Exciting Expansions

We are in the middle of construction! The office is expanding and we are excited to offer a brand new showroom in the next few months.

A brand new meeting space mean clients can come and comfortably discover how their marketing efforts can be enhanced with promotional products.

Soon we will post photos. For now, I'll just leave this notice.

I hope everyone had a Happy Holidays!

Christmas Gifting

It's that time of the year for Christmas gifting. One very popular category is the blankets from Kanata. Luxurious, elegant, comforting, the Kanata blankets are perfect for every home. No matter what industry you're from, at home we all love to cozy up for the winter.

Production time right now has been increased to 15 business days. Order now in order to avoid last minute rushes, unnecessary headache, and increased costs.

Call us for samples! One touch will leave a lasting impression.

Thank you!

Thank you to all who made it out to our sample sale late last month. It was a great success, and we got to meet a lot of our neighbours as well.

Now that our office space is cleared and ready for the new season, we are having product knowledge sessions left and right. Everything from garments to hard goods are being rolled out, so now is the time to find out what's in the market.

Even if you are not looking for anything right now for any particular project, there is not a more exciting time to learn about marketing and how promotional products can help your business or event. Suppliers are coming out with Value Catalogues...new eco-friendly products are becoming more accessible, and the gloom of fall and winter can be displaced by the new lines of innovation that's bound to create wonder.

Call us today and we'll go have a show-and-tell. And just like the old school days, we do it for the fun of sharing...there is no obligation.

Do give us a call!

604-277-5886

CLEARANCE SAMPLE SALE!!

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Join us for two days of fun as we clear out our samples with a door crasher sale!
There will be an assortment of blank and decorated items for men and women. Come pick up a Ping polo, an Aureus jacket, or American Apparel t-shirt.

Come upstairs to browse our new styles and see what we have to offer as your promotional products provider!

Sunglasses Available Here

Did you know that Boulevard also carries an assortment of high quality, polarized sunglasses? The Polarized Flexibility pictured above features 100% UV protection, polarized lenses and flexible frames. The imprint area is just on the lower edge of the glass itself, bound to be recognizable without impairing the functioning of the glasses.

Starting at the low minimum of 12 pairs only, the Polarized Flexibility is $24.90 a pair.

The Rodale sunglasses are a great giveaway at $14.50 a pair. When you increase the quantity to 250 pieces, the price is only $12 a pair. The Rodale features 100% UV protection and a choice of blue, yellow or charcoal lenses. For an additional $15, you can give the Rodale in a set case including all three lenses so the recipient can interchange them according to their needs. The plastic frame is lightweight and designed for a comfortable fit.

And finally, Boulevard also carries options for Safety glasses as well. The above glasses is called the Decisiveness and features shatterproof polycarbonate lenses. The length of the temple piece can be adjusted and the nose-pad is rubberized for ultra comfort. ANSI-Z87 and CSA approved for safety. The lenses are available as charcoal as well as clear. Price for these range from $9 to $11 a pair.

So there you have it. There are many more options as well, but these are some of the best sellers. If you did not use sunglasses for your promotions this summer, keep these in mind for next year!

Most Popular Ceramic Mug

The Halo is the most popular ceramic mug style right now and has been for the last couple of years. This style features a handle that is easy to use - not too big, not too small. The design includes accent colours which enhances the logo that is being imprinted onto the sides.

The Halo mug is also not too tall or wide and fits into most coffee machines. The Halo is available for a very reasonable average price. At as low as 72 pieces, the Halo comes in just under $5 at 4 bucks and change.

There are a wide assortment of colours for the Halo mug. Ask us for more details!

TOP 10 Promotional Products

In an article by Sarah Shepherd from ArticlesBase.com in Dec. 2008, the top 10 most effective promotional products were listed. I will now re-list the items here for those of you who may want to know just what the bread and butter of this industry looks like.

Looking at this list, I must say that although many of us are looking for innovative ways to brand ourselves, the tried and true are the best bets because they simply make the most impact. The way to be innovative lies with how we approach a product and marketing plan, and not necessarily in the item itself. For example, a t-shirt is a blank canvas that can produce startling results.

