As the winter season approaches, it’s time to start thinking about how to stay warm and stylish. This means prioritising your winter essentials, especially when you’re out and about despite the cold weather.
Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway, an outdoor adventure, or just looking for a way to stay warm when doing your errands, there are plenty of winter essentials that can help you brave the cold weather and enjoy the things you love. These items can also help your brand remain visible throughout the season which gives you the opportunity to connect your brand to more people.
From jackets and beanies to travel blankets and cup warmers, here’s a list of the top winter items you’ll surely enjoy!
Quilted Jacket
A timeless classic that offers both comfort and style. The padded design provides great insulation which makes it a perfect choice for outdoor activities and other general use.
3-in-1 jacket
This 3-in-1 jacket is adaptable and highly versatile. You can wear the warm zip-out fleece liner jacket on its own, or simply don the rain shell in light conditions. It also has a roll away hood that can protect you.
Vest
A quilted padded vest is always a good choice, especially for those who want something lightweight and easy to wear. This can be a great implement to wear over a jacket or a softshell to achieve a warmer layering of clothes.
Beanie
In this weather, a cap just won’t cut it. Opt for the warm cozy feeling a beanie can provide. You can also squeeze into pockets or smaller bags which makes this piece of accessory highly portable.
Scarf
You can never go wrong with a scarf this season. It’s the perfect accessory that melds both functionality and style.
Touchscreen Gloves
Winter gloves are great and all but when smartphones became ubiquitous, we all found out one of its greatest limitations – you need to take them off just so you can type. Now, with touchscreen gloves, you can stay warm while using your phone for messaging, directions, or entertainment.
Cooler bag
Going outdoors won’t be much of a thing this season but if you really need to, there are ways to keep not only you but your things warm for long periods of time. With a cooler bag, you won’t have to worry about your food getting cold while in transit.
Insulated mug
Keeping your coffee or tea warm is an important thing no matter the season. With great insulation and sturdy design, this is a drinking ware you’ll bring with you everywhere you go.
Vacuum flask
Beverages aren’t the only things you’d want to keep warm when you’re out. Now, you can bring your favourite soup with you or maybe just a flask of hot water for later use. It’s a great outdoor companion, especially for long rides.
Portable fire pit
What’s better than staying warm and toasty by the fire? It’s staying warm and toasty with friends and loved ones. It’s a great addition to any outdoor space as it’s compact and easy to use. Have the ambience and warmth without the hassles of a traditional fire pit.
Fleece picnic mat
For other outdoor activities, this fleece picnic mat can give you a great place to sit down and share some snacks. It provides a soft and warm surface that everyone can enjoy.
Travel blanket
Whether you’re on a road trip or taking a long flight, this blanket will provide you with comfort and warmth. This fleece blanket is also made from recycled materials which makes it a great sustainable option this winter season.
Charger and cup warmer
Technology indeed has come a long way! Imagine charging your phone and heating your cup at the same time? Who wouldn’t want that? This charger and cup warmer is a perfect work gift as it hits two essential needs at the same time.
Lip balm
Prevent your lips from drying and cracking and drying this winter season! This lip balm will provide long-lasting moisture and protection and can fit into your pocket or a small pouch.
We have what you need!
Don’t let the winter season keep you from enjoying the things you love to do, especially the great outdoors. With this amazing selection, you not only combine functionality and style but also sustainability and innovation.
Visit our winter store to learn more about these products or schedule a call with us to know more about how you can include these amazing items in your winter campaign.
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” Seth Godin, American author and former dot-com business executive.
Branding your company or business is more than just picking the right shade of blue to use or designing a cool new logo. In order to create and develop a strong and effective brand strategy, you need to take a step back and look at the big picture while keeping in mind the important details as well.
We understand the importance of delivering the right message at the right time and place. But in order for that message to be consistent and effective throughout your entire marketing strategy, your brand has to be well-defined and effectively worked into a comprehensive brand strategy.
So, here are the Seven Essentials of Company Branding you need to have crystal clear in order to have and expand your brand’s presence and awareness.
What is a Brand Strategy?
Developing an effective Brand Strategy encompasses combining different components of your company´s character that ultimately make it identifiable throughout a wide myriad of platforms and media. To build a successful brand, a well-defined strategy must connect to your customers’ needs, emotions, and environments.
