1. The U.S. Senate voted to repeal 1099 provision, sending the bill to President Obama who is expected to sign the bill. http://www.asicentral.com/asp/open/news/promogram/index.aspx#News3
2. Sherman Teller, former Senior Vice President of Jack Nadel International, passed away this week at the age of 95. http://www.asicentral.com/asp/open/news/promogram/index.aspx#News3
3. On this day in 1913, the 17th Amendment was ratified, requiring the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote rather than by the state legislators.  http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/April-8
4. Charley Johnson, the Executive Vice President of supplier SnugZ USA, is no longer actively serving in his day-to-day role at the company.  http://magazine.promomarketing.com/article/charley-johnson-leave-snugz-usa-promotional-products-news/1
5. Pia Toscano was eliminated from American Idol last night. The judges, crowd, and Hollywood are shocked. http://t.co/qhiDlc3

Inforgraphic

Because we love statistics and cool charts, we decided it would be fun to put together and infographic about the promotional products industry. “An info-what?” you ask – “An infographic!“, we reply.

In the event that this is a new form of media to you; allow us to explain:

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education.

We took the best information we could find from PPAI and ASI, and put those little tid-bits into colorful, fun little graphs and charts for you consumption. We hope you’ll take a moment and peruse this offering and if you like it or find it useful, feel free to redistribute or use for your own marketing efforts.

See it HERE, in all of it’s glorious glory!

We really enjoyed doing this and are hoping to do more very soon. Got any great ideas for our next infographic? Drop us a line here on our blog, follow us on twitter or message us on facebook – we’d love to hear from you!

The first Presidential candidate bid by President Obama reminds us that it’s that time again-campaigns are gearing-up for the 2012 elections. So as we dust-off our handheld American flags and put on our campaign buttons, we should be pursuing and offering a wide-range of products to help local and national campaigns get the message out. So, let’s see what the campaigns are focusing on both locally and nationwide when they are strategizing.

Demographic is probably the biggest determining factor in a campaign-big or small. Get well acquainted with the campaigns demographic they are trying to reach. A great way to do this is by going to the 2010 Census Bureau website and look at national trends as well as specific trends for that area. This will help you make informed recommendations and show the client what a valuable asset you are by already having some background knowledge of who they are reaching-out to.

Get to know the campaign. What kind of message do they want to send? Or more importantly, what type of reaction do they want to evoke? The promotional product should match the message that is printed on it. For example: if the candidates big platform is on healthcare reform and they want to evoke the idea of socialized healthcare as the community coming together to take care of each other, give-out travel first aid kits that say “Because healthcare is a community effort. Vote for…”

Be proactive! Campaign teams have a lot to do and are very high paced. Getting your foot in the door is a big accomplishment, but you need to be organized and very quick. Put together a quick presentation with three options and why each of them would work with the campaign’s message as well as cost and any limitations. This way, it can easily be passed around and they have all of the information they need to make a decision and can compare their choices side-by-side.

By being informed, prepared, and proactive, you can give yourself a much better chance at getting the campaign the best promotional product for their PR initiatives. Don’t forget to check-out www.leashables.com and contact us to partner with you to get the ball rolling with your campaign customers!

As it turns out,  all of the uses for lip balm may not be so obvious. Check-out what we discovered with a little bit of research and a lot of know-how about lip balm.

1) Moisturize Knees & Elbows

Knees and elbows can have the roughest and driest skin on the entire human body. Soften them with an intense moisturizing treatment of lip balm.

2) Make Up Make-up

Ladies-use lip balm as a base with your favorite powered eye shadow or make-up and make a cream-shadow or even foundation.

3) Stop the Bleeding from Minor Cuts

Guys-next time you cut yourself shaving, ditch the embarrassing toilet paper piece on you neck or face for a clear coat of lip balm instead. Your pride will thank you later!

4) Sooth Rashes

Use lip balm to help soothe dry skin and rashes. With it’s high aloe and vitamin E content, it will sooth and repair your achy skin.

5) Tame Wild Hairs

Have some stubborn fly-aways, brow, or mustache hairs? Lip balm is wax-based and will help tame your wild mane.

6) Lubricate Zippers

The next time your zipper gets stuck, try rubbing some lip balm on it and the natural oils will help lubricate your zipper to run more smoothly.

