Promotional items have been used to help drive a road safety initiative in Lancashire.

More than 1,000 school pupils in the town of Hyndburn were given fluorescent bags as part of an initiative to help keep them safe this winter, reports the Blackburn Citizen.

Funded by Hyndburn Community Safety Partnership, the bright bags will help the children remain visible to motorists in the dark winter evenings.

The four and five year-olds were also given reflective key rings and colouring pencils as part of the campaign to reduce road injuries and casualties.

Police have also been visiting schools across the borough, talking to youngsters about how to stay safe during the colder months.

PC Rob Flanagan told the newspaper: "Young people who carry these bags will be seen more easily and if it saves one person from getting injured on the roads this winter, it will be worthwhile."

Rolling out a similar safety initiative for winter? Why not arm yourself with some promotional merchandise – think printed keyrings and promotional bags.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Police in Staffordshire have been using promotional items to spread the word about the dangers of drugs to students.

Officers have been on campus at Staffordshire University during its Drugs Awareness Week, handing out promotional merchandise to help them think twice before they use illegal substances.

While promotional items are often used in fun and carefree ways, this story also highlights how they can be used to drive serious campaigns, such as drugs awareness.

StaffsLive reported that officers met with students, handing out promotional pens, promotional mousemats and wristbands.

The Student Union has also set up points on campus where students can get advice and enjoy an interactive quiz to see how much they know about drugs, the website said.

This is a great example of how promotional merchandise can be used to deliver such campaigns.

If you're thinking of how best to deliver your message, why not think about using promotional items?

"Police highlight drugs danger to Staffordshire University students". StaffsLive. November 19th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

A school brass band from Bolton is making the big move to the States – and it's using promotional merchandise to fund its quest.

The time often comes when many bands take the leap and try to 'crack America' – but can Smithills School Senior Brass Band succeed where Oasis and Robbie failed?

Actually, the band is already quite popular in the US, but needs funds urgently if it is to embark on its 2012 tour in the country.

To gather the required funds – they need £60,000 – the band has taken the unusual step of opening up a pop-up shop in Bolton, where CDs, promotional products and artwork are on sale.

Chris Wormald, assistant headteacher and director of arts at Smithills, told the Bolton News: "The band is massive in America but next year's tour will cost £9,000 per person. We have to raise funds like there's no tomorrow."

4imprint wishes the band well – and feels sure their promotional products will do the trick and see them set sail for the US!

"Smithills Brass Band sets its stall out for USA tour". The Bolton News. Thursday November 3rd.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Promotional products could accompany a new government campaign to help children stay safe on the roads.

A new £700,000 THINK! initiative has been launched by road safety minister Mike Penning.

Running on television and in cinemas, the project is aimed at children aged between six and 11 and aims to make them more aware of the danger of not taking proper care on the roads.

In addition to the TV and cinema campaign, the government may find promotional products – such as promotional pens with road safety messages printed on – useful in running the project.

TV ads will highlight the importance of finding a safe place to cross the road while the cinema campaign will remind children why it is important they make sure they can be seen when they are out after dark.

Mr Penning said: "Britain's roads are among the safest in the world and the number of children killed or seriously injured is 72 per cent lower today than twenty years ago. However, every death on the roads is a tragedy and we are determined to reduce these numbers further."

"The television and cinema advertising campaign we are launching today will help to give children the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe as they grow more independent."

"Reminding children to THINK!" Department for Transport. October 14th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Think the world's biggest brands rely solely on digital marketing methods to get their message across?

Think again – retail giant Tesco this week showed how promotional items have an important role to play in launching new products and services.

The Kettering branch of the supermarket used promotional bags to launch its school coupons scheme, reports the Evening Telegraph.

Children from Millbrook Infants and Junior schools and St Edwards Roman Catholic Primary School headed to the store to pick up promotional bags packed full of goodies from Tesco's Schools and Clubs catalogue.

The event was to promote the scheme, in which schools can swap coupons, collected by parents when shopping, in exchange for computer and sports equipment.

Store manager Steve Huggard told the newspaper "It was a privilege seeing the smiles on the kids faces as they collected the equipment."

