Office Outlook

With a majority of the nation sheltering in place, commuting to an office is no longer the norm. While essential businesses remain up and running, many employees are working from home—making office products even more important. And, as the nation slowly begins to reopen, non-traditional office items such as masks, cleaning products, and drinkware will be in demand for the safety and healthy of employees everywhere, in addition to the classics like mouse pads and organizers.

“It’s clear that office and desk items that make working from home easier have really skyrocketed in popularity,” BIC Graphic’s Carrie Lewis explains. “But as stay-at-home orders are lifted, some employers may see the benefit to letting teams continue working remotely. Listening to our customers, we used their feedback to develop kits containing office and desk items that are useful for working or learning from any location.

“Office items with antimicrobial additives are in high demand, and we expect that demand to continue to rise,” Lewis continues, pointing to the company’s antimicrobial mouse pads (#MPAB1A) and writing instruments with PrevaGuard that protect the pen by suppressing the growth of bacteria, algae, fungus, mold, and mildew for the life of the product (#CSANTI). “Items like these will help protect workplace environments when people get back into offices and are also useful in healthcare, food, and beverage industries.”

Lewis emphasizes that constant communication with customers is helping the company to provide much-needed products in this current, constantly evolving environment. “Aside from face masks and hand sanitizer, we are getting requests for kits with items that help businesses provide work-from-home solutions for their employee’s home offices,” she notes. “We’ve collected these in our COVID-19 Resource Center so people can find things quickly and easily. Everyone’s current workspace situation is different, so we are also encouraging distributors to call us with their specific needs. Our team is ready to help them create their own unique kit.”

Kelly Claudio at Sweda Company says since the Governor of California shut the state down on March 20^th, the company’s home-bound team has been extremely busy. “Our Basecamp brand has continued to book healthy projects awaiting our return on May 18^th,“ she comments. “Basecamp drinkware has been the star due to our unique imprinting capabilities such as full color Spectrum wraps and Chisel 360. We will certainly be busy when we re-open.”

Claudio says there is an industry frenzy occurring for medical PPE and not-for-medical-use masks that she has not seen in her more than 30 years in the promotional products industry. “We were overwhelmed with demand in just three days of offering our mask to the market,” she recalls. “Re-useable four-ply cotton masks are in incredibly monstrous demand. We thought the demand would level off at some point, yet it has only strengthened.”

During this pandemic, Sweda has also seen its overseas production skyrocket, with items such as custom socks with messages of hope for first responders, custom headwear for employees with “We are in this together” logos, writing instruments with encouraging messages of patience and courage, and cleaning cloths because of the wash and reusability. “Awareness elastic bands and ribbons for first responders to pin on their uniforms has also been important for us,” Claudio says.

“Our customer AE’s are telling us that their clients are desperately in need of masks for their employees to stay working or get back to work,” Claudio adds. “It is really a challenge for these clients to think of anything else. They need a ‘Welcome Back to Work Kit’ that has a mask or two along with a couple bright and cheery items which will create a ‘feeling of relief and happiness.’”

Restaurants that are new to delivery and pick-up have been taking advantage of marketing opportunities with a classic office promo—magnets—Lewis adds. “Including a business card magnet (#MGBC20) with orders is a great way for these businesses to keep their contact info at the ready the next time a customer wants to take a break from cooking,” she says.

The increased use of mouse pads is the biggest trend Digispec is currently seeing. According to Joe Davis, with everyone working from home, setting up an actual workstation at home is critical to be able to get the same amount of work done remotely. “Before, checking email and sending brief replies from your phone while home in the evening was an acceptable solution,” Davis states. “Now that so many people are at home full time, a real set-up is required. Mouse pads are one of the best promotional products since visibility is so great. The number of impressions a mouse pad provides is extremely high. Coupling that with the size of the printable area, the amount of information that can be provided is vast.”

In light of challenging times. BIC Graphic has introduced a #32411 Office Essentials Kit that includes a mini desk organizer, notebook with pen, and double memo tape dispenser, which Lewis says makes it a great solution for companies who want to show employee appreciation for their staff who are suddenly working from home. Additionally, the #32414 Student Home Schooling Kit sets up learning from home desks with a notebook, pen, clip board, and flexi ruler.

“Organization is one key to success, and the #32381 KAPSTON® Natisino Desktop Tray is a sleek and trendy way to keep workspaces tidy,” Lewis adds. “The leatherette material features a debossed imprint and snap closures so the tray can fold flat for easy carrying from home office back to the workplace.” The company also offers the #MPAB6A BIC® Antimicrobial Mouse Pad (7-1/2” x 8”) featuring an antimicrobial preservative incorporated into its surface to suppress the growth of bacteria, fungi, and house dust mites. “This is a perfect office promo for workplaces that are practicing enhanced cleaning and safety measures,” she explains.

Digispec’s current best seller is its BG7 (Origin'l Fabric® mouse pad 7.5" x 8" x 1/8"). “The fabric mouse pad is the most popular mouse pad and has been the standard for years,” Davis states. “Digispec’s fabric mouse pad is antimicrobial, which is almost a must in the current environment.”

Sweda is relying on its most popular items to carry their customers through these challenging times. “There are definitely reasons to sell the story of hope in this pandemic with products that are truly beneficial to the user,” she elaborates. “We can all be creative with messages of unity, hope, staying safe, and sheltering in place.”

It is vital to stay in front of clients during such uncertain times, Digispec’s Davis maintains. “Having the company name, contact information, and products/services in front of someone eight hours a day, five days a week is an enormous benefit,” he comments.

Claudio at Sweda says that lots of virtuals are key. “I don’t think anyone has said to me, “You send us too many ideas!”

Forward-thinking is a requirement when it comes to office and desk promos, BIC Graphic’s Lewis says. “As people work in new ways, there is potential for unique items from unconventional categories to become workplace must-haves,” she concludes. “People will also be looking to have some fun when they can finally return to the office and be social with co-workers, so promos like desktop games or even stress-relieving calendars may make great workspace additions.”

Case Study

Carrie Lewis, BIC Graphic

An HVAC Service and Repair company wanted a way to remind customers of their twice-a-year service recommendation. Instead of handing out traditional business cards, they left behind #MGBC30 BIC® 30 Mil 4-Color Process Business Card Magnets with a colorful stock background and reminder message.

Repair technicians would leave the magnets right on customer’s equipment after service. After implementing the magnet program, the HVAC company saw an increase in service pre-bookings as well as maintenance service appointments. They were such a hit with customers, the company decided to use the magnets in a direct mail piece targeting new homeowners and leads.