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Products
Branding proves
the key to getting
a grip on market
Great inventions can often sell themselves,
it’s said, but the principals
behind eGrips technology would beg
to differ.
American Fred Antonini hatched a
unique idea – a silicone, non-slip strip that
could be attached to mobile phones and
adhere to most surfaces.
After considerable effort getting from the
drawing board into manufacture, the Texas
supplier had a product that worked and
people loved – except it wasn’t selling well
in retail. The rise of eGrips as US industry’s
fastest-growing supplier can be traced to a
common business strategy – branding.
Partner Matt Malone takes up the story.
“The problem we ran into was that people
did not know what the eGrips brand
was. People didn’t know what the material
was. So, when we initially went into retail,
people saw it but it was a hard sell.”
It was, however, the right product at the
right time – eGrips Technology had devised
a perfectly-timed item for the boom in mobile
technology.
Four years later, the firm has become
the US’s fastest-growing industry supplier –
skyrocketing from just $200,000 in sales in
2006 to more than $4 million in 2008.
Branding other companies’ products, by
becoming part of the promotional gifts industry,
has played a major part in that success
story.
“It’s really been the gift to our company,
being in the promotional product world,”
says Antonini, who worked as an electronics
parts manufacturer before starting the
company in 2003.
“It’s got our product out in the hands of
millions of people. It’s given it brand recognition.
And we’ve been making money
while we’ve done it.”
In a matter of a couple years, eGrips
Technology has gone from doing 20 per
cent of its sales in advertising to more than
90 per cent.
For more, visit tradeonly.com/egrips
Cotton is a real
keeper as sales
go through roof
There doesn’t seem to be any stopping the
meteoric rise of the cotton bag.
KeepMe Bags says that sales of its cotton products
have quadrupled in the last six months, going
from 75,000 to 350,000 per month.
However, Steve Anderson, joint MD at KeepMe,
is unsurprised by the sheer scale of growth.
“I have never doubted the benefits of cotton,”
he said.
“When my brother and I got into the industry
of promotional solutions, we called our company
‘KeepMe’ because we knew that re-useability was
the key to promotional effectiveness.
“If a product with your logo emblazoned on it is
kept, valued and re-used by the recipient, it radically
increases your company exposure.
“Cotton looks good, it feels good, it’s green and
it’s affordable.
“But these benefits have to be recognised by
the public for it to work and, in the case of cotton,
the scale of customer appreciation has been
remarkable.
“The moment we made cotton bags available to
the UK industry, their use as part of a promotions
package generated a very positive response and
from there, the success story has really taken off.”
For more, visit tradeonly.com/keepme
Biodegradable range has the
bottle to deliver benefits
Everything Environmental has
launched the UK’s first promotional
drink bottle range manufactured out of
biodegradable plastic.
Available in two sizes, and ideal for
the summer months, the biodegradable
bottles give marketers the option
to screen-print up to four colours on
the product, offering an eco-friendly
solution to drink bottles in the promotional
sector.
Made from special biodegradable
and recyclable materials, which break
down when fully immersed in a landfill
or compost environment, the new bottle
range has been approved for child
and food safety applications.
It is readily available in a frosted
“clear” tone and can also be made to
order in different colours.
Everything Environmental MD Evan
Lewis said: “Whether used at the kids’
weekend sports activities or the drink
bottle that’s constantly on your desk at
work, the biodegradable drink bottle
has the versatility to promote a brand
in both the professional and private
realms of people’s lives.”
For more details, visit tradeonly.com/
everythingenvironmental
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