Promotional products companies can put you rname almost anywhere

Here's something maybe you didn't know.

“The typical pen has eight owners,” said Don Beussink, president and COO of Banker's Advertising Co. in Iowa City. “You can see why business owners like to hand them out with their name on it.”

The marketing logic is irrefutable: Every time you pick up that pen, the name of the company imprinted on it most likely will catch your eye.

A giveaway pen, bag, koozie or baseball cap is subtle advertising in the form of a useful gift that a customer or business partner may keep for a long time.

“The life of the advertising (in a promotional product) is long and can extend to a hundred years with collectors,” Beussink added.

Organizations large and small - from restaurants to banks to universities - use promotional products as a way to get their name out to the public, and promotional products companies have catalogs of items that can be personalized. Sales staff can work with a company's logo, or designers often can generate creative ideas and design the message.

Personalization can be done with ink, embroidery, foil stamp, screen printing or, for fabric, sometimes even rhinestones. The cost of the final product is based on the cost of the items personalized, plus a fee for designing and/or printing.

Once the design is finalized, production takes about two weeks.

In Hiawatha, one-year-old DearDen Impressions and Promotions, while small, provides a wide range of products - 750,000 different items - that can be imprinted with a company's name.

“Right now we've been doing a lot of T-shirts and baseball caps,” said Rebecca Dearborn, who owns the company with her brother Mykle Eden. “Pens and coffee mugs are also popular.

“We've printed messages on golf balls, walnuts and river rocks. If our pad will fit on it, we can print on it.”

Banker's Advertising, founded in 1896, initially sold banking supplies as well as producing promotional materials. That is, until the Great Depression caused many banks to close.

Perhaps surprisingly, in this era of smartphones and laptops, the company's most popular item today is the advertising calendar, imprinted with the name of an organization. According to Promotional Products Business Magazine, a recent study showed 8 out of 10 households have one.

Zephyr Printing and Design in Iowa City and Coralville expanded into the promotional products arena after purchasing Imprinted Sportswear. It now sells screen-printing and embroidery on hats, jackets, uniforms and corporate apparel.

It also offers customization of bags, calendars, sports bottles, flashlights, blankets and pens.

Leveraging its technological expertise in print and design, Zephyr Printing has expanded into vehicle wrappers. These graphics are made of vinyl and can be affixed to any vehicle to create what's essentially a moving billboard.

“We've gotten a lot of new business because we've put our money where our mouth is,” said Carl Dunn, Coralville Zephyr Printing shop manager.

“Usually they begin with ideas for a design,” Dunn said. “Our designers will put together a proof - or several proofs. Simple designs are best.”

Wrappers can range in size, and cost about $15 per square foot. A full wrapper, covering all surfaces, ranges from $1,500 to 2,500.

Once the design is created, vehicle wrappers take about a week to print and install. They are affixed to the vehicle with adhesive, and can last about two to three years.

Even in a tight economic market, promotional product companies are staying busy.

“People are looking for alternative forms of advertising,” said Steve Pajunen, president of Zephyr Printing.