Integral to the growth and sustainability of many public, religious, and educational institutions are donations made on site. One of the most common and efficient methods of facilitating the transfer of donations at these various locations is, of course, through donation boxes. In this entry, we’ll show just how important donation boxes can be, and how your institution can take advantage of their strengths.

According to the National Park Service, most zoos, aquariums, planetariums, and public parks feature at least one or two donation boxes for the sole purpose of fundraising – with some institutions pulling in more than $200,000 in a single year. Numbers like this obviously depend on traffic, but it is not traffic alone that generates such results – it is careful consideration of placement, display, incentive, and reputation.

Placement

Donation boxes come in virtually every shape and size, and can therefore appease even the most unaccommodating of venues - though little is worse than a display or advertisement blatantly out of place. Examples of such occurrences are plentiful. My favorite? Those who have logos shaved into their head. Unlike people with the Nike Swoosh on the back of their skull, however, the key to a well-placed marketing display is that it be non-intrusive. It is incredibly detrimental to imply, through placement, that your donation box has more bearing than the event or exhibit for which you’re trying to raise funds. Take a tiger cub exhibit, for example – the best place to put a donation box would not be right at the entrance, or smack dab in the middle in the exhibit, but rather, near the exit. Having the donation box near the exit allows exhibit-goers time to contemplate their philanthropy, without intruding on the experience they came to have. To summarize: place individual donation boxes near specific points of interest, but be sure not make it the first thing people see.

Display

Now you know where you want to put your box, but how are you going to dress it up to incite philanthropy? First and foremost, you must think of your patrons as customers. Therefore, the best piece of advice is never lie about or extend the severity of the point of interest. Your goal is to quickly grab the attention of the donator, and inform him or her in as little words as possible. Make your display aesthetically attractive, appropriately sized, and copy written according to your target customer. Some of the best methods to supplement an already attractive display is to make the donation an activity, having a representative present with the display, or to make the donation a raffle.

Incentive

Your next goal is to ensure that your pleasing and well placed donation box display gives the customer adequate incentive to donate. One can accomplish this by including visible aspirations on the display. Make it full of projections and up-to-date donation totals. If a donator sees both the severity of the situation, and how close you or your institution is to accomplishing a certain goal, they are more likely to assist in the last leg. For example, say your goal is $20,000. Break the goal up into five $4,000 goals that, when reached, yield a specific deliverable. People do not like their donation to get lost in a pool of money whose overall mission is broad or ambiguous.

Reputation

Last but certainly not least, you must make your customers feel like your fundraising activity is being carried out by a reputable team known to deliver. You can prove to your patrons your organization is reputable by advertising specific points of interest that were only possible due to previous donations. To supplement this, contact similar companies or organizations that may be interested in branding their name alongside yours.

Again, the keys to fundraising success via donation boxes is placing your pleasing and informative display in a suitable place, and creating reputable and trustworthy incentives. We hope this entry has given you some ideas to either jumpstart your fundraising endeavors, catalyze a stagnant fundraising campaign, or assist in one that is already rolling.

See you next time.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced to the new market term “Eco-Anxiety,” allow me the pleasure of mediating your greeting. Corporate business goer, please meet Eco-Anxiety. He’s been the one supplying you with those prevalent knots in your stomach when you drive to work yourself, fully aware your housemate is driving in the same direction. You can also credit him for that one time you walked past a plastic bottle on the sidewalk, and felt so bad that you didn’t pick it up and put it in a recycling bin that you actually walked back to get it.

Yes, he is quite influential these days, not only to your stress, but to the policy decisions of highly successful corporations.

In this edition, we want to recommend a change you can make now to partially remedy your very apparent and frustratingly unproductive relationship with Eco-Anxiety. This change is adopting the use of 100% recyclable poly bags and basking in their efficiency, versatility, and cost-effectiveness.

So what can poly bags do exactly? First and foremost, they can assist in the renovation of your administrative endeavors by playing the vital role of replacing extraneous cardboard boxes and other paper products that often end up in trashcans instead of recycling bins.

Take for example your storage room. A multitude of space hungry boxes filled with who knows what. Replace those boxes with space friendly poly bags of various sizes (relative to the items you’re storing), and hang them via wire shelving. Not only are you preserving and better organizing your supplies (therefore making them more accessible), you are also investing in customizable packaging that can be easily reused in the office or elsewhere.

