Welcome to this week’s edition of “Trending Topic Tuesday,” where we share our take on what’s going on in the world and what promotional products would appropriately (or inappropriately) market the subject matter.
According to movie critics, the 2006 animated film Cars was not much of a success – at least not for Disney-Pixar, which put out 6 movies before the release of Cars and never received anything lower than a 91% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. According to that site, Cars only managed to please 74% of critics and 80% of audience members. It wasn’t a failing grade, but it also certainly wasn’t the sort of feedback Disney-Pixar was used to getting.
However, while Cars-inspired promotional products earned Walt Disney Co. more than $8 billion in retail sales of everything from toys to toothpaste and bed frames to bubble gum, a sequel was produced (along with 300+ new Cars 2 branded toys and other items). Despite the fact that the movie has received positive reviews from a mere 33% of critics and 66% of audiences, making it the first Disney-Pixar film to be deemed a “rotten tomato,” Disney expects its Cars 2promotional products to surpass the $2.8 billion in sales that Toy Story 3 earned last year. Counselor magazine notes that this would make Cars 2 “the largest branded merchandise program ever related to a single movie release.”
The All England Lawn Tennis Club is celebrating its 125th year as the official host of the Wimbledon Championship. The Tennis Club isn’t being shy about their achievement, either. In celebration, Wimbledon has opened its doors to several commemorative events as well as produced a variety of memorable promotional products featuring the 125th year logo.
The dedicatory products have been spotted all over the tournament. Every one from ball boys and girls to line judges can be seen wearing the promotional apparel, stylishly adorned with ‘125 Years’ or the new 125th Wimbledon logo.
Springtime is yard sale season, but don’t put your Ronald McDonald promotional products up for sale just yet – they could soon become collector’s items, as the McDonald’s corporation is feeling the pressure from childhood obesity activist groups to retire its fast-food-loving mascot.
A group of pediatricians, physicians, parents, and other concerned citizens – many of whom helped put Joe Camel back in his stable in the 1990s – have asked McDonald’s to stop marketing its food to children by eliminating the 43-year-old Ronald from its campaigns, including television commercials, digital and print advertisements, and promotional products. The group, which calls itself Corporate Accountability International, argues in an open letter to McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner that “contributors to today’s health epidemic are manifold and a broad societal response is required. But marketing can no longer be ignored as a significant part of this massive problem.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton – or, should I say, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – are happily married and back to their “normal” lives by now, nearly two weeks since the Royal Wedding; however, the craze over their marriage hasn’t ended, as is evinced by the auctioning off of twenty promotional gift boxes full of “rubbish” collected from the streets surrounding Buckingham Palace shortly after the nuptials occurred.
These promotional gift boxes are attractively branded Perspex constructions filled with commemorative items from candy wrappers to newspapers collected by individuals representing Altitude London, an entertainment venue that is currently auctioning off the boxes to raise money for charity. And as they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit Centrepoint, a charity for the homeless of which Prince William is patron.
Welcome to this week’s edition of “Trending Topic Tuesday,” where we share our take on what’s going on in the world and what promotional products would appropriately (or inappropriately) market the subject matter.
By now everyone across the world should have heard the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, founder and leader of the militant group Al Qaeda and man who claimed responsibility for the series of September 11 attacks on the United States. Osama’s death comes as an American victory in the War on Terror – and it also comes as an opportunity for marketers to profit from this occurrence through the production of so-called patriotic promotional items.
Within hours of President Obama’s address announcing the confirmed death of bin Laden on the evening of May 1, “a wide swath of marketers already had latched onto the leader’s sudden demise at the hands of U.S. special forces,” reported USA Today in an article published online yesterday specifying thousands of promotional items that had popped up on popular merchandise sites Zazzle.com and CafePress.com.