So, your brand is not your product, it’s not your logo, website, or even your company name. Your brand is something intangible, it’s a feeling or emotion that lives in people’s minds and hearts and makes the difference between mediocre companies and long-lasting thriving brands.
Purpose, Why you do what you do?
As a brand, you’re making a promise to the public. However, consumers have become more untrusting and very vigilant, to separate yourself from other brands it’s necessary to have a very clear and consistent “defining purpose”.
It’s not only necessary to know what your business promises is to define your brand, but also know why you wake up every day to continue to do what you do day after day. This is what will differentiate your brand from your competitors. Although making money is almost every company’s objective, it can’t be your sole purpose if you truly want to stand out from the competition. So, your success has to be more than just economical, it must be almost altruistic and noble, it must include making a positive impact in the world and in people’s lives. So, while defining your brand’s purpose make sure to dig deeper and find a more noble vision and mission.
Consistency, the Fuel to Brand Recognition and Customer Loyalty
In order to keep a consistent branding strategy, everything you talk about throughout your marketing and communication efforts must relate and/or enhance your brand and brand message. Consistency is the platform upon which your brand will stand to keep a cohesive and synergetic communication with the audience throughout every point of contact.
Create a style guide to include tone of voice, color schemes, and product positioning to avoid confusion. A great way to add consistency to your marketing mix is by carefully and thoughtfully adding promotional merchandise to your marketing mix. This will not only expand your brand´s reach, but it will also create a long-lasting impression on the public.
Emotion, the Key to Strengthening Brand-Customer Relationship
Brands that provide customers with opportunities to connect at emotional levels by feeling like they’re part of a group, or connected to others, as well as feeling love or affection, tend to have much higher customer loyalty and brand presence rates. Not to mention higher ROI on their marketing campaigns, including measurable ROI in promotional merchandise campaigns.
So, find a way to connect with your audience (customers) on a deeper level by providing them some sort of emotion, such as tranquility, peace of mind, belonging, care, affection, understanding, etc.
Flexibility, Don’t be Afraid to Change
By remaining flexible, you’ll also maintain the ability and freedom to be creative and reach customers new and old in fresh ways that will keep your brand relevant and vibrant. Keeping consistent standards and guidelines for your brand strategy, you´ll be able to freely expand your approach by making adjustments that continue to build interest and differentiate your approach from your competition.
A strong enough brand should be flexible enough to be consistently identifiable while remaining fresh and new. So, be creative and daring with new tactics and search out opportunities to engage your followers in unexpected ways. Some examples include out-of-the-box partnerships, highlighting new brand attributes, or utilising promotional products that work even if your budget is limited.
Employee Involvement, More than a Trend
If you think about it, your business is made by your customers and your employees. You already use much of your resources in keeping your customers happy, engaged, and well taken care of. However, a considerable amount of resources should be dedicated to caring for your employees as well.
This not only includes well-rounded workplace wellness programs and onboarding processes, but it also includes making sure your brand values and message remains consistent at all contact points, including your employees being well-versed in how they should be communicating with customers and representing the brand.
Loyalty, Last but Most Certainly not Least
Your customers are your most outspoken and public brand ambassadors. Their loyalty is key to expanding your brand and thus creating more profit as well. So, nurturing their loyalty has to be a priority. Doing so is sometimes as easy as saying “thank you”. However, as with any relationship, a more meaningful detail is required sometimes. Some fantastic tactics include writing them a personalised letter or sending them a special gift.
“Having your own Branded Online Company Storeis a great way to constantly cultivate loyalty. This branding platform allows you to constantly provide your customers and employees with useful merchandise to be part of their everyday life. Additionally, programs such as Store Points, Gift Cards, and Reward Systems create very effective ways to build engagement and expand your brand´s reach.
Red Tomato is here to help you take every element of your brand strategy to the next level by including top-notch promotional merchandise in your marketing mix and helping you set up your own Branded Online Company Store to further nurture and elevate your brand strategy.
As with any brand activation, preparing your brand for an event requires a lot of little pieces coming together. Making sure brand ambassadors are prepared, creating beautiful displays, purchasing event merchandise are just a few. Here is a complete event checklist for activating your brand and making sure those pieces fit together seamlessly.
Understand your buyer persona
Your buyer persona needs to be at the center of any marketing efforts your company is investing in. However, your buyer personas are especially important in brand activations. That is why it is the number one point on our events checklist.
