News & Updates

No matter where you work or what you do, you're always looking for ways to be more productive. Oversized coffee mugs and 3 page to-do lists may not be the answer. It's time to put an end to ridiculously long emails and pick up a few new habits, or perhaps revisit old ones.

Nothing beats having a super productive day at work. But simply checking tasks off of your to-do list doesn't mean you're working efficiently. Don't mistake doing more things for doing things that actually increase productivity. In fact, doing fewer things each day can actually increase your productivity.

Here are eight ways you can eliminate unnecessary tasks and focus on what is really important:

1. Create a smaller to do list. Your goal shouldn't be to cram as many tasks as possible into eight hours. There really isn't anything productive about putting together a checklist with a slew of tasks. Take a less-is-more approach to your to-do list by only focusing on accomplishing things that really matter.
2. Take breaks. That ache that fills your brain after powering through several hours worth of work isn't a good feeling - it's your brain using up glucose. Do yourself a favor and remove yourself from your work perodically. Take a walk, have a snack, or meditate. Your brain will thank you, and you'll return to work with higher energy and focus levels.
3. Follow the 80/20 rule. Did you know that 80 percent of your results come from only 20 percent of what you do each day? Eliminate the things that have a minimal effect on your overall productivity, and you're left with the tasks that achieve 80 percent of your desired results.
4. Start your day by focusing on yourself. Waking up and checking your emails allows others to dictate how you start your day. Instead, take time to focus on yourself. Have a nice breakfast, excercise, or catch up on the news. You'll find yourself better prepared to respond to people and get work done.
5. Take on harder tasks earlier in the day. Save the busy work for later in the day when the afternoon slump hits. Take advantage of your brain while it's fresh and knock-out your most challenging work.
6. Pick up the phone. Email has created poor communication habits. Sure, there are times when email is the most convienent method of communication. But if an email chain goes beyond two replies, it's time to pick up the phone. You'll save time and get more done.
7. Create a system. When you find things that are damaging your daily productivity, create a system for managing them. Instead of getting distracted from your important tasks by checking your email throughout the day, plan time slots for managing your emails. Don't let the little things distract you from what's important.
8. Don't confuse productivity with laziness. A number of time-saving methods - like meetings and emails - are actually just ways to avoid doing actual work. Sheer laziness is the number one contributor to lost productivity. Place your focus on the things that matter most, and do them as efficiently as possible.

Promotions and specials are great ways to offer your customers something new and show them what sets you apart from the other bars out there. From classic to completely unique, there are tons of different ideas for promotions. Here are our favorites:

1. Buy a drink, keep the glass. Your customers will love. Offer them a unique glass to take home if they order a certain beer.
2. Sponser a local sports team. You'll be the default post-game spot for the team and fans, as well as having your name advertised on their T-shirts.
3. Offer free food. Host a hungry hour - offer free finger food from 5-7 and your customers will make up for it with drinks.
4. Offer a deal on the same day each week. You'll be known as the place with $1 tacos on Tuesdays or $2 beer and shots on Mondays. Don't forget to set up table tents that let your customers know when your specials are!
5. Celebrate an obscure holiday. Everyone has specials on St. Patricks Day and New Year's Eve. Surprise your customers with free chips and guac on National Guacamole Day or half-off margaritas on National Margarita Day and corner that market.
6. Run a giveaway shot and beer promotion. Serve the first shot in a custom shot glass that promotes your bar and let your customer take it home so they remember to come back.
7. Give away sport themed items at the next big game. Serve beer in football shaped glassware to make the game memorable. Sports fans will love to take these home and will remember your bar for the next game.

Contact us today to get your custom promotional products.

Wine tasting events are a common practice amongst wineries and vineyards to help increase sales, however there are overloked steps a company can take to increase the benefit derived from the event. Custom wine glasses are an easy way to multiply the benefits of a wine tasting because it keeps your brand and logo in front of the customer.

