Fall is all about cooler weather, back to school, football games and new fashions designed for comfort and style. Runway trends for this fall center on color: eye-popping shades of red, snowy winter white, and the fall hues of mustard, burnt orange (see photo), and jade are just some of the colors you can expect to see this season.

Fleece continues to grow in popularity. Whether your customers live in the southwest, northeast or somewhere in between, fleece is sure to be an important part of their wardrobe.

Recent runways featuring fall styles also showcased vivid graphic looks in addition to bright colors. Check out this color-block jacket (shown) designed to keep wearers warm and fashionable throughout the fall and winter. Have it embroidered with your corporate logo and watch as your employees, customers, business associates and other spread your name and tasteful image everywhere they go!

Be sure to check out Jordan Group Promos’ full selection of corporate-branded fall apparel…featuring fashions that will keep your customers looking great while staying warm.  Visit www.jordangrouppromos.com and click on our online catalog or call us at 203-272-6702.

Sheree Jordan, President of Jordan Group Promos, has been nominated as one of the finalists in the Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) first-ever “Top Women to Watch in the Advertising Specialty Industry” Awards. Jordan was selected based on the impact she is making in the industry.

ASI selected thirty-six finalists from thousands of women. Selection criteria included professional achievements, success stories, and the mentoring of other women, among others.

Now, ASI members have the opportunity to vote to select the top five winners. These five winners will be honored at the 2011 ASI Women’s Summit in Dallas, TX on February 18, 2011. At this exclusive event, they will be joined by former First Lady Laura W. Bush, who will offer an inspiring keynote address.

Final selection of winners is open to all ASI members through online voting now through January 28th.

To see Sheree recognized for her many achievements, go to http://www.asicentral.com/women%27sawards.aspx to vote.

Jordan Group Promos (www.jordangrouppromos.com) is honored to have been selected as the provider of VIP gifts at the “Stand Up for Heroes” benefit event to be held in New York City on November 3. The event is sponsored by the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation was co-founded by award-winning television reporter Bob Woodruff and his family after he sustained serious injuries while covering the Iraq war in 2006. The vision of the Bob Woodruff Foundation is to provide resources and support to injured service members, veterans and their families — building a movement to empower communities nationwide to take action to successfully reintegrate our nation’s injured heroes back into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) has raised over $8.5 million for injured service members. To date, BWF has invested $5.8 million on public awareness, education, and national and community programs which is estimated to impact approximately 516,000 service members, veterans, family members, and support personnel. Through 85 grants to charitable organizations around the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has funded programs to reintegrate injured service members and assist their families with the transition.

The BWF’s 4th Annual Stand Up for Heroes Benefit event will be held on Wednesday, November 3 at 8:00 pm at the Beacon Theatre, New York City. It will be hosted by Jon Stewart and will feature Jerry Seinfeld, Tony Bennett, 4Troops, Bruce Springsteen, and other surprise guests.

Jordan Group Promos has custom designed and produced special SUFH-branded gifts for this event. Gifts will include “Stand Up for Heroes” dog tags, USB drives, and photo frames.

To learn more about the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the “Stand Up for Heroes” event, visit www.remind.org.  ReMIND.org is a public education movement of the Bob Woodruff Foundation that educates the public about the needs of injured service members, veterans and their families as they reintegrate into their communities.

Jordan Group Promos is proud to support “KEEPERS: A Broadway Benefit,” being held November 1, 2010 at Studio 54 in New York City. “KEEPERS” is a dynamic exploration of how lives are affected by adoption, based on true testimonials collected from all around the world.  This original musical theatre event is produced by WHAT’S THE BENEFIT, INC. and will raise funds for the beneficiary Spence-Chapin Adoption Services.

WHAT’S THE BENEFIT, INC. produces theatrical and fine art events which give actors, musicians, designers and other artists the opportunity to develop their skills and showcase their talents in an otherwise over-saturated market.  The material produced for each event highlights a specific charitable cause that benefits financially and/or gains awareness through the presentation of the artists’ work.

The “KEEPERS: A Broadway Benefit” event will include an art exhibition, complimentary drinks, hors d’œuvre and a celebrity-hosted auction to raise funds for the Spence-Chapin Adoption Services.
For more information on tickets to “KEEPERS” or to donate to the Spence-Chapin Adoption Services, please visit http://www.whatsthebenefit.org .

