One for the Road

UMBRELLAS
Why choose them: Like towels, umbrellas are kept forever. "A typical household has three to four umbrellas, and keeps them in various locations such as their car, briefcase and in an umbrella stand by the front door of their house," said Jenny Straub, director of marketing, Vitronic Promotional Group, Mason, Ohio. They're also thoughtful gifts with large imprint areas, even in the smaller, portable sizes necessary to make them practical travel items.
What you can do: "A distributor in Lexington, Ky., worked with an upscale restaurant who gave our FT816 totes Stormbeater Auto Open Folding Umbrella to local hotels with both the restaurant and the hotel's logo on it," said Straub. "The idea was to have the hotel suggest their restaurant and in turn, the hotel could give the umbrella to their priority customers. This seems to be working since the restaurant has placed several more orders with this distributor."

AIR FRESHENER
Why choose it: "For expert travelers, the uses of such a convenient personal item are obvious," said Mel Ellis, owner of HumphreyLine, Milwaukie, Ore. "Have you ever been stuck in a stale-smelling hotel room? How about a rental car that was last used by a cigar smoker?"
What you can do: "A recent example of the promotional value of this new item involved an emissions testing facility for cars," said Ellis. He explained that the end-buyer was looking to run an Earth-Day promotion tying lower emissions to cleaner air. Ellis stated that as a car-related, unisex item with an obvious connection to the intended message, the HumphreyLine Air Freshener was an obvious choice.