TOP 10 PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS

1. Promotional Apparel
- Accounts for 1/3 of all promotional product sales (according to 2007 study by the Promotional Products Association International)
- Extremely high logo exposure

2. Writing Instruments
- Functional and practical
- Commonly, a promotional pen will go through at least 8 owners, increasing the exposure of the branded logo
- Very affordable

3. Bags
- According to the Advertising Specialties Institute (ASI), promotional bags make the most impressions per month (1,038 on average).
- Practical, affordable, imprintable
- Promotional bags have over 200 years of history within the industry.

4. Drinkware
- Environmentally friendly and practical
- Receives a lot of exposure either as desktop pieces or as travel pieces.

5. Desk Accessories
- Desk accessories are popular as internal staff giveaways.
- Popular items in this category: stress balls, business card cases, desktop caddies and dispensers.

6. Calendars
- Among the most affordable and practical promotional products.
- Lots of space for branding (for example, an image per month)
- Experienced clients will take advantange of early booking to gaurantee delivery and better pricing.
- A study done by PPAI indicated that 94% of business calendar recipients could recall the logo imprinted on their calendar and 85% of individuals who received calendars in their homes did business with the advertiser.

7. Magnets
- Magnets are popular because of their versatility, even as direct mailers
- Can be die cut into any shape and size
- Affordable and practical

8. Computer/Electronic Accessories
- USB drives are getting more and more affordable and many people neglect to consider the amount of information that can be stored within a promotional USB drive.
- They fit well into other promotional products, such as binders and padfolios, and can be used as guides, convention programs, conference packages, etc.

9. Sporting Goods
- Sporting goods appeal to the fun side of life and usually get noticed by many people, as sports involve an active audience
- examples include: cushions, frisbees, sports towels, duffel bags

10. Automotive Accessories
- Safety and convenience is a big part of why automotive items
- examples: First Aid Kits, Roadside Repair Kits, travel caddies, etc.

MicroFibre Cloths

JOURNALBOOKS FLYER
Click on Flyer for Larger Image

Chocolate Flyer

Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

Part 3 - COOLMAX® Extreme Performance Fabric

The last two posts about COOLMAX® I've talked about Everyday and Active fabric. When you need a fabric that completely focuses on your performance, you can depend the COOLMAX® Extreme Performance Fabric to meet your criteria.

For the serious sports competitor, you want to have the confidence that your body will operate at it's peak condition. You can count on COOLMAX® EXTREME performance fabric, with its state-of-the-art moisture management properties and physiological benefits of keeping lower skin temperature, greater hydration and reduced perceived physical exertion during exercise, to deliver you the power of unwavering performance.

I can vouch for this fabric first hand as I participated in last Sunday's Sun Run wearing an Adidas ClimaCool shirt, which uses COOLMAX® Extreme Performance Fabric. The fabric kept me comfortable and dry, managing my performance...right to my last steps to the finish line!

TEAM BOULEVARD HORRAY! 25th Sun Run Results

After months of training and dedication, the results are in from the Sun Run.  This year, we had 20 members officially on our team, that's a record!  Our sponsors continues to be generous and we were outfits with ADIDAS again.  Thanks everyone.  It's easy to join our running team, you just need to have a passion to run, lead a healthy lifestyle, and come out to our weekly practices.  Leave us a comment if you are interested.  

Boulevard Advertising is an authorized dealer for Adidas gear, so if you have an interest to learn more about our decked out running gear, please let me know. 

Here is our autographed T shirt and a photo proudly displayed at our office.  

Product Knowledge Session Today

Boulevard met up with a local clothing supplier today and discovered some great new pieces to offer.

We have found much success working with fleece hoodies for school groups as well as for casual corporate wear. These new hoodies that we will introduce today will definitely become popular pieces.

Eco- Organic Cotton Hoody

9 oz. 100% organic cotton hoody available in men's and ladies'. They can be as low as $45.


Light Sherpa Lined Waffle Hoody

This Sherpa Hood is very lightweight. The waffle fabric and the interior makes it a must-see!


Shayne Lightweight California Fleece Hoody

Softer and more affordable than the popular AA hoody, this new Cali fleece is going to be great for local demographics. This piece is silky soft, feather-light, and very well made.

TOPS show

We apologize for the lag between updates. However, we are back and with tons of new information!

Yesterday, Boulevard attended a tradeshow in Canada Place for the promotional products industry. This annual tour is a national showcase of what's new and hot. We took some photos and thought we'll bring out a few highlights:

Custom Award Pieces:

Boulevard has many successful stories about custom award pieces with various kinds of elements, such as acrylic, glass, crystal, and metal.

