As marketers, we are required to not merely be creative and insightful in developing strategies for communicating our message to our target audience. We have to ship it:

“Real artists ship.” – Steve Jobs

“Are you a serial idea-starting person? The goal is to be an idea-shipping person.” – Seth Godin

While these two innovative thought-leaders are using “shipping” metaphorically in reference to following through on ideas, there is a direct connection to your marketing materials, too. If your branded products never make it into your audience’s hands, they do absolutely no good. The problem, of course, is shipping your collateral without breaking the bank. ROBYN can help.

With over 50,000 packages going out our doors each year, ROBYN Promotions knows a thing or two about shipping. Our clients trust us to manage their projects from creation, through the manufacturing process and into our climate-controlled warehouses. However, it’s our sophisticated shipping practices that ensure their products will arrive at the right place, at the right time, every time. And that’s what counts.

It’s no secret that shipping product is expensive. Between higher fuel costs, a shortage of drivers and more demand than ever, you need a partner who can help you avoid over-paying for shipping. ROBYN typically saves their clients between 15-30% on freight because our volume commands the best UPS rates.

There are more ways for you to save on shipping, though!

• Plan for shipping on the front-end
  • Plan on sending 5,000 mugs to that tradeshow in Las Vegas? Fantastic! What if you only give away 3,000 of them? How are you getting the rest back?
• Bank your orders
  • Instead of Angie in accounting ordering envelopes from the company store on Tuesday and Tom in HR ordering lunch bags on Thursday, it’s cheaper to order them all at once and make it just one shipment.
• Set-up standard shipping dates
  • Many of our clients have a bulk order shipped on specific dates. Unless it is an urgent situation, shipments only go out on those days. The company typically pays for the freight, which means employees do not have to pay for shipping!
• Keep enough products in inventory
  • Expedited freight is always more expensive than standard ground freight. By keeping enough products on the shelves, you avoid having to rush items for your events.
• Use branded boxes
  • Many of our clients have found that by using branded boxes for their branded materials, they are easier to identify, track and locate within their own facilities, thereby eliminating the need to re-order due to being misplaced.

ROBYN’s shipping department continuously reviews packaging and shipping methods and makes revisions as needed to ensure our clients are getting the best value for their shipping dollars. Recently, a ROBYN client ordered case quantities of five different products. A thorough analysis showed shipping these five boxes separately would cost the company $106.40 (compared to $140.15 quoted at the UPS Store). However, by re-packing the items into three boxes, the charge became $80.79 (compared to $120.31 at the UPS Store). That’s a $60 savings on just one order!

Often times, our clients are concerned about their employees incurring shipping charges on items they have been gifted. The ROBYN branded products company store provides a variety of ways for you let employees order their products without having shipping added. It’s a great solution around the shipping charge issue!

Having the perfect promotional items ready to go at a moment’s notice is just the beginning of a winning campaign. Being able to ship the right item at the right time in the most cost-effective manner is what seals the deal. That’s why shipping is a cornerstone to the success of the ROBYN Company Store Solution.

“People who get their feet wet must learn to take their medicine.” Sage words from Mary Poppins. Indubitably, Mary would love the new Pop-Ins Umbrella Share program in downtown Oklahoma City… no spoonful of sugar required!

“The concept for the program was really born out of necessity,” says Tim Berney, president of VI Marketing and Branding. “Downtown has become a pedestrian environment and we’re often caught going from one building to another without an umbrella on rainy days. We thought it would be nice to be able to provide folks a courtesy umbrella to borrow – like borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor.”

Of course, a savvy marketer like Tim would never pass up a golden opportunity to gain brand awareness by putting the VI logo on these moving billboards, but his team has taken it to another level. “We wanted a more global acceptance of the brand, so we partnered with Downtown OKC and have provided an opportunity for other companies to purchase umbrellas imprinted with their logos and include them in the umbrella share program.”

The Pop-Ins umbrella share program provides umbrellas for anyone to use. They simply grab an umbrella from the stylish umbrella stands (sponsored by Bob Moore Land Rover) strategically located in buildings all over downtown and leave it in the umbrella stand at their destination. Borrow. Use. Return. It’s that easy. As Mary Poppins would say, “Why complicate things that are really quite simple?”

To launch the initiative, VI and Downtown OKC led a procession of umbrella-wielding folks down Park Avenue and around the corner to Leadership Square where a press conference was held. Not one, but THREE Mary Poppins characters were there for pictures before going different directions, in and out of buildings, to garner attention for the program. And it worked.

“We have already fielded many inquiries from companies who are interested in being a part of the program,” said Tim. If you, or a company you know downtown, might be interested in learning more about the Pop-Ins program, check this out. After all, “Well begun is half done,” says Mary Poppins. 

America’s heartland is growing more than wheat these days… it’s growing a tech industry that competes on the global playing field. Fortunately for these young tech entrepreneurs, there is a strong community in Oklahoma City to nurture and advise them in smart business practices through the Open Beta events.

The Spring Beta was held Thursday, May 2nd, at the IAO Gallery with an after-party at The 404, OKC’s premier coworking space located on Film Row. With food and drinks provided, ample time for networking and a dozen speakers covering a wide range of topics in a lightning talk format, Open Beta is an entrepreneur’s dream. “The Spring Beta was a soft re-launch of the Open Beta series of events,” said Eric Granata, Director of Ecommerce at ROBYN. “It was limited to 100 attendees, but the October event will be wide open.”

From venture funding to bootstrapping, the Spring Beta was chock full of presentations designed to help young start-ups. “There were talks about emerging technologies, 3D printing, how to raise venture capital… even how to cold call properly,” said Eric.

“The idea is to have these Open Beta events twice a year,” says John Kerber, organizer of the event. “While the Spring Beta was more start-up focused than previous ones, we’re planning the Fall Beta to be more encompassing of all things disruptive… of people who are trying to build a better world.” Speaking of building a better world, even the swag bags each attendee received were made from recycled materials!

“It was amazing to me to hear some of the conversations that were happening,” said John. “Many people told me how great it was to see these people in the same room. They were really learning a lot from each other.”

That’s Oklahoma City for you. Silicon Prairie, indeed.