Award Ceremony Tips

Yesterday at the end of the day, I wrote my blog on Corporate Gifts, as scheduled on my social media calendar.  I wrote the draft, let is simmer and percolate overnight, like I usually do.  But then as I was getting ready for bed, inspiration hit.  What I REALLY want to write about this week is business, and in particular what Cyber Monday has taught me.

CYBER MONDAY.

Now that we are officially an eCommerce company, no more showroom, it's time to do cyberspace marketing, no?  Well Cyber Monday wasn't even on my radar. But one day I was browsing the Awards and Personalization Association forum (that's our trophy trade group), and I read a thread about Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  A competitor, also an eCommerce awards company, shared how his sales spiked last year on Cyber Monday.  It got my wheels turning that we should try a Cyber Monday promotion this year.  I shared the idea with my business partner Tom and we decided to go for it.

I put together a quickly crafted email campaign for my customers, just letting them know about our sale.  I sent the emails out of Sunday and then the next day on Cyber Monday.

The Results?  Pretty good.  It was a busy day, we had 25% more sales than the same day the previous year.  Our Google conversion rate was up over 6%.  Pages per visit were also up, people hung around the site longer than usual.  However, because of the discount, the average order amount was slightly lower than the previous year.

My Take Aways

1. 1. People like good deals and they will convert if you have a promotion.
2. 2. Customers also convert when a promotion is short-term and they know it will go away.
3. 3. Its nice to get on the bandwagon with a nation-wide promotion, this saves marketing dollars since everyone already knows about it.
4. 4. Some marketing ideas are flops, but once an awhile they are good.  Its fun when they work out well and make money.  It's always a gamble but it's good to try new things because they could pay off.

In a nutshell, those are my business lessons from Cyber Monday.  Thank you to all the customers who ordered from Trophies2Go.  And a special shout out to my developers Ben and Duncan who speedily made my website promotional banner on the fly Sunday night.

Did your business try a holiday promotion?  How did it work out for you?  Share it in the comments!

Cheers!
Jessica

Award the hero in your life this awesome bad-ass trophy!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is awesome because not only is it giving awareness to a great cause, but also my favorite color is everywhere – PINK! It’s fun to see the pro players in pink and our local athletes, both boys and girls, with pink socks and jerseys. Even my daughter Audrey’s cheer squad has pink pom poms and bows to participate.

Even though getting in the spirit of awareness is fun, it’s also a life or death cause that deserves serious attention. Cancer has touched my life with my mother, mother-in-law, aunt and grandmother-in-law. Luckily my MIL was able to catch her breast cancer early for a full recovery, we are very lucky and blessed!

If your organization is hosting a fundraiser, an event, or some other occasion for Breast Cancer Awareness, consider one of our personalized PINK products as a prize or participation give-away. We just added a new Cancer Awareness Gifts category which includes many pink personalized gifts, such as pink clipboards and pink tumblers, pink custom glitter medals, and even a Cancer Superhero Trophy for celebrating a survivor or top fundraiser!  Award someone special who is kicking Cancer's butt!

There’s no other way to say it - cancer totally sucks, so let’s find a cure!

Cheers!
Jessica

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We are excited to announce that we are now serving our customers 100% online!  We have decided to close our retail awards showroom in Issaquah; we want to cut our costs and pass those savings onto you!

Our retail awards showroom in Issaquah will close on June 30th, 2017.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO OUR LOCAL CUSTOMERS?

Continue to order via email, online or phone just as before!

We want to keep YOU as our customer!  Hopefully we can make this transition as easy as possible for you.

HOW CAN I PLACE MY ORDER?

Email your order to [email protected]

Place your order online at Trophies2Go.com

Call us at 1-877-926-4700.

BUT I PICKED UP IN THE PAST, HOW WILL I GET MY AWARDS?

We will continue to offer FREE pickup at our Renton Production Facility.

We offer quick 1-Day shipping, FREE for orders over $50.

For larger leagues or corporate events, we can deliver.

NOTE: you can continue to pick up at our Issaquah location through the spring sports season and the end of the 2016-2017 school year.

OUR STORY

Bonnie and Jeff circa 1994!

Since 1987, Issaquah Trophy & Awards served the awards needs of the greater Issaquah community. Read our story here.

In 2000, we launched our internet brand Trophies2Go.com, which has been delivering meaningful recognition across the USA.

Even though we no longer offer a showroom, you can still expect the same quick production times, exceptional quality and outstanding service!

Browse our Trophies2Go website and let us help you recognize someone special in your life now! Our goal is to make you look good, with a cherished award that stands the test of time! Don't waste your time, order online!!!

Thank you for your continued patronage through this transition!

Cheers!  Jessica

Jeff and I at Perri's graduation.

Graduation, whether from college, high school, middle school, elementary school or even kindergarten, represents a milestone in a young person's life. An accomplishment has been reached, a chapter in childhood has ended, with a new beginning on the horizon.  Family and friends celebrate the graduate and honor their achievements, many times showering them with cards, gifts, parties and other celebrations.

