Wednesday 1st  February – An Evening with the Best of Stourbridge 6-9pm

Evening event held at Dunsley Hall, Hotel with Best of Stourbridge. Focussing on sales and cleaning up your behaviours.

Contact Phil Fellows – http://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/stourbridge/contact

Thursday 2nd February – St Basils, North Worcestershire Development Committee Meeting held at Hagley Hall.

Planning forth coming events for St Basils – look what’s planned so far – What’s on?

Saturday 4th February – No Frills Expo – held at Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge -  9am – 1pm

Networking, stands and seminars …

Three 20 minute seminars with an opportunity for questions and answers:

10am – Networking or Notworking?

11am – Simply Selling or Selling Simply?

12noon – PR without Tears.

£1 entrance fee donated to West Midlands Disability Swimming Squad  – www.nofrillsnetworking.com

Canal Street
Stourbridge
DY8 4LU

Monday 6th February -  Stourbridge Speakers Club

If you are nervous of speaking in public or just want to improve your speaking and presenting skills come along!

www.stourbridgespeakers.org.uk/

From 7.45pm at The Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge.

Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

Wednesday 8th February – No Frills Stour Valley Networking – held at Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge -  7 – 10pm

£5 to attend and an extra £5 to exhibit  – www.stourvalleynetworking.co.uk

Canal Street
Stourbridge
DY8 4LU

Wednesday 15^th February - Stourbridge Football Club Business  Club – held at Stourbridge Football Club – £5 to attend as a guest.

Contact me and come along as my guest – email sjw@funkyconcepts.com

Monday 20th February -  Stourbridge Speakers Club

Club Evaluation Competition

www.stourbridgespeakers.org.uk/

From 7.45pm at The Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge.

Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

February is the month of romance? Or, it could be the month of networking!

If you are interested in attending, or being a guest, at any of the events please contact shelley.jacksonwoodall@funkyconcepts.com

Related posts:

1. Where will we be in January 2012?
2. September Event Dates
3. November Networking and Event Dates

Tuesday 10th January – No Frills Stour Valley Networking

Held at Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge -  7 – 10pm

£5 to attend and an extra £5 to exhibit  – www.stourvalleynetworking.co.uk

Canal Street
Stourbridge
DY8 4LU

Friday 13th January  - Fryday with Griffiths and Pegg and Griffin and King at Hagley Golf Club. 12.30 – 2.30 pm £15 for a drink and fish and chips followed by a dessert.

Contact janet.peacock@griffinandking.co.uk to book, or for more information.

Wednesday 18th January - Stourbridge Football Club Business  Club – held at Stourbridge Football Club – £5 to attend as a guest.

Contact me and come along as my guest!  sjw@funkyconcepts.com

Monday 23rd January  – Stourbridge Speakers Club

If you are nervous of speaking in public or just want to improve your speaking and presenting skills come along!

www.stourbridgespeakers.org.uk/

From 7.45pm at The Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge.

Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

Come along and network in January to improve business opportunities for 2012

If you are interested in attending, or being a guest, at any of the events please contact shelley.jacksonwoodall@funkyconcepts.com

The map below shows where we’ll be ‘at a glance’.

View Funky Concepts Networking Locations in a larger map

Related posts:

1. Where will we be in February 2012?
2. November Networking and Event Dates
3. September Event Dates

We’d like you to send in your caption for a “Keep calm …..”

What would you your caption be?

Tweet us at @funkyconcepts or join our Facebook page and write on our wall.

Our favourite 5 will be posted and the winner will be voted for by our followers on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

The winning caption will be printed into a A3 poster for the winner to frame.

Closing date for captions – Tuesday 31st January

Voting for winner – 1st – 10th Febuary

Winner announced on – Tuesday 14th February

Looking forward to seeing your captions …

Related posts:

1. October Networking and Event Dates
2. Charity 2012
3. September Event Dates

A recent survey from the bpma on perceptions of those receiving branded gifts showed some powerful results, particularly against other advertising spend.

Promotional merchandise can deliver a higher or equal ROI than most forms of advertising.

• 66% of respondents said they could remember the brand on the promotional product they received during the last year
•  79% said they were likely to do business with the company in the future
•  8 out of 10 (84%) respondents said that a branded promotional gift increases brand awareness
•  56% of respondents said their opinion of the brand/company was more favourable after receiving the promotional product

Promotional merchandise can deliver!

