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Trophies and Awards

March 2015

  1. New Golf Awards

    Fore!  The golf season is just around the corner!  Planning a golf tournament?  Are you tired of the same old golf trophies at your event?  Looking for something new and different, yet has a 'wow' factor that will keep your players coming back each year?  Then check out our new premium golf tournament awards!

    Profile Cup Our beautiful new Profile Cup. Notice the golf ball inspired base!

    Made by Crystal Blanc, these new awards will delight your golf champions.  We want our golf tournament customers have the most beautiful and impressive golf awards possible for their next competition, delivered in time for their event.

    New Premium Golf Awards

    Golf Cups: The quintessential golf award, our premium glass golf cups will be cherished for years to come.  We offer 5 new designs of chalice style golf cup awards including the Laurel Cup, the Narrative Golf Cup, the Profile Golf Cup, McKinley Cup, and the Rainier Golf Cup.  Add prestige at your event by awarding one of these beautiful cups to your tournament champion!

    Golf Vases:  We are offering two new etched golf vases, the Expressions Golf Vase and the Vinata Vase.  Made of hand blown glass, tournament winners will be proud to display these sophisticated awards in their home or office.

    Other Personalized Golf Gifts:  Other new cherished golf gifts are the Spirits Golf Decanter , Biscuit Barrel and the Crystal Museum Bowl.  These glass gifts include personalized etching in the price of the awards.

    Other Ideas for your Tournament

    Museum Bowl Another etched golf gift for someone special. I love the engraving around the edge of the bowl.

    Funny Awards:  If your tournament is more low-key and relaxed, you check out our line of funny golf trophies. Ok, so they aren't technically "new" awards, but they are budget friendly, extremly popular, and customer favorites.  Definitely not as classy as the new premium awards discussed above, however they are sure to generate lots of laughs on the course!

    Engraving Ideas:  Looking for ideas of how to present your awards at your next tournament?  Read my past blog Golf Tournament Trophies for tips on presenting your golf awards and for engraving ideas.

    In addition to these new awards, we offer hundreds of golf options in every price range in our online Golf Catalog.  Browse all of our golf awards now to find the prefect awards for your next golf tournament!  Happy Spring!

    Cheers,
    Jessica

  2. Employee of the Month Awards

    Does your company have an Employee of the Month recognition program to recognize stellar employees? If so, how effective is it? Many programs can be highly successful if measurable criteria are implemented for choosing the winners.  Some questions to consider are:

    1. What criteria do you use to choose your winner each month?

    2. Is the criteria tied to your company values?

    3. What happens if more than one person meets the criteria?

    4. How transparent is the process to your employees?

    Once you establish the metrics for choosing your monthly winners and communicate them to your employees, the next hurdle is implementation.  It's important if you start a program, you follow through until a specified date.  At that time, you can re-evaluate the program to make sure it enhances your company vision, mission and goals.

    Employee of the Month Awards

    Many customers who administer employee of the month programs ask our advise on what kinds of awards are appropriate for the monthly winners.  Below are our suggestions.

    Perpetual Plaque We offer many different styles of perpetual plaques, including styles that hold photos of your winners!

    Employee of the Month Plaques:

    Most companies display, on a highly visible wall, a perpetual plaque with the names of their monthly winners.  This is great public recognition for not only the winners, but also for the program.  Two popular plaque choices are the beautiful rosewood 12 or 24 Plate Perpetual Gloss Plaque or the Black and Silver Perpetual Plaque.

    Engraving for the Plaques:

    At Trophies2Go, we include the price of engraving of the large header plate on the top of the plaque.  Popular engraving includes Company Name and Logo, words 'Employee of the Month' and the Year.

    Engraving for the Small Name Plates:

    Blank plates are included in the price of the perpetual plaque, but there is an additional fee to engrave individual names onto each small plate.  Many organizations pre-pay for a year's worth of 12 individual name plates when they place their order for the plaque.   Then we engrave the plate as needed, and the customer sticks or screws it onto the plaque each month.  This option simplifies the ordering process.

