You can Go Green and Still Have Great Corporate Gifting Strategy

The evolution of eco products seems to be slow, but there are far more gifting options than before.

One of the things that I really love is that we cannot use your corporate banners and recycle them into a range of conference bags and other items that help us reduce waste. This does take a bit of panning, but there are also now ex stock items such as bamboo gifts in the form of pens, home ware gifts and a number of other fun gifting options. You may wonder why you should go for “green” gifts. • The customer gets it: Many consumers are gearing towards supporting companies that have greener business

practices. This is not just a fad doing the rounds now, but a trend that is gaining. If you would like to be seen as an eco-friendly company, heed the small details too and tap into this emerging consumer base. • Novelty doesn’t mean expensive: With the eco-friendly promotional gift option comes the opportunity for innovation. This means that you can think outside of the box and get great gift ideas like eco stationery sets and eco corporate wear without breaking the bank. Eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily translate to more expensive. • Sustainable and responsible: Not only will you solidify your commitment to greener business practices among your consumers, but you will also be contributing to a cleaner and safer environment. These are only a few of the reasons why it will pay to opt for eco-friendly gifts for your employees and consumers. Get it Right with Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas! One thing to remember is that when you opt for the eco gifts option, you don’t have to settle for the ordinary or boring. You can still let your imagination run free and come up with exciting and novel promotional gifting options. Here are a few gift ideas to get the message across: • Bamboo Pen sets. Every year thousands of pens are sent out. While recycled pens are low cost, the bamboo pens options are more upmarket and are a lovely gifting option. • Bamboo notebooks. As green as you want to go, it is hard to have a truly paperless world. That is why the bamboo notebook option is a great combination of eco friendliness and practicality. • Gift baskets: If your budget allows you can compile gift baskets that contain many different small promotional gifts that together will have the desired impact on the recipients – making them feel appreciated. • Eco-friendly mouse and mouse pads: Who doesn’t use a computer mouse and mouse pad these days? Ever thought of branding this ubiquitous piece of hardware and using it as a promotional gift? • Solar powered radio: This novelty is a great idea if you want to drive home the eco-friendly aspect of your promotional gifts. Solar powered radios can easily be branded and it’s such a novelty that your company’s name will be displayed wherever the radio travels with its owners. • Recycled banners for conference bags. There are now some stock options, but you can also use your own large format banners to make up conference bags, folders and even pencil cases. • Organic corporate gifts. Herbs and plants also make superb corporate gifts and are a gift that has longevity. For More information contact us on info@belleregalo.co.za or visit us on www.belleregalo.co.za

