The Promotional Idea Showcase - Summer 2003 - Updated Quarterly

 

Pens, Pencils And Markers.
Get The Point?
By Cathy Cain

 
Things have changed. Unique, well-designed writing instruments aren’t necessarily the costliest ones anymore. Today you can find the right combination of fun, features, functionality and fashion at virtually any price point.
Imagine your grandfather accompanying you as you’re selecting a writing instrument for your next promotional program. No doubt he’d be amazed. A pen that flips open at the touch of a button. Or holds medication. Or blows bubbles. Or doubles as a strobe light. Or combines a pen, highlighter and touch-screen stylus you can use to enter names, addresses and telephone numbers into an electronic organizer.

It’s true. Writing instruments have evolved big-time since the days when the only thing a ballpoint did was write in blue ink. Today, pens, pencils and markers range from fun to highly functional to fashionable, which makes it easy to find one suitable for any promotion.

Defining Fun 

Let’s say you want to add some zip to a quarterly meeting that a lot of employees think is boring. As everyone sits down, you pass out a logoed pen that blows bubbles and rattles when you shake it. You think this meeting might suddenly take on a different tone? Attendees will likely take the pens home as a remembrance of the event and, more amazingly, look forward to the next meeting. 

Maybe laughs aren’t what you’re going for. No worry. There are all kinds of writing instruments in the promotional marketplace that can convey any emotion or message and grab the attention of any target audience. 

Consider light pens. Though not new, their popularity has enticed manufacturers to enhance them. Promotional consultant Wendy Simons reports that styles with independent functionality (i.e., separate controls instead of one switch to activate both pen and light) are becoming more popular. Some use a pushbutton, some a twist mechanism. Some offer steady light, others flash. Some incorporate a light that can be blue, red or a rainbow of colors. Still others feature two buttons – one for a constant glow, the other for a strobe effect. 

Color ‘Em Clever 

In another vein, don’t underestimate the effect a pen can have on customers if it’s done in your company’s corporate colors – and don’t worry about whether your color is available. “If someone asks me for orange,” explains counselor Karen Cohen, “I’ve got 12 pens to show.” In addition, she says, you should ask for what you don’t see. For example, when Skyy Vodka wanted 100,000 pens with a cobalt blue barrel to match its bottles, Cohen handled it, no problem. And many colors are available in solids, frosteds and translucents, too. Again, just ask.

A more nostalgic color scheme is displayed by the “Creamsicle,” a plastic ballpoint encircled with swirls reminiscent of the ice cream bar many of us enjoyed as children. Today, though, far more “flavors” are available – dark and light blue, pink and burgundy, lemon and light blue, lemon and lavender and lemon and orange. It might be the perfect thing for a summer promo or as part of a firm’s anniversary or nostalgia-based program. 

Bells & Whistles

Writing instruments with more than one function are being seen in increasing numbers these days. Example: a pen/highlighter combo with an additional stylus tip for hand-held electronic messaging devices. There’s also a stylus/pen that offers a choice of three ink colors – black, blue and red. In addition to being a favorite among corporate clients, the pen has been well received by university recruiters, who give them to high school and college students. 

Another interesting item is a stackable highlighter – the markers snap together, offering a choice of two, three, four or five markers (and up to five imprints) There’s also a stackable highlighter/ballpoint variation with a clip designed to hook onto any ring, clasp or zipper pull, making it good for students and event organizers. 

Other relatively new items include a permanent golf ball marker on a keytag or to hook on a golf bag. There are also several “stubby” pens – some with foam rubber grip – also attached to keytags and retractable clips. 

Looking Good

If you want to be on the tip of the latest trend – or somewhere in the general vicinity – writing instruments are a great way to go. Many recent items focus on the comfort factor, employing padded or rubberized grips, more triangular shapes for easier holding or combinations of several elements.

