Archive

Promotional Gift Award 2010: Apply now!
The entry deadline for the Promotional Gift Award 2010 is approaching fast. This uniquely organised communications prize for creative and courageously implemented promotional products or assortment concepts is staged annually by WA Publishing, Cologne. The Promotional Gift Award follows the motto "Create the difference", however it is far more than just a distinction criteria: It is a source of inspiration, a decision-making tool and a turnover booster in one. A distinctive seal that attracts attention and generates trust, because it is widely accepted by both promotional products distributors and users as a verification of quality.
Up until December 4, 2009 companies have the opportunity to submit prize-worthy products. The competition is open to German and international manufacturers, importers, distributors and designers. The participants can enter as many products as they like; all mass produced items and custom-made designs are eligible for entry. The award-winners will be distinguished in four categories: Give-aways, communicative products, premium products & branded articles as well as custom-made designs. In December 2009, an independent panel of branch experts will then select the prize-winners from the submitted entries.
Further information and application forms can be found at
www.promotionaward.com

Eurostyle: Fifth generation joins the ranks
In the year of the 110th anniversary of Eurostyle Emil Kreher GmbH & Co. the management of the traditional family company based in Bayreuth is being reinforced by the fifth generation. Alexander Lange (26) joined the management of the company on September 1st, 2009 and he will be supporting his parents, Evelin and Peter Lange, the Managing Directors of Eurostyle, to run the company in the future. The engineering and business graduate carried out several internships in Germany and overseas during and after his degree - for example in the UK and in the USA. Moreover, he disposes of a detailed knowledge of Eurostyle and its structure and culture.
www.eurostyle.eu

Werner Hagen retires from Faber-Castell after more than 29 years
At the end of October 2009, at the age of 65, Werner Hagen is to enter well-earned retirement after more than 29 years at Faber-Castell. He joined the company as a section manager in the Promotional Gift Sales department on 1 January 1980. Thanks to his winning personality and expertise, he earned the respect of customers, partners and colleagues alike during his many years at the company. His presence will be sadly missed at the many trade shows and events that he attended over the years, where he gave a face to the brand.
www.faber-castell.de

Guido Casparis leaves Prodir
Guido Casparis, Sales and Marketing Director of the Swiss high-end brand Prodir, left the company as of 1 August 2009. Casparis, who was also a long-standing member of Prodir's governing board, played a key role in the Swiss company's incredible success story. "After ten very intensive and exciting years in which we succeeded in advancing Prodir from a niche player to the market leader on key European markets, I need some time out. Before I become involved in day-to-day operations again in a different area, I am taking the liberty of focusing my attention just as closely on my family, who have taken a back seat in the last few years," outlined Casparis in a personal statement.
www.prodir.com

Creating brand identities in glass
1919 was an important year for German design, with Walter Gropius founding the Bauhaus School in Weimar and Eugen Sahm establishing the company Sahm-Merkelbach in Höhr-Grenzhausen, known today as RASTAL. Both have gone on to set benchmarks worldwide: The Bauhaus School in architecture and furniture design, RASTAL - thanks to the exclusive glass concept launched 50 years ago by Werner and Günter Sahm-Rastal - in the creation of brand identities in glass.
Today, RASTAL is one of the world's leading companies in innovative drinking glass designs and pioneering decorative technologies.
www.rastal.com

WALTER Medien celebrates its 60th anniversary
WALTER Medien in Brackenheim-Hausen is celebrating a special birthday this year as the company turns 60. Having laid the foundation of the company in 1949 with the establishment of the printshop, Hans Walter expanded operations in 1963 to include calendar publishing. He added press publishing to the company's portfolio in 1975 to become a specialist in regional gazettes and advertisers.
Today, the company operates all three divisions under the name WALTER Medien.
www.walter.de

Marketing+Services: Change in strategy
According to own accounts the Frankfurt-based Marketing+Services - the marketing trade fair for marketing trends, best practices and specialist exchange - will not be staged in its present form in future. In the view of the general economic climate and the situation of the exhibiting branches, a new approach for the future concept is currently being worked out together with the interested participating associations, the various industry sectors and significant representatives from the attendee side. In connection with the already communicated new positioning as a marketing trade show and its enhancement in the form of the 3rd German Live-Marketing Day, a format is being contemplated that will do justice to the overall content-related demands as well as to the wide-ranging services offered by the entire marketing branch. The Marketing+Services show celebrated its premiere in 1983 and was held every two years until 1997. In 1999 the Messe Frankfurt Ausstellungen GmbH took over the reins from the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre as the show's organisers. Up to 2006 the venue for the Marketing+Services alternated between Frankfurt and Hamburg, and since 2007 it has been staged as an annual event in Frankfurt.
www.marketing-services.de