When choosing your corporate holiday gifts this year, why not consider choosing a gift with extra special meaning?

Jordan Group Promos carries a variety of gift items from which a portion of the sales are donated to charitable causes. When you select one of their products, not only does your gift recipient receive a wonderful gift, but others benefit as well. It’s a great way to be socially responsible!
Here are just some of the gift items that Jordan Group Promos offers and the charities they benefit:

The Hope Collection
The Hope Collection supports Habitat for Humanity and its efforts to build simple, decent and affordable housing. When you purchase an item from the Hope Collection, 10 percent of the sale revenue will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. The seven-item Hope Collection includes two sizes of non-woven totes, a ceramic tumbler, an aluminum bottle, a pen, a bookmark and a journal notebook. Information about Habitat for Humanity will be included with each individual item so that recipients of Hope Collection gifts will know that the product helped support Habitat for Humanity.

Green Grass Collection
When an item from the Green Grass Collection is purchased, 10% of the sale will go to the American Forests’ Global Releaf Program. American Forests’ education and action programs help individuals and groups improve the local and global environment by planting and caring for trees. Call Jordan Group Promos to learn more about the gift items in the Green Grass Collection.

Gifts of Adventure Collection
MISSION Skincare® was founded in 2008 by a premier group of world-class athletes including Serena Williams, Steve Nash, David Wright, Mia Hamm, Amanda Beard, Sergio Garcia, and more. Mission SkinCare offers a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance skincare and sun care product innovations. The “Gifts for Adventure Collection” includes five different sets of Mission SkinCare products. Proceeds from this collection are donated to charitable causes such as the Susan G. Komen Marathon for the Cure, the A-T Children’s Project, Women’s Sports Foundation, Train 4 Autisum, and many charitable foundations.

Make this holiday season a time of even greater meaning. Give gifts that give back to the world in so many ways. Contact Jordan Group Promos at 203-272-6702 to learn about the Hope, Green Grass, and Gift of Adventure collections.

In today’s precarious economy, companies are scrutinizing business expenses in order to produce a favorable bottom line. Oftentimes, cutting expenses means cutting back on anything that isn’t viewed as absolutely critical to operations. Outings with vendors, clients, and potential customers often become victims of these budget cuts.

These outings, however – especially golf outings – can be critical to maintaining and growing sales and profits. The golf outing provides a relaxed, casual atmosphere where businesspeople can get to know each other at a level not possible through telephone or field sales calls. In today’s business environment where price oftentimes seals the deal, having a personal relationship and loyalty with vendors and customers can be the deciding factor that tilts the table in your favor. Golf outings provide the opportunity to develop these relationships and loyalties.

The good news is that the golf and event planning industries understand these concerns of budget and time constraints, and are making changes as a result. Today, many golf resorts are catering to companies by featuring alternative golf events such as night golf, golf simulator competitions, or short courses of three-, six-, or nine-hole layouts. These alternative golfing events continue to allow for social and business networking, but at a reduced cost of time and money.

Proper planning of these alternative golf events is the key to success. Send out invitations that create excitement. Re-assure participants of the benefits they will receive for the minimal requirement of their time.  Make it fun with various competitions (closest to pin, hole-in-one, etc.) and offer prizes to the winners. Be sure that all participants get some gift as a remembrance of your sponsorship of this event.

Jordan Group Promos (www.jordangrouppromos.com) offers a wide variety of golf novelties, executive gifts, and trophies and awards that are ideal for all golf events. Contact us today at 203-272-6702 to discuss the many possibilities that fit your style and budget.

You’ll see them in the park: thousands of readers of Self Magazine working out with exercise bands created by Jordan Group Promos for iVillage. Why are they exercising in the park? They are participating in Self Magazine’s “Workout in the Park,” a three-day, three-city event where the hottest fitness trends and classes can be sampled in order to help readers live their best lives.

This total well-being blitz is scheduled for April 24 in San Diego, May 8 in New York City, and May 15 in Chicago.  Participants can experience workouts, beauty and style consultants, gourmet delights, health and nutrition experts and more throughout the day. Workouts include stretch, pilates, yoga, rebounding, cardio, dance, tai box, sculpting, mediation and more.