These customizable and eco-friendly space savers can also assist in lowering your shipping and advertising costs. Stop shipping a huge cardboard box full of non-recyclable Styrofoam when you could instead ship a poly bag of adequate size and mailing requirements. Because most manufacturers of poly bags offer a special series of brand-able mailing bags in every size imaginable, you should have little trouble finding something to match your budget’s fancy. Doing so is both an admirable and intelligent move, and branding your packaging with recommendations to recycle will help spread the good word.

There are many more ways to experience the versatility of poly bags in your office environment, but a large part of the new eco-friendly movement is individual innovation! We hope this has been informative and motivating, as we wish nothing more than seeing your company’s continued success, both monetarily and in reputational growth - not to mention, you may rest easier once you are no longer completely dominated by that pesky Eco-Anxiety.

Like it or not, a very large percentage of us spend a large amount of time in a rather mundane and inherently stressful place every day. For some, it’s a 15×15 foot corner office; for most, it’s quite the opposite. Though, no matter what the dynamics of your work space, clutter will always be one of the major factors keeping you from enjoying your office experience.

Eliminating clutter through the use of innovative computer software, efficient placement of electronics, and various plastic office supplies can be beneficial to a less stressful, more successful day at work. Sounds like a good idea right? Well, you’d be surprised to find the hardest part of this transformation is simply getting the motivation to start. Here’s all the motivation you need: Go to your desk then take a look at that IKEA magazine sitting in the recycling bin.

Feeling motivated yet? If so, let’s get started. If not, try coming to the realization that a total renovation of your desk could cost less than a pizza, and less time than it takes to deliver it. You can now successfully check off the first task, the rest is a cake walk.

So there’s your desk; a large collection of completely unrelated paper items (receipts, magazines, newspapers, forms and expense reports), fifteen copies of your one favorite pen scattered about, colored files everywhere, your cell phone, mp3 player, headset, desktop or laptop, and your prized monitor laden with Post It notes.

The best place to start is the monitor, the one place you’re looking most often (and subsequently, the one place frequently reminding you how disorganized you are) – get rid of those Post It notes!

There’s a fantastic web tool available for free by the name of Remember The Milk that allows you to input your tasks, select due dates, set up notifications, and create groups for your department.

Another innovative and free application comes from the guys at Google. Google Desktop makes searching for files on your computer just as simple as searching on the internet. Also, you can easily eliminate magazine and newspaper clutter and become more sustainable by getting more of your news and information from internet sources. The next step might be organizing your office supplies. One of the best ideas is to find plastic office supplies that are aesthetically pleasing and part of a collection. It’s a great idea to have all of your supplies share the same color, but having two or three different colors could be very refreshing and could supplement organizational patterns.

Another recommendation would be to recycle or bring home any extraneous supplies – things you don’t use daily. Try to find office supplies that clearly define what the compartment is for. You don’t want to get caught throwing random items into oddly-shaped compartments, thus adding to your clutter. Lastly, take a look at your numerous electronics, and imagine having access to the same functionality without ever having to look at them. First and foremost, if you have the budget to go wireless, do it. Virtually everything you use at your desk can be wireless – charged by rechargeable batteries to save money and the environment. There is a fantastic guide to methodologically organizing your various electronics behind or under your desk, which involves a couple of zip ties and some patience. The final product will be phenomenal and inviting.

There you have it, a few simple, quick, and cheap ways to keep your office space from being a mundane area you dread visiting daily. With the use of free web tools, sleek and colorful compartmentalized plastic office supplies, and some zip ties, you’re on your way to having a better day at work.

In this edition, we’ll be introducing you to the various benefits your company could see given the implementation of an acrylic ballot box. You’ve seen these guys in various locations – supermarkets, restaurants, coffee shops, novelty stores, the receptionist’s desk at your beloved dentist’s office, and maybe even your place of work. What exactly are they used for anyway, and how might you utilize this item to supplement your administrative tasks? Its most important benefit is the anonymous collection of information, and we can see the importance of this benefit by looking at a few market specific examples.

Let’s start with your everyday small business, comprised of a handful of individuals working closely every day. Vital to the integrity, growth, and general wellness to the company’s employees (and subsequently the company as a business) is the careful and perpetual consideration of employee concerns and suggestions. Because the daily interactions between members of a small business are often friendly and non-confrontational, it is an incredibly daunting task to, as an employee, speak up about a company-wide suggestion or general concern. The implementation of an anonymous suggestion box, while seemingly old-fashioned, is still one of the smartest and cost-effective HR moves a company can take. Feedback from your employees is priceless as they are the ones that know your company (and its flaws) best.

Another fantastic example of the strength of acrylic ballot boxes applies to those of you who are just starting up your restaurant, market, or retail shop, and need to turn your advertising aspirations into advertising realities. One of the most important aspects of advertising is not getting your name out there, but knowing where you name already is. A fantastic method of measuring your brand recognition is to hold a raffle. Ask customers to leave their business cards in the ballot box for the chance to win a good or service, on the house. Keep in mind there are more tacky ways to conduct an in store raffle than classy ways. Consider these recommendations:

1. Don’t put the display by the door; put it by the register.
2. Acrylic, no matter how awesome you make it look, doesn’t talk – advertise the raffle as you serve your customers.
3. Inform customers that their contact information is secure and they will not be contacted for unrelated business.
4. Don’t be that place raffling off a free drink with a paid lunch. Make it enticing. The data you collect is valuable.
5. Pick a couple of winners from different zip codes.

So let’s talk about what you now have at your fingertips. First, you have information on who your customers are, where they are in location to your business, and what type of work they do. Without giving your raffle any more attention, your business’s name is now going to be spread from the mouths of raffle winners to the people in their respective zip codes, and, if you didn’t already know, word-of-mouth is the least expensive and most reliable form of advertising. Now, if you do decide to devote more attention to the raffle, you can utilize you’re newly obtained demographic information to begin targeting your customers in new ways. Some new advertising initiatives could include:

1. Using search engine ad directories to target companies similar to the companies who participated in your raffle.
2. Advertising near or around large office buildings where your participants work.
3. Targeting professionals similar to those who participated in your raffle, in trade publications and high-traffic areas.

Your advertising options are virtually endless, as there are so many variables subject to your tinkering.

In summation, it’s rather spectacular that something as simple as an acrylic ballot box has the possibility to yield informative results, whether concerned with improving your service or growing your customer base. We hope these techniques are conducive to the growth and innovation of your company, and we hope you see the results you seek.

There is a prevalent phenomenon in our consumer driven world that many may have not realized. Every one of us, no matter our vocational occupation or educational background, has an uncanny ability that some people in the business world would pay heavily for. This phenomenon occurs every time we walk into a place of business, every time we hop on the bus or drive down the highway to work, and every time our favorite television show is interrupted, and it goes something like this: “That’s the stupidest advertisement I’ve ever seen.”

Yup, most of us are believe we are not advertising savvy because we’ve never been classically trained in the crafty ways and means of the marketing underworld. But, whether you’d like to admit it or not, a layman’s eyes are the best-trained to spot a good marketing display.

In prior blogs, the intent has been to offer recommendations on creating winning marketing displays. In this case, we want to focus on just why such displays work.

Take the case of a CD display holder, for instance. A good one can focus a set of consumer eyes on the CDs on display; a poorly placed one can send them rolling.

Say you are a music retailer and you have a couple hundred CDs you want to organize in the most exciting and inviting manner possible. As you know, there are many possibilities that you’ve come across over the years. You’ve seen those horizontal CD displays at elbow height with meter long rows containing maybe a hundred CDs per row, as well as vertical CD displays that are about as tall as an average person with many rows and columns. Some could argue these displays have their respective places - the vast horizontal displays for companies with many thousands of CDs, and the tall horizontal displays for warehouses with many isles and tons of wall space.

Still, I think I can safely speak for all of us and say that when it comes to human perception, the more dimensions, the more aesthetically pleasing anything will be. No matter how many CDs you plan on displaying, terraced displays will more often than not prove more successful than either horizontal or vertical displays.

What the heck is a terraced display? It most commonly is comprised of two to ten rows, where the top most rows are further back, and, as you go down the rows, they get closer to you. Such terraced plastic CD display holders offer you versatility unmatched by the two dimensional displays.

