I was recently given a handful of pens by a client who we had done thousands of dollars’ worth of work for last year. Honestly, they were not great pens, but I brought them home and within a week I had tossed all but one in the garbage. I was getting ready this past weekend to attend the yearly Chamber of Commerce Banquet and on the way out the door I put the last ink pen in my shirt pocket and a handful of mints. Shortly after the meal I reached into my shirt pocket to get a mint, as I pulled it out I saw ink on my fingers and the mint. The pen had broken. The metal clip that held it to my shirt was gone, and somehow the pen had broken and was leaking blue ink into my pocket.
The moral of this story- there are two.
1. When someone gives you a free, cheaply made pen- toss it in the garbage or plan to ruin a dinner, a shirt and a good mint!
2. Consider giving promotional items that are quality made. When your brand values are quality, integrity, good service, etc. but you put your logo on poorly made products… it’s a reflection of your brand and you as a person.
Recently I was looking through a box of random keys and other items of my late father. There was a key chain with a key for a car I bought when I was 17 years old. Unfortunately, the company is no longer around- but the gentleman who owned the place gave something to a kid with his first car that lasted 38 years! There is a difference between thoughtful/quality promotional items and something to just give away.
Of the two items given- a pen and a keyring, both provided a memory but only one added value. Be careful how you give in 2025.
Jim Fredrickson
Owner/Founder of Thistle Creek Reserve
