December 2016

Customer Service, Product Quality, Flexibility.

Our Production Manager Tom with his favorite supplier, Kathy Woods from Tropar.

That’s what sets apart our 2016 Vendor of the Year, Tropar Manufacturing. Based in New Jersey and Texas, Tropar has been a privately held company since 1959. Their brand, Airflyte, consists of high quality plaques, art glass awards, acrylic awards, and desk items.  Greg and Peter run the company and our favorite Customer Service Person, Kathy Woods, always takes great care of us when we order.

Tropar Manufacturing was nominated for “Vendor of the Year” by our Production Manager Tom.  He says:

"I nominated them because Kathy and her crew are a pleasure to work with and always accommodate us however they can.  Ordering is a breeze and they are always quick to respond to inventory checks or product questions.  Also nominated them for their willingness to help us establish our Quickship program which allows us to have a good selection of products on hand that are ready to ship and save on freight costs by not having to order constantly."

Our 2014 Product of the Year - Swirl Egg Art Glass, made by Tropar Manufacturing.

Some of their best sellers for us include the 2014 Product of the Year Swirl Art Glass Egg, many of our quickship acrylic awards, and many premium plaques, including most of our Made in the USA Solid Wood Plaques.

Congratulations to Tropar for being our 2016 Vendor of the Year! Thank you for providing our customers with high quality products and for the great customers service you give to Trophies2Go every day!

Cheers,
Jessica

As 2016 draws to a close, its time to wrap up your awards programs for the year.  January brings one of our busiest months of the year with a plethora of corporate plaques, President's Awards, sales achievement and other yearly recognition.   Below are 5 examples of year end corporate awards our customers provide to individuals within their organization.

These pretty purple YAHOO! acrylic awards were a hit with the winners!

1.  Awards for an Annual Ceremony.  The award you choose is an extremely important component of this occasion, and fortunately there are many options for any sized budget. Read 5 Tips for Choosing a Corporate Award or contact our staff to help you choose the perfect award to make your winners proud.  For ideas on hosting an event, read my post on Planning an Awards Ceremony.

2.  Service Awards.  Reward those employees who commit to your company for an extended period of time with a Service Award.  Present this award to 1, 5, 10 and 20 years of service, or tailor the time frame to your organization's specific needs.  In addition to awards, clocks, gift certificates to a special store, and personalized gifts are popular for this type of recognition.  Rule of thumb is the longer an individual is at the organization, the more significant the award.

Our customer presenting a sales award plaque to a distributor.

3.  Sales Awards.  Celebrate reaching goals and achieving quotas monthly, quarterly, or annually, as your recognition program and budget allows.  Depending on your business, a sales award can be an individual award for a specific person, or a group award for a top store, regional leader, or top distributor.  Plaques, acrylic awards, glass awards and etched crystal awards are popular options.  Read the Sales Achievement Awards post to learn more.

4.  Employee of the Month Awards.   This can also be Employee of the Quarter or Employee of the Year.  As with any awards program, its important to decide on the criteria for choosing the winner prior to launching the program.   When a person is selected for the award, be sure to publicize it.  This has two benefits - the winner feels important and others are motivated to win in the future.  For the award, perpetual plaques posted in a central location are most popular.   It's also nice to give a small take-away award to each winner to display on their desk or bookcase to memorialize their honor.

5.  Other Types of Awards.  These include community awards, corporate honors, leadership awards,  product launch awards, past president, retirement gifts, and teamwork awards.  Many organizations create their own awards too, tailoring the recognition specifically to their need.

It's important to set up a recognition program carefully before launching to ensure success.  But once it's implemented, measured and executed, corporate awards programs can improve your company culture and increase your staff morale.   Feel free contact me or any of our staff for more information about End of Year Corporate Awards!  Here's to a great 2016 and a wonderful new year ahead!

Editor's Note:  This post was originally published in December 2013, and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Cheers,
Jessica

Fantasy Football Playoffs kick off this week and next, when the best teams in your league battle neck and neck to win the coveted fantasy league trophy!  Even if your team has been less than stellar, your record starts fresh during playoffs and anything is possible. With a lucky couple of weeks, you could end up winning it all!

