When Less is More

Jim Smith

Promotion is the key to great sales and marketing.  That’s why much of the promotional product world is always looking to maximize a logo—I call it billboarding—on everything from totes to jackets to key rings.  While such billboarding on promotional gifts may have its place from time to time, it advertises the brand in a large way for a “flash in the pan” moment and promotional gifts are often relegated to a drawer, closet, garage sale or trash can with a dust-covered promotional thud.

We counsel our clients to take a ‘less is more’ approach to product logo applications, with subtler and quieter logo styles such as engraving, embellishments such as charms or embossed tags and plates.  We’ve found this approach to be far more effective in producing positive results.  There have been many times when clients have even opted to forego logo branding altogether and have instead used “thank you” cards or logoed packaging with an item that truly looks and feels like a gift.

Think of promotional gifts in terms of what the recipients will value most highly, how it will reflect upon your brand or company and if it will be used personally, at home or in the office.  The priority of any promotion is to maximize the customers’ positive experience with your brand and its effectiveness is measured by how they perceive your promotional gift.  Does the gift convey respect and appreciation for the customer, or does it attempt to try and build the brand at the customer’s expense?

Make your promotional gifts look trendy and elegant, with tasteful branding and logo applications. This will make your customers feel appreciated. It will also motivate them to spread the word and reward you back with their loyalty and more of their business.  What do you think?  Comments always welcomed.

Need Some Rough Justice?

Jim Smith

is a young and trendy brand based in Los Angeles.  They feature aggressive footwear and eyewear and sunglasses with equal amounts of “attitude.”  We are working with them to expand their collection to include accessories such as card cases, coin purses, wallet bags and totes.  Click on Rough Justice to see our metallic silver, slotted card case and zippered coin and key ring pouch.  Getting to know the marketing team and their vision for the brand is essential in developing accessories that complement and push forward the Rough Justice mystique.  And since quality materials, workmanship and control are essential, we are using our top Asia-based, retail-savvy manufacturing capabilities to build the brand’s expanding product categories.  MII is thrilled to add Rough Justice to our growing list of retail clients that includes Barney’s New York, Disney Theatrical, Caesar’s World Merchandising, Bloomingdale’s and St John Knits.

Brand Your Way to Success

In case you’ve been out of this world, you should know that branded merchandise is hotter than ever.  We all know branded merchandise has been around for a long time.  We, at MII, believe the first such instance that history has recorded was when David slew Goliath wearing a T-shirt that said, “Eat More Chicken.”  MII has been providing quality private label goods for over thirty years and our experiences have been as varied as the mind can dream.  We have offered and provided everything from conception to custom packaging.

Bloomingdales

The latest blog from Tim Donnelly for Inc.magazine has some great ideas on how to start your merchandise branding.  If you have a fan base, why not enlist them through promotional merchandise to promote your brand?  People like to be associated with brands they like, think are cool or hip, display status or luxury, or remind them of a special event.  There are many ways to do this and many even offer a profitable return on your investment.  Company stores have fans that shop and purchase the latest brand T-shirt, keychain or pen.  A major retailer may offer a gift-with-purchase items such as totes or clutches.   Another company may provide event gifts for a rally, cause or golf tournament.  Motion picture and theatre companies reap

Juicy

tremendous profits from merchandise sales if they have a hit film or play.

Whether you are looking for a new profit center, a gift-with-purchase to entice sales or a giveaway to support a new product launch, MII can help.  What do you need?  We’re here to help.

How to Look Summer Chic Using Social Media

by DHARA on 17. JUN, 2011 in SOCIAL MEDIA

 Though summer hasn’t officially started, the warm air is in full swing and it’s time to bring out the summer wardrobe! Long gone are the days of wondering what’s hip and what’s not; social media makes it easy to make sure your wardrobe is right on trend this season.

Here’s your guide to looking effortlessly chic with the help of social media:

1. Chances are you’re probably on Facebook, so why not ask your friends and your favorite brands for advice on what to
wear! Brands like Ann Taylor Loft are the perfect place to get outfit ideas and see what everyone else is wearing! Their Facebook page is loaded with outfit ideas from fans and there’s even a live chat, starting this upcoming Tuesday, to answer all of your fashion questions. And of course, no outfit is complete without the perfect pair of shoes. Brands like Steve Madden make it easy toshop on Facebook and you can even see how many people like the shoes you’re going to buy! You can also check out the questions feature many brands have started using to see what’s popular in a poll or you can ask your Facebook friends if that fedora is really as stylish as you thought it was by posting a question of your own.

