Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care:

• 91% of New Homes
• 66% PCs
• 92% Vacations
• 80% Healthcare
• 65% New Cars
• 89% Bank Accounts
• 93% Food
• 93 % OTC Pharmaceuticals

Women represent the majority of the online market:

• 22% shop online at least once a day
• 92% pass along information about deals or finds to others
• 171: average number of contacts in their e-mail or mobile lists (and they are telling people about you!)
• 76% want to be part of a special or select panel
• 58% would toss a TV if they had to get rid of one digital device (only 11% would ditch their laptops)
• 51% are moms

Source: Mindshare/Ogilvy & Mather

With your female customer in mind, think about the promotional products that will appeal to her. Think about the design and the message that will make her actually use the product. She’ll wear/carry it and talk about how much she loves you to her friends! Certainly worth the investment for that word of mouth.

Here are a few tips in choosing items for your female audience:

• Items that are functional and make her life easier (organizers, journals, magnetic chip clips!, mini first-aid kids/sunscreen to carry in her purse).
• Canvas totes are always good. Great for trips to the grocery store, library and just hauling all the kids’ stuff around.
• T-shirts/hats/jackets that look good! Think fit (no boxy unisex shirts!), flattering and stylish colors, and EASY to launder.
• Environmentally friendly products are important, especially to moms.

Also remember, quality matters. If you’re going to put your name/logo on it, make sure it represents the quality and integrity of your brand.

“The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?”
― Sigmund Freud

But…it’s recognition of an enormously tragic event. Is it good or bad to associate so strongly with something that was such a catastrophe?

Sure, there will be travelers who are curious and will appreciate the novelty of the new ship. On the other hand, there are those who are superstitious and wouldn’t set foot on the darn thing.

And let’s hope it’s not an exact replica. Luxury? Hardly: although most passengers had to share bathrooms (only the two promenade suites in first class had private bathrooms), third class had it rough with only two bathtubs for more than 700 passengers.

Mr. Palmer assures the public that the ship, “will have state-of-the-art 21^st-century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems.” He’d better keep singing that tune until the new ship sets sail in 2016. He’s fighting 100 years of a name that to many means death.

Fast Company offers their selections for the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Pretty amazing stuff if you click through to each company and see what they’ve done.

So how do they do it? How do so many of these companies continue to stay relevant and stay ahead of the crowd? Innovation.

This article is a great resource for how to foster a culture of innovation. Offering seven basic (but not always easy) tips on how to encourage and infuse creativity and innovation into your workplace.

While we may not be creating the next big technological breakthrough or national ad campaign, we all have the desire to make our work better. To have a place to go each day that is invigorating, challenging, and growing.

Same old, same old is no fun. And it certainly doesn’t foster growth and creativity. Do something a little differently today.

• Hold a meeting somewhere other than the usual place.
• Have a brainstorming meeting with open-ended questions. Remember: all ideas are welcome and heard.
• Allow new ideas to happen naturally. Encourage the process and initiative taken by your employees. Too often if people are pressed to come up with new ideas on a deadline, it will just create time-wasting clutter.
• Do something random, unexpected, fun. A dartboard in the break room or messages of positive affirmation posted randomly throughout your office.

It’s not always easy with the day-to-day pressures and deadlines, but it’s worth the effort. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but it sure will be fun along the way.

And while Tyra and Melissa and the team are slaving away, I just get to listen to them talk, watch them work, browse the Internet, and write this blog. Easy life. Lucky me.

Before I came to work for Promolux, I did a little undercover work for my homeland. It’s made me fairly secretive and protective of my identity.  So when Tyra suggested this week I talk about what I’ve been up to, I was hesitant, but willing. After all, I’m not undercover anymore!

I’ve spent the last few weeks on a whirlwind world tour of the U.S. Enjoy some of my favorite photos from the trip. I was lucky my friend Boris joined me to get some great pictures of me in all my favorite spots.

So that’s what I’ve been up to.

I look forward to getting back in the swing of things and getting back to blogging.

(Real photo sources in order from top to bottom: Sotti, Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger, orlandoinside.com, destination360.com, mnartists.org)

We’d bet there are days when you do all of these things at once. You’re a…MULTITASKER! And you take pride in it. Truth is, we’re a little guilty of that around here, too.

But while it seems like you’re getting lots and lots done, truth is – according to this great blog by Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of the Energy Project – it’s zapping your productivity and your energy.

He says, “The best way for an organization to fuel higher productivity and more innovative thinking is to strongly encourage finite periods of absorbed focus, as well as shorter periods of real renewal.”

Focus. Renewal. Sounds pretty good. Better than the constant “bing” of an incoming email.

Read the blog. He gives three great tips for managers and three for individuals to help us be more productive, set boundaries, be fully engaged, and renew. Truly renew.

Now if you’ll excuse us…we’re going offline for a bit to enjoy a sip of tea and a bit of renewal. Just getting ready to tackle the next project with pure, uninterrupted focus!

Sure, there’s the invite list, the booking of the course, food selection, sponsorships, auction items, but let’s be honest about what everyone loves the most: the Swag Bag.