Creating the Perfect Picnic

I love picnics. I love the feeling of getting close to nature, of being out in the fresh air, surrounded by greenery. Picnics can be a wonderfully intimate time for a couple if you choose to make it a special date or a fun time with friends or a quality time outing with family. The perfect picnic contains a number of integral elements to create a good atmosphere. Good company, beautiful locations, good weather, tantalising food, and good equipment. You will be the judge of who to invite for your picnic. But here are some tips for the location and equipment. For a good atmosphere the combinations of the elements are important, as a family we have a few favourite locations. Many cities will have some sort of bird sanctuary, many of these are free parks maintained by the municipality and are a welcome sanctuary for city weary folks, due to the silence expected when at a sanctuary they make perfect locations for couple picnics; however our children also enjoy them. At the entrance to our neighbourhood bird sanctuary there is an overhanging mulberry tree and we pick a few on our way in as part of our culinary treat for the day. We usually take two or three picnic blankets with us. We use one to spread the food out on and use one for my husband and I to lie on and one for the children to sit on. This is why picnic blankets make an excellent year end corporate gift. There are a number of different styles. For comfort choose a fleece blankets, but make sure that it is a proper picnic blanket with a waterproof lining. If you choose a plain fleece blanket, then the grass tends to stick on it, making it impossible to shake off and you have to pick bits of dry grass off. However we do sell a zip up fleece pillow/blanket which is a great pillow for your picnic if you feel like napping under a shade tree. It is also a great general blanket to put into your car, in case of emergencies. You may ask what sort of emergencies you can get that you need a blanket for. Well, if you are with children and your picnic carries on until close to sun down and the weather changes, you can cover them in the car on the way home with the blanket. This make the zip up blanket a very practical corporate gift. If you are with elderly family, you may want to take outdoor chairs with you on your picnic and get a table and gazebo for shade. Frail people have trouble bending down and getting up, so a chair is a far easier option for them. We regularly go to the botanical gardens, especially during their concerts and many families set up their tables and outdoors chairs on the fringes of the park where they can still hear the concert, but not obstruct the view of the other guests. A botanical garden is a great place to go for a short day hike. Choosing the perfect picnic item depends on where you are going. If you are planning to lounge around for the afternoon and ease away the tensions of the week, then a luxurious traditional wicker picnic basket creates a wonderful nostalgic atmosphere. As many of these baskets have a carry handle and if you lucky a strap, the person carrying all the gear may start to take strain if you have to walk a lot. So I would not recommend these for hiking days or if you are walking a lot, like at the zoo. Or a zoo picnic or a hiking day, opt for a picnic backpack. This leaves your arms available for climbing or carrying children or as a couple, simply to hold hands. If you are hiking, then a picnic backpack with a cooler bag component is wonderful as your hydrating drinks will still be cool when you really need refreshment. Picnic backpacks are a strong seller for year end corporate gifts. As a family that likes variety we have a few of them. That allows us the create theme outing, plus we are also prepared for larger groups. Speaking of drinks, a great nifty cooler bag that is now in our range has cup holders in it. After countless picnic on uneven grassy planes, we have lost our fair share of beverages, so whoever though of this great design of cooler bag, was a genius. It has space for two cups, so of you have a large group, get two of them. They are a very practical corporate gift for people who love the outdoors. A picnic is a way to revitilise the soul, get away from the television and enjoy a special environment. It is usually a very low cost outing, so if you are choosing corporate gifts this year, giving a picnic item is a wonderful gift for any family as it can help them to create special memories and boost relationships. For more ideas on corporate gifts contact us on info@belleregalo.co.za or visit us on www.belleregalo.co.za

2014 Calendars and Diaries

Can you believe that we are stepping into October? Every year thousands of diaries and desk calendars go out to clients and every year people tend to leave their calendars and diaries until the last minute. Don’t let this happen to you. Plan in advance for 2014 diaries and calendars. But also allow you creativity to flow. There may be some people who have sent out diaries ahead of you, so how do you get your 2014 calendars stand out from the rest. One way is by choosing beautiful designs. Our wildlife art calendar for 2014 is presented in a double wire format again, to allow your clients the pleasure of framing the full-size artwork pages after the calendar has run its course and to give them the opportunity to linger on a favoured image for longer. Another excellent way is to put your calendar onto something else that is useful. For example our memo strip memo sets that have calendar strips in them.

Or why not try a foam mouse pad. Foam mouse pads are inexpensive and very useful. Or turn a corporate gift favorite, the branded coffee mug into a calendar.

We love the 4 in one cd stand, with calendar and notelets and a place for a pen. Upgrade your CD calendar order to this unique set-up containing:

• Your choice of CD calendar from the 3 standard themes • Note paper • Business card holder at the back • Pen holder Secure a standing spot on clients’ desks and simply order refills for future years. Other traditional calendar ideas include: Desk calendars; Wall calendars; Diaries; Fold-up triangle calendars; Brochure calendars; Promotional calendars So start capitalizing on a huge marketing opportunity for your brand with calendars and diaries this year. Happy shopping! For more information visit us on www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

Not just another braai gift

Last week I went to visit a former business partner and the encounter sent me back to my studying years. Our lecturer was giving away a well published marketing book for anyone who could remember the ways to improve product sales. But sheer luck I just happened to remember them that day. One of the methods was to find other uses for the same product. Which brings me back to my encounter with my former partner? I had taken him a copy of our latest corporate gifting catalogue, along with a sample of my current favourite corporate gift, the LED braai light. The LED braai light is a great corporate gift for national braai day, but also is a prefect gent’s gift as a corporate gift. These corporate gifting categories are fairly obvious to me. However this gent is currently studying and when I demoed the gift and showed him how the clamp works, he said “Although I have been to a lot of braais, I almost never braai myself, but I do complete my assignments outside on my balcony and the light does not quite reach the keyboard. I don’t like to keep the main light on as I often study after hours and don’t want to disturb the neighbours. This light can allow me to clamp it to my desk and help me with my assignments.” I was amazed. That particular application never occurred to me. I then realised that this LED light could be used as a number of corporate gift applications. It can be used as a camping light, or an emergency light that can be left in your car. I remembered that recently my husband was doing a repair on the car at night and because of bad visibility, I had to stand outside holding a lamp for him and this light would have been ideal. That is the great thing about sharing ideas that you get to learn from each other. Not just about applications for corporate gifts, but how to share experiences to make life better. So when you are thinking of corporate gifts, try to think out of the box. The LED braai light could well be your saving grace when there are power failures, when you are camping or yes, even when you are braaiing. For more information on the LED Braai light and on other corporate gifts visit us on www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