Some are simple enhancements, such as the minor design change introduced two years ago by the well-known “Ion” bullet-shaped gel ink pen. There’s now a seamless transition between the grip and the front section of the pen – much cooler looking – and it’s available in three new finishes, including “cosmic” purple and “plasmic” green. Another pen is being produced in anodized red or green with silver highlights. 

Of course, not all cutting-edge offerings are limited to pens. Promotional consultant Dan Townes mentions a “dyed slat” pencil. It’s eraserless, but sports an end-cap, usually painted a different color than the barrel. It’s dyed throughout the wood, which is further enhanced by a shiny lacquered finish overlaid with an antique matte finish. Europeans and Japanese in particular deem it “sleek and sexy,” he says. 

Containing The Excitement

How should a writing instrument be packaged? Well, that depends on how much perceived value you want to add. Your counselor can show you all sorts of options. If the budget is tight and costs have to be held down, you might want to go with the minimum – a simple plastic wrap. Or, you can upgrade to a paper or plastic gift box, velveteen pouch, rigid plastic sleeve, leather or suede pouch and even tins. Most of these can bear an additional imprint and can bump up the perceived value tremendously. Notes counselor Jason Corsetti: “A tin is like another canvas for your message.” 

Another option: mid-priced desk holders that also create more perceived value. The bonus is that both pen and holder can bear imprints. Pens can also be custom-packed in groups of five, 20 or whatever to fit certain promotions. 

Out There?

What’s next in the world of logoed writing instruments? Considering how quickly technology moves, it’s anyone’s guess. One strong possibility is a pen that digitally stores data as you write. How does it work? Inside is an optical scanner that watches the movement of the point, then stores the information in a microchip. The info can then be downloaded to a computer by placing the pen in a Palm Pilot-like cradle. 

Pretty cool, right? It doesn’t get much more James Bond than that. But don’t expect your counselor to offer it to you just yet. The writing-instrument grapevine (yeah, there is one; you just have to know how to find it) predicts it’ll be at least another year before the product is available, to say nothing of when the price will come down to something relatively reasonable. The problem: The microchip can only hold about 11/2 pages of data at this point – too limited, given the volume of notes generated at most meetings. But it’s being upsized.

Still, the concept makes an indelible point: As a product, writing instruments are anything but run-of-the-mill. 

Cathy Cain is a freelance writer based in Chicago. 

A Brief History Of Pens
The first true pens were quills – bird feathers sliced at an angle, then dipped in paint. There had to be a better way. And there was. It’s truly history: 

1800s: First designs for ink-containing pens patented. 

1884: L.E. Waterman, an insurance salesman, designs the first workable fountain pen. Fountains become the predominant writing instrument for the next 60 years. 

1938: Two Hungarians, Ladislo and George Biro, invent the ballpoint. They apply for patents in 1938 and 1940. The new-formed Eterpen Co. in Argentina commercializes the Biro pen. 

May 1945: Eversharp Co. teams up with Eberhard-Faber to acquire the exclusive rights to Biro Pens. The pen is re-branded “Eversharp CA” (“capillary action”) and released to the press months in advance of public sales. 

June 1945: Less than a month after Eversharp/Eberhard close the Eterpen deal, Chicago businessman Milton Reynolds visits Buenos Aires, sees the Biro in a store and recognizes its potential. He buys a few, returns stateside, and starts the Reynolds International Pen Co., basically ignoring Eversharp’s patent rights. Eversharp sues Reynolds. (Interestingly, an 1888 patent by John Loud invalidated everyone’s claims, but no one knew that at the time.)

October 1945: The Reynolds Rocket beats the Eversharp model to market, and is unveiled at Gimbel’s department store in New York for $12.50. The first day, $100,000 worth are sold. 

1948: Price wars, poor quality and heavy advertising costs take their toll. Sales nosedive. The Reynolds’ original $12.50 price drops to 50 cents. 