As you plan your event and think about giveaways, you want to be sure you are spending your money on branded items that people will keep, use, and enjoy.

Here’s our take on a few of the more popular items:

Golf balls: a great way to feature your logo and every golfer needs golf balls. Golfers will appreciate a higher quality ball, but they will likely get lost. On a positive note, whoever finds the lost ball will also see your logo!

Divot tools, golf towels, ball markers: fairly inexpensive to produce and have a high likelihood of being kept.

Golf umbrella: will likely be kept, but is a higher cost and may not get much use on the course.  Still, a nice item appreciated by golfers.

Tees: cheap, but a throw-away item with not much imprint space for your logo.

Visors/hats: a highly popular item that will get lots of use, but many golfers are picky about what they’ll wear. They like to wear the brand that matches their clubs, balls, etc. Choose wisely.

Polos or other shirts/jackets: Everyone likes free apparel, but again, choose wisely – you’ll have to order a wide variety of sizes to fit all golfers and, like the hats, many golfers are brand-loyal.

A few top golf brands: Nike, Antigua, Adidas, Titleist, and Callaway. You’ll be pretty safe with any of these choices.

Bottom line: people like free stuff. If you select attractive, high-quality products, your golfers will either enjoy it for themselves or give away to another golfer who will.

QR Codes. Short for Quick Response Code and first designed for the automotive industry, QR Codes are two-dimensional bar codes that marketers are using more and more to capture the attention of their consumers. Download the QR code app on your smart phone and start shooting.

According to researcher comScore, only 6% of mobile phone consumers (or about 20.1 million people) actually use them. Worth it or not? Depends on how you use them.

There’s an increasingly popular website that highlights serious QR code FAILS. Check it out. Pretty funny. And who on earth approved these things?

On the other hand, used creatively and appropriately, it can be a highly beneficial marketing technique:

Here are five steps to making them work for you

And 10 creative (and pretty cool!) ways to use them

Some of our favorites:

• A virtual store in a subway. Scan your desired items as you wait and have them delivered to your home. No schlepping.
• An art gallery providing audio tours and more info on the exhibit.
• Scan the code on the wine label to learn more about the wine and remember it for later.

So what if you see someone who’s wearing a QR code on their shirt? A stranger. Do you point your phone at them and scan it? Are they asking for it by wearing the shirt? What info do you think you’ll get when you do? Scanner beware!

Introducing one of my favorites: Imerman Angels and my main contact (and source of continual inspiration): Jonny Imerman, Chief Mission Officer.  Diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 26, Jonny was blessed with loving support from family and friends, but had never met anyone his age who was a cancer survivor. He wanted to talk to someone just like him and who completely understood his fight. Same age, same cancer. And he wanted to give that to others.

His vision became a reality in 2003 when he founded Imerman Angels.

Created on the belief that no one should have to fight cancer alone and without the necessary support, the organization pairs Mentor Angels with a cancer fighter or caregiver. A Mentor Angel is a cancer survivor or caregiver who is the same age, same gender, and most importantly who has beaten the same type of cancer. A Mentor Angel is walking, talking, living proof, and inspiration that cancer can be beaten.

Now 4,000 Angels strong, this free service helps anyone touched by any type of cancer, at any cancer stage level, any age, all around the world.  (In 60 countries and all 50 states!)

This video beautifully captures the power of the relationship between Mentor Angel and fighter.

“It takes people to help people,” says Imerman. “We are so grateful to our survivors who volunteer as Angels. Every year we hope to increase our reach and help more families. Awareness is the key to helping more people.”

I am honored to be a small part of this organization. Learn more. Spread the good word. Support them. (Buy some gear!) And share with anyone you know who is in need of support or can serve as an Angel.

www.ImermanAngels.org

Why is fleece so great? Pound for pound, it provides twice the insulation of merino wool and four times the insulation of cotton. (Not bad.)

It wasn’t until about 1979 and the invention of Polar fleece by a company called Malden Mills (now Polartec LLC), that a fabric was able to be warm, lightweight, and perform well even when wet, although those wearing it will likely perspire less, allowing them to be cool and dry when not active and will retain more body heat when they are active. (Great for skiing, snowshoeing, even dog walking!)

But what’s it made out of? Polyethylene terephthalate (say that three times fast) or other synthetic fibers, or sometimes from recycled plastics such as soda bottles. Typically, it takes about 25 disposed plastic bottles to make enough polar fleece for one piece of clothing.

It’s easy to wash. Easy to dry. Vegan. Comfy. Durable. Looks good. And just feels good to wear. It was even named “One of the hundred great things of the 20^th century” by Time Magazine in 1999.

From jackets to vests, blankets to hats…we love fleece! Get some for yourself or your customers. They’ll thank you warmly for it!

Take your favorite photo, piece of art or whatever you just pinned on Pinterest and turn it into the color palette for the room you’ve been waiting to decorate. Of COURSE you’ll buy the paint from Sherwin Williams, they’ve made it too easy not to!

Amazing what technology can do to bring an idea to life. What image would you pick to create your new living room? Too bad painting the room isn’t as easy as picking the paint!

Source: Creativity online