    For the text on the small plates, I recommend engraving the winner's name and month of the award.  If the text is short, you can also list the metric that made them the winner for that particular month.  It's important to keep the engraving size, font, and style consistent from month to month so that all of the small plates match.

    Acrylic Star The popular Clear Acrylic Star Award Trophy makes a great, affordable Employee of the Month reward.

    Individual Monthly Awards for Employees: 

    To commemorate the achievement, many companies will give an individual employee of the month trophy to each winner.  This personalized award can be displayed with pride on their desk, on a shelf in their office, or at their home.  For example, a number of years ago my mother-in-law was honored as "Employee of the Month" at a large municipality where she worked.  Even though she is retired, she continues to display her award on her family room shelf for all to see.

    Probably the most popular employee awards for this type of recognition are either Acrylic Awards or Glass Awards. Made of Lucite, acrylic awards have the look of glass but are durable and more economical than crystal.  Glass awards look very professional without breaking your budget. After discussing this post with our customer service team Margene and Janice, they recommended these beautiful yet affordable awards for your monthly winners: the Jewel Mirage Self-Standing Acrylic Award, the Beveled Bent Glass Award, or the bestselling Clear Acrylic Star Award Trophy.

    Engraving Ideas for individual Employee of the Month Awards: 

    For engraving, I would suggest etching the facts such as the person's name, the company name, the name of the award (Employee of the Month), and date (month and year), but then also add a short personalized message about their contribution to the organization.  You could include why they were chosen, how they supported the vision or mission of the company or what specific action they did to win.  Get as detailed as possible, as that makes the award more meaningful.

    Employee of the Month Gifts:

    Instead of, or in addition to, individual awards, companies may also give employee of the month certificates, gift cards, cash or other rewards to their winners.  These are also appreciated by deserving employees!

    Use the tips above to update your Employee of the Month recognition program and choose the perfect plaques and awards for your winners. It's never too late to start honoring deserving employees!

    Cheers!
    Jessica

  3. Top 6 Questions When Purchasing Awards

    Top 6 questions a customer should ask when purchasing awards

    Don't mess up your order or pay too much -ask the right questions to ensure accurate awards within your budget! Don't mess up your order or pay too much -ask the right questions to ensure accurate awards within your budget every time!

    Whether you are ordering championship trophies for your kid’s sports team, elegant awards for a corporate gala, or an engraved gift for someone special, all customers buying awards should expect them to be high quality, accurately engraved, and delivered on-time. Below are  questions to ask when purchasing trophies or awards.

    Question #1:  What awards are most popular and new?

    For a first time buyer, ask the staff at the awards company what is the most popular award for your particular event.  They will know through experience what sells well. If you are ordering online, read the customer reviews before deciding what to buy.  Learn what has worked well for other shoppers and repeat the positive experience!

    If you order awards on a regular basis, especially for kids who participate in sports or activities, take a new look at the new awards offered by your retailer. By choosing a new award, you can ensure that the kids won't already have the award on their trophy shelf!

    Question #2:  When will the awards be in my hands?

    Most of our customers have an event, whether for a business or for a sports team, where they will be presenting their awards.  If you are buying from a local trophy company, when placing your order, ask when the awards will be ready for pick up.  Be sure to plan plenty of time before your event, in case there is a misspelling or you need to add an extra trophy – things come up!

    If ordering online, make sure to ask about production time (how long it takes to make and engrave the award) plus shipping time.  The company should be able to tell you the expected delivery date and then send you a tracking number after your order has shipped.  That way you can track the package yourself to ensure on-time delivery.

    Question #3:  Can I engrave different names on each trophy?

    The answer to this question should be “yes”; personalization is the reason you would buy an award in the first place!  If the answer is “no”, I suggest finding a different company to work with.

    Question #4:  Is personalization included in the price?

