January 4, 2012

Tax Disc Holders, Effective Promotional Items

Filed under: tax disk holders — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:22 am

Tax disc holders have been needed on vehicles in the UK since 1920. A tax excise duty has been payable in the UK for all roadworthy vehicles used on the roads since 1889, but it was not until 1920 that proof of payment of the tax was required through prominently displaying the small, circular document in a tax disc holder. The tax disc has to be displayed on the left-hand side of the windscreen of a car, or other four-wheeled vehicle, but in a suitable folder that is safely attached to the bodywork if it is a two-wheeled vehicle.

Tax disc holders used to be solid metal affairs with a glass front that was rigidly attached to the inside of a car in such a way that they could be seen clearly from the outside. These days they are much more interesting, though still perfectly functional. They are usually made from flexible plastic material, PVC or polypropylene, and they come in just about any colour imaginable. They can also come in a variety of textures and finishes, such as a leather-look, for example.

These items are often used by garages, usually agents for a particular model of car, as a means of promoting their services. Often the garage or company name is prominently displayed on the back of the tax disc holder with contact information as well. This is usually a telephone number, but increasingly it is also an email address and also the web address of the garage website. The printed part of a tax disc holder can be in full colour litho, silkscreen, foil blocking or digital. It can say anything you like for a truly customised holder.

In fact, it is quite common to see tax disc holders promoting football teams, or entertainers. They may incorporate a No Smoking symbol, or some other message that the driver of the vehicle is aligned with and believes in. This could be a political message, an environmental message, or simply something humerous and funny. Some tax disc holders can even double as air fresheners with a circular cannister of air freshener located on the back of the holder.

It is the law in the UK that you must display a tax disc, or proof of payment of the vehicle tax excise duty. This has meant that a side industry has emerged that produces suitable and legal tax disc holders. The ones that can be personalised and customised are particularly popular with garages and other businesses.

April 4, 2011

Oyster Card Wallets – a Great Marketing and Promotion Opportunity

Filed under: oyster card wallets — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:24 pm

What is an Oyster Card Wallet?

Oyster card wallets are simply plastic wallets designed to carry and protect London oyster cards for the city’s travellers and commuters. The oyster card is an electronic ticket that can be used to pay for travel on the public transport throughout Greater London. Oyster card wallets not only house and protect the credit card sized travel cards, but they also offer a marketing, advertising and promotional opportunity for businesses of all sizes.

What was the purpose of the Oyster Card Wallet?

The London transport oyster card was introduced in July of 2003. By mid 2010 there were in excess of 34 million cards in circulation. Some 80 percent of all journeys made in Transport of London services were paid for through the oyster card. It doesn’t take much of a mathematical mind to work out that if only a relatively small proportion of those travelers used oyster card wallets, the advertising and promotional opportunities are huge.

 

Of course, a very large proportion of travelers who use the oyster card also have the distinctive blue coloured card kept securely in a plastic wallet of some kind. The majority of these wallets have some form of printing on them, often company advertising of some sort. The wallets are often given away free in promotional efforts, or are cheap to buy, as it is definitely in the company’s interests to have the printed wallets distributed as widely as possible.

 

Get creative with your promotional material

Many print companies will be only too glad to design or personalise oyster card wallets for a business seeking to discover a new promotional marketing outlet. Full colour litho printing will give the full ranges of colours and present endless opportunities for serious creativity. Print runs can be small, a few hundred or so, or they can be large, running into many tens of thousands. Most print shops will also offer very competitive rates, especially for large print runs.

Oyster card wallets come in many shapes, colours and even sizes to some extent. They are most commonly available in durable plastic, but can be made in a wide range of suitable materials. Creating a highly distinctive design of oyster card wallets offers an excellent marketing opportunity and is something a little quirkier than standard marketing material and is likely to get noticed and remembered by all who come into contact with it.

August 2, 2010

Presentation folder

Filed under: presentation folders — Tags: , , — admin @ 2:40 pm

The pen is just one example of a promotional product, the most common one at that, it is as old and well tried as the promotional key ring chain or baseball cap. Nowadays a fantastic plethora of bespoke, stationery promotional products are available for business to utilise as advertising opportunities.

Presentation folders and ring binders are an equally effective way of launching your brand name into a new arena, after all the situations and contexts in which presentation folders are used are as infinite as the designs and logos that can be printed on them. Credit card wallets are another device with the same potential for subtle advertising. The cleverness of this product lies in its utility in relation to valuables. The idea being if the product contains valuables it will be looked after and used for a long time, meaning the product advertises the logo or company for longer.

A more innovative promotional product is the tax disc holder which is displayed on the dash board of cars. The effectiveness of the product stems from the mobility of the car which as it drives around displays the product wherever it goes.

Think about it…promotional products: a clever, affordable way to advertise.

July 19, 2010

Tax disc holder

Filed under: tax disk holders — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:32 am

An unconventional, innovative and effective advertising ploy. Isn’t that what every aspiring business is looking for? Surprisingly, a tax disc holder could be the answer. Hear the argument before you scoff:

At a recent promotional products association tradeshow it was revealed that approximately 95 percent of business’s surveyed, reported utilising promotional products at their events and tradeshows. Furthermore, approximately 70 percent of respondents reported that promotional products were either “extremely effective” or “effective” in achieving their advertising goals. The reason business’s use these products are simple; they work. There are four main reasons for the effectiveness of these products: they increase brand/name recognition, generate interest, attract new customers and trade and finally, they create the perception of goodwill.

Promotional products are the little sister of TV and magazine advertising, the next step down from broadcasting and printing your company name. A 2006 study by the Incentive Performance Central that promotional products could be used as a primary advertising medium, as these products came second only T.V.  Bespoke promotional products are a supplementary marketing device that reinforces the positive brand image of the more effective t.v advertising medium. The one area where promotional products are, perhaps, better that t.v adverts is their ability to promote a sense of goodwill; adverts cannot hand you a tangible present.

Promotional Products Association International have said, in the past, that businesses who use promotional products are twice as likely to be contacted as those that do not.

Promotional products, then, are established as an effective advertising medium; one of the best, in fact. But why tax disc holders instead of, say, a pen? Precisely because a pen is the first example of a promotional product that pops into mind when thinking of an example to cite in an article such as this. Similarly, key rings, caps and t-shirts all crop up as cliché promotional gimmicks. They are effective, that much is already established, but what they are not is unconventional and off the beaten track. The tax disc holder promotional product is and it is ideal as an addition to an already existing range of promotional products.

July 12, 2010

Attract new customers

Filed under: promotional products — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:41 pm

Promotional Products

How many times have you been handed a pen with the name of a brand or company written down the side? The more thoughtful advertiser will often include the company website, phone number or contact details to accompany the brand name, thus providing unsuspecting individuals with the contact information they need if the brand or product appeals to them. All the person wanted was a pen and yet barely knowing it, they have been subjected to a subtle advertising ploy. Promotional products such as this are a great way to draw attention to a logo without spending a fortune of T.V and Radio advertising campaigns.

Aspiring businesses are always looking for a way to attract new customers, grab the attention of the market and advertise the name of their brand or company. Clever little ways of penetrating the attention of potential customers are much sought after schemes, the value of which cannot be overestimated.  For this reason promotional products are an ever popular method for achieving such advertising goals.

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