Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Top 5 Uses for School Lanyards


Lanyards are an inexpensive way to mark certain people in school, at school events, and on school outings.  They are reusable and extremely cost effective which speak to environmental conscientiousness and budgetary needs.  Here are the top 5 uses for lanyards in education:

1.  Student Positions.  If you school gives different jobs to different students during the school year and those jobs are constantly rotating people for the duties then a lanyard can be invaluable.  Each lanyard can be printed with the school name and have a tag attached to them that state what the student’s position is.  For instance, if your school implements a hall monitor position for students then a lanyard can be used to identify this position with ease.

2.  Identifying Chaperones.  During school outings, it is often policy to include several parental chaperones to help keep the children in line.  Unfortunately, gone are the days where all the parents knew the other parents and where all the kids knew all the parents.  Lanyards are an easy way to help the kids identify who is there to help and to help the teacher and the staff of the facility the field trip to do the same.

3.  Keeping Supplies.  If your class is taking a field trip to a museum, art gallery, or even a musical event and they need to be taking notes for tests and/or projects back at the school and it is preferable for them to bring nothing but themselves then lanyards that have alligator clips attached can be very useful.  Alligator clips or even cell phone straps can be used to contain a small spiral notebook and a pen so students have each within easy reach for note taking and it’ll make it very hard for the students to lose their notes this way.

4.  Rotating Achievements.  The use of a lanyard to notate in class achievements is a great way to give students a sense of accomplishment while teaching them the art of sharing glory.  Perhaps you have a weekly test that you want students to excel at.  Get a lanyard that has the school colors and school name and choose the lanyard with the LED light.  Have the light printed with “#1 Speller” or “#1 Math Whiz” or any other achievement.  Allow the student who achieves this place to wear the lanyard for the day or the week during class.

5.  Group Leaders.  On a school sport’s day or during gym class or class projects it can be helpful to identify the leaders of a group on any given day.  For instance, to help students recognize that certain uniforms indicate when someone is the “boss” you can use a lanyard done in school colors for the leaders of each project group.  This person will make the presentation and delegate tasks.  The lanyard, of course, can be reusable for each subsequent project.

There are many uses for custom lanyards in schools, and while many of them may be small applications, they are still immensely helpful in achieving whatever task is at hand. 

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Lanyard Options Explored - Cotton and Neoprene Lanyards


Ordering lanyards is a good idea, whether they are for marketing purposes, souvenirs or just for their undeniable usefulness. When ordering your lanyards you'll find that there is a huge variety of materials, design ideas, fasteners and closures. The large array of options allows you to easily create a truly customized product. Material can range from nylon to denim and there is an even larger selection of fasteners, closures and accessories to choose from. The intent of this article is to explain your material choices and to make the ordering process a bit easier.

It helps to picture what you would like the finished product to look like. Do you want a flat and sturdy material that will clearly displays your logo? If so, neoprene lanyards, among other types, are a bit more rigid and wont twist up like other materials will. Establishing where you stand on issues like will allow you to quickly narrow down which material will be the most effective for your order.

Another variable that should be decided first is whether you desire the design to be heat transferred, silk printed or woven into the fabric itself. Considering that each material has its own limitations, this is another aspect that must be decided before choosing a material.

Neoprene is a family of synthetic rubber that is commonly used to create lanyards. Neoprene lanyards are generally available in a large variety of color options. They also work well with a good selection of fasteners, such as split o-ring, swivel hook, bulldog clip, split ring and detachable buckle available. Neoprene is a good option if keeping your message flat and readable is important.

If price is an issue, polyester lanyards are generally the least expensive choice available. Dye sublimation and hot stamping are the printing methods used on polyester. They can be ordered as thin as a 3/8 shoelace to a thick knit tubular.  Though low in cost, there are extremely long-lasting and strong.

If durability is an issue, nylon is the strongest and works well in the most rugged of scenarios. Screen printing is the most popular printing option and they generally come in widths of 3/4” to 3/8”. They work well for water bottle holding lanyards among many other options.

If comfort is a concern, cotton lanyards can be comfortably worn for long time periods. This is perfect for the retail manager who must wear keys all day and an office employee wearing a hanging name badge on a daily basis. The printing method commonly used for cotton lanyards is screen printing. Cotton lanyards can be printed on both sides if desired.

These materials come in an array of sizes and shapes. Lanyards can be ordered thin like a cord, or thick and sturdy. When deciding on your lanyard order configuration, consider what your design goals are, who will be wearing them and for how long, and how durable do you need them to be.

