subject: Metal Promotional Pens...beware Cheap Imitations! [print this page] Many businesses used to consider metal pens as a luxury gift rather than a giveaway due a higher cost per unit than its plastic promotional ballpen counterpart. But as technology moves ever forward, pricing for metal promotional pens has dropped dramatically, many marketing managers have recognised a product with a high impact (providing strong, positive brand endorsement) at an acceptable costing structure.
Take the Santorini ballpen as an example, launched recently in the UK.
A new push action ballpen with a smooth flowing writing action it is available in four metallic colours with a metal Parker style black ink refill. Supplied in a cellophane sleeve and available at less than 1 per unit when screen printed with one colour in one position*, it has proved to be a very popular new metal ballpen.
There are now several very similar products to the Santorini on the market. Some of them are cheaper and use plastic refills as the illustration attached. The Santorini ballpen is supplied with a quality metal Parker style refill with a Swiss tip and 2,500 metre write out length. The plastic refills generally do not have the same write out length and the thin stick type refills may only write for 1,000 metres, which essentially means that the Santorini will last at least twice as long. Another positive aspect for the Santorini is the writing quality is also very smooth which is, compared to the cheaper imitations.
So, when it comes to promotional products, by all means live along the lines of never looking a gift horse in the mouth...but do be ready when it turns round an bites your brand ethos!