2. Another way to stay chic this summer is via Twitter.  I like to follow designers like@Rachel_Roy , makeup artists like@AskBobbiBrown and fashion magazines like@glamourdotcom and @InStyle for the latest updates on trends and what’s new this season. I love seeing Rachel Roy’s pictures of how she puts outfits together or how others, like theFirst Lady, are wearing a trend.  With so many fashion brands, designers, magazines and bloggers on Twitter, you’ll look stunning this summer, whether you’re going to a wedding or a barbecue.

3. I also like to follow fashion savvy bloggers to get wardrobe inspiration. A personal favorite is  What I Wore – A Personal Style Blog. This blogger takes pictures of outfits she puts together from vintage stores to high end designer pieces, making it easy to look chic all the time! I’ve found Twitter to be the best resource to find new blogs to follow.

4. Last but not least, there’s always an app! I didn’t realize just how manyfashion apps are out there to help solve those daily dilemmas of what to wear. A few that stood out to me are Stylebook and Glamour’s Ask a Stylistapp. The Stylebook app is a wardrobe organizer that lets you keep track of everything in your closet and allows you to mix and match pieces to create any look you’re going for. It even comes with a calendar so you can keep track of what you wore on any given day. The Ask a Stylist app allows you to upload a picture and ask a question and within minutes, a stylist will respond! The app is free so you’ll always have a stylist to answer any of your questions whether you’re shopping or getting ready for a night out.

What are some of the blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter handles and apps that you use for wardrobe inspiration? Share your favorites with a comment to MII!

New York Fashion Brands With Stellar Social Media Tactics

Submitted by Macala Wright on 05/10/2011 – 6:20 am Comments

Last week, Fashion 140 Conference was one the digital fashion events of the year.  It quickly became apparent that New York-based fashion brands are leading a digital revolution with kick ass social media strategies.

Tumbling Towards Esctasy

Tumblr, the visually stimulating, content rich microblogging platform has become a favorite of Fashion Industry. Tumblr’s swank fashion director, Rich Tong, points to Kate Spade andOscar De La Renta as two of the strongest examples of fashion brands leveraging Tumblr to its fullest potientials. “Oscar PR Girluses an approachable tone of voice, like a friend and Kate Spade NY utilizes extraordinary design and content.  They each create original content that is specific to their Tumblr audiences.”

Digital New York Sample Sales Reign Supreme

Gilt Groupe founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson has proven that online shoppers are not growing weary of apparel and accessories at 40, 50, or even 70% off.  In fact, they want more, so Gilt launched its own version of Groupon called City for local deals, and an affordable luxury travel service, Jetsetter. With its collection of ever diversifying sites, Gilt has chosen not to use social media for customer acquisition, but rather to engage their passionate community and site members. Want to know the secret to their “gilty” success?  The social sale site (which launched with no formal business plan) sends out 428 million emails every day and personalizes them based on customer shopping patterns. Gilt emails are customized based on member profiles, believing that personalization will be key in the future to keep members engaged for the long haul.

Hautelook, a popular flash sale site recently acquired by Nordstrom, reports that it does 60% of business during peak sale times.  On the mobile commerce side, Hautelook is getting over 20% of their sales from mobile apps and m-commerce. Last year it was less than 5%. Currently, HauteLook is looking to become a brand collaborator, as the flash sale model is evolving into more of  a co-promotion, partnership model, which yields big revenue, especially when it comes to Facebook commerce.

Driving Online Traffic To Manhattan Stores

Lifestyle brand Diesel, perhaps a bit infamous for its Be Stupid Campaign, continues to pioneer its integrated social media strategies. Heavily focusing on Twitter, Diesel is using social communications to drive followers into brick and mortar stores for music events, sales, cocktails and socializing.

Designer Normal Kamali is using the same model in reverse. Kamali has added QR codes to her store windows so customers can shop from the street when the store is closed. When viewers scan the bar codes in the windows, they’re taken directly to the product page on NormalKamali.com where they can purchase the item via their mobile device. Actor/Rocker Jon Bon Jovi specifically visited the store to purchase via bar codes on his phone.

Donna Karan, Creating Digital Love Stories Via Social Networks

Donna Karan, known as DKNY in the social sphere, has become the New York City darling when it comes to fashion brands to emulate when it comes to social media. Most recently honored at the Fashion 2.0 awards, DKNY is creating digital love stories with their customers via social channels. From simple fan engagement on Facebook and Twitter to hosting fashioncasts on BigLive, DKNY’s  intention strategy is socially flawless. Most recently, DKNY hosted an intimate scavenger hunt on Twitter.

“We’re always focused on ways to make our social media presence more innovative and interactive. By bringing a small group of my Twitter friends into our stores in NY and London to search for hidden chocolate eggs, we were able to use social media in a fun way that makes them feel even more connected to our brand. We got a great response, as hundreds of my followers guessed the clues along with the players, creating a real sense of community around our brand.” says Twitter personality, DKNY PR Girl.

