10 Promotional Products Needed by Bones Fans

This week, Alot More than Just Promos is going Hollywood with some shout outs of suggested promotional products to our favorite TV shows. First up...Bones!

Fans of the hit TV show Bones are out in full force with the news that Seeley Booth will be getting a love interest this season. The only problem for many fans is that said love interest does not appear to be Temperance Brennan. For as many times as show runners Hart Hanson & Stephen Nathan have counseled hope and patience in regards to the very long awaited romance, fans still react strongly when anyone comes in between their favorite characters. That being said, and knowing how much Fox LOVES promotions, we here at Motivators would like to offer some branding opportunities that might work the shows 6th season.

Disclaimer: These are just fun suggestions, please don't tweet Hart telling him you want them. He has nothing to do with marketing and he'd probably get confused seeing these mixed in with all the hate tweets coming in full force for putting someone in between Booth & Brennan. Remember people, consistency is key.

Skull and Bones Stressball
It fits with the theme of the show and there's a large imprint area on the back where the words "Calm Down" or "Everything Happens Eventually" can be imprinted.

Skull Stressball
This one is a little bit more easily gripped for maximum squeezing potential. Like when you want to just squeeze the life out of someone. Added benefit, stress relievers increase circulation.

Pig Stressball
How happy would Bones fans be if they all received their very own Jasper? It's a throwback to a great Booth & Brennan moment that the fans love.

Rubber Duckie Stressball
A throwback to the season 3 finale with Booth's rubber duckie. That was a favorite of many fans mostly because of David Boreanaz's wardrobe in that particular scene.

Brain Stressball
It's perfect squeezing size and for maximum branding potential it should be paired with our next suggestion.

Heart Stressball
It's all about brain and heart...brain and heart. Of course we chose the anatomical heart stressball because that's just more fitting isn't it?

Sumo Wrestler Squeezie
YES! This is the exact stressball that is often seen in the show, the same one that Booth is frequently gripping during therapy sessions with Sweets.

Dice Stress Reliever
It has to be said that everything happens eventually, so it's fairly certain that our favorite scientist will one day become a gamble.

Hockey Puck Stress Reliever
Suggested imprint: I'll never let you fall. Come on, collective awww. Right? Yeah I know.

Capsule Stress Reliever
The Official Chill Pill of all Bones fans. Squeeze liberally as necessary. Overdosing strongly suggested.

As far as cast and crew goes, the only thing we can possibly suggest to show runners who are feeling a brunt of fan backlash are these:



Drink up guys, it's gonna be a long season!


Bones premieres September 23rd, 8PM on Fox.

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Slim Down Bags Make Big Impact for Weight Loss

Sometimes, you just see a promotion that makes your jaw drop. It's so clever and unique that it just makes you excited about the product itself simply because the promotion is so awesome. It's happened again and this time it's due to Total Nutrition Corporation and their partnership with GNC. These custom "burn bags" were created and given away as a gift with purchase. Granted that when you're carrying the bag down the street it might bot be that easy to get the point, but regardless this promotion is so well done that that's not even standing out to me at this point.

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UPS Causes Vertigo, USA Gets it RIght

When you want to convey speed, how do you do it? That's exactly the question that Oglivy asked themselves when designing this ambient promotion for UPS in Indonesia. While there are plenty of ways to showcase speed, this is the one they went with.



I'm not saying that promotional products would have been a better choice, because I'm sitting here picking my brain trying to figure out what item would to truly convey speed and nothing is standing out. Just looking at this promotion is making me nauseous.

In other branding news, the folks over at Seat 42F just twit-pic'd this awesome Thank You gift sent from the folks at USA Network. The card included reads "Hats off to everyone who helped make this a great summer for USA."






Recap
Win: Promotions that include fedoras.
Lose: Promotions that cause me to feel physically ill just by looking at them.

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Lost Fans Pay Big Bucks For Dharma Logo Props

If you were a Lost fan, you may have heard about this weekend's much anticipated Lost event that auctioned off a variety of set pieces, clothing, and props from the show. Bidding took place both at the hangar where the items were being stored, as well as online so that fans everywhere could participate in the action. So how much do Lost fans actually love the show?

Boxer Shorts worn by Josh Holloway: $850
Locke's Knife: $3500
A script of the pilot signed by creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse: $15,000
Frozen Wheel: $25,000

There were plenty of other props that went over well with fans, but the ones that most concerned the staff of Motivators were the branded ones. Season 4 and 5 promoted the importance of branding with Dharma Initiative which left its mark on everything from first aid supplies to boxed wine. That being said check out how much some Lost fans were willing to pay for some awesome Dharma promotional products.

Dharma Backpack: $1100



12 Pack of Dharma Beer: $5,000



Miscellaneous Dharma Branded Supplies: $3500



Dharma Rum: $3250



Dharma Box Wine: $1200



Those are just a few of the several props that were auctioned off this weekend. According to The Examiner.com's Danielle Turchiano the Lost auction is expected to bring in two million dollars.

Lesson learned from all of this: When it's a piece of the biggest show in history, people will pay anything for a promotional product. For an awesome sense of how much things went for, check out Danielle Turchaiano's Twitter page as she live tweeted auction prices as they happened. Oh, and if you happened to be the lucky person who won the Dharma notebooks, let her know since she definitely wants one!

