Rose Calendars – Latest news

If you are one of the unlucky owners of a Ferrari 458 Italia that has recently gone up in flames, you’ll be pleased to hear that Ferrari have just recalled the whole production (yes, all 1,200 of them!) and are offering replacements for those cars that have experienced a “thermal incident”.

If you are not owning a Ferrari (yet), you know what it’s like to make do with gazing longingly at pretty images of sleek and stunning cars - dream machines indeed.

Most of us can’t resist looking at a beautiful car – in the flesh or in print. Which means that promoting your business with a number of eye catching car calendars is a sure way to grab the recipient’s attention – and that of everyone looking at the calendars throughout the year. And if they are looking at the calendars, they are looking at your advertisement. Simple, but effective.

Luckily, there is not a single flame in sight in our Dream Machines calendar, though it contains some rather hot cars. If it’s vintage cars rather than the latest in automobile evolution that get your attention, try our bestselling Classic Marques for an iconic selection of, well, classics.

As we have such a large selection of promotional calendars, spanning not just car calendars but a variety of subjects, any business should be able to find the perfect title for their business promotion amongst the Rose Calendars range.

Please contact us for more information, a full colour brochure or to discuss your requirements.

Now we’ll let you get back to daydreaming about fast cars – or to making that call to Ferrari customer services, if you are one of the lucky (or should that be unlucky) ones.

Every business is a brand. Behind every brand is a promise. A promise to deliver certain products or services to a certain standard.

It is important to think 'brand' all the time. Branding includes your visual identity, i.e. logo, colours, typeface and photography. Choose these carefully and do your best to use them consistently. However, the 'look and feel' of a brand is only what appears on the surface. True brand identity runs deep. For a small business, it will be a reflection of what the business owner believes and how they see the world.

The foundation for any brand comprises a set of values. For example, integrity.  If a customer has a problem, your sense of integrity will help you come up with a satisfactory solution.

A recognisable brand helps to remove fear. Knowing something or someone is reassuring. Your customers will be more comfortable knowing that they are dealing with a recognised name.

All of your marketing activities and, in particular, your promotional mix should be geared towards building your brand. Successful brands have distinct market positioning and convey clear messages to the marketplace. When choosing your promotional tools you should bear in mind how they can positively influence your branding: How large is the advertising area? What kind and length of exposure can you expect from the item? What message does your item of choice send out?

Promotional calendars deliver on all counts here: they offer a large advertising area and a visually appealing canvas for your promotional message, achieve a total of 12 months exposure of your ad, and reflect positively and prominently on your business.

The large range of promotional calendars available from Rose Calendars includes many different categories and designs and will certainly contain a title that would be ideal for your business promotion. Please contact us if you would like to receive a brochure, a sample or a no obligation quotation.

Put your promise on a calendar to strengthen your brand and watch your business grow.

Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at using promotional calendars as a useful tool to acquire new and retain existing business.

We highlighted the importance of regular communication and how it should always be positive, relevant and useful.

To summarise, here is a short list of the different reasons that make promotional calendars an indispensable part of any marketing mix:

Promotional calendars…

• create awareness that leads to trust
• supply consistent exposure of your advertising message
• invite customers and prospects to get in touch
• reflect your business and brand values
• reward loyalty and make the recipient feel appreciated

Our customers have put the above into practice for many years and have told us how this has benefited their businesses. Browse their testimonials to read about their successful use of promotional calendars.

Now all that’s left to do is choose the right calendar for your business promotion.

For more details on the many different calendar titles Rose Calendars can offer, please take a look at our 2011 range. Please contact us if you would like assistance choosing a suitable product.

We hope you have enjoyed this recent series of articles and can use them to your advantage in your marketing.

Calendars really do mean business – we hope we have been able to show you how.

Last week, we looked at using promotional calendars as a useful tool to acquire new business. So, let’s assume your former prospect has become a customer. Now the hard work starts: how do you keep that customer coming back for more, show them you care, turn them into a loyal follower of and advocate for your business?

All the above can be achieved by one thing: communication. Positive, relevant, useful and regular communication. This will help your customer to get familiar with you, to trust you. And if the communication is informative and useful, it is more likely to be remembered.