With terraced CD displays, you can confer importance upon the top couple rows without demoting the bottom rows, which are closer and more accessible to the customer. Moreover, these three-dimensional displays allow you to compartmentalize CDs according to certain distinguishing factors like artist, genre, or style, and you never have to worry about CDs getting lost in huge rows or customers not being able to find them. Not to mention, it is far more aesthetically pleasing to see a group of 5 or 8 CDs, rather than 30 or 40, and, in comparison to vertical CD displays, terraced CD displays offer more storage space for emergency stocking.

In closing, while there are many different plastic CD displays with different features, we believe terraced displays are the best choice for suppliers, no matter what volume of CDs they sell. This is because terraced CD displays are versatile and practical, but, most of all, because customers like them.

Plastics as we broadly understand them today are synthetic or semi- synthetic products or raw materials, formed by polymerization, and largely derived from oil. Polymerization is the formation of polymers, i.e. repeated numbers of smaller structures (monomers) joined together. Modern advances in plastic fabrication, molding, casting, extrusion, cutting, bending, machining, gluing, welding, stamping of sheets, plastic engraving, fibers, and solid blocks mean that our imagination provides the only real limitations to what form plastics can take.

What’s so good about plastics?

Plastics are relatively light and very durable. The hundreds of different plastic varieties are recyclable, although it’s only in recent years that our society has begun to take advantage of plastic recycling. Plastics have great thermal and insulating properties (clothes, carpets, bedding, etc), are extremely strong, and resistant to many chemicals and water. Most notably, however, plastics have proven relatively inexpensive to produce, and are so versatile that they can take on almost any form and color.

What are the popular types of plastics and what’s the difference between them?

Acrylics
These were developed in the 1930s. Acrylics are particularly resistant to the weather and the sun. Acrylic is particularly effective as a ‘clear’ plastic as it transmits light brilliantly. Applications for acrylics include brochure holders, signs, display cases, boat windows, and point of purschase displays, to name a few.

Plexiglas
Often wrongly spelled as “Plexiglass,” Plexiglas is actually a brand name for a kind of clear thermoplastic resin that’s a cross between acrylic and polycarbonate.

Polycarbonate
First developed in the 1950s, these thermoplastics most popularly have engineering applications. This is due to polycarbonates’ strength coupled with their versatility and electrical insulating properties. Applications include machine guards, capacitors, gaskets, etc.

Perspex
This is a variety of polycarbonate. It is popularly developed in sheet form and widely recognized as a kind of ‘clear’ plastic.

Polypropylene
Another plastic developed in the 1950s with industrial applications, this is particularly suitable for hot fill packaging because it has low density but is very rigid. Other applications include carpeting and packaging.

PVC
Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) can be shaped and molded into an exceptionally wide variety of products. Chemical Plant Industry applications of PVC include water tight tanks, and ducting for Clean Air Systems.

PETG
Polyethylene Terephalate Glycol (PETG) is another industrial thermoplastic. Applications include frames, sign holders, and point of purchase displays.  If you ask most people, they’d be hard-pressed to tell you what plastics actually are, and even more hard-pressed to tell you the difference between the many types. The irony of this is that plastics are a central and essential part of daily modern life.

As far as storage equipment is concerned, wire shelving is considered a workhorse. Versatile and durable, industrial wire shelving is commonly used for a variety of commercial applications. Adjustable wire racks make wire shelving units easy to configure 5 fit the items you need to store. And since industrial wire racks come in a vast array of sizes and shapes, they can be arranged to fit neatly in your storage space.

Using open wire shelving units can benefit your business in numerous ways, by enhancing the effectiveness of your sprinklers, improving light and air circulation, reducing dust build-up, and improving visibility.

Wire shelving is commonly used in many industries, such as food service, health care, and technology.

Get to know your wire shelving options

Wire shelving comes in a variety of finishes, including chrome wire shelving, epoxy powder coating, and black powder coating. Your choices also include flat shelves or basket shelves, which are well-suited for storing objects that might spill off flat shelves.

Use mobile wire shelving units for on-the-go storage

If you need to transport stored items frequently, consider investing in mobile wire shelving units. Available with flat shelves or basket shelves, mobile wire shelving units come in standard upright sizes and cart sizes.