When consumers begin to associate a brand with old age or the past, it might be time to rebrand – which companies have successfully done through strategically contemporary marketing campaigns (such as Old Spice’s social media campaign, which garnered over 23 million YouTube views in just 36 hours). Whether online videos or promotional items are the vehicle by which rebranding is achieved is irrelevant; what’s important is that it is possible, so executives don’t need to start applying for jobs as soon as surveys show that a brand has an antiquated connotation.
In an attempt to show off the cooler side of the Smithsonian Institute, a team of artists recently launched a campaign to illuminate some “Historically Hardcore” heroes, including Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, and Genghis Khan. Through a series of promotional items and posters, the artists attempt to appeal to a younger demographic’s interests by illustrating some of the biggest and baddest moments and figures in world history.
Welcome to this week’s edition of “Trending Topic Tuesday,” where we share our take on what’s going on in the world and what promotional products would appropriately (or inappropriately) market the subject matter.
Today March 8th, marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. On this day we recognize the incredible women through out history who have made an everlasting impact on the status of women. However, this day is also about continuing progress and identifying that there is still room to improve.
In this generation, women still make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and less than 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEO’s are women. These facts among many others indicate that our world still has the task of perfecting equality.
On this day, and going forth, women’s rights groups such as NOW can show support for the hopeful progress of women through promotional items such as message pens, custom apparel, and various promotional efforts. Through promotional items as well as the many other outlets available, the women of today can spread their message in hopes of building a better place for the women of tomorrow.
Welcome to this week’s edition of “Trending Topic Tuesday,” where we share our take on what’s going on in the world and what promotional products would appropriately (or inappropriately) market the subject matter.
As part of its ongoing “Open Happiness” campaign, Coca-Cola recently sent a “Happiness Truck” to the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to make people smile. The truck is a bigger and better version of the Happiness Machine Coke planted on the campus of a London university last year (sparking a viral video): at the push of a button, it dispenses an ice-cold bottle of Coca-Cola Classic or Coca-Cola branded promotional products – visitors to the Happiness Truck received everything from Frisbees to surfboards to beach balls and balloons.
Judging by the smiles radiating from the faces of the crowd, I’d say the Happiness Truck accomplished its purpose in Rio de Janeiro, and the people who were visited by the fun-inducing vehicle will be able to remember that day every time they pick up the promotional products they pulled from the slot.
*Thanks to all who participated in this round of Pinnacle’s Giveaway Games. Last week’s contest is now closed (congratulations to winner Evan Goldberg!) but don’t worry there will be a new game posted every Wednesday through December so check back for your next chance to win!
All work and no play? Not if Pinnacle can help it!
The holidays are just around the corner, and Pinnacle Promotions is pleased to announce its next round of holiday Giveaway Games to help give you ideas for corporate holiday gifts – and hours of fun along the way.
The concept is simple. Every Wednesday from now through mid-December we will announce a new game on our blog and on Twitter. The game will be posted at any time during the day. When you solve the game, send us your answer by either e-mail to social@pinnaclepromotions.com or by direct message @PinnaclePromos on Twitter. We will select a winner at random on the following Tuesday. Winners will be contacted in the same manner they contacted us.
We will also be giving away free stuff sporadically between now and the end of the year so be sure to check back often or subscribe to our blog and follow us on Twitter for updates!
The giveaway games logo is hiding on one of the items on www.pinnaclepromotions.com. Send us the product number for the item when you find it…and to help you in your search:
To find my hiding spot, you don’t have to roam,
look for the tumbler made of acrylic and stainless that’s insulated with foam.
Answers will be accepted via e-mail (to social@pinnaclepromotions.com or via Twitter @pinnaclepromos) through November 16th. And remember, the winner will be chosen at random so every entry has an equal chance to win!
This round’s winner will receive this lovely Pinnacle Prize Pack!
It is high season for company picnics. In fact, Pinnacle is having lunchtime barbecues every first Friday of the month for the rest of the summer. (Thanks, bosses!) Company picnics are a great opportunity to brand internally with promotional items.