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Scannable QR Shirts Promote Ben Smith's Twitter Account

You've heard of Ben Smith, right? He's the founder of Social: IRL, a social media company that provides businesses the best social solutions for their goals. From the site's website:

Not simply running Facebook pages or Twitter accounts or providing "social media consultancy", but working with business at a much deeper level to find real solutions that best fit a specific set of goals and unique company culture. We strive to develop and implement comprehensive strategies that complement existing resources, help set a direction for future growth, and generate tangible results.

Even if you've never visited Social: IRL, you may have seen Ben Smith on Twitter. And if you haven't and you happen to run into one of these t-shirts, you soon will.



Yes, Ben Smith is yet another tech-savvy marketer who's chosen to imprint custom t-shirts with a scannable QR code, which when scanned leads directly to his Twitter account. These codes are currently popping up all over, including Entertainment Weekly who utilizes the technology to let readers watch movie previews and other online content.

While print media seems to be the most popular outlet for these codes, its not to say that Smith is the first to use these codes on t-shirt. The web store Think Geek which specializes in gifts for geeks offered a Secret QR code t-shirt to their shoppers. The result? The shirts were so popular that Think Geek began selling them for a profit. They're now officially listed as "Forever Out of Stock."



There's also a Facebook app that will create a custom t-shirt that will link to your Facebook page via a custom QR code.



And earlier this year when Motivators was featured on IWearYourShirt.com, t-shirt wearing guru Jason Sadler & his main man Evan White both touted shirts with codes that led straight to Motivators.com. During his live Ustream feed, Evan demonstrated the technology by scanning his shirt and calling Motivators to say hello.



So big props to Ben Smith for giving one of the oldest promotional products a nice upgrade. Promo t-shirts 2.0!

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Fly Your Business To The Moon: Custom Business Cards

If you want your business to truly stand out, there are several things you could do. Chances are, you've heard all of them before but one of our absolute favorites is customizing a product to your business. And we're not just talking about promotional products, we talking about anything. Most recently, Fox customized some labels of Jones Soda for their hit show Glee. And we don't know if there's anything we find more amusing than these custom business cards for a company that makes model airplanes.

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Help Support Team Motivators in The Fight Against Breast Cancer

What's an easy way to get people involved? One of the greatest ways to do it to is give them food. That's exactly what we did this morning as we hosted the first annual Team Motivators Kickoff Breakfast to Support the American Cancer Society's making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. For the 4th year in a row, the Motivators Team will be walking at Jones Beach in honor of survivors and victims of Breast Cancer.



According to statistics, 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer in her lifetime. the chances of dying from breast cancer are 1 in 35 and this year alone, there have already been 207,090 NEW cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed since January 1. Mathematically speaking, that means that each day nearly 900 women get news that will change their lives forever.

By walking for the American Cancer Society, we're doing our part to help the fight against breast cancer. We'll give up one Sunday morning to walk amongst survivors and supporters. Our male employees will gladly show that real men wear pink and we'll all enjoy some bagels and OJ before heading out on a 3 milk walk. And we'll gladly do it...as long as people pay up.

You see, the best part of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk is the fact that it is a fundraiser. We've set a team goal of $5,000 to reach this year and we can't do that without the support of our friends and family. So kindly part with $5, 10, $25, $50 or $100 to support our team. If you know a Motivator, you can gladly donate to the Motivators Team Page in their name. You can see our team roster and donate directly to one of our team members. (In case you'd like to support your friendly neighborhood blogger, that would be Team Captain Sarah) We've got 2 months to raise $5,000 so the only thing left to ask is...

Can we count on YOUR support?

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Bringing Your Branding to Life with Death: Vampire Birthdays Promote True Blood

The love of all things vampire expands across the world, not just in the US. From the days of Buffy's brooding vamp Angel to today's latest craze for Twilight's Edward, it's easy to see that the world has had a thing for the fanged ones for quite sometime now. TV networks capitalized on this craze with the CW's Vampire Diaries and HBO's True Blood.

Fangbangers in Austraila were treated to a unique promotion for Season 3 of True Blood. A website called I Am Vampire was created for fans to sign up with their birthdays. They were then issued a Vampire Birth Registry and asked to fill out a Vampire Citizenship form. The final puzzle piece? A full page ad in the newspaper listing their vampire birth announcements. If there's one thing people love more than vampires, its seeing their names in print.

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The Power of 2

They always say that 2 is greater than one, and it's true in both the mathmatical sense and the branding sense. Take for instance, these custom business cards from Sweet Thrills Candy Store. Beautifuil, four process design that makes you want to have yourself a sweet.



And on the back....an ad for a dentist. It's damage control, in every sens of the word. And it's brilliant. Dual branding is beneficial for all parties involved.

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Custom Key Chains Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence

Here in the US, the National Coalition about Domestic Violence reports that 1.3 million women are victims of domestic violence. For as frightening as this statistic may be, it's not just a problem here in America. According to Women's Refuge, 1 in 3 women in New Zealand are affected by domestic violence as well. That's why they seek to change things. To kick off the 2010 Women's Refuge Appeal Week, they chose a promotion that ultimately resulted in mass media attention and a 60% percent increase in attendance. What type of promotion could possibly cause such a strong result? Easy: custom key chains.



The Refuge created these custom keychains and attached them to keys that were then placed in doors. Upon approach, the homeowner would be startled and think that someone had actually obtained a key to their residance. Upon further inspection, the imprint on the key chain explained everything.

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