    Many awards companies include personalized etching in the price of their awards.  Here at Trophies2Go, all engraving is included, and if we can fit the words onto the award, then we will engrave as much (or as little) text as you want - we don’t count characters.  Some companies charge set up fees or price per letter/character – be sure to ask, as these costs can add up.

    Question #5:  How do I get my engraving information and artwork to you?

    Personalization is what makes trophies and awards so special. When ordering an award, it’s important that the engraving is accurate and correct.  Ask your trophy provider the best way to get engraving information to them.  Many will ask you to email the engraving, as cutting and pasting your text electronically into their engraving equipment minimizes spelling errors.

    Also, if you are adding a picture or a logo to your award, most engraving machines, such as laser engravers, require camera ready artwork. High quality and high resolution, this type of artwork includes eps, ai or jpg files.  Lower resolution files, such as bitmap, png, and some jpg files, are highly pixilated and don’t engrave well – the logo turns out fuzzy and distorted.  Scanned images cannot be engraved.

    For sublimated products (that’s for full color stuff like photos), a high resolution jpg works well.  Many phones now take high quality photos which work great for sublimated products.

    Question #6:  Can I see what the engraving will look like?

    Here is an example of an engraving proof created by Lori, one of our laser engravers. Here is an example of an engraving proof created for a customer by Lori, one of our laser engravers.

    Most trophy and awards companies should be able to create a proof of the engraving before they actually engrave the text or logo onto the award. Some companies charge for this service; others do not. We offer free proofs for any order over $50 and for AwardPerks loyalty members at any price. This gives customers the option to work directly with the engraver to ensure perfect engraving every time; it's piece of mind that everything is spelled correctly and looks fabulous.

    Being in business since 1987, we know the questions customers need to ask to ensure their awards are on time, on budget, and perfect every time. Give us a call at 877-926-4700 anytime - we are here to answer your awards questions!

    Cheers,
    Jessica

  4. 2015 Spring Award Trends

    Why should new spring trends be just for fashion and home decor?  Trophies and awards have exciting new trends as well, and a month ago I attended our annual trade show in Las Vegas and scoped out the hottest new awards for 2015! So what are the top award trends for spring?

    Trend #1:  Color

    Our new pearl line of acrylic awards are an example of new color trends in awards.

    Just as in fashion, color is huge in awards.  New colorful resin designs, colored crystal awards, and sublimated colored gift items continue to be hot this year. Our new "pearl" line of acrylic awards showcases this trend; we will also be adding many new sublimated products this spring.  This allows customers to personalize items with colored photos, colored logos, and bright customized designs!

    Trend #2:  High Shine Metallics

    Coming in many precious tones and with various finishes, the metallics appear to be stronger than ever, both in fashion and in awards.  Metallic designs are popular in corporate crystal awards and new chalice cup trophies.  Watch for new designs coming this spring!

    Trend #3:  Wine

    When you are invited to a friend's house for dinner, what do you bring?  A bottle of wine, of course!  Personalized wine products, such as engraved wine bottles, wine storage boxes, and personalized wine tools, continue to be a trend this year.  With the popularity of wine, it's no surprise!

    Trend #4:  Custom, Custom, Custom

    Just like last year, unique, personalized pieces were everywhere in Vegas.  Awards with full color photos, 3-dimensional acrylic awards made out of logos, and crystal awards filled with custom designs were hot at the show.  We now offer a Special Order section on our website, where you can design your own awards...check it out here to find out more!

    Trend #5: Fantasy Sports

    Get ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season with a Tower Baseball Trophy! Get ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season with a Tower Baseball Trophy!

    Trophies2Go is ahead of the trend, as we are the leader of Fantasy Sports trophies!  Not only do we offer fantasy football awards, but also fantasy baseball, fantasy basketball, fantasy hockey and fantasy NASCAR!  We are adding many new perpetual trophy cups, especially popular for our fantasy customers.  Check out our huge selection of Fantasy Sports Awards here!

    Mix things up with your awards this spring by picking a trendy piece! Just like with your wardrobe, adding one fun new item can really jazz up your awards program!

    Cheers,
    Jessica

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