The survey also found that the USB stick comes top of the list as most useful promotional item, followed by electrical items and writing instruments.

And most interesting of all, is how long recipients keep promotional items for particularly if they are useful. Consider how this compares with other advertising messages that are often short lived.

So if you are planning campaigns for next year or considering a gift for your clients at Christmas, think about the value that promotional items can add to this.

So when you speak to us, consider using promotional items for maximum effectiveness on…

• Advertising
• Awards
• Rewards
• Brand awareness
• Rebrand
• Cause awareness
• Direct mail
• Conferences
• Exhibitions
• Outside events
• Fundraising
• Health and safety recycle schemes
• Incentives
• Product launches
• New branch openings
• Workwear and uniforms
• Retail
• Souvenirs
• Club and school identification

Call us for a quote or guidance on how promotional merchandise can be effective in your campaign!

01384 221655
contact@funkyconcepts.com

Related posts:

1. Keep warm this winter with branded outerwear
2. The Top Five Reasons Businesses Use Promotional Items
3. Product Spotlight – Mouse Mats

Tuesday 6^th December – Walsall No-Frills Networking

held at The Park Inn Hotel 7 – 10pm

Opportunity to sign up for Expo space for No Frills Expo Sat Feb 4^th

£5 to attend and an extra £5 to exhibit  – www.nofrillsnetworking.com

Bescot Crescent
Walsall
WS1 4SA

Friday December 9th – Events with the Edge

Ladies Lunch at Stone Manor with Events with the Edge.

Monday December 12th -  Stourbridge Speakers Club

Christmas celebrations and “Call My Bluff” fun!

www.stourbridgespeakers.org.uk

From 7.45pm at The Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge.

Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

Wednesday December 14th – No Frills Stour Valley Networking – held at Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge -  7 – 10pm

Sign up for Expo. Dress festive

£5 to attend and an extra £5 to exhibit  – www.stourvalleynetworking.co.uk

Canal Street
Stourbridge
DY8 4LU

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you all in 2012

If you are interested in attending, or being a guest, at any of the events please contact shelley.jacksonwoodall@funkyconcepts.com

Related posts:

1. September Event Dates
2. May Event Dates
3. July Event Dates

Friday 11th November – Fryday with Griffiths and Pegg and Griffin and King at Hagley Golf Club. 12.30 – 2 pm £15.

Contact janet.peacock@griffinandking.co.uk to book, or for more information.

Wednesday 16th November - Stourbridge Football Club Business  Club – held at Stourbridge Football Club – £5 to attend as a guest.

Contact me and come along as my guest!

Monday 21st November – Blarney Stone Competition at Stourbridge Speakers Club. Come and see what we work so hard for! Starts at 7.30pm at the Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge. £3 to attend.

Monday 28th November - If you are nervous of speaking in public or just want to improve your speaking and presenting skills come along! Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.  Visit www.stourbridgespeakers.org.uk

If you are interested in attending, or being a guest, at any of the events please contact shelley.jacksonwoodall@funkyconcepts.com

Related posts:

1. September Event Dates
2. October Networking and Event Dates
3. July Event Dates

We are now looking for our charity of 2012, it could be you!

Below is an outline of our pledge, as a business, to you -

• Attend events, when an extra pair of hands would be useful
• Network and use our business contacts to raise your profile
• Advertise your events via our website
• We will tweet and Facebook any events you would like to be advertised
• If you need help with social media we are happy to give time to support you in developing this
• Collect pre-loved items from friends and family
• Use our contacts to organise raffle prizes
• We will have a web link on our website to your website – to continue to raise your profile
• Help organise events – e.g. sponsored walk, bag collections, jumble sales etc.
• We will donate £500 to your promotional merchandise expenditure, this will be order value of products, and not available as a cash donation.

If you have any further questions please contact Shelley on 01384 221 655 or email sjw@funkyconcepts.com

We look forward to the opportunity to work with you.

