If you’re flying at some point during the remainder of 2011, be sure to pick up the copy of SkyMall in the seat pocket in front of you and flip to page 49…

Ta daaah! There is tugo, featured in the “Inventor’s Showcase” section. It’s just above shoe insoles that “keep the spring in your step and help eliminate chronic back pain” and beside health and fitness gloves that “tone upper body muscles while burning more calories.” You know, all the essentials. What else would you expect from SkyMall?!

You can also find tugo on the SkyMall website here into the new year.

SkyMall now features tugo!

• Loco Cocoa Caffeinated Hot Chocolate
• Stay Puft Marshmallows – The World’s Finest Caffeinated Marshmallows
• BioFUEL – The World’s Most Powerful CAFFEINE INFUSED Popcorn!
• A Snack In The Face Highly Caffeinated Brownies and Cookies
• Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap
• Spazzstick Caffeinated Lip Balm – The World’s First Caffeinated Lip Balm
• Bang!! Caffeinated Ice Cream
• Skin Kiss Caffeine Tights & Shapewear (they claim the effect lasts up to 5 washes)
• NRG Potato Chips
• Morning Spark Natural Energy Instant Oatmeal
• SumSeeds: Energized Sunflower Seeds
• Water Joe – Water with a Work Ethic
• Hot D Wake Up Juice – The Original Bloody Mary Energy Drink

• And our favorite: Perky Jerky – Energizing, All Natural Jerky (The turkey option is, of course, “Turkey Perky Jerky.” Love it!)

We prefer to get our buzz the old-fashioned way, but this may just be the trend of the future. What do you think? Will coffee soon be a thing of the past?

Sources:
- thinkgeek.com
– possessedbycaffeine.com
– bevuniverse.com
– mentalfloss.com
– SFWeeklyBlog

• Runway Red
• Blue Sky
• Prepare for Take-off Pink
• and of course, Basic Black

Available in our online store or from these retailers. Check out our “Why do I love my tugo?” post, too!

Men, especially, shop in places they wouldn’t otherwise go, and will take the advice of a sales person (“Why yes, this gift DOES need this [add-on]”) if it means they can finish their shopping then and there. You want shoppers to be crossing names off their lists in your store, so make it as easy as possible for them to do so!

Here are some tips to help you through the busy time:

Make sure you are adequately staffed.
Not just enough people to work the registers, but you need people on the floor to sell to customers. If you hire part-time or temporary workers, have them at the registers while your more seasoned staff work the floor, to not only answer questions but to engage the customer and SELL. They shouldn’t be asking, “Do you have any questions?” Instead, “Whom are you shopping for?” gives a much better opportunity to give suggestions.

Make sure your staff is well trained.
Especially if you have part-time or temporary holiday help, make sure your staff is trained. Your staff should know how to handle shoplifters, and be knowledgeable about the products you carry and how to up sell. Good customer service is key at this time of year, so be sure they know they can (and will) go above and beyond to make the customer’s experience a great one.

Boxes!
Items already boxed become no-brainers because the customer can then immediately check that person off their shopping list. Stock up with products in boxes well in advance. Also make sure you have plenty of gift boxes, and don’t just ask the customer if they want a box while they are being rung up at the register. Have your staff on the floor show the customer the gift in the box so they can see what a great gift it will make. Why do you think Sears puts a screwdriver in a box during the holidays? Because once boxed, voila, all of a sudden it’s now a present.

Keep your shelves well stocked.
Keep your shelves well stocked, especially during the busy times. Small retailers usually use the slow times to re-stock the shelves, but this can make your products seem picked over during the busy times (even if you still have plenty in the back). Keep a steady stream of (small) boxes of product coming from the back to keep the shelves, well, stocked.

Here are some tips for organizing ahead of time:

Make sure the physical preparations of your retail space are organized far in advance. You should have all the decorations you might need, as well as any changes to the layout already prepared, so when it comes time to change things it can occur quickly and efficiently.

Have your advertising and marketing planned out in enough time to be sure you can meet deadlines for any publications you may want to be included in. Now is not the time to scrimp on your advertising budget!

Organize your personal life, too. Not to sound too much like your mother, but if you keep your own stress to a minimum at this busy time, it will make the season go by much more smoothly for you and everyone at the store. Less stress = more holiday spirit, and we could all use more of that. Even in August.

Sources:

Content for Reprint: Holiday Retail Tips
Microsoft Small Business: 5 Mistakes that Ruin Holiday Sales
Microsoft Small Business: Get Ready for the Holidays

INPEX (Invention and New Product Exposition) is “America’s Largest Invention Trade Show,” so of course we just had to be there to network with other inventors and meet with entrepreneurs and industry representatives last month in Pittsburgh.

The collection of exhibitors was eclectic to say the least! We met Wendy Robbins, the woman that invented the head tingler doo-dad who now has a show on TLC called “Homemade Millionaire,” heard Debbi Fields of Mrs. Field’s cookies speak about her beginnings in her kitchen, and got lots of inspiration at the Inventors University.

We are excited and proud to report that tugo took home a gold medal for “Innovative Excellence” in the Novelties/Specialty Gifts category of the INPEX Jury Awards, which are selected by an international jury panel. Winners are determined on the basis of the product’s usefulness, creativity and overall appeal. Way tugo, Karen!