This is the point where promotional calendars can play a key role: being useful by nature means they have every chance of being displayed in the recipient’s office or workplace. Being on display for a whole year means 12 months of subtle communication of your company name, promotional message and contact details, reflecting your brand and business image. This will hopefully entice the viewers to get in touch with you for repeat business and recommend you to others.

With the excellent choice of business calendars available from Rose Calendars, you are sure to find a title that is worthy of representing your company’s name. Whether you are looking for a small, “cheap to post” calendar for a general mailing or a large, “out to impress” one for your prestige customers, we can help you find the right promotional calendars. Please contact us to speak to one of our friendly and experienced members of staff.

Next week, we’ll be summing up the benefits of calendars, how they can be used and why they mean business in a clear and useful bullet style list. See you then.

Opinion is divided with regards to how much to invest in customer acquisition. It’s widely known that it costs much more to gain a new customer than it does to keep an existing one, though some argue that retention is far more important and thus warrants a greater spend. Whichever camp you are in, one thing is for sure: without customer acquisition in the first place there’d be no need for customer retention later on.

Let’s start at the beginning and go back to the acquisition, the point or rather period of time when you build a relationship with a – at that time – potential client, which you hope will culminate in them becoming a customer. Say you have quoted someone but they haven’t yet placed an order or you have had talks about a possible supply with your product or service but you haven’t clinched a deal yet. How do you make sure you stay at the forefront of their mind?

Promotional calendars can be a really useful tool in these – and similar – situations, when you have to nurture a budding relationship in subtle ways. Calendars serve as gentle but constant reminders of your business, your product or service and also your contact details. One of our regular customers likens the calendars he distributes each year to “my business cards on my clients’ walls”. We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Please take a look at our other customer testimonials to see how different businesses have benefited from calendar advertising.

Giving a calendar also shows you care. So, if you need a useful and highly visible gift to introduce your business to a potential client or would like to remind prospects of your existence, promotional calendars should be part of your plan.

Our wide range of over 100 titles of 2011 calendars offers something for any taste or budget. It features old favourites and new titles and is sure to contain something that could be your “business card”. Our friendly and experienced team would be only too pleased to help you make your choice – please contact us for assistance.

Watch out for next week's article on customer retention.

Where are you going to be this Sunday afternoon? Now that England are through to the final 16 in the World Cup, our guess is in the vicinity of a large visual display unit, holding a chilled beverage!

But then again, maybe you are not a football supporter and don’t understand what the hype is all about. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to be different and enjoy the afternoon your own way!

Here is our guide to the three best ways to spend your Sunday afternoon, football-free:

Go for a bike ride.
The weather forecast is great and the roads will never have been quieter! Pack a picnic and enjoy a ride through your local villages and countryside.

Watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Though it is on a couple of hours before the football, watching the Valencia race will give you your sport fix for the day. It’s a tight match at the top, so the race should make for interesting viewing. Can Hamilton score a hat trick by winning three races in succession?

Do your food shopping.
Possibly not a very exciting prospect but, again, never will the aisles at your local supermarket have been quieter, especially on a Sunday afternoon (normally reserved for last minute shopping chaos).

We at Rose Calendars will be supporting our boys and are keeping our fingers crossed - let’s just hope it doesn’t come to penalties!
Go, England!

Many companies’ marketing budgets seem to be stretched to the limit these days, and good return on investment for any spend is more important than ever. It is therefore crucial to choose the right medium for your business promotion. Not an easy task in a world full of promotional gifts, which are plentiful and becoming increasingly high-tech.

Strange as it may sound at first, this is where traditional promotional calendars can end up better value for money. A printed calendar has no need for batteries or plugs, it doesn’t need to be started up and can’t crash!

Not only that, but calendars are visually appealing, and – above all – extremely useful. Deadlines need to be met, meetings attended, in short, everyone refers to a calendar at least once a day – a recent study even revealed that every office worker in the UK uses at least one paper-based calendar on a daily basis!

With the help of promotional calendars, your promotional message and contact details are displayed on your prospect’s or customer’s wall or desk all year round, constantly reminding them of your product or service.

So, next time you need a cost-effective medium for your business promotion, leave the USB sticks and fancy gadgets behind in favour of a truly useful and highly visible business gift that offers a great return on your investment. Please browse our wide range of promotional calendars and see for yourself. Don't forget to check out our testimonial page for examples of how other companies have benefited greatly from calendar advertising.

