Got A Date With A Hot Product!
By Joe Haley

The advertising calendar formed the foundation of the promotional products industry, and through the years it’s maintained its popularity and flexibility, changing with the times but never losing its value as a way to carry your message to customers – a product that truly withstands the test of time.

Without them, we really wouldn’t know what day it is. That’s the simple appeal of calendars. They help us manage the maze of time, keep appointments, remember birthdays and anniversaries and basically organize our lives.  And that’s pretty much why you give them to your customers; you know people need and use them. What that does, in turn, is give your company, products and services a great ad vehicle, thanks to the number of times a day people look at their calendars. Even better, it’s an annuity product. The people who get your calendar will often call at year’s-end to ensure they get a new one. “There’s no better item in the promotional products field to give away with a company’s imprint on it than a calendar because what other product automatically, at a certain time, on a certain date becomes outdated except a calendar,” says promotional consultant Bob Teese. “On the 31st of December every year you need to get a new calendar.” Think about it. When was the last time a client asked you to send them your advertising? When you get a response like that, you know that whatever you spent for that calendar (and it wasn’t that much), it was worth every penny. For Every Action, A Reaction The first advertising calendars appeared in the mid-1800s – so long ago, in fact, that you might rightly wonder if something that’s been around so long can still generate interest as a promotional product. But like anything else, societal trends and technological enhancements can breathe new life into even the most traditional products. These days, the economy is one of the biggest trend-makers. “I see price being a big issue, if not the biggest issue,” says Arturo Cortes, a New York promotional consultant. Translation: People want to spend less. No problem. The thing is, quality and selection haven’t suffered from price squeezes, especially where calendars are concerned. “What I see happening now [is that] people are trying to make their advertising dollar go as far as it possibly can,” says promotional consultant David Bywater. If that ultimately means you have to use a slightly less expensive product for 2004, so be it. Your counselor will show you that finding something you like and can afford isn’t impossible. There are many product styles available at varying price points. In addition to dollars and cents, there are other factors out there affecting the popularity of calendars. For example, specialization and customization are becoming more frequent – kind of a natural evolution from not living in a homogenous, one-size-fits-all world. “Before, you had to use a calendar that fit any market. Now, people say ‘We really need something geared toward the financial market or insurance market or real estate market,’” says Mike Fey, a Midwest promotional consultant. The result? Calendars that offer specific data and information for a particular market. Think, for example, about plumbing specs, rules and regulations on calendars geared to plumbers or plumbing supply stores. The options for specialization are virtually endless. “For a small investment you can put the individual who you want to send that calendar to, you can put their name on the calendar,” Teese says. “When you do this and you send that calendar out chances are 100% that the recipient is going to take that calendar and put it up on his or her wall. They’re certainly not going to do anything silly like discarding it.” Other Trends If you’re not in insurance, plumbing, medicine or some other specialized field where boiler-plate copy already exists, you can always opt for customization. There’s a huge surge in requests for this, says Keith Fields, a promotional consultant in Nevada: “People want a book or a calendar or a product that has an extremely custom feel to it.” Your counselor is, in essence, the genie in the bottle when it comes to custom calendars – your wish is her command. The benefit: Recipients feel they’ve gotten an extremely high-value item. Check with your counselor as to what customization entails. It can include anything from original daily pages to photographs you supply. You might even consider handing out calendars that showcase your products and services.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then design and color speak volumes too. “I think overall design in the cover, the type of cover stock and the color of the cover stock has been changing fairly rapidly,” says counselor Bob Staub. “We’re seeing a lot of brighter colors being requested, and I think some of the long-time colors we’ve grown to know as diary cover material – the blacks, blues, maroons – are kind of going away.” But don’t look for those shades to leave completely. Check with your counselor to see what’s available, even if you’re not interested in that week’s cutting-edge color.  Want more clues as to what your clients might appreciate? Check out what’s hot at the retail level. It’s likely your customers will respond to those trends. And the same styles, colors, etc. are available from your counselor. Avoid Getting Mall-ed? Every Christmas season, it seems like there’s another kiosk or store selling calendars at the mall. They compete with bookstores, specialty stores and greeting card shops for sales. And the trend of Dilbert, Far Side, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, etc., calendars show no signs of waning. But should you forego an ad calendar just because people may be tempted to buy a dozen photos of kittens or puppies?  “From what I’ve seen, those prices are very high … $10 to $15 a clip,” Cortes says. “And that’s just a one-time buy.” In other words, most people aren’t buying calendars for themselves. If they do buy them, they’re usually a gift. And if they’re counting on receiving your calendar year after year, there’s no reason for them to think about retail.  “The main thing a promotional calendar offers that isn’t offered by a retail calendar is the company gets to put its name on it,” Teese says. “The Sports Illustrated calendar or any of those other retail calendars you could buy and give away as a gift, there’s no advertising on those calendars. I’d venture to say that before too many months went by perhaps the person who’s using that calendar would forget who gave it to them.” The one thing retail calendar sales do illustrate is the product’s continuing popularity. “They wouldn’t show up in the malls if folks weren’t buying [them],” Bywater points out.  