Fighting Hunger with the Help of Promo Products

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinShare on email

Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real estate investment providers, was determined to make a difference in the communities in which its employees live and work. In Canada, food bank usage is on the rise, so leaders of Bentall Kennedy made it their mission to raise awareness about hunger in their communities and across the country.

In February 2012, they launched the Fare Fight for Food Challenge, a national initiative that partnered their 19 shopping centers across Canada with local food banks. Bentall Kennedy created the slogan, and their distributor partner sourced useful products to showcase the campaign message in a highly visible way while aiding the teams with their mission. The initial goal was to raise a total of $75,000 and collect 20,000 pounds of food.

From February until October, shopping center teams hosted special events and promotions. Teams competed to raise the most money, pounds of food and online supporters. The target audience consisted of all of the shopping center customers, Bentall Kennedy employees, suppliers and the general public.

To launch the campaign, six fundraising street teams – including the entire Bentall Kennedy retail division – invaded downtown Toronto for an afternoon. Teams were given a survival kit that included donation cans, aprons, candy and a bottle of water. One team’s adventure generated $30,000. To enhance the competition, the top five teams overall received an additional $10,000 grant from Bentall Kennedy’s head office for their food bank.

Promotional products printed with the Fare Fight for Food logo were created as practical tools to reinforce and support the campaign. Bags were given out at the store level and delivered door to door. Donation cans were used for the original launch and then reordered for individual stores, entrance tagging and 50/50 ticket sales. Aprons were worn by the Bentall Kennedy teams, retail partners, dignitaries and even the prime minister. Cookies were distributed to thank customers and to extend awareness of the campaign.

Bentall Kennedy exceeded its original objectives halfway through the campaign. By the end of the campaign, teams raised $155,000 in funds and 150,000 pounds of food donations – more than double the amount of money and 7.5 times the amount of food projected. More than 19 food banks across the country are the beneficiaries of this campaign.

If you’d like to get involved with a community outreach program or some other charitable cause, contact your ad specialty distributor for advice and products for your campaign.

Mun2, a Hispanic youth-focused cable channel owned by NBC Universal, was looking for items to promote the launching of a new reality TV show called “Larrymania,” based on the life of Mexican singer Larry Hernandez.

They needed two products, one geared toward advertisers and the second toward consumers. Ideas were presented for both the ad agencies and Mun2 viewers. They settled on a bobble head and a leather wristband. Mun2 sent their distributor partner a photo of Larry Hernandez for the bobble head design. He made sure everything matched, even Hernandez’s goatee, which was very important for the artist.

For the wristband, Mun2 wanted to include the show logo and the Mun2 name, but they didn’t just want to do a straight logo. They decided on a custom leather bracelet with the show's logo and a custom-debossed pattern.

They produced 250 bobble heads and 2,000 wristbands. Both items were a huge success. Sarah Castellvi, marketing coordinator at Mun2, was pleased with the results.

Need some unique items to promote a special event or product? Speak to your distributor partner for cool ideas and creative designs that can help you launch a successful ad campaign or product launch.

A Free Gift from Promotional Edge

YES,THERE IS SUCH A THING AS EASY MONEY! INTRODUCING.... Promotional Edge Customer Referral Program Refer a client and receive a free gift card! For any new referral, including other departments within your company, which results in new business. The more referrals you provide the more you can receive!  That's our way of saying thank you. You can be sure that we will give these new clients the same care, creativity, and service we always offer you. $200 Value Gift Card for referral resulting in $3,000 Order $125 Value Gift Card for referral resulting in $2,000 Order $100 Value Gift Card for referral resulting in $1,000 Order $50 Value Gift Card for referral resulting in $500 Order Your choice of a Nordstrom or Best Buy gift card

Check out our website for more details visit us at www.promotionaledge.com Michael Spranger 925-890-5122

Perfecting the Craft of Branding

Here's an interesting article about Branding.

Promotional Products Industry Gets a Boost from the Presidential Election Campaign

Presidential Campaigns Put Promotional Products in the Spotlight

Find out how the presidential candidates use promotional merchandise to raise money for their campaigns.

We're adding an R to our name...

We're adding an R to our name! It's official.... We've trademarked our name. Promotional Edge® For over 20 years we've helped businesses grow and succeed.  Don't be fooled by imitations.  Rely on our experience.     Our Business Builds Your Business       Since 1992                        WWW.PromotionalEdge.com

Imprinted promotions are a highly effective form of advertising. In 2009, the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) did a two-part study on advertisements or marketing methods. 1,000 respondents, for the study, said they had received some kind of promotional products over the past 24 months. When surveyed, 94 percent said they could recall receiving such an item; just below, 89 percent of the respondents were able to recall the brand added. Additionally, 83 percent said they liked receiving these products, while 48 percent said they wanted to receive them more often. 69 percent actually kept the product.


Let Promotional Edge help you choose a product that your customers will want to hold on to, helping to keep your business present in their minds.