Friday, July 22, 2011

How Travel Agencies Should be Marketing with Lanyards


Who doesn't want to travel? With such a broad audience, travel agencies have no shortage of advertising possibilities. One marketing niche that should definitely be utilized is the distribution of customer printed lanyards. This is a fantastic way to make sure your businesses name and information remains accessible to the consumer.

In order to target your audience the most effectively, the environment and activities of the traveler must be analyzed. When does a potential traveler most often use lanyards? Are they fishing? Sight seeing? An almost endless array of common activities provide opportunities to present your message in an impactful way.

Though, lanyards tend to be taken for granted, realistically, we use them quite often. When customers reach for items secured with lanyards, they are likely to notice your message time and time again.

Your agency may plan fishing excursions. Recreational fishing is a hugely popular activity that presents many opportunities to advertise. Most fisherman wear sunglasses, to thwart the blinding sunlight reflecting from the water. Lanyards designed to hold sunglasses around your neck are the perfect advertising medium. The next time your customer notices them while fishing, they may consider calling you for the next big fishing trip.

Besides sunglasses, lanyards come in handy in a variety of ways during fishing. Printed lanyards hold water bottles, which come in handy in hot weather. When boating, waterways can be very choppy as well. Your custom printed straps will come in handy for securing items from rolling around the boat.

Customers more interested in seeing the sights will appreciate how a lanyard keeps their camera within immediate reach. This is an incredible opportunity that allows your company branding to be potentially viewed many times. Lanyards are especially appreciated for trips in unconventional environments. For example, the traveler may have embarked on a short whale watching tour. Catamarans and smaller boats tend to feel every wave quite strongly. When picture taking, it's crucial to secure the camera in order to take pictures without loosing it completely to the sea.

When out and about, neck holder lanyards are frequently used to hide the travelers wallet. The wallet is further concealed by hiding inside the wearers shirt. Your client will surely appreciate the added security your promotional neck wallet lanyard provides. This can reflect the social conscience of your company and say to customers that your company cares that their trip goes smoothly.

Many other types of lanyards can benefit a travel agencies marketing scheme. Key holder lanyards are convenient for everyone. Parents will feel better knowing that older children, who are going off on their own, have room keys secured with lanyards.

Vacationers will benefit from using promotional printed luggage tags and golf bag tags, as well. Items like these are likely to get a lot of use. Luggage tags are often the last thing one thinks of when planning a trip. Your gifts will be appreciated and consumers may want to return the favor with their business.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Differentiate Your Staff from the Customers Without Breaking the Bank


In the recent economy, it can be hard to come up with new ways to give your business a bit of an edge over other businesses.  It can be even harder to give your employees a sense of camaraderie and loyalty when times are tough for everyone and stresses are high.  There is a way to forge the way for staff unity, though, without bankrupting yourself to do it.  How?  Lanyards.  Lanyards are those loops of cloth that go about the neck and generally have something attached to them at the end of the loop. 

You can buy them for only a few dollars each and you can have them printed with your company logo, motto, and even your employee’s names.  You can avoid expensive t-shirts or other uniforms which might make your staff uncomfortable.  Different body sizes and shapes can make choosing uniforms that will make your staff look good at all times a daunting, expensive task.  A lanyard can solve this problem with ease.  Staff will be able to wear whatever they want for clothing, but they will all be visually united with their custom lanyards.

You’ll find that there are tons of different options to choose from.  While a lanyard doesn’t appear to be all that customizable at first glance, you can do a lot with them.  Start with your colors and then add your logo or your logo and motto.  Once you have this done, think about adding your employees’ names to them as well.  The great thing about this is that you can advertise your business through the lanyard while avoiding the necessity of purchasing personalized name tags for the employees as well.  If your employees don’t wear name tags, but you want to show their departments you can put the department title on the lanyard instead.

There are some other options available that have a multitude of purposes.  One lanyard option has a section between the neck loop and the bottom (d-ring, key ring, alligator clip, looped hook, etc.) is an LED light.  These lights come in four shapes – a cross, diamond, oval, and a circle.  You’ve got all of these options and they are even printable with your business name, logo, or staff’s names.  Some lanyards have loops that can hold cell phones or cameras while others can hold printed cards.