"Store promotes coupons scheme". Evening Telegraph. Tuesday September 20th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Promotional gifts will be part of an NHS oral health roadshow to encourage children in Tyneside to make sure their teeth stay pearly-white.

Pupils at Oakleigh Gardens in Cleadon Village and Greenfields Special School in Hebburn will take part in roleplay situations to get them used to visiting the dentist, and they will learn all about healthy eating and how to brush their teeth well, reports the Shields Gazette.

It's all part of south Tyneside NHS foundation's oral health project, which has been awarded part of £10,000 from the Wrigley Tooth Fairy Fund to carry out the initiative.

Promotional gifts have an important role to play in the week-long event – at the end of the week, there will be a special assembly held and kids will get to take promotional bags home with them.

Elaine Clark, nursery nurse and family support worker, told the newspaper: "Some of our children have special needs like autism, which makes it very difficult for parents to brush their teeth due to sensory issues."

Using promotional items in this way is a great way to make what could be a difficult project a little easier.

Children are no doubt going to look forward to seeing what's inside the promotional bags, and they provide a useful way to distribute rewards and educative literature.

"Schools snap up £10,000 of dental aid". The Shields Gazette. Monday September 19th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Promotional products have been used as part of an initiative to encourage children to give up their dummies.

Dummies are often used by mothers to soothe and calm their babies, they are not advisable for children older than 12 months and there are concerns that overuse of dummies can affect a child's development.

That's why the Dummy Fairy paid a visit to Melton Library recently – all as part of a national campaign to improve communication and speech in young children, the Melton Times reports.

At the event, children were encouraged to give up their dummies in exchange for promotional bags packed full of goodies.

But not goodies of the sweet-toothed variety, mind.

No – the bags contained educational products, like story books, designed to help improve a child's speech and verbal expression.

The event was organised by Melton’s SureStart and BookStart teams and is part of the wider National Year of Communication.

Heather Christian, community outreach worker for Library Services, played the role of the Dummy Fairy and told the newspaper: "Instead of dummies these children will be using their gifts in order to improve their communication skills.

"The message is 'ditch the dummy and let them talk'."

"Fairy says ditch the dummy, let them talk". Melton Times. Tuesday August 30th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Could promotional pens help Katie Price launch her new teen magazine?

The glamour model, also known as Jordan, is set to launch her new title, called Katie: My Magazine, on September 7th, reports Marketing Magazine.

Squarely aimed at Price's teenage audience, Price might find promotional items useful in driving her magazine launch – promotional pens attached to the front cover, for example, could really succeed in pulling younger readers in.

The mag is another attempt to move Price away from her association with glamour modelling and follows on the back of her own lingerie brand, baby clothing and novels.

A spokesman for Price confirmed the magazine will be a one-off edition and will be sold exclusively through WH Smith.

Price was quoted as saying: "Everyone has an opinion of me whether good or bad. But this is a chance to get my opinions across. I'm the chief editor, writer and picture editor so I've written all the features and chosen the photos myself."

"Katie Price, aka Jordan, to launch Katie teen mag". Marketing Magazine. Thursday August 25th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Fun promotional keyrings are being used to lighten the mood as part of a sexual health drive in Hampshire.

Health bosses in Aldershot and Farnborough want young people coming back from their summer holidays to go for a check-up to reduce the increasing number of sexually-transmitted diseases, reports Get Hampshire.

The Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust chlamydia screening team will offer a free test for the disease, and it is using an array of promotional merchandise to try and tempt young adults into taking the test.

These gifts include a pair underpants and themed promotional keyrings.

A great idea, and a great use of promotional items. Young people can understandably be reticent about talking about sexual health, so what better way than to lighten the mood and inject a little humour into the initiative with some fun giveaways?

Rebecca Perrin, nurse co-ordinator from the chlamydia screening programme, told the news provider: "Around one in 14 sexually active young people who are tested have chlamydia, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the UK."

"Aldershot and Farnborough youngsters have highest STI rate". Get Hampshire. Tuesday August 23rd 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw