I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season, and are geared up for 2009. May the craziness of our world and economy settle down soon!

Staying top of mind and being chosen first by your customers is important for all successful businesses. The Long Island State Veterans Home never misses an opportunity to thank its referral sources for their assistance and service to their veterans, as well as to educate these "decision-makers" about veterans' benefits and the services the Long Island State Veterans Home can provide their clients.

Tying into the theme of its veteran consumers, the Long Island State Veterans Home utilizes Veterans Day as a great opportunity to send a patriotic themed "thank you" basket filled with Long Island State Veterans Home material and snacks for its associates to enjoy.

This year's basket was a World War II styled military lunch box that included items such as a Long Island State Veterans Home liquid filled mouse-pad with six military branch seals floating inside, a Veterans Home pencil caddy with logoed pens, the Long Island State Veterans Home calendar, customized chocolates with the organization's logo and a patriotic teddy bear with military flags. Their patriotic baskets get noticed. First, no one expects a basket in November, so they beat the onslaught of December holiday baskets. Second, they try to provide high quality items that are useful for their target audience.

A custom gift basket is ideal for welcoming new clients, saying thank you or congratulating longtime clients on a special achievement. If you like the concept of presenting your target audience with a one-of-a-kind basket, ask Multi Media Promotions to brainstorm for you. Call us at 516-935-0553 or e-mail info@mmpromos.com for more information.

If apparel is on your 2009 must-do promotions list, you’ll love these ideas...

The most basic t-shirt can be turned into a work of art with the right design, inks and decorative techniques. Here are a few ideas...

Laser etching on fabrics and laser appliqués bring fine detail by using a laser beam to burn or cut single or multiple layers of material to reveal a sophisticated design. You can achieve a textured tone-on-tone look with laser etching or use laser appliqués for intricate multi-color logos/lettering.

Sequin embroidery makes a fresh, dramatic statement. A sequin embroidered logo is created by digitizing your design so that sequins are laid down in sequential order, embroidered right onto the fabric. (You can use only one color of sequin in the design, but we can still achieve multi-color looks by adding traditional embroidered elements as well.)

We can apply high-density ink to create a 3-D appearance or create a soft, textured hand with suede ink or replicate the rugged look of leather with leather inks. These are excellent options for apparel programs that can’t afford traditional embroidery but want to present a message with a distinctive raised effect or high-value tactile quality.

Finally, today’s digital printing and sublimation techniques allow us to create colorful reproductions of your most important full-color designs and photographic images.

Want more ideas and help deciding which decorating method is best for your next apparel project? Let’s talk! Call us at 516-935-0553 or e-mail info@mmpromos.com for more information.

When you want to be constantly noticed by prospects, the best place to position a message is on the desktop. It’s prime recognition real estate and there are thousands of products that will keep you grounded there.

Pencil caddies, tape dispensers, calculators, paperweights, business card holders and, of course, the photo frame – these are all useful, everyday items that will be viewed throughout the eight-hour work day.

They can also be very economical items, costing a few dollars or less per recipient. Yet the amount of impressions you yield will be significant. We’re talking 2080 hours of message exposure throughout a year of work days.