Related posts:

1. Where will we be in January 2012?
2. Where will we be in February 2012?
3. The Top Five Reasons Businesses Use Promotional Items

Friday 7th October - Dudley Breakfast Club at The Copthorne Hotel from 7.45 – 9.45am – £15.  Our final meeting that we are sponsoring by Funky Concepts, run by Events with the Edge -  www.eventswiththeedge.co.uk

The Waterfront
Level Street
Brierley Hill
Dudley
DY5 1UR

Wednesday 12th September – No Frills Stour Valley Networking held at Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge -  7 – 10pm – £5 to attend and an extra £5 to exhibit  – www.stourvalleynetworking.co.uk

Canal Street
Stourbridge
DY8 4LU

Friday 14th October – Funky Concepts Office Warming Party between 3pm and 7pm – we’d love you to pop in and celebrate our new offices. Email sjw@funkyconcepts.com or call 01384 221 655  if you’d like to attend.

Tuesday 18th – Friday 21st October – We are off to The Showman’s Show trade show in Newbury. If you are attending visit Stand 8 and see our funkiness! Visit http://www.showmans-directory.co.uk/index.asp for more information.

Monday 31st October - If you are nervous of speaking in public or just want to improve your speaking and presenting skills come along! Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

If you are interested in attending, or being a guest, at any of the events please contact shelley.jacksonwoodall@funkyconcepts.com

Related posts:

1. November Networking and Event Dates
2. September Event Dates
3. July Event Dates

When a business is choosing a way of promoting itself to existing and new customers, they like to base their decisions on quantifiable facts and figures.

There are many products to choose from but regardless of which you look at customers will all be thinking the same question “Have you got any solid factual evidence that buying your product will deliver my marketing message?”

The Advertising Specialities Institute (ASI) carried out some research on a broad spectrum of clients to see if they could answer the question and offer some facts.

678 people participated in the survey and the results were extremely interesting!

First, they looked at the number of times that a t-shirts was worn.

The t-shirt scored 4.3 per month.

Second, participants were asked how many people they came into contact with whilst wearing the item of promotional clothing.

The t-shirt came in at 84 (each time it was worn).

If we then put these two together you get the total number of ‘impressions’ – what we would call ‘opportunities to see’ (OTS).

The average OTS for a t-shirt was 365.

As we all know t-shirts do not simply get thrown away at the end of each month, the average time that was recorded for the life cycle of the product was seven months.

So, looking at that seven month period one t-shirt has the ability to pass the marketing message of any UK company on to 2555 people – which is a hard working promotional product!

Information relating to the ASI figures were all taken from the article written by Paul Clapham “How to make a good impression” published in March 2011 edition of Printwear & Promotion magazine.

Related posts:

1. The Top Five Reasons Businesses Use Promotional Items
2. Product Spotlight – Mouse Mats
3. Eco Promotional Products

Stourbridge Speakers Club - Back after the Summer holidays on Monday 5th September – 7.45pm at The Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge.

Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

Thursday 8th September - Dudley Breakfast Club at The Copthorne Hotel from 7.45 – 9.45am – £15.  Sponsored by Funky Concepts, run by Events with the Edge -  www.eventswiththeedge.co.uk

The Waterfront
Level Street
Brierley Hill
Dudley
DY5 1UR

Friday 9th September – Fryday with Griffiths and Pegg and Griffin and King at Hagley Golf Club. 12 – 2 pm £15.

Contact janet.peacock@griffinandking.co.uk to book, or for more information.

Tuesday 13th September – No Frills Stour Valley Networking held at Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge -  7 – 10pm – £5 to attend and an extra £5 to exhibit  – www.stourvalleynetworking.co.uk

Canal Street
Stourbridge
DY8 4LU

Wednesday 14th September – Wine Tasting event with Circle Events Networking and Kato star at West One, Hagley. More information from www.eventsnetworking.co.uk

Monday 19th September - If you are nervous of speaking in public or just want to improve your speaking and presenting skills come along! Contact sjw@funkyconcepts.com for more information.

Wednesday 21st September - Glassboys Breakfast Club – held at Stourbridge Football Club – £5 to attend as a guest. Contact me and come along as my guest!

Hope you had a wonderful Summer, here’s to a new term!

If you are interested in attending, or being a guest, at any of the events please contact shelley.jacksonwoodall@funkyconcepts.com

Related posts:

1. July Event Dates
2. November Networking and Event Dates
3. May Event Dates