From New York to Los Angeles, “social media is an invaluable tool for fashion brands and retailers. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, blogs or branded editorial content, maintaining a dialogue with fans and consumers through authentic and engaging content is paramount in achieving success within the digital realm,” says Rachel Strugatz, the online editor for Women’s Wear Daily. “It’s way more than just maintaining an active Facebook and Twitter page. As a brand, you must figure out your voice across the various social platforms, as each is very different.  What you use your blog for might be very different than what you use Twitter for. Getting the tone right might be one of the hardest things, but social media is about trial and error and trying new things until you get it right. There are no hard and fast rules.”

What’s crystal clear is that New York is leading the digital fashion revolution.

We think there are some great tips & ideas here.  What do you think?  Leave a comment.

Fashion is a Circle

On the eve of our biggest annual sourcing and product development trip to Asia for the Canton, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong trade fair circuit, I begin to gather my thoughts and make my “cheat sheet” for sourcing. From fabrics and paper goods, to metal casting, crystals, and enamel, to finished bags and accessories, we will be looking to develop new and fresh merchandise that will reflect the trend directions of the Fall 2011 marketplace, and beyond.

It all starts in February with the Fall 2011 Paris couture runway shows, then on toFashion Week in NY City, then Milan, and London, and so on. By the end of March, the collective “zeitgeist” for Fall 2011 has been all but set; and the real results are what end up in the stores 5-6 months later.

Seems to me, fashion is a ubiquitous thread in the “fabric of our lives”. Not only the matter of hemlines or high heel height, but just about everything else that comes down the runways and becomes apparel has a trickle-down effect vis-à-vis the materials and design of so many other things in our daily lives.

Starting at the end of the 90’s in fine jewelry cases, gold was out and silver was in. So, 18kt gold gave way to platinum, and gold trim disappeared from cars and flatware. Then, all of a sudden, rose gold (something old, that’s new, again) appeared in the jewelry cases, and then, shortly thereafter, lo and behold, yellow gold was back, again!  A circle.  Virtually every couture brand from Europe showed metallic gold in their runway fashion/accessories mix, so we expect to see it in apparel, shoes, and handbags/accessories, and, maybe, on that new Lamborghini you’ve had your eye on.

Fashion colors trickle down to other industries, such as furniture upholstery fabrics, wall paint colors, home furnishings and decorative accessories, building materials, automobile and interior upholstery colors, stationery and writing instruments, kitchen appliances, kid’s toys, and so on. Color is always a big

factor in the “fabric of our lives,” and it appears that the color direction for Fall 2011 is meant to lift our spirits. Let’s hope the consumer gets the message.

Every year, the fashion editorialists declare that _________ is the new black, and off we go painting the town __________. This year, it appears that the new black is COLOR, in a broad range of hues and tones, from deep and rich to soft and powdery. This global move to more color reflects a collective mood for a pick-me-up, and a nod back to the nostalgia of better (more colorful?) times. According to Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone’s Color Institute executive director,”Much like a painter’s masterpiece, there’s a certain romance to this season’s palette”…

Bamboo – Like a filtered sunset on the waning days of fall, Bamboo is a standout yellow with a subtle green undertone.

Emberglow – A traditional autumnal tone, Emberglow emanates the warmth of a glowing fire.

Honeysuckle – A holdover from spring, this reddish pink is now a bold punctuation point for fall.

Phlox – A deep purple that is often added to neutrals for a bit of drama.

Cedar – A versatile, mid-tone neutral green evoking the cool mist of a dark forest

Deep Teal – A strong, blue-toned green that suggests ocean depths and the color of the sky as daylight descends into darkness.

Coffee Liqueur – A warm, deep chocolate that is an alternative to basic black.

Nougat – A warm camel tan.

Orchid Hush – A tone of gray with complex orchid undertones.

Quarry – A medium gray that’s the new staple.

See these colors here.

In addition to these “romantic” colors, deep saturated RED was a stand-out, as well as electric BLUES, PURPLE, and deep ORANGE.

As for other thematic trends we have noted from the Fall 2011 runway coverage, there is ROMANCE, 70’s SOPHISTICATION, BIKER-LEATHER, THE NEW PUNK, and THE NEW PREPPIE, and we’ll be looking for fabrics and trim to make products that reflect these fashion themes. From the top of our “shopping list”:

• GOLD (BURNISHED, METALLIC)
• LACE AND SHEERS
• PYTHON
• POLKA DOTS
• PLAID
• GEOMETRIC PRINTS (+ 60’S BOLD COLOR COMBOS)
• SATURATED COLORS

Fashion, like life, is a circle…everything old is new again (enter Benjamin Button). However, there is always a generation or two for whom the old is truly new, and for those of us having seen it before, we can count on it being re-envisioned, freshened and contemporized, and chances are it will engage us (and, the consumer base), again.