Why is it so important? In order to prepare your brand for an event, you need to know who exactly you’re targeting. What are their pain points? Challenges? Why are they at the event? How is your brand going to solve their problem? Knowing your target audience before going to an event will help you tremendously in resonating with potential customers at an event.
Second on our events checklist is brand consistency.This doesn’t just mean making sure your colors are the same in the images you post on Facebook and on Twitter. Brand consistency means having consistent messages, tone, solutions, look, feel, and yes, colors and logos, throughout all mediums – on and offline.
Checking off brand consistency on your events checklist is essential for your brand activation. It makes sure your potential customer won’t get confused. All elements of your brand, including tone, messaging, look and feel, should be the same on your website as they are at an event. You want a lead from an event to turn into a customer post-event. How will that happen if they go to your website and the messaging is different than what your employees expressed to them in person at an event?
Don’t forget to refer to your brand style guide!
Sharing your company’s brand style guide with your events team will ensure that company ambassadors portray your brand consistently throughout all mediums.
When your entire team has a copy of the branding guidelines, it’s more likely that your company will be communicated in a consistent manner across all channels. People who received your company business card at an event will see the same branding on the website they visit when they’re back in the office.
Make sure your signage displays a clear message
Who is your target audience at this event and what issue are you trying to solve for them? Those are the two most important items that should be communicated by your event space. Your company’s signage should be easy to read, consistent with your brand, resonate with your buyer persona, and answer those two questions.
Have consistent uniforms that tell your brand story
Your brand ambassadors uniforms will contribute to brand consistency and will aid in telling your brand’s story to potential customers. This takes us back to the buyer personas (we told you they’d be at the center our events checklist!).
What type of uniform will connect best with your buyer persona? A more professional uniform? A playful, laid back uniform? Does your target client work in a startup and prefer a more Zuckerburg-grey-tee-and-blue-jean look?
Hand out giveaways that keep your brand top-of-mind long after the event ends
Customers that receive a branded gift from a company are more than 85% percent likely to do business with that same company. Handing out a promotional product at an event brings your brand home. A giveaway that is relevant, useful, and timely is more likely to turn a lead into a customer.
A promotional products agency can help you strategise and execute campaigns to generate qualified leads and turn them into sales.
Generating sales is all about making a personal connection. Marketing efforts need to be extremely personal, communicating your message with the specific individual to whom you want to sell. This is why it’s important in your marketing campaigns to focus on quality over quantity. Decreasing your cost per lead to the lowest possible requires careful planning and research.
Using promotional products to generate sales
How is a branded pen or mug going to help you hit your revenue goals? Well, 85% of people have done business after receiving a promotional product. However, not all promotional product campaigns are created equal, nor is every promotional products agency. Before you go and spend your entire marketing budget on a branded product campaign, it’s important to do your research.
Who is your target customer? What are you trying to sell to them? What’s your messaging, what pain point are you solving for them? At what point are they making decisions about purchasing?
After conducting thorough research and answering these questions, you can begin planning your campaign.
The most common reason people keep a promotional product is because they find it useful. Your target customer will keep your product on their desk, in their home, and use it every day all while having your brand in mind. Therefore, it’s important to have a promotional product that is useful to your customer while also making your brand’s messaging stick.
The usefulness of a product and its timing go hand-in-hand. Make sure your promotional product lands in the hands of your target customer at the perfect moment and your chances of recollection will increase.
How a promotional products agency can help you reach your sales goals
Creating and executing perfectly-timed, strategic promotional products campaign is an art form. Choosing the product and its design are just the first step. Timing, distribution, follow-up channels, messaging, and integrating your sales funnel all need to be included in your campaign. This is where a promotional products agency comes in.
As you know, marketing efforts need to be mixed in order to be effective. In a world of digital-overload for customers, a knock-out social media campaign is great, but its results are doubled when strategically paired with a branded product campaign. A promotional products agency will work with your existing marketing efforts to catalyze a sense of connection and loyalty to your brand.
An example of this is how O’Brien Real Estate enlisted our promotional products agency to attract more auctions for their AFL Finals Promotions. By combining a strategic product (branded footballs), strong timing (around the AFL Finals), and social media, they were able to generate more auctions and a larger audience for their seasonal promotions.
A promotional product agency will help you implement a strategic campaign; generating brand loyalty and catalyse your sales funnel to hit your revenue goals.
1300 776 733
hi@redtomato.com.au 
