Custom branded iPad cases are hot! Yes, I am giving in to the “what’s hot right now” question!

Several categories of iPad cases are available to be imprinted or even debossed with your corporate logo.

Our most popular iPad case is neoprene. When most of us think of neoprene, it’s in a wet suit. Here’s why neoprene is great for any sort of electronic device cover: it resists degradation from the sun, ozone and weather and it’s known for it’s physical toughness. These neoprene iPad cases are available in over 30 colors! There is a nice large imprint area for your corporate logo to be imprinted. And yes, they are machine washable! There’s probably a disclaimer somewhere that says take the iPad out before washing!!
  Click HERE to see iPad Case Colors

The next iPad case choice is in basic black only, but with a fun polyester fur like lining! This iPad cover is an economical choice if your logo has 2-3 colors you want printed. The price includes up to a 3 color imprint with no additional charges!
Click HERE for Basic Black iPad Cover

This custom iPad case is faux leather and features a built in stand.
Click HERE to see iPad Sleeve detail

And last, is the top of the line leather iPad case. This one comes in basic black or pink. Your logo will be debossed for a classy presentation! Click HERE to see LEATHER iPad Cases

Whatever your budget, there are great iPad cases available!

Yes, it’s all over the news: lead found in reusable grocery bags in Florida. Our phones (and emails) have been swamped today with clients asking if the non woven polypropylene bags they got from PROMOrx also have lead in them. They have all read articles like this one: Federal Probe on Reusable Grocery Bags and this one More on Lead in Grocery Bags

The answer is yes. Many of the reusable grocery totes, like this one: Reusable Grocery Bags do have lead. BUT (you knew that was coming!) these bags do meet current federal guidelines. Since these bags are not children’s items, current regulations govern the ink used to print on them though. Inks on this particular bag are purchased in the US from US suppliers and do not have lead in them. (Many of these bags are produced and printed overseas. This bag is produced overseas but printed here in the USA! These statements apply to this bag only!)

Did you know you can buy kits to test for lead? This is one of the most economical we found, but have no experience and haven’t tried it! Household Lead Test Kit

We have a couple suggestions based on some research (and input from my husband who is a chemistry major!). First, stick to natural cotton bags printed here in the USA. Several bags are top sellers in this category. For a basic cotton tote bag, this one is the best of about a dozen or so we have sampled: Cotton Tote Bag

This bag is a little larger, but another great choice in cotton: Larger Cotton Tote

Or go with this bag which comes with 3rd party papers certifying it’s lead free. This reusable grocery bag has a great extra: it’s antimicrobial, too!Lead Free Reusable Bags

When I dropped 2nd year chemistry, I never dreamed it would be the class I wish I knew more about! In light of BPA, Lead Free, Recycling vs Recyclable, Green Washing…well, you get the picture!

If you are a professional, you ARE responsible for spelling words correctly on your website or anywhere else related to your business! Don’t blame it on your web developer, printer or staff. It’s YOUR ultimate responsibility. PROMOrx has several people who have worked on www.PROMOrx.com There could be a typo or misspelled word in there somewhere. Maybe. I hope not. But it’s MY responsibility. The buck does stop here.

I understand that some incorrectly spelled words are typos and that you really do know how to spell “presence”. I could show you a web design and marketing company’s website that says “Website Prescence” is important. I’m being good this week, so no link. But do you think I want them working on my website with no more attention to detail than that??

Another example this week: a realtor specializing in upscale communities has “Indepedent” emblazoned across the top of all his website pages. Sure, I’m going to trust them to guide me through purchasing a million dollar property, dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s in that mountain of paperwork that accompanies every purchase.(I’m not really looking for a million dollar house!! Yet…)

And another one: graphic artist’s website who says “detials” are important. Right. And I trust them to add taglines, addresses and phone numbers to my client’s logo correctly? Don’t think so.

Spelling words correctly says attention to detail to me. It also says professional. Does anyone else pay attention to these things? Or is it just me? 

What’s the wildest thing you have seen spelled incorrectly on a website? Share with us!

Find a word spelled incorrectly on the www.PROMOrx.com website and we’ll send you a PROMOrx padfolio made from recycled materials with a recycled paper writing pad in it! Dare you to find one. Double dog dare you!

Every day last week someone asked what was hot or what our #1 gift recommendation for the holidays was. Every day. We kept a “scoreboard”!

But here’s what PROMOrx is seeing: food gifts still top the list. But there are other trends: digital photo frames, anything for iPhones or iPads or the BlackBerry. One new trend we are seeing this season: the gift that keeps on giving. We have a selection of items where a portion of sales will be donated to fund Habitat for Humanity’s mission.

Food gifts always rule in 4th quarter as business gifts. Send gifts now before Thanksgiving or send them in January if you really want to stand out from the crowd! Consider what we call a “leave behind” as opposed to food gifts that are gone, well, when they’re gone! Also make sure you are branding YOUR company! There are lots of great gift baskets out there, but they need to at least have your company logo on the ribbon.

