Thursday, December 29, 2011

"Because That's the Way We did it Before" . How Will You Start 2012?

As we turn the Calendar to 2012, many of us look to plan our engagement with partners and clients in many of the same ways that we've done before.

In Seth Godin's blog today "It's Always Been this Way," he reminds us what we need to remember that Change is Good.

For this next year, keep in mind some of the many things that we take for granted today, were not even a part of you day to day activities and practices 5, 10, and 15 years ago. Your customers will also be looking for you to be different, also, in order for your business together to grow.

Many in our industry will go to Expo, and spend much of their time with the usual suspects meaning Suppliers that they've always done business with, and customers that have brought regular business to Suppliers.

Make sure to spend some of your time, looking to find New Products, from New Suppliers and New Distributor partners also.  This will make you stand out to your customers back home, as well as help to breath new life into some of the partnerships that you have already.

Have a Great Expo Everyone!   






Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Top Suppliers at 2012 PPAI Expo for New Products and Ideas to Grow your Business

Handstands Promo    648
Awareness Line         759
Seven Sourcing        1283
Hartwell  Apparel     3069
Royce Leather Gifts  3631
Howard Miller          3952
Natural Trends          5641
Ovation Awards        7137










Friday, December 9, 2011

Color of the Year

Pantone Inc., who creates color standards for the fashion, beauty and home furnishings industries has announced their "Color of the Year" for 2012.

According the a Washington Post article yesterday:


The annual forecast for the next year’s dominant color takes into consideration both what Pantone thinks shoppers want and need. Those are influenced by the designer runways, fabric shows, news events, pop culture and consumer habits. “Part of what we do is look at the zeitgeist,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, explained. “We have to look at everything in the world around us. It’s not an arbitrary choice.”

Consumer spending is a big player in reviving the economy and it needs adrenaline, she said. Orange is a more urgent call to action than last year’s hot-pink hue Honeysuckle, which was also supposed to channel cheerfulness coupled with nostalgia. Before that, there was the more serene turquoise and optimistic yellow.
“Color is really emotion,” agreed Beth Eckerstrom, director of trend and product development at Crate and Barrel. “Everyone thinks it’s a physical thing, but it’s really emotion.”

We at Incentives West enjoys learning all of the new colors that our Supplier Partners bring to market each year.  Sometimes it's an important color for a new event or brand logo, sometimes it's the "Canvas" where the message or logo is place onto, and sometimes it's some of the great new products that are all the buzz at the Beginning of the Year.

Looking forward to seeing many of our top customers soon and highlighting all the "Colors of the Year."

2012 Make it a Great Year!

Mark