Graduations also mark the end of a school year and can signify a change in leadership.  Teachers and other administrators leave for a variety of reasons, including moving to a new location or profession, choosing to at stay home with family, or retiring.

How do you celebrate graduation? Today's blog will give you some ideas of meaningful awards for graduates and others at the end of the school year.

Lamp of Learning Trophies make great graduation awards for young students.

Kindergarten: Many schools will "graduate" kindergarteners to attend full-day elementary school. Some schools give small academic trophies to kindergarteners for graduating.  My older daughter attended a private kindergarten and the kids dressed in caps and gowns and had a small procession; it was quite adorable!  One school we have worked with for many years gives this Lamp of Learning trophy to their kindergarten grads.

Elementary & Middle School: We don't see many awards or engraved gifts for elementary or middle school students who are graduating to the next school up.  Families may give their students a balloon or a card for being promoted to elementary or middle school, but gifts are usually inexpensive and low-key. However, the end of school does result in many middle school achievements being recognized, especially for sports teams and competitive activities or clubs.

High School:  High school graduation is a big deal. Students are now officially adults with many life changes ahead. Graduates may choose to move out on their own, heading to college, military service, or employment,   The most common graduation gift is money; but other gifts include personal items, such as jewelry, framed artwork, or a traditional engraved pen.  Flowers are often given at the graduation ceremony.

This engraved pen makes a traditional graduation gift.

Schools often award excellence at graduation.  Some awards include Student of the Year in different academic subjects, Valedictorians, Perfect Attendance, and Scholarship awards, to name a few. Most often academic school plaques or scholastic medals are given for these types of accomplishments.

College:  Graduation from university represents a milestone of school completion. Graduates now enter the "real world" and it's time to get a job!  Again, as a graduation gift, cash is king and most grads need money after being poor students for years on end. Other meaningful gifts include jewelry, watches, and other personal items.

Retirement:  Graduation ceremonies or End-of-Year school assemblies are the perfect opportunity to acknowledge and thank retiring teachers and other staff.  We create many beautiful awards for these events. The most popular retirement gifts include engraved clocks, plaques and etched vases. Get more ideas at my past blog on Retirement Awards.

No matter the age, all graduates deserve kudos for the achievement. Enjoy the celebration and congrats Class of 2017!

Cheers,
Jessica

*Editor's note: This post was originally published on June 5, 2015.  It was updated for content.

Next Friday March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day, the luckiest day of the year!  Get your green on and celebrate this Irish holiday with friends, family or co-workers.  With spring just around the corner, St. Patrick's Day is the perfect excuse to throw a party celebrating the changing season!

Everyone's Irish on March 17th!

St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas

Below are some ideas to make your party extra-festive!

Decorations:  Go Green for your St. Patrick's Day décor! Shamrock and leprechauns make the obvious choice, or create a spring themed decor with flowers such as Irish Bells, Calla Lilies, or clover.  Spring Topiaries of green and white make beautiful centerpieces, or create an Irish Fairy garden complete with a rainbow and pot of gold!

Celtic Music:  Create a playlist of favorite Irish songs. While I was in college, my favorite hang out was an Irish pub called Kell’s.  Live music staples included sing-along drinking songs, such as The Rattlin’ Bog and Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels) . Check out these renditions to get in a Celtic mood!  Or try Pandora's "St. Patrick's Day Radio" for more Gaelic tunes!

Irish-Inspired Eats:  Create an Irish menu.  Hardy fare includes Corn Beef and Cabbage, Sheppards Pie, Irish Stew and Soda Bread. Find great recipes to try at Allrecipes.com.

Guinness Cupcakes!!!

For dessert, shamrock shaped sugar cookies, Lucky Charms treats, or Green leprechaun cake pops will be hits at your party!

Drinks:  Green beer and Guinness are always St. Patrick's Day favorites.  Or create boozy shamrock shakes, pot of gold shots, or Irish coffee drinks.  Check out Celebration's recipes for great spiked St. Pat's Day drinks!

Or drink the "water of life"....WHISKEY!  For the best Irish Whiskeys for your buck, check out this article by Men's Health.  You can even serve it in your own monogrammed glasses.

Games:  Make sure to include activities for your guests, such as games! Some ideas include:

-Host a "wear green to work" contest at the office.

-To start the green beer flowing, host a rousing game of Beer Pong!

- Get Lucky with Irish-themed Bingo!  Find bingo game cards here.

The perfect trophy for any St. Pat's Day contest!

Awards:  Add hype to the competition with a personalized St. Patrick's Day Trophy!

-At the end of the rainbow, guarded by a greedy Leprechaun, is always a Pot of Gold!!  We offer two trophies, the Pot of Gold Resin Award and the Perpetual Pot of Gold Resin Trophy.

-The luckiest award we offer is the Four Leaf Clover Resin Award.

-Create your own design on one of our versatile green plaques!  We offer two styles Green Woodgrain and Emerald Sublimated.

Check out all of our St. Patrick's Day Awards here.  We also have many more pins and ideas on our St. Patrick's Day Pinterest Page!

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays because I have ancestors from Ireland; I will be sure to don my green to celebrate!  And remember, everyone's Irish on March 17th!

Cheers! Jessica