We get lots of enquiries from loved up couples wanting personalised sweets for there upcoming wedding. However as I’m bitter and single I refuse out of spite. On a serious note we can very rarely progress, because of the general high minimum quantities required for promotional confectionery.

Very often we can get asked for promotional rock sweets for example, the problem being that people generally want a couple of hundred and the minimum order being a couple of thousand.

However we are now able to supply promotional sweet jars from low minimum quantities, which would make an ideal finishing touch to a wedding. There’s nothing new about personalised jars, however now they are able to be filled with practically any confectionery item.

Now there is a fantastic choice of sweets on offer, of course there are traditional sugar almonds or love hearts, but now you are only limited by your imagination. Not only can you pick which sweets you want in your personalised jars, you can also pick the colours.

Now you can have the jelly beans matching the bridesmaid’ dresses! If you want to know more about promotional confectionery for your wedding (or civil partnership, bar mitzvah, funeral etc) then contact the friendly confectionery experts at sweet2order.

Marketing site Brand Republic recently interviewed the great British public, asking for their opinions over the proposed plans to change the image of dear old Mickey Mouse. The consensus was that Mickey should not be changed into cunning and cantankerous character as it would “spoil the essence” of the 71-year-old Disney character and be “a very expensive mistake. Not only that, but how many six year olds know what cantankerous means anyway?

Similarly when ordering promotional products, I always advise people to use the same branding across all their products, and only change your brand if you’re absolutely certain. It is unwise to have your branded mugs clashing with your branded pens for example.

Unfortunately Disney hasn’t got wind of their research and, in a bid to make him appeal to a new generation; the iconic character will now take on a “cunning and cantankerous streak” for a new Disney video game, ‘Epic Mickey’, to be released in 2010. The industry in general agrees with this survey; “There’s a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character,” said Matt Britton, managing partner of brand consultancy Mr. Youth.

Epic Mickey, designed for Nintendo’s Wii console, is set in a “cartoon wasteland” where Disney’s forgotten and retired creations live….The game also features a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck and a “twisted, broken, dangerous” version of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World.”

High street coffee chain Coffee Republic is having a make over, after research suggested that female customers are put off by the existing dark interiors. As well as brightened up the place, chief executive Tariq Affara includes plans to introduce another two outlets in the UK within twelve months. 

I didn’t think coffee bars where particularly macho places anyway, but Affara said: ‘We want to broaden the appeal of the brand. We want to reach out to a wider market and make our bars even more attractive to spend time in”. As ever the first new look café will open in London, before being introduced across the UK and overseas.

If you wish to use promotional products to appeal to women, Gift Selection has a wide range of corporate gifts designed specifically for the fairer sex (or for very camp males). Please note, giving a lady a pink calculator probably won’t impress her – so be more imaginative.

Call me old fashioned but gifts for ladies fall into two categories, those that are shiny and those with a high fat content. On a serious note, their promotional beauty products, would make a fantastic staff incentive for your hard working female employees. Promotional nail files, branded vanity mirrors or personalised lip balms are inexpensive but handy gifts, while upmarket engraved trinket boxes make for quality corporate gifts.

If you have any questions related to promotional products for women in particular, then contact the friendly team at Gift Selection.

One of the most popular promotional products are branded ceramics, something that the people at The Mugstore are experts on. However they have recently added a new range of printed glassware on their site, with the bar and café market specifically in mind.

Having branded glassware will add that something extra to the presentation of customers drinks, and to the feel of the business as a whole. The Mugstore can offer any branded glass you could think off, but this affordable range has been specifically added due to their great value for money.

My personal favourites are the cooler range, not because there the most flash – but they are the most professional. Having your own branded small cooler glasses, is sure to impress and will make that whiskey on rocks taste even sweeter, or go for the tall version if you’re more inclined to a Long Island Ice Tea.

The heavier V series glasses are certainly striking, and certainly make an interesting product range for the promotions industry. Funnily enough these personalised glasses, also double up for eating deserts out of! The V Series glass in particular is absolutely perfect for nibbling a Tiramisu out of! The standard cooler range is great for bars and restaurants, while the top end branded Biconic range of branded glassware could even be used a gift set for any number of organisations looking to reward their customers, clients or staff.

It goes without saying that their quality promotional glassware is decorated to the highest standards to make your logo and message really stand out for all the right reasons.

I don’t know about you but I love a good sausage. However Wall’s has been criticised for branding their “Lincolnshire” and “Cumberland” sausages in packets that do not state the meat comes from Europe.

Their owners the Irish food producer Kerry Group, said ‘Lincolnshire’ and ‘Cumberland’ only refer to the recipe and not the origin of the meat, which apparently comes from Denmark, Holland and Germany, as well as Britain.

It is The Sunday Telegraph (amongst others) who are been campaigning for greater clarity in food labeling, and who brought this to the attention of the media. The Kerry Group’s director of corporate affairs Frank Hayes estimated that half of Wall’s meat came from Britain and said there was not enough pork in Britain to meet demand.

There are a range of promotional savory items (although sadly not sausages), but if your looking for some promotional snacks ask the promotion experts at www.sweets2order.com. Branded mince pies, branded crisps, branded pretzels - you would be surprised what’s available. Of course if you need to know what the ingredients (and where they come from) that go into your promotional snacks then they can let you know no problem.

You would be forgiven for associating London’s Leicester Square with all the glamour of the film industry. However yesterday saw the prestigious spot filled with computer game fans for the premier of much anticipated and catchy titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The hardcore (some might say sad), gamers were treated to a fanfare of martial music and Jeeps. While US Marine look-a-likes took the invited audience down a camouflage carpet into the Vue cinema, while the crowds leaned over the barriers.

For those who don’t know, Modern Warfare 2 is set five years after the conclusion of Call of Duty 4. Despite the efforts of the Marines and the SAS, those pesky Ultranationalists seize control of Russia and start a reign of terror across Europe!

If you looked really hard you may have seen the promotional umbrellas that were there too. The organisers rightly decided that branded AK-47s wouldn’t be very tasteful, and decided having some promotional umbrellas made would make for a smart marketing tool.

If your organisation is in the market for branded umbrellas, then contact Umbrella Store, as they did a fine job of supplying the promotional umbrellas for the Call of Duty event. For that particular client, a branded Bedford umbrella was chosen, but all different models of branded umbrellas are available.

Printed promotional umbrellas make a great corporate gift, as they are both practical and stylish. They can work for any organisation – even for a computer game!