Desks are an integral part of the office. Without them, life would be messy. Which is why desk accessories remain an excellent way to get a brand’s message across on an almost daily basis.
As with everything in 2008, concerns about climate change have impacted on promotional merchandise, even USB sticks. The nattily named Eco USB sticks from Keepme Promotions are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic and are housed in “Wood” boxes or “Leaf” pillow pack sleeves made from recycled paper, with a tree planted in the UK for every order.

Its managing director, Kevin Anderson, says: “All our memory sticks can be pre-loaded with a choice of content, which may be protected from deletion if required. Pre-loaded content can include catalogues, flash presentations, PowerPoint presentations, software programmes and website pop-ups.”

Product Expectations promises that all its products’ plastic and metal components are made with recycled materials. Its marketing manager, Neil Harris, says this includes its popular custom-made USB flash drives, which are available in any size, shape and colour.

Pens, according to Senator Pens marketing manager Melissa Chevin, “continue to reign supreme. The simplicity and longevity of pens give them a universal appeal.” She notes that the company’s research shows a pen on average has five users, giving a good return on investment.

The green market has also stretched to writing implements: around 96 per cent of the barrel of the Super Hit Eco from Senator is made from recycled plastic – and it is manufactured in Germany rather than Asia, reducing its carbon footprint. New technology also means that the Eco uses 7g less plastic than previous ball pens.

The Pen Warehouse’s top seller in the environmental range is the Panther Eco retractable ballpen which is made from recycled CD jewel cases. The Panther is available in 10 colour combinations.

Eco Incentives obviously has a foot in this market too, with its new Sustainable Wood Ballpen. The barrel is made from maple harvested from well managed forests, and it can be branded.
Newell Rubbermaid (formerly Sanford) supplied Parker Vectors for a campaign by Colgate to target dentists and hygienists. To get the message across, Newell developed a new digital metallic film process, which used metallic films to reproduce tint, tone and photo imagery to exactly match the Colgate brand: it proved such a success that it was used for the launch of Colgate’s 360 product.

Prodir has launched the DS2 (pictured), a pen with an elongated pushbutton to allow printing on both sides, while its wide clip provides an additional area for branding.

With all this writing, one needs a notepad. For the sophisticated client, Procurement International offers the Montblanc notepad holder in black grain calfskin with the Montblanc white star. “With all these wonderful, technical desktop gizmos, the discerning desk still has a place for the traditional office tools,” says managing director Ian Rosewell.

Kevin Ross, director of Solo, emphasises the importance of high-end desk accessories: “With silver-plated or leather promotional products, buyers have an idea of what the product should cost and they generally perceive it to be even higher than it really is.” One such item is the Puzzle Perpetual Calendar and Photoframe (on the reverse).

Similarly, Aquascutum Corporate Gifts offers the Perpetual Calendar Cube, which never needs updating as the calendar is simply adjusted for each month or year. Suitable for engraving with logos or messages, it will continue to promote sales beyond the timeframe of a normal calendar.
Along with calendars, diaries are another desk essential. Brunel Trade Services has just launched its new range of promotional diaries for 2009, with 15-month and 13-month options available.

Those looking for the lighter things in life may like Tomato Source’s Magic Puzzle Cube, a retro piece of fun which is ideal for playing with during screenbreaks or while waiting for inspiration to hit (although, despite its appearance, don’t call it a Rubik’s Cube). It can be branded and, since similar items have been appealing to customers since the ‘80s, this is unlikely to be pushed to the side when the next toy arrives. Also adding some colour is the 7in photoframe touch from Fluid Branding which can show videos and play MP3 music, while the 2.5in digital photo frame shows the standard still image. “The digital photo frame is a brilliant promotional tool, which not only provides good branding opportunities and long-term stickability but is also perceived as an extremely high-quality product by end users,” comments Fluid Branding director Miles Lovegrove.