Monday, March 19, 2012

Spring

Happy 1st day of Spring. I'm not sure what spring might bring to mind for you, but for me spring means Easter, of course, and Earth Day, but also gardening, motorcycle rides, graduations, the dreaded spring cleaning and thoughts of fishing. I think that it has been more than a year since I have stood at the water's edge and wondered if I could entice some finned "monster" to bite my hook. Monster is in quotes because those who know me best (You can probably hear them snickering in the background) know that I catch mostly aquarium and near-aquarium sized fishes. So, while I sit here dreaming of earning Jeremy Wade's job, here is a look at the local event calendar.

Below I have listed some upcoming holidays and notable events, along with a calendar of local (Northern Virginia Piedmont) significance. For more promotional event ideas, please check out the calendar portion of the Successful Promotions newsletter that can be found, in its entirety, on our website by clicking HERE.

Upcoming holidays and notable events:

April 6 is Good Friday and the beginning of Passover
April 2 is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final
April 5 is Opening Day for Major League Baseball - promotional schedules are now available
April 8 is Easter
April 22 is Earth Day
May 13 is Mother's Day
May 27 is the Indy 500
May 28 is Memorial Day
June 14 is Flag Day

Locally,

May 3 is the Culpeper's 16th Annual Gourmet Chef's Auction Benefiting SAFE
May 5 is Culpeper Day
May 17 is Culpeper Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Group 3rd Annual Bowling Tournament
May 19 is the Warrenton Spring Festival
May 24 is Culpeper Fireman's Parade
June 2 is Fauquier Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show
June 7 is CulpeperFest

Local High School Graduation Schedule

June 1 is scheduled as Eastern View High School Graduation
June 2 is scheduled as Culpeper County High School Graduation
June 7 is scheduled as Kettle Run High School Graduation
June 9 is scheduled as Fauquier High School Graduation
June 10 is scheduled as Liberty High School Graduation

April is Alcohol Awareness Month or you may prefer to build a promotional event around one of these:

Earth Month
Poetry Month
Daffodil Month: Cancer Awareness
Dental Health Month
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month
National Cancer Month
Parkinson Awareness Month
National Physiotherapy Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month

May is National Bike Month along with

Mental Health Awareness Month
Cystic Fibrosis Month
Foot Health Awareness Month
Hepatitis Awareness Month
Huntington's Disease Awareness Month
Medic Alert Month
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month
National Physiotherapy Month
Speech and Hearing Awareness Month
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Steve
www.raggo.com




Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Marketing Calendars

Now that Lent has started and International Pancake Day (which was February 21st this year) has passed I thought that a good Lenten activity would be for me to stop over-thinking and over-criticizing my blogging activities (or lack of activity). That way I can get started again without guilt and without too critical an eye on the mechanics of writing.

By now, you probably know that we sell calendars. If you didn’t, you now know that we sell calendars. We love calendars and all they stand for – planning, organization and, Mayan-calendar aside, hope in the future. They can also give us the beginnings of or at least the theme around which we can build a promotional event. There is a day for almost everything so I won’t list them all. Let us know if you are looking for a special-theme day to celebrate your business or message and we will look for one.

Below I have listed some upcoming holidays and notable events, along with a calendar of local (Northern Virginia Piedmont) significance. For more promotional event ideas, please check out the calendar portion of the Successful Promotions newsletter that can be found, in its entirety, on our website by clicking HERE.

Upcoming holidays and notable events:

March 14 is Pi Day
March 16 March Madness begins
March 17 is St. Patrick's Day
March 20 is the first day of Spring
April 6 is Good Friday and the beginning of Passover
April 2 is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final
April 5 is Opening Day for Major League Baseball - promotional schedules are now available
April 8 is Easter
April 22 is Earth Day
May 13 is Mother's Day
May 27 is the Indy 500
May 28 is Memorial Day

Locally,

March 21 is the Prince William Chamber Frostbite Scramble Golf Outing
March 23 is the Greater Piedmont Area Association of Realtors Honor Society Banquet
March 24 is the Hospice of the Rapidan's Annual Gala
March 28 is the Prince William Valor Awards Banquet
May 3 is the Culpeper's 16th Annual Gourmet Chef's Auction Benefiting SAFE
May 5 is Culpeper Day
May 19 is the Warrenton Spring Festival

March is National Ethics Awareness Month. March is also:

Women's History Month
"Help Fight Liver Disease" Month
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
National Epilepsy Month
National Kidney Month
National Nutrition Month
Red Cross Month
Supply Management Month
Endometriosis Awareness Month


April is Alcohol Awareness Month or you may prefer to build a promotional event around one of these:

Earth Month
Poetry Month
Daffodil Month: Cancer Awareness
Dental Health Month
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month
National Cancer Month
Parkinson Awareness Month
National Physiotherapy Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Steve
www.raggo.com

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Yet Another New Beginning

Just the sound of this blog entry's title strikes me as redundant... "another new beginning". But I guess all beginnings are not necessarily new. Take this blog for example. I began writing it thinking about resolutions and renewed optimism and such, but looking back it appears that my previous 'first blogs of the year' were about the same things. Nothing new there.

Hmmm....what are the most popular New Years resolutions and what promotional products would be appropriate in helping your customers or prospective customers keep them. After all, if your business can be seen as helpful or even as necessary to achieving some goal, then that is a good thing. It positions you as a positive force in the life of your customer and that feeling is reinforced every time your prospect sees your logo on the product that is helping them achieve their goal.

The most popular New Years resolution in the US is to lose weight. I don't think there can be any doubt there. There are thousands of products that can fit into a fitness/weight loss program including sports gear like tennis balls, pedometers, golf equipment, duffel bags, clothing, etc., but they are so individually oriented that they limit their efficiency. After all, sending a logoed golf ball to someone who never plays golf is a waste of your money. If all of your customers/prospects play golf or if you are sponsoring an event where all are playing golf, then that would work, but if they don't then the product is inefficient. So here is my list of the top 3 advertising items that would help your customers stay on track in keeping their weight loss resolutions.

1) fitness journals (help them record their triumphs!)










2) measuring tape (help them measure their results)




















3) calorie counters (help them achieve their goals)







What items do you think work?

Steve
www.raggo.com