Barbara Ferris of Toronto-based Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services was looking for promotional items she could give out in an event. Among the giveaways that Barbara ordered were Accord pens and flashlight carabiners. The Accord pens, which she asked to be imprinted with "Justice Cluster," were "very comfortable to hold and well balanced, so they sit nice in your hand." The personalized flashlight carabiners--a bright twist on a flashlight, only it comes with a carabiner hook and split rings to hold keys--were "light and very handy," Barbara wrote in an e-mail to her account manager, Penny Williams. Bright promotional idea The flashlight carabiners, which came in attractive purple tones, attached easily to purses and backpacks, Barbara shares. From personal experience, Barbara has found the flashlight carabiner really handy in an emergency. "Mine actually provided some good light a few weeks ago when the lights failed in the subway system. It provided enough light to see up the stairs," she shared. In fact, other practical ministry employees like Barbara have kept these flashlight carabiners in their vehicles and used them as emergency lights or given them to their children to attach to their school bags. Because she ordered so much of these flashlights and ...

Lori Barry, director of administration and finance for Iowa-based Harrison County REC, was looking for quality, multifunctional, and useful promotional items that her company, an electric cooperative, could give out to its 2,600 members during its annual meeting every April. For previous annual meetings, Lori had purchased custom wind-up flashlights and CFL lights, and this year, she wanted something as practical but industry related, and these 25-foot custom pro grip tape measures were suggested by her account manager, Yara Smith. "Yara [did] a great job and [was] very helpful and professional!" Lori said in an e-mail. "You have great people! I would say the promotional tape measures we got were excellent and we have been very happy with them! Again, thanks for all the wonderful customer service and product support!" Don’t miss out on these special subscriber-only promos! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Karen Hahn is always on the lookout for aerospace-related promotional items for her company's marketing needs. She represents Houston Precision Fasteners, a Texas-based manufacturer of high-strength, structural fasteners supporting airframe, engines, and landing gear. Karen has worked in the last four years with Branders for her company's marketing needs, ordering promotional airplane stress relievers, custom Nike(R) precision power distance golf balls, and personalized credit card mints for airplane shows and other events that Houston Precision attends. Beyond precise marketing solutions, Karen says that it's her account manager, Paul Dado, that makes her come back to Branders each time for her promotional needs. "Working with Paul is a pleasure," Karen says. "He makes the customer feel like we are in the best of hands. He is always professional, kind, helpful, and executes our order with ease. We look forward to working with Paul again!"ar. We hot forge all of our fasteners.

Branders client Diana Sidrak was looking for $8 promotional mugs and wanted to order 65 pieces for a women's recognition banquet that her company, aerospace and defense technology specialist Northrop Grumman, was hosting. Always up for a challenge, account manager Penny Williams offered Diana the 12oz Pedestal mug, which cost less than $4 apiece. It was inexpensive yet looked classy because of its polished finish, which was just what Diana was looking for. "We chose this mug because it was very affordable. It was an attractive-looking mug and the custom artwork looked great!" Diana wrote in an e-mail. The verdict is in the recipients' response. "Weeks after the event had passed, people were still talking about the mug and asking to see if there was any way they could get one. All those who didn’t attend the event were very disappointed because had they known the gift was going to be that nice, they would’ve attended!" Diana shared.

The Giveaways Guru blog is not about telling you what to do. It's not even all about purchasing promotional products. It is actually where we can bounce ideas off one another. A dynamic exchange. That said, here goes an amusing story. A friend who's now based in Manila e-mailed me last night, gushing about, of all things, Burger King. Apparently, yesterday, as Michael was negotiating a business offer, his cellphone's battery abruptly decided to rest. It was not the battery's fault. It was, in fact, according to my guilty friend, subjected to hours of exhausting, feverish calls. My friend is not a very courageous person; he has qualms about a lot of things, particularly with borrowing a cellphone from a complete stranger. But before he could gather enough courage to ask anyone, lo and behold, a bright-lit sign caught his eye: FREE CELLPHONE CHARGING. When his eyes had zoomed out, he recognized the bun halves and the blue crescent. Burger King saved him that day. Interesting, no? That it was not the Whopper that called to him (not the first at least) but something else that has nothing to do with food. And so he took a seat in the booth right ...