Hirsch Gift

Something strange has happened to me. On a recent three-day holiday weekend, I had the opportunity to sleep in. But I didn’t. I attended a concert at the Hollywood Bowl Saturday and started early Sunday packing meals at our church for families in Haiti. I was looking forward to sleeping in on the holiday Monday when my wife told me our runners group was going out at 7 a.m. What would seem like an automatic "no" has become a much easier "yes" for me.

The PPAI Expo is clearly the most significant event in our industry. Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is taken over with two huge floors of supplier booths, top-notch education, and incredible keynote presentations. There is a brand. section showcasing incentives, a new products pavilion, a "Decorate" area, and a variety of social events.

There's a reason why more than a billion dollars worth of promotional desk and office products are sold every year: They're effective. From sticky notes and pens to journals and mugs, the items we use during every workday are the perfect vehicles for promotional advertising.

After a deadly F5 tornado destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed 24 people in Moore, Okla., several members of the promotional products community donated time and products to the state's recovery efforts.

While ZZ Top made its bread and butter singing about cheap sunglasses, the same is definitely not true for promotional product professionals. This week we are featuring five pairs of cool shades that will not only make a good impression, but will remain a long-term reminder of a promotion well-done.

In 2008 we talked about the eco-button or e-button from Hirsch Gift. Buzzline is now selling two updated versions of this product which they are calling the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub.

So what is new after two years? To start with the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub are made of 70 percent recycled plastic. That is a nice upgrade over the ebutton. And the EcoButton Hub provides four USB ports which makes it a more useful item on the desk and therefore as a promotional products item, more likely to stay on the desk promoting your brand.



Reuters

I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every time I was convinced I had single-handedly broken the Internet, only to have the office I.T. guy come to my desk and bring it all back online with one keystroke. It's happened more times than I should be willing to admit in a national publication.

Houston, Texas-based supplier Hirsch Gift announced the company has hired supplier reps Jodi Friedman of San Diego-based AwesomeLines.com