Corporate Gifts

Have you searched and searched for unique corporate gifts, corporate clothing, year end gifts or just small desk drop gifts to entice your audience. Belle Regalo are specialists in this field and over 12 years of experience in the corporate gifting industry. Although we are based in Jhannesburg, we are able to source these corporate gifts or promotional gifts in all major regions i.e. Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban, and can easily through have them delivered to you via your courier of choice. Whether you are looking for unique office gifts, conference gifts, executive gifts or fun novelty desk drops we are able to offer a full service of sourcing the gifts, branding them with your company logo, packaging them if necessary with swing tags, gift tags. Belle Regalo offers a gift wrapping service during year end to assist you with speeding up the process of distributing Christmas Gifts to your clients and staff. Corporate Gifts are great incentives for employees and can be used for a number of reasons, from a theme for year end functions event, showing appreciation for work well done, or generating excitement and anticipation for a new product or service launch. Branded corporate gifts are a teriffic way to advertise your company and create brand awareness in the market place. We have a great many categories of Corporate Gifts. Contact us on belleregalo.co.za or info@belleregalo.co.za

National Braai Day Gifts - Cooler Bag Specials

We are looking so forward to National braai day. A time to get together with friends and celebrate life and especially the warmer weather. For Heritage Day we have some great cooler bags specials. Here are some GREAT cooler bag specials for National Braai Day range. Double Up Cooler Bag

DUC01 (Contents Not Included) 27cm (h) x 22cm (w) x 30cm (l) Colours available: green / gold, navy / red, navy / sky, royal / black, yellow / black Was R 83.93 excl VAT Now R 77.93 excl VAT Over 500 in stock (05 September 2013) Blue Cooler Bag with Beige Trim

(35x23x30cm) E22711010 (Contents not included) Was R 128.37 excl VAT Now R 102.70 excl VAT Over 400 in stock (04 September 07H00) Cooler bag green stripe

E22711011 (35x23x30cm) Contents Not Included Was R 128.37 excl VAT Now R 102.70 excl VAT Over 400 in stock (05 September 07H00) Big Game Cooler

• Easy Access Top Hook And Loop Opening • 24L Capacity • Carry Handles On Cooler • Folding Steel Stand • Zippered Closure • 210D Carrying/Storage Case With Handle • Drawstring Closure • Durable 600D Exterior Contents Not Included. Was R 238.00 excl VAT Now R 231.00 excl VAT Red over 600 in stock – 05 September 07H00 Black over 2000 in stock – 05 September 07H00 Happy shopping! Editor: Kim Vermaak For more National Braai Day ideas visit http://www.belleregalo.co.za/gifts/National-braai-day.htm or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

Better Planning for 2014 Diaries Producces Happier Clients

A surprisingly large number of clients leave the ordering on their diaries until the last minute. To create the best impression you need to order your 2014 diaries anything from August. We find that after October stock starts to diminish as does your chances of making an impact with your 2014 diaries early. We have found so many companies who complain if there corporate diaries sent by suppliers are late or in some cases absent because of lack of planning. Clients are often anxious if there do not get their annual diaries early and begin to wonder if they will be getting them at all. So planning early for diaries is a way to show you client that you appreciate them as you have planned this corporate gift with them in mind. Diaries are one those corporate gifts that make a huge impact on your company’s image. Your 2014 diary will be used over the entire year, so your cost per impression will be very low. 2014 Diaries can be branded with your corporate logo by Debossing, foiling or printing. Tip in pages are also a great branding option for 2014 diaries. For more information on 2014 diaries or there corporate gifts click on www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us at info@belleregalo.co.za