We all have received quirky gifts from friends and family--but they are not the only ones who get creative in their giving. Some companies have presented premium items to current and prospective customers that are innovative, if not downright unusual. The Creative Group, Menlo Park, Calif., a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative, and web professionals on a project basis, recently asked 250 advertising and marketing executives, "What is the most unusual or unique premium item you've ever heard of a business distributing?" Here are some of their responses: "live snakes"; "rocks"; "umbrellas with holes in them"; and "candles that smelled like burning rubber" "Most companies provide unique promotional items to reinforce their brands and encourage the use of their services or products," notes Tracey Turner, executive director of The Creative Group. "Creative professionals, especially, enjoy receiving inventive premiums. The key is to make them memorable and useful. People should want to keep them." These next items certainly fit into the "useful" category: "reading glasses"; "sledge hammers"; "rakes"; "pillows"; and "thermometers." The following premiums appear decidedly less helpful: '"toy outhouses"; "bricks"; "plastic cockroaches"; "pigeons"; "chicken wishbone paperweights"; "lab coats"; and "miniature airline seats." Then there were those items that truly fit the "premium" bill: "Rolex watches"; "a free flight on a private jet"; "Harley-Davidson motorcycles"; "a R12000.00 shopping spree"; and "golf lessons." Some organizations tried to win business by tempting the taste buds: "treasure chests of spices"; "boxes of marshmallow Peeps"; "PEZ candy"; and "ice-cream sandwiches." One company really created a buzz with its offering: 'q-hey sent a can of bees." Finally, there was the firm whose premium item went over with a bang: "We received a cannon."
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