The cards could be anything from key cards for electronic access doors to signs that tell your customers daily specials and deals.  A lanyard is a highly portable item that’s easy for your staff to wear and costs next to nothing compared to other forms of business promotion and staff unity.  You can get well-made, personalized lanyards for as little as 17 cents each.  Even the most expensive lanyards, like the LED model, can cost as little as $1.28 each!  The bottom line is that your bottom line will be safe while you get the look you need for your employees.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Comparison of Lanyard Attachments

Maybe you've decided to increase your company's sales by including custom printed lanyards in your marketing campaign. They can be ordered in various colors and usually made of polyester, nylon or cotton. There is also a large selection of possible attachments. One of the greatest things about advertising with lanyards is that they are so highly customizable. But, this can also be intimidating when ordering for the first time. This article aims to provide you with a general explanation of the various attachments that can be included with your custom lanyard.

The bulldog clip is very common. It consists of two small rectangular metal pieces that are attached together by a spring. The back end can be squeezed together to open the front end. The force of the spring holds the front end tightly closed. The ridged teeth at its opening can hold various items, such as an ID badge holder.

Carabiners are often attached to lanyards and may come in various shapes, such as stars. They come in a variety of sizes, and are often used to clip onto ropes. This is seen in activities like mountain climbing, sailing, and even window cleaning. Carabiners are used industrially and by rescue workers. They're often found in steel and aluminum.  These are also made much smaller, and can click onto an assortment of items, such as keys.

Hooks are incredibly useful. There are a few types to choose from including trigger hook, snap hook or swivel hook. Hooks are often available in metal or plastic. The hook itself is opened either by a trigger or snap type of lever mechanism.

Swivel hooks are very helpful and allow the attached items to swivel around. This is especially useful when attached to an ID badge or keys. Objects don't have to be clumsily untwisted for use. They're usually made from plastic or metal and include a mechanism that makes it easy to remove the item.

Multiple types of rings and loops are used with different purposes in mind. One of the most common of these is the split ring-keyring. Lanyards with key rings are an increasingly popular way to keep track of house keys, car keys and any other type of keys. Keys are more accessible and easy to keep track of.

The Rubber ring attachment is used for water bottle lanyards. The ring slides over the bottle top, securing the bottle for frequent use. Water bottle lanyards are great for walkers, athletes, concert patrons, outdoor workers and anyone living an active lifestyle.

Detachable cell phone loops offer a safe way to carry around electronics. Loops provide easy and quick access to cell phones, digital cameras and other electronic devices. This is also a great way to make sure these devices are not stolen or fall out of your pocket.

With so many options, it's easy to create a custom product that will achieve the maximum results for your industry.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Fashionable Lanyards

It would be an understatement to say that fashion plays a huge part in presenting who we are. Clothes, jewelry, belts, wallets, purses, cuff links, ties, watches, shoes, bags, and now, even lanyards. Just like any other fashion accessory, lanyards have become a part of corporate apparel.  And because it is displayed rather prominently, we cleverly try to add a personal touch to our lanyards.

Searching through the internet, one can find many ideas for personalizing lanyards. Some people actually attach beads to the lanyards; making the lanyard look like a necklace. The truly fashion conscious individual actually buys a necklace and uses it is a lanyard. These necklace lanyards can be made from pearls, rhinestones, puka shells, wood pieces and carvings, the aforementioned beads, and a lot of other materials that you can find a use for.

On the practical side, lanyard badge holders are often used for classification in a school setting. For example, a school may reserve one color for each grade level or a single color each for elementary, middle and high schools, respectively. The same thing can be applied to a corporate setting. The lanyard color coding may be distributed according to different teams, groups, departments and/or divisions that make up a company's workforce. In field work such as construction and structural maintenance, color coded lanyards are very practical. A wide open area such as a construction zone makes it easy for a supervisor or foreman to immediately identify what group an individual belongs to, just by being able to see the color of a person's lanyard. The downside to this is that there can be some sort of rivalry or discrimination between groups and individuals. It's like wearing the colors of the Boston Celtics versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

Today, lanyards are used for holding cell phones, water bottles, car keys and house keys, and just about anything you can clip on it. The lanyard has become a versatile tool for personal storage. That's a far cry from its original purpose as mundane badge holders. And because you can hang most of your personal effects on this little strip, the lanyard itself has a lot of add-on accessories to allow you the convenience of having your personal music player or cell phone at hand.

And if, for some strange reason, you find yourself hanging a mood candle from your lanyard, be sure to have a miniature fire extinguisher hanging there too. A burnt lanyard might not cost as much as a burnt house, but it could be extremely painful if you don't put out the fire quickly :)