The Hands-On Approach to 2009 Sales Growth

--A pilot sales program that partners with promotional products salespeople to sell $100,000 Character Marketing Campaigns --

Allentown, PA, October 27, 2008 - Artistic Toy and The Promotion Coach announce today their plan to help 20 promotional product distributors build character. Jim Socci, President Artistic Toy, and Ted Davies, The Promotion Coach, have teamed up to help salespeople go deeper into clients’ marketing campaigns to discover sales opportunities they could be missing. The goal is to recruit 20 dedicated sales professionals who want to work hands on to implement their co-authored “Character Marketing Sales Playbook™”.

The pilot program will begin on Monday, January 19, 2009. The dynamic duo will use a series of web training sessions to implement the sections in the playbook. Within the program salespeople will receive:

• Guidance on Client Selection
• Assistance developing an award winning prospecting campaign
• Tips for securing appointments
• Presentation Assistance
• Access to case studies and proposal templates
• The Promotion Coach Sales Playbook – First Million Audio CDs

The cost of this pilot program is FREE, but is limited to 20 participants. Applications are being accepted online at www.artistictoysmfg.com/100kpilot.html through December 19, 2008. The selected participants will be announced on January 12, 2009 at the PPAI Las Vegas Trade Show.

View Press Release in PDF Format.

View recorded Webinar Playback to learn more about Jim and Ted's personal success stories with their Proactive Sales Approach: "Don't Leave $ on the Table."

"I am glad I attended the webinar because plush, especially custom, was not really on my radar as a unique, multi-industry promo item. I see now that there are some great universal possibilities, so thanks!"
Beverly Padratzik (Proforma House, Chicago, IL)

Boost Your Client's 4th Quarter Sales

The current economy is on shaky ground and that ripples down uncertainty with clients you currently advise on promotional product, advertising, and marketing solutions. The last couple of months there was a “Cold Turkey” approach to cutting advertising dollars by many businesses across all industries.

Tama Swan, Associate Editor PPB Magazine, shares a fantastic article about how developing a promotional campaign that involves handing out creative promotional products can keep brands in consumers’ minds even when wallets are closed. The chances of boosting sales immediately are cautiously optimistic; however, retailers are going to need ideas that sizzle to bring the emotion back into this holiday season and more shoppers into the stores. The smart marketers are not getting discouraged though; they are building campaigns to stay connected to shoppers by dispensing free gifts and entertainment in shopping malls. I think I remember my grandmother telling me something about doing something and expecting nothing in return. It is likely that your customer gift giving campaign will NOT create an immediate ROI worth speaking about, unless of course you consider receiving 1 heartfelt thank you an acceptable return. Outside of that, Retailers have the opportunity to handout as many smiles as possible, which is the reason consumers are shopping and they so quickly forgot. Instead of giving them an extra 5% discount at the register this season, remind your shoppers what it’s all about and give them an experience they will not forget. Chances are this memorable shopping experience will generate the most beneficial marketing known to man, “word of mouth.”

In case you did not get a chance to pick up the October PPB article, I have selected the excerpt from her FAST FORWARD article.

Mall Madness
Handing out freebies and samples can keep brands in consumers’ minds even when wallets are closed.

In this tight economy where gas prices are high and funds are low, many families are opting for purchase-less mall excursions. There they can get out of the house and take in some sites, expending little more than the fuel it takes to get there and a couple of bucks for a Cinnabon. Savvy marketers are taking this opportunity to tantalize bored Americans with free gifts and maintain their brand images through tough economic times.

Last summer, when Coca-Cola wanted to promote its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olypmics, the company offered thousands of free, commemorative Coke bottles specially designed by Chinese artists to visitors at Simon Malls. The free gifts came with cards prompting those who received them to visit Coke’s website and download free music associated with each bottle.

The promotion was part of a teen-focused event called Simon dTour Live and featured giveaways by other companies such as Sprint and ABC Family, which gave away network programming-based t-shirts that visitors could customize on-site.

In a Promo magazine article about the tour, Cathi Weiner, senior vice president of business development for Simon Brand Ventures, said “Consumers come to malls expecting entertainment. They are primed to shop and primed for messaging.” Before recommending this type of promotion to your client, take note of these facts:

• Most mall events occur in big, open spaces, such as the center court, to maximize exposure. It usually takes several months to plan these activities, but it’s possible to shorten the timeline to four to six weeks.

