Customized Calendars

Make your company calendar stand out without spending a fortune.
By John Fuller Giving away calendars to customers (or prospective ones) is a great way to keep your company's name in the spotlight 365 days a year. But since it's such cost-effective advertising, many companies do it; you need a calendar that stands out in either form or function, so yours won't be thrown straight into the round file.

A calendar that is used by customers will:

1. Also advertise to your customer's customers if it's prominently displayed
2. Remind customers of important business-related dates or promotions
3. Provide a means to deliver coupons or other advertising
4. Create a tradition if the calendar is unique. Every year you want customers to eagerly await YOUR calendar.

 

Pick your format

Calendars come in many styles: wall hangers, weekly planners, desk cubes, keyboard stickers, refrigerator magnets. Pick a style you think your customers will want to keep in view.
Try: Branders sells customized giveaways for business and its online store is a good place to scan the variety of calendars.

Do it yourself

Use desktop software to create a professional look yourself.
Try: See a comparison of the major calendar-creation software packages at TopTenReviews.Take a quick course in calendar design from Graphics.com .

Order from a promotions company

If you want to go with a basic design and stock photography, ordering from a promotions company may be the easiest and cost-effective route.
Try: Companies such as 4imprint and ValueCalendars.com provide calendar templates and photographs for you to choose from.

Get 'em printed

You can get end-to-end service from printers, starting with design help.
Try: digilabs offers free design software and discounts for ordering in bulk. My1Stop lets you design using their templates or their design team will create to your specs.Both companies take orders online and ship in a few days.

• Consider hiring a local photographer. The photographer may also do design or will know somebody who does to make the graphics look great as well.
• Instead of stock photos or pictures of your town in different seasons, putting your employees in the calendar is a great way to generate publicity and get the whole company involved. Keep it fun but tasteful.
• Free gifting. Encourage customers to give the calendar away to their customers.
• Check out the competition. See what they're doing and make your calendar stand out.
• Keep it functional. Make sure there's enough space to write notes and mark important dates.