"Haptic Advertising" - New handbook for promotional products
Each advertising discipline has its respective reference book - and now there is also one for promotional products. The 400-page compendium "Haptic Advertising" will be published in German language by WA Publishing in mid-June. The practical handbook for promotional products (price: 24.80 euros). The book can be seen as a guideline, addressing anyone who works with promotional products. Users and researchers, who want to learn more about the branch, as well as branch members will be given an historic insight into the promotional products branch in Germany, as well as being provided with current information on the market size and structure as well as on the different market participants and product categories. Whether marketing decision-makers, purchasers or creative directors: Whoever is planning the next campaign wants to know how promotional products work and anyone looking for orientation in a complex market can find detailed information on the implementation of promotional products here. Advance orders can be placed at: bestellungen@haptische-werbung.de
www.waorg.com

Promotional Gift Award 2009 trophies for the winners
In line with tradition, the winners of the Promotional Gift Award (PGA) were appropriately celebrated at the Promotion World in Hanover, where the promotional products branch presented itself to the industry from April 20-24: On the second exhibition day the winners received their trophies - a heavy glass cube with the PGA logo - on the stage of the Forum Promotion World amid the curious glances of show visitors, exhibitors and co-winners. Dr. Klaus Stallbaum, managing partner of WA Publishing, which has organised the PGA for the last seven years, once again presented the winning-products to a broad audience. All winners can be found online at
www.promotionaward.com

Haribo loses case before the Federal Court of Justice
The attempt of Haribo, Bonn, to have the registered "kinder" logo of its rival Ferrero deleted has failed. The Federal Court of Justice based its verdict on the high brand recognition that the products such as "Kinder surprise eggs" and "Kinder chocolate bar" enjoy. Approximately one and a half years ago the Federal Court of Justice had ruled in Haribo's favour, when it came down to other companies being able to use the term "Kinder" - as opposed to the actual logo.
www.haribo.de
www.kinder-schokolade.de

Steiff teddy for the NATO anniversary summit meeting
The 60th anniversary of the NATO is to be celebrated in two places in Baden-Wuerttemberg, which is reason enough for the Minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Günther Oettinger, to surprise the attendees of the NATO summit meeting with a special gift: A Steiff teddy decorated with a stylish Baden-Wuerttemberg medal, concealed in a mottled cloth bag with the imprint "Your first ally was a Baden-Wuerttemberger". Furthermore the enclosed letter from the Minister states: "A hairy Baden-Wuerttemberger has been offering loyal service in children's bedrooms all over the world for more than 100 years." With a current export rate of over 45%, the Steiff bear from Giengen/Brenz with the legendary button in its ear represents one of the many quality products from Baden-Wuerttemberg, which are well-known and appreciated throughout Europe.
www.steiff.de

Promotional products novelties per email
Promotion Products, the magazine for new promotional articles, is now being further enhanced by an electronic tool. Initially, Promotion PRODcast will appear fives times a year. Interested parties - promotional products purchasers and the marketing decisions-makers of industry companies will be regularly informed about fresh product ideas, market news and best practise examples from the world of multi-sensoric promotional products per email, enabling them to gain a fast overview of market trends and plenty of ideas for the implementation of business gifts, onpacks, give-aways & co. Subscription is free and can be cancelled at any time. Register now for the newsletter via the homepage
www.promotion-products.biz

Pelikan supports school project
Positive impulses for living and learning - that is the motto of the German division one football club, Hannover 96’s large-scale school campaign: "96 is setting a scholarly example". Also part of the line-up as the official sponsor: The writing instrument specialist, Pelikan, which is also based in Hanover. The aim of the campaign, which involves winning over 96 partner schools, is to address and discuss jointly with teachers and pupils themes such as foreigner integration, health and a healthy diet, the prevention of addictions and violence. With its writing and drawing materials aligned specifically to meet the needs of pupils, Pelikan has been an important companion along the way for many decades and also supports people of the teaching profession for instance in the form of a teacher portal with over 90,000 active participants. According to Arno Telkämper, CEO of Pelikan Germany, the objective of the project, which is also being backed by the AOK and E.ON Niedersachsen, is to sustainably improve everyday school life for the children in the region.
www.pelikan.com
www.hannover96.de