• The price depends on the size and scope of your event—such as whether you’re appearing at one mall or two dozen. One-day rental fees for mall space can range from a few thousand dollars to $10,000. The time of year can affect the price as well, as weekends and holidays are more expensive.

• Remember that hosting a mall event will require extra staffing, advertising and third-party event handlers. You may also want to purchase security, pre-promotional signage and décor.

Source: www.promomagazine.com

Press Release: Artistic Toy Stimulates Economic Recovery

--Budget Friendly Assortments of Stuffed Plush Toys Stimulate Corporate PR Campaigns--

Allentown, PA, September 29, 2008 - Artistic Toy announces today their plan to stimulate public relation campaigns of Companies by offering high quality assorted stuffed plush toys at deep discounts. The campaign is geared towards corporations that want to support charity organizations by providing smiles to as many children and adults as possible. Making a toy donation to your church, school, and other Non-Profit Organization this holiday season could generate more return on your marketing dollar than you might expect. Well run community organizations are always eager to accept donations and promote Sponsors in the press and to all their members. The term "Goodwill Marketing" or "Cause Promotion" are not new strategies for many corporations; however, more difficult to justify the investment or ROI in this woeful economy. Many companies adopt a philosophy to give when times are good and pull back when times are tough. Intuitively that is a tough philosophy to argue against; however, the community needs you more NOW than before. Ted Davies, Jr. a 28 year veteran to Promotional Products Sales and Marketing reports the Fact: 77% of U.S. consumers want companies to commit to a specific cause for a long time, instead of running short promos with several causes. That's up from 66% since 1993 as published in an article in Promo Magazine.

"Staying committed to a single cause year after year sends a strong message to your community and your customers", says Jim Socci, President of Artistic Toy. A humble gift giving campaign provides transparency and visibility that consumers can trust in while they pick up the pieces from home foreclosures, corporate corruption, and understand what this government bailout means to their family.

If the gift giving gesture is done in sincerity with a modest assortment of stuffed plush toys to those in need, you may also see an increase in new customers or better yet retention of existing customers.

Visit http://www.artistictoysmfg.com/files/assorted_plush_toys.pdf for random assortments of stuffed plush toys available by the box ranging in size from 3"to 20".

Build a Powerful School Fundraiser Program

Discount cards, candles, chocolate bars, cookie dough, entertainment books, magazines, and scratch cards. Been there, done that. And gaining profit from these goods means initially buying more products at cheaper bulk-prices and trying to sell them all for greater return. Wouldn’t it be better if the product was unique and generated more return on its own?

Fundraising Step One: the mascot.
Schools are identified by their mascot, such as the Buckeyes or the Scarlet Knights. Almost every school has a mascot that is displayed on sports jerseys, school banners, school apparel, and might even be a “live” costume mascot. What about using them for fundraisers too?
Plush toy mascots could not only generate profit for the school’s organization but also generate school spirit. Chocolate bars and discount coupons have no association to the school – customers may forget about that candy bar that was so quickly consumed, the useless wrapper that was thrown away, and the cause for which those few dollars were spent. Plush toy mascots are directly connected to the school, especially when accompanied with t-shirts that display the school’s logo or event that is being fundraised. So customers are getting a product that promotes the school’s activities as well as the school itself.
Consider a school whose mascot is the bulldog. Say the distributer buys 100 plush bulldogs, which will cost the distributor about $5 each. That equals $500 as the initial cost for this fundraiser. To generate profit, they might sell these bulldogs for $10. That’s 10x100 = $1000, which means $500 profit. For even more profit, the school could either sell more or increase the customer purchase price. Or they could read on…

Fundraising Step Two: extra effort = extra return.
Want to put in a little more oomph into the fundraising process? The results will prove to be well worth the extra effort.
I want to introduce a new idea for those same plush toys… the Interactive Plush Toy: Add a tag on each of the toys and you now have a mascot plush toy, a t-shirt with the school’s logo, and a tag that is redeemable for discounts at participating local businesses.
Extra effort: Organizers of the fundraiser will need to recruit some local businesses to be a part of their fundraising event. The tags on the mascots will be redeemable at one of the participating local businesses. The prize could be a free slice of pizza or 50% entrée at a new restaurant – whatever the businesses have agreed to offer.
Extra return: The customer is getting a toy and a discount offer at a local business. The event’s fundraising profit increases. The involved businesses are getting increased traffic at the cost of, say, just a few slices. Everyone profits!
Of course, with this new added feature, the mascots can be sold at a higher price.
The bulldogs will still cost $10 for the school ($500 initial website cost) if the school buys 100 toys. However, now sell the little mascots for $25, which adds up to 25x100 = $2500. That means $1500 profit. You just increased the return of your fundraiser! Now, why not go a little further?

