Coffee mugs supplied by VisABILITY have helped clients raise nearly $200 Million. This post explains why. Then it spotlights the EyeMax Mug - an exciting upgrade we think will produce the next $200 Million.
Brand-conscious organizations – for-profit and nonprofit alike – know logo-mugs are persuasive marketing tools. That’s why smart nonprofits use them as fundraising incentives. The result: at work, at play, at home - we constantly see imprinted mugs.
Mug Owners’ Perspective: We all own logo-mugs. Each one is a badge of affinity. It silently declares our loyalty to a cause. Or to an organization. The ability to signal affinity turns a logo-mug into a portable, constantly visible form of self-identification.
It can also be used to hold a beverage.
KMUW-FM (Wichita, KS) produced this EyeMax Mug with a painting from a local artist.
Nonprofits’ Perspective: Logo-mugs attract contributions from constituents and fans who want to associate themselves with the logo of a favorite nonprofit. That makes the mug become a ubiquitous branding product that billboards the nonprofit’s identity to the public.Most well-designed and carefully-produced mugs can serve your organization’s marketing and fundraising needs.
Nevertheless, it may be time to consider your mug options. A mug’s branding power comes from your imprint. FDA restrictions on ceramic inks now result in somewhat subdued colors. The FDA also prohibits ceramic inks from extending into the lip-contact area at the top of the mug.
These FDA restrictions do not apply to an EyeMax Mug! Your design may extend from the very bottom of the mug to the very top AND it can wrap around from one side of the handle to the other.
Much more important than the large imprint area – EyeMax allows your graphics to be imprinted in brilliant color-saturated hues well beyond the capacity of standard ceramic inks. EyeMax Mugs can actually achieve something like 4-color Process-PLUS. That’s why an EyeMax can be the mug that gets noticed across the room – and why we think mugs with EyeMax imprints will raise the next $200 million for our clients.
Artists' EyeMax Mugs - more from KMUW on the bottom. KVPR-FM (Bakersfield/Fresno. CA) on top.
The black and white Hosts Mug presents photos of some of the broadcast talent at WHQR-FM (Wilmington, NC)
Public Participation: Invite community and constituent involvement when designing your EyeMax Mug. Ask a well known local artist or photographer to submit a mission-related image. Or invite the entire local art community to submit art. You could even ask for images of a notable landmark or event. If you want to further involve your constituency you can post the submitted images on your website and ask constituents to select the image they would like on their mug. Inviting constituents to help design your mug is a great way to make it important and desirable and enhance its impact when it finally becomes available to your market.
Product Series: Offer a limited-edition collectors’ series of EyeMax mugs as contributor incentives. This technique fosters a sustainable-giving habit. Renewals are essential to survival, so VisABILITY clients who use this approach introduce the newest edition with each solicitation or fundraising event. If you decide to imprint a community landmark on your first EyeMax Mug, make it the first in a community landmarks series of EyeMax Mugs. If your first EyeMax Mug features a work by a well-known local painter or photographer, make it the first EyeMax in a series of work by local artists.
Consider upgrading to the EyeMax Mug. Imprint colorful images whose source or subject matter reflects your mission or your community. OR both. Offer EyeMax Mugs over a sequence of fundraisers, with each new mug being part of a limited edition collector’s series. Do this well and you’ll find a surprising number of people will automatically renew because they want to own the entire series. Part of the reason for this attraction is explained in this earlier blog post: You do it. I do it. We all do it. That’s why the Lord of Logos rules the marketplace!
Simultaneous with this blog post VisABILITY issued an eBlast to its public broadcasting clients. You might want to take a look. It presents EyeMax samples, prices and production requirements. It is at the top of our Client Newsletter Library: http://community.icontact.com/p/visability
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The Nonprofit Branding Blog is a service of VisABILITY. Look for product info on our website. Raise questions or make suggestions to John (jburke@visability.com) or call Janice or John at 303-823-0327. Keep up to date three ways: befriend our Facebook page | follow our Twitter feed | sign up for periodic product announcements
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[...] Since mugs are such powerful branding products you should be aware of a trend before you commit to using them. The EyeMax Mug is becoming the preferred mug for market-savvy nonprofits. It is replacing standard spot-color mugs. Fortunately, EyeMax solves the problems mentioned at the last bullet above – and has other significant virtues. You can find EyeMax on the VisABILITY website. But check it out here first: http://nonprofitbrandingblog.com/2011/03/the-1-fundraising-premium-and-nonprofit-branding-tool/ [...]