One of the best deals is this Crystal Candy Dish with Chocolates
In the $10 range, many of our clients are going with this classy presentation Snack Bags

Great tech-y gifts are tough to find, at least under $30! This digital keychain has a 1.7″ LCD screen which is why it’s been so popular! Imprint area is best suited for a simple logo or text. Digital Photo Keychain

My personal favorite is the group of items that have a preprinted design, a place for us to imprint your company logo with a percentage of sales donated to Habitat for Humanity. I love Habitat’s mission. Read more on their website: Habitat Website

Take 4 minutes! Make good things happen!

At my house, we have something called the “Jo Rules”. Here are the basics:
1.anything tastes better when someone else fixes it
2. always say please, thank you, yes ma’m and no sir…or else!
Who was Jo? My Mom.

Tonight I watched Dancing with the Stars. OK, I confess, I’m hooked. Sadly, Florence Henderson (aka Mrs. Brady)was eliminated. For 5 weeks, she hung in there with a smile on her face, really working and obviously enjoying every minute. Her fellow competitors were all years and years younger. Her work ethic was obvious. Her desire to be a real competitor was just as obvious. And yes, she still has that sense of fun, bawdy chick about her, too!

Her parting words as she left the DWTS stage were so gracious, thanking everyone from the producers, hair and wardrobe staff and her dancing partner, Corky Ballas. Some would say, Florence Henderson is 76 years old, she’s old fashioned. Not me, I say class, graciousness and good manners are never out of style.

Growing up, I had no choice but to say please and thank you. It was expected. It was encouraged daily. If I didn’t, I risked getting “the evil eye” from my Mom. A look I didn’t want to see! Mom passed away when I was 19. Had she lived, she would be about Florence Henderson’s age. There weren’t a lot of years to get the “evil eye”. But it obviously made a lasting impression!(Mom also sang in the church choir, front row. She had a penchant for making faces to try and make me laugh during the sermon. She had a wicked sense of humor! My husband says I come by it honestly!)

I know we are ALL busy! Email, phone calls, social media, blogs, website…my “to-do” list grows daily. But whenever I forget my manners and forget to say “thank you”….I see that look on my Mom’s face. And I immediately write a thank you note, an email or pick up the phone.

Jo’s rule: thank someone today.

You know it’s the Season when the Neiman Marcus Christmas book makes its’ debut! What’s the buzz this year? Lots of gifts under $250. But still full of the over the top dream-baby-dream gifts, too!

My favorite? I think the Dale Chihuly pool sculpture! Hey, it’s only $1.5 million! Guess I better work on the pool first!

Here’s the book on line for those of you who didn’t get mailed a copy!! Neiman Marcus Christmas Book

Great tasting holiday food gifts? Impressive packaging on Christmas towers? Your company logo? And at a discount?! What a combination!

Take a look at this Snowman tower! Just one of the delicious holiday food gifts you can order today on SALE!  Order by October 15 and get a 10% discount! We’ll ship in late November or December!

Contact your PROMOrx specialist for all the available selections! Mark this off your “to-do” list and enjoy the holidays!

We’re in the holiday spirit…yes, even if it’s still in the high 80′s here on the  coast! We have stacks of holiday catalogs from suppliers full of new corporate food gifts (other business holiday gifts, too!). But all these yummy chocolates, cookies and brownies and even some healthy nuts have our attention right now.

First some interesting statistics for all the number lovers out there:
1. Corporate holiday food gift sales grew  3.8% between 2007 and 2009.
(pretty interesting statistic when you consider the state of the economy!)
2.Gift boxed chocolates are a “hot item” with over $223 Million in sales in 2009!
3. Online business food gift sales increased 5.7% from 2007-2009!

So, why are businesses buying custom food gifts for clients and employees? Great question!
Here are my thoughts (and observations):
1. No sizes to worry about!
2. No worries about what your hobbies or favorite colors are!
3. Corporate gift baskets can be shared at the office.
4. Lots of price points to choose from!
5. Buying holiday food gifts for clients online is easy, one stop shopping!

PROMOrx is bombarded with catalogs and samples from factories who want our holiday business.
That’s how it works: we love it and share with our customers!
We turn down a lot, not even on our website.
Why? These don’t measure up: Food quality. Packaging quality. Ease of ordering.

The items on our website are corporate holiday gift baskets we would send to
our Mother, Pastor, friends AND clients!

Our corporate food gift samples arrive next week: we’ll keep you posted! And look for more tips on buying holiday gifts for your clients!

Not your typical Top 25 promotional products list!  


Why?     We at PROMOrx are flying in the face of convention!




We have compiled a group of promotional giveaways and business gifts that one of our staff, clients or friends have tried and tested. We even recruited kids where appropriate to really put items to the test. (Like for this one: Flyers ) 


Additionally, with over 5000 factories to choose from, we only selected promo giveaways and gifts from factories that have proven themselves to us! Companies that stand by their product and imprinting! When it’s customized with your company logo, it done right with factories that ship on time or early! Know the PROMOrx staff has done the homework!

Curious what the “real” top selling promotional items from 2009 are? This list is from the Promotional Products Industry Association statistics:
1. Wearables
2. Writing Instruments
3. Bags
4. Calendars
5. Drinkware

You’ll find some of these items on the PROMOrx list. No calendars, yet…we’re still testing! 
 Click here to see the promotional items that made OUR cut:  Top 25