Fundraising Step Three: 100% no cost to you.
Get a business to fully sponsor your fundraiser. Their logo can go on the t-shirt: “Sponsored by…” The local business will pay the initial costs of the mascots and on-line redemption program. In the case of the bulldogs, that’s $500 + $500 for website. All the t-shirts will have an advertisement of the business, and a portion of the tags (whatever percentage the business approves) will be redeemable at that location.
The cost for you is $0. The profit for you is 20x100= $2,000. The profit for the promoted business is increased traffic via the tags and increased awareness via the t-shirt ad space. Sounds like a win-win situation.

More than 14 inch Golf Head Covers - $9.99(R)!

Do you want more than a great product at a great price?

Click HERE to see our 14 inch Golf Head Cover Special!

Maybe you want to hit a long ball to be a top performer this year? Use Character Marketing to go for the green with precision and you can become a Top Performer in 2008.

You have less than 100 selling days left this year. It’s a tough call…you can wait for customers to call you with a big order or you can attack the fairways with a plan to get one customer worth $10,000 to $50,000 of new business this year. In today’s sales environment the “grip-it and rip-it” approach of finding new business typically never finds you on the fairway. Consider attending one of Artistic Toy’s FREE webinars on ways to build new business with precision shots that are guaranteed to get you noticed.

Click HERE to see list of upcoming webinars.

Join us to discuss topics like creative prospecting kits, character marketing campaigns, and new interactive toys that can produce immediate measurable results for your customers.

Kirby Bear Special - Why Am I Green?

GREEN has different meanings to different people. Some people think if you are GREEN you must be inexperienced. Other people think that if you are GREEN you are made of recycled materials.

I’ve been promoting businesses for over 15 years and I am made out of ALL NEW MATERIALS for your Safety. I am bulk packed and do not use any foam packing peanuts when I travel. It is through my experience that I have been able to conclude that I am a GREEN product because people will not throw me away. Similar to my other plush toy character friends, I don’t run out of ink, I’m not easily broken, and I always find a great home for generations of enjoyment. Some of my cousins are now collectibles and others have executive offices around the world.

So if you are thinking of ways to make your advertising GREEN, think about me and remember what my old friend Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being Green”.

Sincerely,


P.S. I’m interested to know if you think I’m GREEN worthy or not. Anyone who posts a comment on the blog and votes on the poll will receive a FREE – 24” version of me with an imprinted t-shirt with their next order.

Click Here to Leave a Comment

How to Sell a $50,000 Plush Toy Program

On April 22, 2008, Artistic Toy hosted a FREE webinar on “How to Sell a $50,000 Plush Toy Program". This webinar introduced the concept of Character Marketing and how stuffed plush toys can be used in your marketing campaign.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a character toy is worth millions to your brand."

The response to the webinar was overwhelming with 184 attendees pre-registered and 96 in attendance. I know many of you could not make it. Please follow the link below to get the recorded playback.

If you’re not sure if you have time to listen to the webcast, please consider what others have said:

“Good job...I found the time spent will be worth it."

“Thanks for the webinar. I'm interested in the questions to help establish clear objectives with clients.”

“Thanks for such an informative and enjoyable event today."

“It was very informative and I hope to work with you on several large companies.”

“It was a pleasure attending the Web Conference.”

88% of attendees stated that they would like help mapping current customer’s to the character marketing applications discussed in the webinar.

94% of the attendees stated they were interested in learning more about our new Interactive Toy solutions that guarantee measurable results.

If you are looking for the responses to the FAQ’s Click Here.

If you want to Replay the Full Webinar Click Here.

If you want the Slide Presentation Click Here.

Please post a comment on this blog or email info@artistictoysmfg.com to get started using stuffed plush toys in character marketing campaigns.