That’s the thing. If people are shelling out money for calendars at the retail level, imagine how they’d respond to a nice art calendar for free. Besides, most people use more than one calendar. While the Dilbert day-by-day might be a source of entertainment and amusement, a desk blotter-type calendar is far more utilitarian. People would also be less likely to scrawl on the Dilbert model, but they’d have no problem leaving notes all over the desk calendar. The bottom line: They’ll be happy they have it and thankful to the giver.  Power Up It seems like everyone these days has one of those handy-dandy little PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) or other electronic organizers. They’re valuable because they can store tons of information, from appointments to important dates. Basically, they do exactly what a calendar does, but in an electronic format and with more bells and whistles. But will they ever replace the advertising calendar?  In a word, No. While PDAs have their place in the business world, they lack certain aesthetic qualities. “The thing with PDAs is, they’re so small you never get the artistic side of the calendar,” Cortes says. “I like large numbers where you can write something inside the day block. Things like that are important. Unless we get rid of the office as a structure altogether, I think calendars will be around for a very long time.” As we all know, functionality is a key component of a popular promotional product. “I don’t think that PDAs had an affect on the wall calendar or desk pads,” says Chuck Pecher, a Midwest promotional consultant. “If you’re sitting there as a purchasing agent or production manager and you’re planning things out in a meeting and talking with three or four people, it’s just so much easier when you can look up on the wall and check a date.”  And electronics are more prone to error, says Fields. “People want a hard copy. We’ve all had our computer lock up right in the middle of a document. We’ve all had crashes.” Lots Of Calendars One Imprint editor has been using the same imprinted mug the better part of 15 years. (Now there’s a product with staying power!) So he has no need for another one, at least until this one breaks.  There is, however, a need for more than one calendar among most users. “We did a study through the Calendar Advertising Council a few years ago and found that most people use between four and six,” Bywater says. Think about that for a minute, and count how many calendars you use in the home and office. Do the numbers seem solid? “There are lots and lots of them out there,” Fields says. “It’s something we all use and rely on. Depending on who you talk to, you’ll get different answers as to how many.”  So even if you think your ad calendar won’t get used because of other calendars being given out by other firms, you may want to think again. Consider the at-home use: kitchen, basement, bedroom, purse or wallet, garage, computer room, etc. And at work the locations are just as varied: on a mousepad, desk blotter, wall, one-day-at-a-time or weekly desk calendar, and so on. Some people, like Cortes, hang artistic calendars just for show.  Let’s go back to our editors to see this concept in practice. One (not the coffee mug guy) has five calendars in his cubicle – an art calendar, one with company events, one with publication deadlines, a desk blotter calendar and a day planner. On a personal/home level, the same editor has a wallet calendar, two day planners for soccer and baseball activities, a school calendar, a church calendar, a township calendar, a calendar in the basement and one in the bedroom. All told, that’s 13 calendars – 10 are imprinted and not one was purchased. So much for the view of “ho-hum” calendars not packing a promotional punch! One final thought: If you’re considering calendars as a promotional vehicle, make sure you get together with your counselor and order them early. Why? Two reasons:  1) it assures the stock will be there to accommodate your delivery date, and 2) if people get them early enough, they’ll be less likely to buy one – and that means yours will get used.  Joe Haley is managing editor of Imprint.
Translucent products are still popular. This pocket planner’s color evokes those styles being offered in retail.  Ask for asi/67160 Letts Of London Line – specify Summer Imprint
	Since the aftermath of the terrorist attack on September 11 there’s been an increase in the demand for patriotic products. Calendar suppliers can fill the need for clients looking to wave the red, white and blue, year round. Ask for asi/92185 Triumph Line – specify Summer Imprint
Hanging 12-month calendars come in a variety of styles and appeal to any number of clients. Ask for asi/94290 Global Line – specify Summer Imprint
	Whether planners are spiral bound or not they come in handy for most business people. And even though PDAs are increasing in popularity most people still want that hard copy of scheduled appointments. Ask for asi/43920 Executive Image line – specify Summer Imprint
Spiral wall calendars are among the more traditional offerings in the industry. And they come in a variety of formats. Ask for asi/92255 Tru-Art line – specify Summer Imprint
	Small desk calendars take up very little desktop room. And some come with a phone index that’s revealed when the calendar page is flipped down. Ask for asi/95280 Warwick line – specify Summer Imprint
Imprinting is always important when handing out promotional calendars. There are a variety of options available like embossed, foil stamping and pad printing. Ask for Castelli US Line asi/44305 – specify Summer Imprint
	Wallet calendar cards also serve as business cards. Ask for asi/71400 Enduraline – specify Summer Imprint
This wall calendar has large day blocks so users have plenty of room to write in important information. Ask for asi/54040 Fey line – specify Summer Imprint
	Calendars come with a number of side features like note pad/pencil holders and thermometers. Ask for asi/72240 Morco line – specify Summer Imprint
Calendar styles and options are limitless. From left to right: a recipe calendar for the kitchen with pockets to hold recipes or receipts; calendars are available in a number of foreign languages; the ever popular hot road calendar works well for anything male-oriented like auto-service stations and mechanics; and a small (5" x 6") calendar with familiar and cherished Norman Rockwell paintings. Ask for asi/61960 HotLine – specify Summer Imprint
	Emergency numbers are always at hand with this calendar that is meant to be hung by the kitchen telephone. Ask for asi/87620 E-Line – specify Summer Imprint

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