Cheap wire shelving units

Since industrial racks are usually hidden away in back offices, warehouses, and storage rooms, looks aren’t always important. If cost-cutting is your main objective, consider inexpensive shelving alternatives, such as used wire shelving.

Antimicrobial wire shelving

If you’re in the food service business, antimicrobial wire shelving may be your best bet because it protects against a broad range of bacteria, molds, mildew and odors.

When you’re making your final decision about your wire racks and shelving, don’t forget:

* Choose industrial wire racks that include a warranty against rust.
* Chrome wire shelving is the most popular style and is available in the most shapes and sizes.
* If you choose mobile wire shelving units, be sure to get locking wheels that will help avoid accidents and spillage.
* Epoxy powder coated wire shelving is considered ideal for dry storage as well as cooler and freezer applications.

Can you honestly say you’ve never made a last minute purchasing decision? I doubt it. But you’re in good company: research shows approximately 66 percent of all purchase decisions are made in the store. And 53 percent of those in-store purchases are made on impulse.

So how can you capitalize on this last-minute purchasing trend? It’s called Point of Purchase (POP) advertising and it’s highly effective in persuading potential customers to buy your product now. With an attractive and well-placed acrylic POP display, you can nudge your customers into that 53% who make impulse purchases.

Here are some tips to make your business POP display friendly:

Know Your Business

In theory, you know your business. Do your customers? Choose a display that’s going to show your customers what you’re offering in a clear and easy manner. Make your sign dynamic, and the product accessible.

Keep It Simple

Sure, you’d like something elaborate that really speaks to people. But you have to remember, a POP display is about impulse. Your display will have to be simple enough for clients to notice without being too garish or complex. A clear, enticing sign in an acrylic holder will deliver the right information directly to your customer.

Field Trip

Visit other businesses to see what works and what doesn’t. You’re a customer too! See what you like and what you don’t like, and remember that when you are setting up your own POP display.

Get More For Your Money

You want to make your advertising dollar go as far as it can. Use a permanent display system for you POP advertising to stretch your resources. Acrylic POP displays will protect your advertisements and create an alluring backdrop for your product. A highly durable POP display makes you look credible, and your product worthwhile.

No matter what type of display you choose, remember not to skimp on creating the advertisement to place inside it. Do so and your customers will notice. Go for quality and they will notice, too.

Select the right POP display and you have a good chance of creating some excitement around your advertising, and, ultimately, increasing your profits Make a hasty, uninformed decision about your POP display and your customer’s excitement will fizzle. Do your research - and get creative!

Your company’s literature is more than just a set of words on paper - it’s a powerful way to make a first impression on potential customers. Are you displaying your literature with the same care with which you would write it?

Displaying your company’s literature and marketing materials have an undeniable effect on the overall image of your company and it makes sense to display them with pride. Using acrylic literature displays makes this easy.

When choosing a display, consider the style, size, and format of your literature. Narrow brochures and pocket-sized fliers need different types of displays. In addition, consider the amount of literature you want to display at any given time. If you have five different brochures for five different company services that are identical in size, you can opt for a tiered brochure display. A tiered display makes it easy for clients and customers to access a variety of information on your company without having to look around for it - and making it easy for people to learn about you is exactly what you want.

Secondly, consider the location of your display. If you place your display on the front desk in the lobby, something simple that lets the receptionist see all the way to the door is ideal. The last thing you want is a display that obstructs the view of your employees or customers. On the other hand, if you plan to put your displays on either side of a room, use larger and more eye-catching displays to attract the attention of customers passing by.

Finally, choose a display which reflects your company’s style. If your company wants to exude a contemporary image, a modern, high-quality display may work best. If you want to advertise yourself as a ‘one-stop-shop,’ however, displaying literature on a range of products and services in a single, high-capacity, clear tiered case is ideal.

Ultimately, whether you opt for a wide, long, clear, or tiered literature display, you can rest assured you are putting your best foot forward, and doing what you can to make a lasting, positive impression on everyone who walks through your doors. Moreover, with the wide range of display manufacturers, it should be easy to find a distinctive display to complement your content, whether it takes the form of a leaflet, brochure, catalog, flier, or digital display.