Behaviour rules for advertising alcohol extended
The voluntary behaviour rules of the German Committee of Advertising Practise have been extended by the alcohol business, trade, agencies and media. The applicable regulations for all communication instruments of the alcohol business are intended to provide protection especially to children and youths. Consumer protection is to be achieved among others by refraining from showing any children, athletes or drivers drinking alcohol in brand communications, and also by refraining from placing an emphasis on a high consume of alcohol.
A new regulation is for example that sports kits of children’s or youth teams are not allowed to be used to advertise drinks containing alcohol, people shown in the adverts have to be at least young adults, furthermore the advertising of flat-rate or all-you-can-drink offers is expressly regulated. The new behaviour rules are effective as of April 1, 2009.
www.werberat.de

German Promotional Products branch: 3.21 billion Euros turnover in 2008
The turnover of the German promotional products branch in the financial year 2008 totals an overall volume of 3.21 bill. Euros - this corresponds to a 3.2% increase compared to the result of 2006 (3.11 bill. Euros). This is one of the results of the Promotional Products Monitor 2008, which the German Association of the Promotional Products Economy (GWW) presented during the Press Conference of the PSI 2009. The survey carried out by the agency Advernomics placed the promotional product third in the advertising market rankings - behind the disciplines TV and Print. The GWW is also expecting a stable development in 2009 in spite of the current crisis.
www.gww.de

Xing Promotional Products Community
Under the aegis of WA Publishing, Cologne, a new WA Promotional Products Community has been set up in Xing, Germany's largest business networking portal. This gives promotional products users and suppliers the opportunity to establish new business contacts, discuss problems and profit from the wealth of experience of the other participants. The new Community enables business networking around the clock, over 1,000 interested parties are already participating. It is not necessary to be a Xing Premium member in order to join the Community or write articles. Non-Xing members can apply for basic membership, which involves neither costs nor commitments.
www.xing.com

Plagiarius 2009: Fight against product piracy
The thirteenth Plagiarius was awarded at the Ambiente in Frankfurt on February 13, 2009. Every year the negative prize, which was initiated by the Aktion Plagiarius e.V., distinguishes the manufacturers and distributors of especially outrageous plagiarisms, which are ultimately announced at an international press conference. The trophy is a black dwarf with a golden nose - as a symbol for the huge profits that the product pirates quite literally make at the cost of innovative companies. The aim of the Aktion Plagiarius e.V. is to provide the public with practical information on the extent, damage and risks of plagiarism and fakes. A panel of seven judges presented three awards, five distinctions of equal standing and two special prizes from a total of 30 submitted entries. It became quite evident again this year that companies from the promotional products branch also suffer great losses as a result of product piracy: Once again Koziol, Erbach, Reisenthel Accessoires and Gilching nominated replicas of their own products.
www.plagiarius.com

Focus Green Award 2008 for DNS
The DNS Design team, Stuttgart/Berlin has been presented with a Focus Green Award 2008 in silver for its "nautiloop - shopping bag to go" for environmentally-oriented product development. Besides the ecological aspect, the durable alternative to the plastic carrier bag convinced the jury due to its extraordinary design and innovative roll-out function.
For the first time this year the theme focus of the Baden-Wurttemberg design prize awarded by the Design Center Stuttgart was "green". Hence the submitted products not only had to meet the highest demands in design quality, but also had to conform with the respective criteria regarding environmental-friendliness.
www.dns-design.de
www.nautiloop.de

ASI publishes survey results
USA - The American branch association, ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute), has publicised the outcome of a comprehensive survey on the significance of advertising gifts. The results have turned out to be very positive for the promotional products branch: According to the survey promotional products prove to be particularly cost-efficient in comparison to TV, radio or print advertising. A high degree of promotional impact is obtained for a comparably small expense.
In the scope of the research, travellers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia were questioned on the subject of advertising gifts. The accumulated answers imply that promoting companies have a sustainable impact on their customers as a result of implementing promotional products, which in turn also generate high sympathy levels among the recipients.
www.asicentral.com

