to diagnose and correct minor issues is a must. Familiarity with screen printing, embroidery and merchandising are considered a huge plus.

Experience with print and electronic marketing is also a plus; as is any level of html coding experience.

Other requirements include: Experience with Adobe Indesign and/or Quark Express, image scanning capabilities, attention to detail, ability to prioritize, good organizational skills and ability to provide design instruction and constructive feedback. Candidate must also possess mature communication skills with an emphasis on customer support and team leadership. The ability to work with multiple personnel from all levels of the enterprise in a deadline driven environment is crucial. Must be able to contribute to the overall growth of the organization and play a key in role in planning and implementing the strategic direction of the organization.

Position is full-time. Benefits available after 90 days of employment.

Please respond with cover letter, resume, and three design examples (pdf) by March 15th. Email all to Gray Powers. Email: grayp@powertexgroup.com

Powertex Group
Graphic Designer
Eau Claire, WI

JOB DESCRIPTION:
High growth, fast-paced company looking for an energetic designer to develop and produce illustrations and graphic materials using the most current professional computer programs in conjunction with other traditional methods.

Candidate must possess outstanding graphic design skills. Practical experience and knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop are essential. A thorough understanding of the Macintosh operating system with the capability to diagnose and correct minor issues is a must. Familiarity with screen printing/embroidery is considered a huge plus.

Experience with print and electronic marketing is also a plus; as is any level of html coding experience.

Other requirements include: Experience with Adobe Indesign and/or Quark Express, image scanning capabilities, attention to detail, ability to prioritize, good organizational skills and ability to follow design instruction and constructive feedback. Candidate must also possess mature communication skills with an emphasis on customer support and teamwork. The ability to work with multiple personnel from all levels of the enterprise in a deadline driven environment is crucial. Must be able to work both independently and within a team environment.

Position is full-time. Benefits available after 90 days of employment.

Please respond with cover letter, resume, and three design examples (pdf) by March 15th. Email all to Gray Powers. Email: grayp@powertexgroup.com

All of the old barriers are gone, it’s now easier than ever to work sustainable promotions into your marketing initiatives.

You’ve probably been hearing about eco-friendly promotional items for some time now. If you’re a regular subscriber to this newsletter, you probably saw our previous article on the topic here. Eco-Friendly Promotional Items have become all the rage across the promotional marketing industry. Some of the primary reasons; over the last few years there has been a significant increase in the selection of available product options, and the price points have become much more competitive. In addition, eco-friendly promotional products have an immediate and appreciated impact upon customers, recycled products have become publicly perceived as stylish, and, of course, it helps organizations in significantly minimizing their organization’s environmental impact. All of the old barriers to entry with regards to eco-friendly promotional items have been erased. Now more than ever, it makes sense for just about any organization to consider “Going Green.”

At Powertex Group, we have made our commitment to environmentally friendly promotional marketing by: making the commitment to switch to environmentally-friendly screen printing inks at our main facility, surrounding ourselves with

vendors who are committed to providing a wide and quality line of eco-friendly merchandise, reducing paper consumption throughout our organization, committing a portion of each monthly newsletter to featuring a new environmentally friendly promo item for the last year and a half, and strongly promoting ecological product alternatives to our existing clients. We firmly believe that replacing traditional promos with eco-friendly promotions will not only benefit our clients, but will benefit us all in the long term, which is why we have made our commitment to you.

If you are interested in making the commitment to “Go Green”, it is easier than ever. With plenty of available options and price points available, just about any organization can now get involved. Below are just a few categories of product types available on the market to get you started:

Recycled Plastic Products - You know all the stuff that gets hauled away in your plastic recycling bin every week? Well that’s what many of these products get made out of. Recycled plastics get made into everything from cloth shoulder bags to food grade containers such as drinkware. As stylish as they are sustainable, this category is a great place to get started with eco-friendly promotions, due to the large variety of options available. Keep the recycling business alive by supporting these products.

Recycled Cardboards - Recycled paper products have come a long way in the last decade or so, and now have a style and feel uniquely their own. Most recycled cardboard notepads on the market are made with 100% recycled covers and 70% recycled writing paper. You can also find stylish photo frames, business card holders, and recycled pens made of durable recycled cardboard composite material.

Recycled Leather -

Affordable and attractive, recycled leather has become more popular, especially for padfolios. While not the widest product category, it deserves mention because the products in this category are both very competitive in price, and very potentially environmentally impactful. Livestock is a significant producer of the world’s C02 emissions as well as a large consumer of the world’s food resources.

Live Gifts - About as green as promotional gifts get, this category traditionally features live plants, seeds or bulbs that are given in recycled fiber containers. These are typically fun and long lasting reminders of a positive, nurtured relationship. Plus, they typically come in nice looking custom recycled containers, which will complete the environmentally friendly motif.

Alternative Materials - You can’t have a discussion about environmentally friendly materials without discussing bamboo; one of the most flexible and widely available alternative materials out there. Lightweight, strong, fashionable, while at the same time very utilitarian, bamboo can be found in everything from pen holders to lightweight breathable fabric golf shirts. Another highly renewable material becoming popular is hemp, which is used in everything from bags and totes to hats and gloves. It shares a steadfast toughness and lightweight utility with bamboo, while maintaining it has its own unique texture and style.

Eco-friendly promotions and business help to show your clients and employees that you are concerned with the environment and the world around you. And while the branding message may be about you at the end of the day, it is that added environmental message that will resonate with and enhance your clients’ positive image of you and your organization. When we can form a positive branding message, that’s great, when we can do all of that, while causing less harm to the environment, and spreading a positive message about sustainability that’s the icing on the cake. To learn more about environmentally friendly and renewable promos, give us a call today at (800) 588-7111. Email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com or visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.