Stay tuned…we’ll talk more about Fall (and 4^th quarter) 2011 and visit the MII website for color and ideas.

 

Fashion is a Circle

FASHION IS A CIRCLE…

On the eve of our biggest annual sourcing and product development trip to Asia for the Canton, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong trade fair circuit, I begin to gather my thoughts and make my “cheat sheet” for sourcing. From fabrics and paper goods, to metal casting, crystals, and enamel, to finished bags and accessories, we will be looking to develop new and fresh merchandise that will reflect the trend directions of the Fall 2011 marketplace, and beyond.

It all starts in February with the Fall 2011 Paris couture runway shows, then on to Fashion Week in NY City, then Milan, and London, and so on. By the end of March, the collective “zeitgeist” for Fall 2011 has been all but set; and the real results are what end up in the stores 5-6 months later.

Seems to me, fashion is a ubiquitous thread in the “fabric of our lives”. Not only the matter of hemlines or high heel height, but just about everything else that comes down the runways and becomes apparel has a trickle-down effect vis-à-vis the materials and design of so many other things in our daily lives.

Starting at the end of the 90’s in fine jewelry cases, gold was out and silver was in. So, 18kt gold gave way to platinum, and gold trim disappeared from cars and flatware. Then, all of a sudden, rose gold (something old, that’s new, again) appeared in the jewelry cases, and then, shortly thereafter, lo and behold, yellow gold was back, again!  A circle.  Virtually every couture brand from Europe showed metallic gold in their runway fashion/accessories mix, so we expect to see it in apparel, shoes, and handbags/accessories, and, maybe, on that new Lamborghini you’ve had your eye on.

Fashion colors trickle down to other industries, such as furniture upholstery fabrics, wall paint colors, home furnishings and decorative accessories, building materials, automobile and interior upholstery colors, stationery and writing instruments, kitchen appliances, kid’s toys, and so on. Color is always a big

factor in the “fabric of our lives,” and it appears that the color direction for Fall 2011 is meant to lift our spirits. Let’s hope the consumer gets the message.

Every year, the fashion editorialists declare that _________ is the new black, and off we go painting the town __________. This year, it appears that the new black is COLOR, in a broad range of hues and tones, from deep and rich to soft and powdery. This global move to more color reflects a collective mood for a pick-me-up, and a nod back to the nostalgia of better (more colorful?) times. According to Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone’s Color Institute executive director,”Much like a painter’s masterpiece, there’s a certain romance to this season’s palette”…

Bamboo – Like a filtered sunset on the waning days of fall, Bamboo is a standout yellow with a subtle green undertone.

Emberglow – A traditional autumnal tone, Emberglow emanates the warmth of a glowing fire.

Honeysuckle – A holdover from spring, this reddish pink is now a bold punctuation point for fall.

Phlox – A deep purple that is often added to neutrals for a bit of drama.

Cedar – A versatile, mid-tone neutral green evoking the cool mist of a dark forest

Deep Teal – A strong, blue-toned green that suggests ocean depths and the color of the sky as daylight descends into darkness.

Coffee Liqueur – A warm, deep chocolate that is an alternative to basic black.

Nougat – A warm camel tan.

Orchid Hush – A tone of gray with complex orchid undertones.

Quarry – A medium gray that’s the new staple.

See these colors here.

In addition to these “romantic” colors, deep saturated RED was a stand-out, as well as electric BLUES, PURPLE, and deep ORANGE.

As for other thematic trends we have noted from the Fall 2011 runway coverage, there is ROMANCE, 70’s SOPHISTICATION, BIKER-LEATHER, THE NEW PUNK, and THE NEW PREPPIE, and we’ll be looking for fabrics and trim to make products that reflect these fashion themes. From the top of our “shopping list”:

• GOLD (BURNISHED, METALLIC)
• LACE AND SHEERS
• PYTHON
• POLKA DOTS
• PLAID
• GEOMETRIC PRINTS (+ 60’S BOLD COLOR COMBOS)
• SATURATED COLORS

Fashion, like life, is a circle…everything old is new again (enter Benjamin Button). However, there is always a generation or two for whom the old is truly new, and for those of us having seen it before, we can count on it being re-envisioned, freshened and contemporized, and chances are it will engage us (and, the consumer base), again.

Stay tuned…we’ll talk more about Fall (and 4^th quarter) 2011 and visit the MII website for color and ideas.