For many leagues, the trash talking and hazing is an integral part of the season.  Increase the hype with a trophy for both your winners AND your losers.  And the cash, don't forget the cash baby.

Top 3 Fantasy Trophies

Our Replica Fantasy Football Trophy is a best seller, any winner would be proud to display!

Many leagues either go one of two ways, and individual trophy for the winner to keep each season or a perpetual trophy that gets passed around year to year.

Winners:  The individual winner's trophy is pretty straightforward, you choose one you like and have your league name, year and winner's name engraved on the front.

League winners:  For a perpetual trophy to hold all of your winners' names in infamy, consider spending a little more up front to invest in the future.  Then each year engrave the winner's name on the side.  This requires a little more effort, as you have to get the trophy back from the winner each year in order to engrave the next name.  For instructions, read my post How to Order a Fantasy Football Trophy.

Big Losers: this is where it gets fun.  Again, you can do an individual loser trophy, such as a goat, cry baby, or horse's butt, or you can do a perpetual trophy, such as the FFL toilet Perpetual award. Check out our funny selection of fantasy football joke trophies.  I've also seen bumper stickers for losers, sashes, and other humiliation.

Whatever you do, don't go on a rant when asked about the playoffs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM

Here's to a great season and good luck in post season!  May the best team win!

Cheers!

Jessica

Corporate Awards Blog Series

You have your recognition program set up, know what types of accomplishments you want to recognize, know what you want to say on the awards, and your ceremony planned. Now what? You go to our website and are overwhelmed by the hundreds of choices of corporate awards.  I’m here to help! Read my top 5 tips below to narrow your search and to help you choose the perfect corporate award for your situation and accomplishment.

Be sure to make the award match the occasion!

#1: Start With Your Budget.

Know how many people you want to recognize and the cost per person of the award. That can help you narrow your choices. We have beautiful awards in every price range, so even if your budget is small, we’ll create something beautiful for you.  Read tips on Budgeting for a Recognition Program here.

#2: Have The Award Fit The Accomplishment.

What I mean by that is you wouldn’t give an expensive crystal award to someone for a menial accomplishment; that’s saved for those who have gone above and beyond for the organization. Conversely, if someone has worked for your organization for years and years and is celebrating a big anniversary, a $10 gift card doesn’t cut it. Make sure to match the award stature to the accomplishment.

#3: What’s The Message?

If you have a lot of text or a large logo you’d like to incorporate into your engraving, make sure you choose an award that can accommodate it. For example, an engraved plaque has a lot of space for a long message and logo, where as a 4 inch crystal cube doesn’t. Know what you want to say before ordering your award and then make sure the award has enough room for your engraving. (And as always, your engraving is free!)

This beautiful crystal award deserves to be displayed with pride on a desk or a shelf for all to see and admire.

#4: Where Will It Go? Form Follows Function.

Where will your recipient put the award? On a desk? On the wall?  Or on a shelf in the lobby? Is it a gift that will be displayed in the home? These are all things to consider when choosing an award. A sales award may be hung on a wall for all to see; if so, then a recognition plaque may be a good choice. If you are honoring a past president or someone who has given service to the organization, an award that goes on a desk or on a shelf in their office is a winner. If the award is for retirement or years of service, something more functional and pretty, such as an engraved clock or personalized vase, is appropriate.

#5: Personalize The Award.

This is your opportunity to get creative! If your organization is more conservative, stick with a traditional award. But if you’re in more creative place, choose something a little more artistic or funky! There are lots of unusual yet beautiful awards to choose from. If you are giving an individual award, consider the recipient’s personality and have the award match it. For example, if the person loves to fly airplanes, get a crystal plane award. Or if they are a realtor, get a house shaped award. There are lots of choices – get creative and think out of the box!

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any suggestions or guidance when picking out awards – email is [email protected] - and I'm here to help.  With thousands of choices in every budget, our awards impress and will thrill your recipient!

Cheers!
Jessica