The event is sponsored by Self Magazine, iVillage (for whom Jordan Group Promos created the exercise bands), Asics, Blue Diamond Almonds, Crystal Light Pure Fitness, Garnier, Jello, Reebok, Maybelline, and others. Tickets are $20 and 50% of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to Cancerandcareers.org and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

For more information on this fun and exciting event, visit www.selfworkoutinthepark.com.

The proverbial “Dangling of a Carrot” is a motivational method as old as time itself. It is at the heart of human behavior — and business practices. Manufacturers and distributors commonly use this technique with their channel partners or sales staff in effort to add motivation to move specific products or services.

The reason this technique is so commonly used is because it works.

In 2003, a study entitled “Incentive, Motivation and Workplace Performance: Research & Best Practices” was conducted for the International Society of Performance Improvement.  It proved that incentive programs, if conducted properly, can boost performance by up to 25 to 44 percent! The study found, however, that most organizations lack the knowledge to create properly constructed incentive programs.

The following, therefore, is a list of 5 key ingredients that will help you create a successful incentive program:

1.    Keep it simple. Often, incentive programs fail because of their complexity of reporting systems or how rewards are won. Keeping the incentive program sweet, simple, and attainable will make it easy to understand and keep participants excited.

2.    Promote it properly. A program cannot be successful if no one knows about it! Be sure to give it the right amount of promotion both at its start, and throughout the program.

3.    Timing is everything. Any reward promotion can become stale and non-motivating if the time span between winning and getting is too long. Successful incentive programs reward immediately. The faster the reward, the greater the enthusiasm to win.

4.    Experience the excitement. Today, one of the most popular incentives is the “experiential reward”.  A weekend trip, an activity (scuba diving lessons, for instance), or electronic items that can be enjoyed at home (stereo system, flat screen television, etc.) rank high as motivators.

5.    Recognition, recognition, recognition. More than gifts, awards or other material incentives, recognition amongst peers is one of the best motivators in an incentive program. Be sure to publicize the winner. In the world of sales, there is no such thing as too much recognition.

For more exciting ways to motivate your sales staff or channel partners, contact Jordan Group Promos at 203-272- 6702.

There was a time, not long ago, where opulence and luxury were key motivators in sales incentive programs. How things have changed!
With the current state of world economics, opulent awards can seem irresponsible and create a negative corporate image. So how can companies continue to motivate their sales staff and channel partners through incentive awards? Give the awards a true value.
Emerging from all the uncertainty in the economy is a strong appreciation for simple pleasures. Cherishing special moments with family, products that make a difference in daily lives, and socially responsible awards are all top motivators these days.
Such “meaningful” awards include at-home spa baskets, gifts made by socially responsible companies,  products made with natural or recycled materials, electronic products that can be shared with family members,  and “experiential” rewards in which winners can involve their families.
Luxury items may still be high motivators, but companies are choosing to give Burberry, Prada, Tag-Heuer, and other top brands in items that cost less and seem less opulent, such as wristlets instead of handbags and lower price-point watches instead of diamond-encrusted ones.
The lesson learned here? Sales incentive programs are still top motivators. But, they can be exciting and effective while providing awards that feature practical, socially responsible value.

Looking for products to incorporate into your next sales incentive program? Let Jordan Group Promos help you find just the right gifts. Call us today at 203-272- 6702.

Dove Chocolate recently launched the release of its newest candy, Dove Chocolate with Peanut Butter at an event held in New York City.

Dove Chocolate, noted for its branding of “personal indulgence” especially geared towards women, needed an elegantly playful, feminine, and sophisticated “everyday” premium to give as gifts at the event. The company turned to Jordan Group Promos (www.jordangrouppromos.com) to create just the right gift.

Jordan Group Promos created the perfect gift item for the event – one that would exemplify the Dove Chocolate brand and appeal to its busy, active female audience. Since Dove is known for its silky texture and rich creamy chocolate, Jordan Group Promos designed a custom scarf, made of fine-quality luxurious silk in a rich sensual brown color.

Additionally, Jordan Group Promos created gift bags to package the new Dove Chocolate product and other items to be given out to guests. Again, a warm, rich brown was used as the bag’s color with the Dove Chocolate logo prominently displayed.

Both the newly released Dove Chocolate with Peanut Butter and the silk scarf proved to be a pleasurable treat for all who attended the event.