Faro is a supplier that has been providing us with 4 colour process glass coasters for a while. During the show, we saw another application available for these pieces and the result was amazing:

Front

Back

The piece is fully customized with a 4 colour process back and a custom die moulded 3D front. Crystals can be embedded as well. The piece comes in a metal gift box with a printed band.

Other great products include new pens and leather goods from Cross Canada, new chocolate items and great ideas from Chocolate Chocolate, and new eco-friendly ideas from Starline.

Cross Pens - the pink and ivory ones are great for ladies.

A main logo or message goes in the middle in the large piece and each of the smaller pieces can be completely customized as well. Great for any organization with lots of subcategories.

These are bio-degradable tumblers. The plastic has an indefinite shelf life until placed in a microbiotic environment, such as a landfill. Once degration begins, it takes about 1 - 5 years for the piece to disappear.

Many more great ideas are out there - feel free to give us a call for a free consultation any time.

Call us for more detail about what's new and popular in our industry! (604.277.5886)

- Posted by Jenny

Part 2 - COOLMAX® Active Fabric.

If you're the type of person that tends to lead a more active lifestyle, then COOLMAX® Active Fabric is for you! Whether you like to go for light jogs or participate in more intensive athletic activities such as kickboxing, you can be sure that COOLMAX® Active Fabric will keep you cool, dry, and comfortable.

COOLMAX® ACTIVE fabric delivers wicking performance to help move moisture away from skin, the best way to alleviate the sticky, tired and irritable feeling associated with continuous sweating. From there the moisture will move towards the outer fabric surface and evaporate quickly.

Now that you feel dry and cool, go ahead and get active!

Unique item alert

Wylie just pointed this item out to me. We saw it from a US supplier. It's a shower timer!

The purpose of this timer is to encourage shorter showers, which in turn should help to conserve more water.

Such a simple device - and it features a nice turn on innovation.

• Twist action 5 minute timer with suction mount
• save water, energy, and money
• Shatter-resistant and 70% recycled plastic body

Minimum 50 pieces at $5.23 USD. Setup $40 USD.

Production time: 5-7 working days
One colour imprint included
Freight is extra.

- Posted by Jenny

Part 1 - COOLMAX® Everyday Fabric

One way or another, we've all heard of the term COOLMAX® when associating athletic apparel featuring a moisture management system. In simpler terms, it is technical fabric that wicks away your sweat to keep you dry.

With so many different names for technical fabric, the brand COOLMAX® is the most heard of.  What makes apparels made with COOLMAX® fabric better than other technical apparels? One glaring difference is that COOLMAX® fabric is not chemically treated to create the moisture management system, but instead the feature is mechanically weaved into the fabric.   The moisture wicking features of chemically treated fabrics will eventually wash away and deteriorate over time making them less effective, whereas the features of mechanically treated fabric will be effective wash after wash.  

There are various levels of COOLMAX® performance depending on your lifestyle needs. COOLMAX® Everyday Fabric is casual wear that is soft, lightweight, breathable and most of all comfortable. This line has allowed everyday clothing to be adaptable to changes in temperature and moisture levels on our bodies. Even with low levels of activity in your daily routine you can still receive its benefits!

2008 research conducted by Strategic Insights Inc., shows that 69 percent of avid runners and 69 percent of avid golfers said that a garment with COOLMAX® fabric is “much better” than a garment with another type of moisture management.

Please stay tuned for the next blog post on Part 2 - COOLMAX® Active Fabric.

Poo Poo Paper

Introducing Poo Poo Paper.

A company called The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company makes eco-friendly paper out of elephant poo. Currently one of our suppliers has partnered up and is carrying the poo poo paper series of notebooks.

The company takes dried elephant poo, which is high in long fibres from the elephants' bamboo and grass diet, and wash it out with water. When nothing but the fibres are left, they take that and boil it in high temperature water for sanitation purposes.

After the sanitation process, the fibres are mixed with dyes as well as fibres from banana and pineapple trees. These other materials help to strengthen the paper.

Once that's done, patties for the paper pulp are made and then spread over large mesh screens. The screens are then laid up against tree trunks to sun dry. When they are done, the poo poo paper is ready to use.

Guys - this paper is hand-made, completely natural, and eco-friendly. It barely uses any energy besides boiling water and the sun, and no chemical perservatives. Not a single tree is cut for the sake of these sheets.