INPEX judges presenting Karen Porte, tugo inventor, with the Gold Medal

You might recognize the storefront pictured above if you spend much time at Denver International Airport; as you can see, it belongs to First Class Baggage Co. They have been in business in the B Concourse of DIA since 1995, selling luggage, business cases, leather accessories, travel items, and now, the tugo luggage drink holder!

They believe in providing the best items for travelers to make their trips much more enjoyable. No wonder the tugo is now a part of the products they offer. Their tugo display, pictured below, fits right in with the rest of their wares.

Next time you’re in DIA stop by and say hello. They are located at the red arrow shown below in the “Center Core” of the B Concourse, near Itza Wrap! Itza Bowl! restaurant.

(Map of B Concourse from flydenver.com)

Thank you, First Class Baggage Co., for being a tugo retailer. We think you really ARE first class!

Our booth was looking just as snazzy as usual. Once the show began there were of course people in the picture…

Karen found a friend along the way. Even bedbugs can use an extra hand while traveling!

If your hotel has bedbugs this big, you've really got a problem...

And there of course were new and interesting products to check out. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Shelves-To-Go: The name says it all. Just hang in your closet at home and pack your belongings into the shelves. Then take the whole thing and put it into your suitcase. When you arrive at your destination, just re-hang and you’re all set!

• Trunco bag by Balanzza: The industry’s first “modular carry-on.” The unit is made up of smaller parts that can un-snap to fit the space available on the airplane. Find you have to gate-check your bag at the last minute? Just click off the laptop piece to bring with you and you can gate-check without worry. Only a little overhead room left? Part of the bag can go up in the overhead bin, while the rest can stow by your feet to give your legs as much space as possible.
• Back2you luggage tags and labels: Each tag or label has a serial number for traceability. You enter your contact information in their database, and if your items ever come up lost they will notify you and reunite you and your possessions! Made of heavy-duty stainless steel, these are definitely recommended for frequent travelers. No need to rely on the airlines – take tracing into your own hands.
• Hadaki e-book and i-pad wraps from Kalencom: For the technology-lovers, these wraps offer style, protection, and a built-in stand. Hadaki always has drool-worthy patterns and designs, and these wraps are no exception.
  

  Hadaki iPad Wrap

• Travel BlanKid from Cabeau: The winner of the TGA Show’s Buzz Award is a four-in-one travel companion for children: backpack, blanket, travel pillow, and “animal buddy.” Three animal choices: Makemba the Monkey, Pailou the Panda, and Lula the Ladybug. Anything that can make traveling with children easier is always a hit!

Here are some examples to give you an idea:

• Orbitz for Business handed these out at the 2010 National Business Travel Association Exposition. Click here to read more about the event.
• PolyOne is a global manufacturer of thermoplastic elastomers, colorants, and coatings and resins. The tugo is made of the GLS Dynaflex G7970 TPE from PolyOne. They distributed these red tugos at a recent show to demonstrate the creative and unique uses for their material.
• P&H Mine Pro Services, a global mining equipment and services provider, received these at their Canadian offices. We like the yellow imprint on black!
• NPD is a market research company and handed these out at the 2010 National Restaurant Association show.
  

You can see what a wide range of industries and companies use the tugo for their promotional needs! Read about the top promotional uses for tugos with logos here.

Please click here for contact information or see our promotions page for more details.

• Corporate Gifts: tugos are a unique way to say “thank you” to your customers. You won’t have to worry if they already have one, and having your logo printed will increase the visibility of your company. PolyOne Corporation offers specialized polymer materials (including the material tugo is made of) and ordered these customized tugos for their customers:
• Tradeshow Giveaways: like Orbitz did recently at the National Business Travelers Association Convention. The price is right, and we’re sure it will be a remarkable item. Don’t play it safe with pens and mugs ever again!
• Employee Incentives: a low-cost but thoughtful gift for your employees. Road warriors everywhere would appreciate the convenience the tugo could add to their travels. Read a compilation of reviews of the tugo on delicious, and check out our “Why do I love my tugo?” post while you’re at it!

See the portfolio of tugos customized with logos here.

Read more about putting your logo on tugo on our promo page.

Contact us here for pricing and specifics, and of course let us know if you have any questions or comments.

The keynote speaker, Robert Stoll, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Commissioner, was a wealth of information in regards to the status of patenting and changes ahead.

The winner of the “Inventor of the Year” award, Jerome Rifkin of Tensegrity Prosthetics, was the most remarkable. “Breaking from established technology paradigms in the prosthetics world,” they created a foot prosthesis that emulates the natural human foot.

They had models at the showcase that you could strap on like stilts and feel what it is like to walk with a prosthesis. Truly amazing stuff!

Their foot prosthetic was so humbling, we decided we should change our tag line from “Changing the way you travel, one drink at a time” to “You change the world,  we’ll hold your coffee.”

There were hundreds of booths, some of them quite intriguing…

… all in all it was an inspiring event and a great example of just how many people and groups there are out there supporting new ideas, inventions and entrepreneurs. The DaVinci Institute said: “The true value of an event like this is within the ‘positive human collisions’ that take place between everyone who attends.” So true! We were honored to be a part of it.