7) Shine Your Shoes

If your shoes are looking a little dull, but you don’t have the time or the money to go get a shoe shine, rub some lip balm on your shoes and buff them with a dry washcloth.

8) Protect your Entire Face

Whether it’s from windburn or hair dye, rub some lip balm on your face for a solid barrier between your face and whatever you want to protect your face from.

9) Keep Your Shoes Tied

Coat the part of the shoelaces that you loop with lip balm to keep them from coming undone.

10) Repair a Scratched CD

Spread a thin layer of lip balm over a scratch on your CD and it will stop it from skipping.

If you want to read about even more unusual ways to use lip balm, read these three articles:

http://www.nichetopics.info/lip-balm-uses.html

http://thegloss.com/beauty/makeup-minute-top-10-uses-for-lip-balm/

http://ecoki.com/tips-for-chapstick/

Leashables has several different lip balms to fit any budget and taste. Shop on our website www.Leashables.com.

The answer is yes, of course-but how much? According to the Wall Street Journal, multinational companies have halted some operations in Egypt due to the revolt today and Egypt’s ports are closed; but the Suez Canal (a critical trade link between Europe & Asia) is still open to shipping traffic. If this canal were to close, it would have a greater effect on the international trade market, as ships would have to travel around the African peninsula.

As an international distributor of lip balm and other personal care products, our parent company, OraLabs, Inc., has customers all around the world, so we are very much aware of international news and how it affects American businesses. We sell lip balm, and breath care to over 50 countries worldwide and our international sales rep, Daniel Casini, says, “We have not heard back from one of our customers in Egypt. I don’t know if he has had to flee the country or if he has just had to halt business for a little while.”

When asked about how the conflict could affect US business with Egypt in the long term, Casini said “A change of government or ministry is not likely to affect our business with Egypt, unless a radical religious group comes into power, which in turn could affect business opportunities for US companies: much like what has happened in Iraq.”

While you’re out there having fun in the snow this winter, don’t forget how important SPF protection is. An area that a lot of people pay for neglecting in the winter is their lips. Lip balm with SPF 15 protection or higher can help manage the risk of chapped lips due to the harsh elements and blazing sun. Please take precautions to apply and re-apply lip balm this winter weather-even when it’s cloudy.

A recent study posted by the Archives of Dermatology lists UV readings for 32 of North America’s most popular slopes as well as adult skier/snowboarder sun protection habits. Want to help protect your employees, clients, and winter sportsman alike from harmful UV rays? Leashables.com carries a number of quality-tested SPF 15 & SPF 30 lip balms that can be customized with your logo and winter wishes!

Wanna know how a lip balm can impact 25,000 people?

Take a look at this quick case study on how one little lip balm met so many needs all at once.

End Buyer:

TD Bank North

Product:

Lip balm

Applications:

Piggy Bank Kids Program, giveaways at Grand Openings, giveaway when opening a new account, giveaway at sponsored events

Goal:

To reach as many people as possible with the TD North name/logo during an expansion period.

Results:

With an order for 25,000 lip balm, Leashables secured a new account. The end user, TD Bank had a record number of new accounts opened, and as a result have had repeat orders over the last 5 years with quantities no less than 100k pieces per order bi-annually.

Now how can we help you secure an account like that? Contact Us today to find out.

According to Global Advertising Specialties’ 2010 Impressions Study, the answer is yes, promotional products are the most cost effective way to advertise. This survey interviewed 406 participants from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London, Sydney, Toronto and Montreal metro areas about promotional products they had received on behalf of Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI).

Some interesting findings:

-The average cost per impression of a promotional product is at $0.005

-41% in the US said their opinion of the advertiser on a promotional product was more favorable

-Nearly two-thirds of respondents said if they received a promotional product that they did not want to keep, they passed it-on to someone else.

Visit theLeashables website to purchase some of the best quality promotional products available. To find-out more about the survey, go to the article on the ASI website

Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

This will not only help the individual, but the CDC describes maintaining clean hands as a way to have a healthier family, working environment, and community as well. It is important that the hand sanitizer is alcohol-based and potent enough to kill harmful bacteria.

Check-out other suggestions for making 2011 a healthy year by visiting the CDC’s page and always have Sanell® hand sanitizer on standby!

We’re having Cyber Monday Funday over at http://leashables.com!

You’ll get 5% off all online orders today on any and all purchases – take advantage of a great deal.

In the meantime check out a funny video about our typical online savings: