Drinkware tips from Huffermen

Our April issue has been out for a little while now, which among other things, contains my amazing, fantastic and generally mind-blowingly great drinkware story. It contains advice and tips from drinkware experts at Huffermen, 99CentPromos.com, Visstun and Moderne Glass on how to sell different kinds of drinkware, like sports bottles, glassware and travel mugs

The interview from Huffermen ran a little long, so I wasn't able to use most of it in the story. It's all really good material though, so I thought I would print the full interview here. Below are the excellent responses sent to me by Melissa Hoffman, sales manager at Huffermen, to my questions on how to sell drinkware for sports or athletic promotions. Her answers are mostly unedited, save for a few tweaks for things like grammar, style and formating.

Promo Marketing: Overall what would make an item excel in sporting and/or athletic promotions? Why?

Melissa Hoffman: Knowing your "end-buyer and end-user" is the most important aspect when determining how to promote a specific product. Not every product would be perfect for every event, end-user or requirement. There are a wide variety of end-buyers for water bottles such as youth sports programs, professional sports organizations, sports retail outlets, camps, etc. Each one is unique.
You need to know the end-buyer's budget, targeted age group, targeted gender and type of event/outlet (e.g., Is the bottle for a fundraiser, a giveaway item, a functional product or simply a promotional product?). Once you have made this determination then you can choose the best possible marketing option.

Youth sports organizations: If the end-buyer is a youth sports organization, you will most likely want to pick a bottle based on size first (smaller bottles for smaller hands). You will need a durable bottle that can withstand the everyday use of children. Most youth sports organizations work on a very small budget so you will also need to consider a less expensive product for this type of setting.