MAPROM GmbH takes over management of Magic Team
MAPROM GmbH of Höxter, Germany, has taken over the management of Magic Team (Sulzbach/Taunus) following the retirement of Magic Team's director and a company decision to withdraw from the wholesale textile business. Ever since 1978, Magic Team had been a major player in textile promotional gifts, achieving an annual turnover of 8 million euros. As a result of the takeover, the "Myrtle Beach" and "Stedman" lines are being added to MAPROM's range of over 11,000 textile promotional gifts, which encompasses 5 million units in stock.
www.maprom.de

eitel plastic opens new branch in Spain
In order to give its Spanish customers more direct service and support, eitel plastic of Fürther ‑ a specialist in promotional gifts made of synthetics - has opened a new branch office in Barcelona. The office's manager, Pierre Depiereux, can draw on an extensive base of sector contacts and leads.
www.eitel-plastic.de

GWW represented at CDU party conference
At the beginning of December 2008, the Gesamtverband der Werbeartikel-Wirtschaft (GWW, German Association for the Promotional Products Industry) attended the party conference of the CDU (Germany's Christian Democratic Union Party) in Stuttgart in order to represent the interests of the industry. In addition to setting up its own stand, the association made sure it captured the delegates' attention using promotional products. Giveaway items bearing the slogan "Ich bin kein Geschenk" ("I am not a gift") were distributed to all delegates in the hall and generated a high number of visitors to the GWW stand. The long-term goal of the association is to gain full recognition of the promotional product as a form of advertising and for it to be granted equal status with all other promotional tools.
In a number of one-to-one discussions, members of the GWW Board of Management Hans-Joachim Evers, Michael Freter, Patrick Politze and Klaus Rosenberger had the opportunity to make people aware of the problems and legal hurdles the promotional products industry faces, particularly the value limit of tax deductibility relating to promotional products as laid down in §4, paragraph 5 of the German Income Tax Law.  For their part, some delegates expressed concern at these shortcomings in the legal situation and gave assurances that they would look into the issue. The GWW achieved additional publicity via an interview with its chairman Patrick Politze that was aired as part of a special program on German channel ARD.
www.gww.de

bwg: Qualification as a promotional products adviser
With immediate effect the German Association of Promotional Products Advisers and Wholesalers (bwg) is offering the employees of promotional products distributors the opportunity to obtain a qualification as an IHK-certified promotional products adviser. This means that after several failed attempts in the eighties and nineties for the first time the German promotional products branch now has its own branch-specific qualification, which is recognised by an independent body. "The promotional products branch has its own laws," commented bwg President Hans-Joachim Evers "and these are not attributed sufficient consideration during the training periods of office administrators, advertising salesmen, wholesale trade merchants or export merchants. We want to further promote our modern economic branch using targeted advanced training measures and are both delighted and proud that we are now able to offer a first-class training scheme in conjunction with the IHK Bonn/Rhein-Sieg."
www.bwg-verband.de

Top scores with premiums
The guests of a hotel chain can quite literally earn themselves an extension to their stay while they are sleeping. Namely, whilst the travellers are sitting in a plane and relaxing, their travel account clocks up more miles, and during daily shopping sprees in the supermarket customers can collect points to earn themselves a new toaster, an elegant handbag or a toy for their offspring - depending on their individual needs.
Bonus marketing tools are currently enjoying increased popularity. As such 49.9% of the marketing decision-makers of renowned companies in Germany state that they offer premium catalogues for incentives or bonus programmes. According to the 2007 Quasar trend barometer, a further 13.6% are planning to introduce such tools in the future.
www.quasar.de

Sparkasse publishing house plans acquisition
In order to develop a mainstay on the book market, the Deutsche Sparkassenverlag (DSV - German Savings Bank publishing house) is planning to take over a specialised publishing company. According to the Chief Executive of DSV, Dr. Bernd Kobarg, the company is looking for a publishing house that specialises in finance, law and tax legislation.
Up until now the DSV, which is part of the Sparkasse Group, has predominantly achieved its turnover with printed material, services and logistics activities for the Sparkasse. For example the DSV is among others the central purchaser of promotional products for all Sparkasse branches. By means of an acquisition the publishing house's field of activities is to be expanded and its dependence on the Sparkasse reduced.
www.sparkassenverlag.de