Custom wine glasses give your audience the feeling that you are a well established brand; something worth buying. They leave an impression of luxury, and give your wine tasting event a classy feeling that people love to be apart of. Not only is a custom wine glass going to look great at your wine tasting event and give it that finishing touch, but imagine if the people at your event mentioned your brand on their Twitter, Facebook, and told their friends about it too. It's not just a thought though. When people go to a wine tasting they often take a picture with the wine glass and post it to their favorite social media sites. While the photo will normally lack your brand's name, having a custom wine glass ensures your logo will be in that photo, and broadcast through social media to people around the world. This way your brand will leave an impression on the people at your event, as well as the people who later see photos of it.

Another great benefit of a custom wine glass is the in-home advertsing. You can allow people to take the wine glass home with purchase, placing your brand in front of the customer and in thier home long after the event is over.  Everytime they or someone else uses the glasses, your logo will be on it, renforcing the impression of your brand.

Contact us today for your high quality custom wine glasses at unbelievable prices.

Custom Sports Glasses are a great way to maximize profits and get your advertising into your customer's home. Our football shaped sportsglasses are great for any football related event and start at just $1 per unit. These glasses can be sold to customers to take home for as low as $9.99. These glasses will look great in your bar or restaraunt and will provide additional advertising when your customer takes it home. Check out the projected profitability charts below:

10 Locations Selling 10 Units Per Day

1 Locations Selling 10 Units Per Day

Newspaper Ad: Perfect if your target audience is over 55 years old
E-mail Advertisement: Delete & Mark as Spam
Television Commercial: 40% of U.S.  households now have 1 or more Digital Video Recorders and are fast forwarding past commercials at lightning speeds and it is projected that this number will increase to 60% of households in 2013 Sitting next to the news paper is a case for her glasses with “Main Street Opticians” printed on it. The mouse scrolling over the delete button on the “Refinance Your Home Now” titled e-mail is sitting on a mouse pad with “Main Street Savings and Loan” printed on it. While the DVR fast forwards past the casual dining restaurant chain commercial featuring overly-eager and overly-stimulated flair touting servers the viewers other hand holds a cold beer with a “Main Street Brewing Company” full color logo printed on his favorite glass. What I am getting to here is that all of these overpriced advertising avenues are missing the point to grab consumers in 2 major areas: Perpetual In-Home Impressions and In-Hand Impressions. Let’s start with In-Hand Impressions. The strongest asset of custom promotional products is the frequency that the branded products are used, viewed, or referred to. Some of these custom products end up in office or work environments and others end up at events, fundraisers, or as contest giveaways. The intrinsic value of these custom products is the multisensory association they create specific to your brand. For example, a large coffee chain based in a cold region of the United States invested in custom logo high-end scarves for giveaways. Why not coffee cups? Been there done that. This strategy was twofold; in cold weather scarves are worn quite frequently and if they have some quality to them they are utilized even more frequently than other scarves in the wardrobe. This leads to the brand name being viewed more frequently and the custom branded name on the scarf associated with quality and warmth. Just like the coffee brand itself. This is a classic case of multisensory association. Perpetual In-Home Impressions are items displayed or utilized in the home or work place. Many of these products are complementary promotional items but many are Value Added Promotional Products. Value added promotional products are items purchased that add value to sale. Let’s go back to the cold beer in the hand of the gentleman fast forwarding with his DVR remote control. When he was about to purchase the 16oz pint glass of beer at the Main Street Brewing Company the server asked him if he would like that in the 23oz custom logo pilsner glass for just $3 more he could keep the glass. So for an additional $3 he received 7 additional ounces of beer and high quality glass to keep. The logo on his glass is not just a reminder that he likes cold beer, but also a reminder as to how much he liked the beer specifically at the Main Street Brewing Company. Many of these custom branded promotional products are intended to re-embrace the feeling of a good time or good meal we had at a particular place or time. And not only does your restaurant or venue generate revenue from these products but the best value to your company is the cost effective perpetual branding In-Home and In-Hand. For almost 25 years RP & Associates has designed, developed, and delivered custom promotional and value added programs for some of the most successful brands in the world.