Mike Roy [mailto:mjroy2416@rogers.com] had this to say: [...]
My point is simply this: if a company (such as SuSE) is going to invest time, effort and money in using promotional items, then those promotional items should be quality items. These items are a reflection on the company. The SuSE/Tux lapel pin says 'quality' - the 2002 one-sheet calender screams 'cheap'.
I don't see a ten-cent "lapel pin" getting the company name in front of anybody. (Yes, I remember the one you mean.) But then, I don't know people who are actually tacky enough to wear stuff like that. Like similar "shiny shit" acquired over the years, it goes into a drawer somewhere, lingers for several years, then eventually gets tossed out. Give-away T-shirts, I wear for exercising, painting-and- yard-work, etc. Give-away pens, I use constantly, especially since some companies have begun giving away logo pens that mimic the heft and the smooth writing feel of a quality pen. I keep wanting to buy myself a nice pen, but I keep putting it off because the throw-aways have lately become too nice. Stacks of logo'd sticky-notes, I use. Trade-show tote bags, I'll use, if the colors aren't too garish and the logos not too blatant. Functional toys, like juggling balls, devil-sticks, yo-yos (but not the cheap-shit ones), nerf-guns, nerf balls, fabric "frisbees", etc., etc., I'll use. I like little bent-nail and wooden-block/plastic-block puzzles. They'll stay on my desk (and get used) even if they are plastered with logos. That's 'cuz they're fun or usefully distracting. Functional kitsch stands a good chance of staying in view, but non-functional stuff finds darkness (drawer, closet, or garbage bin) very quickly. To a certain extent, I agree with you about "quality", except that "quality" is rarely a term that gets associated with box-filler, throw-away logo items. How much benefit was there to stickers in the SuSE box, when I'd already bought the product? Maybe if I had a kindergarten-aged child who would put the sticker on a book... or his forehead... :-) then somebody else might see it, but then the four-year-old would not be ready to explain what the sticker and logo meant, if asked by an actual adult with money to spend on software. So, lose the stickers, lose the lapel pins. Think of things that people will actually use, and keep in view for a while. Kevin The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it.