You can't get much more environmentally friendly than that - and yet one wonders. We here at Boulevard are curious too. The concept of writing on poo is hard to get around but actually makes perfect sense and the product is perfectly sanitized organic fibres.

We offer a line of products, such as the notebooks below, made with this very eco-friendly paper.


Check it out!

- posted by Jenny

Golf Ball Special

New Noodle Balls with Recycled Packaging and New TaylorMade XD

Get a Free Gift Duffle with Every 12 Dozen Purchase


Take Me to the Website!

Be Wary of Your Computer Screen

Today we rely on the computer for many things - emails, information, instant communication. We rely on it to give us accurate information - and therein is the downfall.

Technology allows us to make virtual samples of practically anything. I find that suppliers seem to showcase their best pieces on their websites and catalogues, but a lot of these are not realistic representations.

Suppliers can virtually place a logo on a product and then put that image into their catalogue, which can mislead us into thinking that our artwork can be done in certain colours, sizes, or locations that are actually not possible.

So be careful - if you have a vision or image in your head of what you really want, let us know. We will see if it's do-able and whether there are methods or options to recommend. We'll also be sure to supply you with accurate mockups and dimensions. The best way is to make a pre-production sample. This is why it's best to work with a distributor that will look out for your logo.

What's Up With the Bottles?

BPA free mini bottle. $4.99 at 50 pcs min.

A while ago there was a plastic bottle scare. People shied away from bottles with a No. 7 on the recycling symbol and large retailers started programs where people can go trade in their old bottles for brand new ones or for money back.

Why?

The polycarbonate material that went into making a lot of the "indestructable" plastic drinkware on the market was found to leach Bisphenol A (BPA) under certain lab conditions. There is still controversy in the medical world as to whether these results are applicable to humans.

• BPA stands for Bisphenol A and is a key compound used in the production process of certain plastics (like polyester, PVC, polycarbonate and epoxy resins).

• BPA is controversial due to its chemical similarity to the human hormone estrogen.

• BPA is most commonly found to be leached from the epoxy liners in canned foods. To a lesser degree, it is also leached from polycarbonate bottles that have been cleaned with harsh detergents or used to contain acidic or high temperature liquids.

• In 2006 Canadian government listed BPA as under assessment for safety. In April 2008 the Canadian government released its draft report classifying BPA as being risky for infants and proposed it to be “toxic to human health and environment”.

• In other parts of the world, the reaction is opposite. In 2006 the German Institute for Risk Assessment announced polycarbonate baby bottles are safe and stated that published research on the health effects of Bisphenol A is "difficult to interpret and [is] occasionally contradictory”.

• Later that year, the European Union’s Food Safety Authority reached a similar conclusion.

• In 2007 Japan also claimed that current levels of human exposure to BPA does not pose any unacceptable risk to human health.

• Plastics have 7 types of identification. The 7th category is reserved for “others”. Therefore, not all #7 type plastics contain BPA.

Now, with all that said, suppliers are wary that consumers will view all polycarbonate or hard plastics as harmful regardless. After all, science is always telling us one thing and then another. So polycarbs may be acceptable in the UK - but what about North America?

The first reaction was a wave of people switching over to aluminum or stainless steel bottles.


There are pros and cons for each - basically aluminum is light to carry, inexpensive to make, and readily available. Coated with an inner water based liner, aluminum bottles can offer a couple of years of use as a water bottle with no worries.

Stainless steel is the ultimate in terms of food safety and peace of mind. Food grade stainless steel is used to make everything from pots and pans to utensils and will not leach or interact with food elements. When stainless first came out, they had a disadvantage of being limited in terms of shape and aesthetics.

Today, however, stainless steel bottles have come a long way. Thinner walled and larger mouthed, these are a beauty to behold.

Stainless Steel wide mouth bottles - $9.42 including 1 colour print. 24 oz.

For those who want to seek other options, new plastics have since been released onto the market for safe drinkware purposes.

This new item is from Aladdin and made with BPA free plastic. And ladies and gents - this item is DISHWASHER SAFE. I know. It's amazing.

Price around $15 each decorated with 1 colour print. 24 oz.


Another New Item:
Horizon BPA free bottle
Around $9.02 CDN with 1 colour print.

BPA free options are available for as low as $5 and can be as executive as $15 or $20. Whether you are giving these away or wrapping them up as high end gifts, water bottles are practical, environmentally friendly (use these instead of buying bottles of water), and promote wellness.

Call us to ask - we'll find the right match for your needs and you can be sure we've done our homework to find out what's best for you.

- Posted by Jenny

red, orange, yellow....GREEN

When Green became the thing to be, people everywhere had to wonder - is this a fad? Is being green only a policy on paper of some ideal we want to reach? Is it only a selling point?

Obviously, the need to go green is no longer a debate. Our world is facing many challenges and the time of action is now.

The problem is, are we all in? The scary truth is that not everyone is ready or willing. Even so, the forward motion from whatever we do today can only generate a wave of action - a trend that will become the norm for our future.

Even as a child I have been exposed to more education about the need to "Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle" than my parents. And our children will benefit from thinking that these three R's are the ONLY way to do things, for (hopefully in our future) who would do otherwise?

In our industry, more and more suppliers are coming up with ways to show that they are green.

The road may be rocky as people try to find something that fits with what they offer and technologies are being perfected. We have to be careful in remembering our goal of helping the environment and not being caught up in the whirlwind of new terms that are meant to attract us.

For example - there are instances when producing something green actually causes more pollution during the manufacturing process. Perhaps extracting a certain fibre or opening a new facility for the processing of a new material uses more energy and produces more wastes.

Truly responsible suppliers are beginning to incorporate the whole picture - are the organic cotton crops TRULY organic? (Our organic hats come with crop numbers). Are the dyes in an eco-friendly garment "green" as well? Will a bio-degradable product actually work, or will it be thrown away in creating more garbage for the landfill? Of course we look into all of that.

Our organic cotton cap: (KNP)


And truly responsible distributors will look out for you and your goals. Perhaps there are traditional products that would be a better fit, therefore having a higher chance of being retained by your customer. This means it won't end up in the landfill. Certain familiar items may be eco-friendly all along - such as our latex balloons, which are bio-degradable.

Picture of latex balloons: http://michsineath.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/balloons-color.jpg

Being green is more than just a series of actions. Being green is problem solving - and like all problem solving, sometimes on top of hard work you have to add a lot of creativity.

- Posted by Jenny

Welcome to Our Blog

Reading a blog is fun. There is something about it that obviously sets it apart from reading an email or checking out a website, and we find that the difference is the personal touch. We hope that you will enjoy our blog.

People on personal blogs put things that interest them, thereby allowing their personality to show through. As a company, we believe ourselves to be as different and unique as an individual. You may have heard Winston or me or Wylie (or any other member of our team) say it all the time - we're about the people and we build from ideas and our products come in almost as tools. Our personality is diverse here, but it's also fun and productive. That's what we like to showcase through our blog and hopefully, we can inspire some people as well!

For those of you who don't know us, welcome to Boulevard. We're a promotional products distributor located in Richmond, BC. We've been around for more than 10 years, and our pride and joy is in surprising even ourselves and our suppliers on what we can do.

*Wylie and Leaf here in Trimark's Onyx shirt. $46 decorated.

So many of you may be wondering about the upcoming year as times are going to be tough and marketing budgets get slashed.

Suppliers have been wondering about that too, but they've come out prepared. Many suppliers, such as Trimark and Sanmar, have launched lines that provide us with the basic pieces at unbelievably affordable prices.

Think about this: a fully embroidered wicking polo made by the same people who were commissioned by VANOC - in matching men's and ladies and up to 11 colours - for $25 or less.

That's the Trimark Moreno - the hardest decision to make regarding this polo is which colour to pick. Unfortunately, it's so new, it's not even on the website yet. For now, I have this screen shot of a catalogue page:

Another example is the Coal Harbour Pima Cotton polo. Soft, bright, and very affordable, this premium cotton polo shirt comes in decorated at around $30.

Even last year, this pricing would cause some of us to wonder about the product itself. At this price point, one would wonder about the quality of the shirt - the longevity of such an operation. Is it out of desperation ? Definitely not.

For many quality items, you will notice that the economic situation IS reflected in higher pricing. However, what Sanmar, Trimark and some other suppliers have done is to take advantage of their economies of scale and to focus on the basics.

We will continue with various similar themes in our upcoming blog - our shared concerns for the economy, ways we can stay green (it may surprise you), and successful ways you can express your company in a custom fashion.

Thanks for reading!


- Posted by Jenny