1950: Marcel Bich, a French Baron, begins offering an improved ballpoint in Europe named after himself, minus the h. By the late ‘50s, the pen dominates 70% of the market there.

1954: Parker introduces the Jotter ballpoint. It writes five times longer than the Eversharp or Reynolds. It has a variety of point sizes, a rotating cartridge and large-capacity refills.  Best of all, it works. Parker sells 3.5 million in less then a year. 

1957: Eversharp tries to switch back to selling fountains, ultimately selling its pen division to Parker. Its assets are liquidated in the 1960s.

1958: Bic buys 60% of the New York-based Waterman Pens. 

1960: Bic begins to successfully breach the U.S. market, offering ballpoints for as little as 19 cents. 

Today: Biro is still the generic name used for the ballpoint pen in most of the world, except the states.
Most might not think orange and silver could work together to create a good-looking, comfortable pen, but seeing is indeed believing.
 
Ask for asi/62829, IMC line – specify Summer Imprint

Though it’s a mid-range ballpoint, the classic shape and bent clip evoke the look of 1920s fountain pens.

Ask for asi/97270, Saratoga line – specify Summer Imprint
Translucent colors can still add a touch of flair and value to an otherwise traditional ballpoint. 

Ask for asi/97270, Saratoga line – specify Summer Imprint
This translucent retractable comes with a matching heart-shaped holder for conversion to a pendant. A natural for any healthcare or heart-related promo, not to mention anything with a “love” theme. 

Ask for asi/77040, Supermatic line – specify Summer Imprint
The “Creamsicle’s” colors actually are reminiscent of the ice-cream bar we all knew as kids. Other colors are available, too. 

Ask for asi/77040, Supermatic line – specify Summer Imprint
Brushed or polished, chrome remains a classic and timeless pen design that never goes out of fashion. 

Ask for asi/90141, Bullet line – specify Summer Imprint
Yet another reminder: When it comes to writing instruments, lower price points never have to mean a lack of style. 

Ask for asi/84833, Sanford line – specify Summer Imprint
Bearing an intentional resemblance to a higher-priced cousin, this cool compact ballpoint uses rubber inserts and eyecatching color to attract attention. 

Ask for asi/47520, Cross line – specify Summer Imprint
OK. It might be odd-looking, but it’s ergonomically correct, writes well and is surprisingly comfortable to use.

Ask for asi/40480, Bic Graphic USA line – specify Summer Imprint
An Interesting combination of 1930s chunky and 1990s modernized design makes this pen memorable. 

Ask for asi/77040, Supermatic line – specify Summer Imprint
Simplistic and utilitarian in design and function? No question. Still a best-selling pen/highlighter combo after over a decade? Absolutely no question. 

Ask for asi/47935, Custom Impressions line – specify Summer Imprint
Unexpected color finishes can help give higher-end pens a more casual character, important when you need a lighter, yet upscale promotion. 

Ask for asi/84833, Sanford line – specify Summer Imprint
Sometimes, a promotion needs a more conservative touch. There’s till something to be said for the high-perceived basic black ballpoint.

Ask for asi/90305, Sweda line – specify Summer Imprint
Occasionally, what’s called for is pure fun. This eyecatching critter incorporates bubblemaking liquid and a noise-maker. Oh, and a pen, too. 

Ask for asi/48500, Tag-Master line – specify Summer Imprint
Lighted pens have been around a while, but the new generation can, depending on the set-up, light up in different colors, convert into a flashing mini-strobe (cool for very small retro parties), and even variate from color to color. 

Ask for asi/79530, Prime line – specify Summer Imprint
Desk holders can remain traditional yet be constantly updated. In this case, it’s a matter of subtle changes in shape and finish.

Ask for asi/80220, Quill line – specify Summer Imprint
Another example of how a mid-range plastic ballpoint can be enhanced by tossing in a little style. Here, the plunger and translucent rubber grip produce a slight space-age look.

Ask for asi/84833, Sanford line – specify Summer Imprint