For an easy overview of the main benefits of promotional calendars, please visit our guide Why Calendars?

Please contact us if you’d like to find out more or would like some guidance on which title would best suit your business. We can even help you create your very own, bespoke calendar. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Ramblers, Britain’s walking charity who are 75 years young in 2010, are once more inviting the nation to join them for national “Get Walking Day”, this year scheduled for the coming weekend, 22nd and 23rd of May.

We all know that walking can help protect against many illnesses and conditions. And it's a great way to fight stress! So why is it that most of us don’t do enough of it: not enough time, not enough energy, not enough motivation?

Well, time has to be made and a lack of energy might even be a side effect of not walking enough. So, how about the motivation? Here at Rose Calendars, we strongly believe in the power of stunning images. That’s why each and every one of our pictorial calendars is full of them! One particular title we feel is ideally suited to enticing people to enjoy the great outdoors is Countryside Walks. It features twelve beautiful British locations that will have anyone tying their boot laces in no time. Full notes and location maps, as well as a handy, separate walks guide leave no excuse but to get walking. What a great way to deliver your promotional message!

If you like the idea of challenging your (prospective) customers to get more active by inspiring them with our beautiful Countryside Walks calendar (which is also available as a desktop version), please contact us. Your advertising calendar could be the nudge someone needed to get out and about. And they will very likely thank you for it.

By the way, we don’t only produce calendars for outdoor enthusiasts. Our full range offers over 70 titles to choose from, and is sure to contain something for every business type and budget size. Why not see for yourself?

For more information on the Ramblers and the “Get Walking Day” walks available in your area this weekend, please click here.

Come on, dust off those boots and get walking – see you out there!

The FIFA World Cup 2010 is on our doorstep – well, not literally, as it is being hosted in South Africa this time, but it’s less than two months now until kick-off! Time to get the office sweepstake underway.

We have just the ticket for this: our handy Football Planner, A3 in size, is the perfect advertising medium to promote your company in the run-up to and during the World Cup. It’s safe to say that, as a nation, we are football mad and what better way to acknowledge that than tailoring your advertising methods to the event.

Suitable for any business type, our Football Planner, carrying your advertisement, can be handed out in person or left on the shop counter for customers to help themselves to. Alternatively, as it fits the Royal Mail Large Letter format when folded in half, it can be mailed out inexpensively or added to order acknowledgements, sales invoices and other correspondence.

Available from as little as 37 pence including a full colour ad, how can you afford to miss out on this topical chance to promote your business on your clients’ and prospects’ walls?

Please contact us now for more information and to place your order. Please note that special rates are available on the Football Planner if your calendar order is placed at the same time (helpfully, your promotional calendars only get invoiced when you require them later in the year).

Now all that remains to be seen is how well we do in the tournament – fingers crossed!

The UK-wide network of calendar agents, or INCA for short, have voted Rose Calendars “Calendar supplier of the year” for 2009, an accolade we have put a lot of effort into achieving and one we are justifiably proud of. A group of approximately 60 calendar agents based their votes on criteria such as quality, service and delivery, and the award was presented by INCA committee member Alison Clarke at our recent annual sales conference, which was held near Daventry in Northamptonshire.

As a family-run business, now in its fourth generation, we are totally dedicated to producing quality products and achieving customer satisfaction and we are very happy to see this commitment reaping such rewards as this national award.

Promotional calendars from Rose are innovative and both visually appealing as well as practical. They do span a whole range of subjects and all titles are finished to the highest specifications. Our whole production, from design to publishing, right through to printing, is entirely carried out in-house, a fact that allows us first class quality control at every stage of the production process. Combined with the hard work of our fantastic staff, this ensures you only receive the very best promotional calendars.

We would like to thank everyone who voted for us and promise not to rest on our laurels. May we take this opportunity to assure all of our representatives and customers of our continued commitment to outstanding quality and service, something we hope will make us your calendar supplier of choice for years to come.

If you would like to get in touch with us, please contact us. We’d love to hear from you, whether you have an enquiry, a suggestion, praise or grumble. It’s your feedback that will help us to remain your top calendar supplier.

What’s new for 2011? Browse our exciting new calendars for 2011 here.