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With this week’s much-heralded return of the Dow Jones Industrial Index to the psychologically-important level of 13,000 for the first time since 2008, it seems there is much to be optimistic about in this slowly-recovering economy as we move deeper into 2012. But will such optimism translate into increased consumer confidence, giving marketers something to get excited about after having a rough go of it in 2011?

If recent announcements by some of the biggest spenders on advertising and marketing are any indication, it seems the advertising and marketing world is betting on a resurgence in consumer confidence and — much more importantly — consumer spending.

Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever have all announced plans to make significant increases in their respective advertising and marketing budgets this year, by as much as 60% over 2011 spending levels in Reckitt Benckiser’s case.

Perhaps even more noteworthy are plans by Kraft Foods and General Mills to hold the line on advertising and marketing budgets, even in the face of steeply rising commodity costs.

Whether such increased investment in advertising and marketing pays off for these companies is yet to be seen, and rising gas prices could quickly become one of the main unforeseen pressures on consumer spending levels. In any case, increased advertising and marketing budgets are always a welcome change for those of us in the industry.

Read more at AdAge and The New York Times.

It should come as no surprise to the average Facebook user — who may still be re-learning to navigate the site after Facebook began rolling out its new Timeline profile format in September — that the Timeline format will soon be expanded to include brand pages as well.

Timeline, a major revamp of the look and feel of personal Facebook pages, is still something that individual users must opt into, but will become the standard format of Facebook profiles in the coming months. It is designed to allow users feature more types of content — not just status updates — in a longer-form, reverse-chronological order. Users can now share anything from their favorite music of the moment to the business they are in to the products they are using, which already provides ample marketing opportunity on individual pages.

With the expansion of Timeline to brand pages, there may be even more opportunities for brands to connect with individuals in ways neither individual Facebook users nor marketers may have dreamed of just a short time ago. Facebook has so far declined to provide many details about exactly how Timeline for brands will work, and how it will differ from Timeline for individuals. A day-long conference exclusively for marketers scheduled for February 29 in New York will be the venue for the roll-out of Timeline for brands.

Stay tuned for more details, and read more at AdAge.

The top story in promotional marketing this week may very well be the auction currently taking place for the domain name PROMO.COM, which is proving to be highly sought after and is perhaps one of the last five-character domain names yet to be claimed.

“A premium, single word domain like PROMO.COM can deliver instant recognition, credibility and mindshare to anyone interested in dominating the online promotion space,” said John Mauriello, domain specialist of Moniker, the company offering the domain, in an interview with Promotional Marketing this week. “High quality, five letter ‘dot com’ domains are nearly impossible to find, particularly those related to a high demand niche like promotions.”

We here at Matrix Resourcing are happy to stick with our current domain name, but the lucky winner of PROMO.COM will likely get his or her money’s worth in name recognition in no time at all. Google Analytics reveals that online interest in promotional marketing is growing, with 45.5 million searches for the term “promo” just within the last month.

Bidding for PROMO.COM ends at 7:30 PM EST tomorrow. Read more from Promo Marketing.

Digital analytics provider comScore has launched new software focused on measuring which ads in online campaigns are in view and for how long. The findings from a two-month test of the software measuring 1.7 billion ad impressions are unlikely to surprise many in the advertising world: 31% of the impressions were never actually in view. Surprising or not, it is certainly a statistic that advertising professionals and their clients ignore at their peril.

The fact that many of the online ad impressions a company pays for go completely unseen is yet another reason why Matrix Resourcing offers one of the most cost-effective means of promoting your brand. We offer a virtually limitless variety of products that won’t get stuck at the bottom of a web page or scrolled past entirely and will keep your brand in the physical world, creating impressions for years to come.
For more on comScore’s new analytics software and its findings, head on over to AdAge.

This week in promotional marketing trivia: Anyone who thinks they may deserve a place in the record books for wearing 248 T-shirts at the same time better think again, as the new record of 249 was set at this year’s PPAI Expo in Las Vegas.

Andy Coyne of South Carolina-based screenprinter The Graphic Cow reclaimed the Guinness Book of World Records title from a Croatian gentleman after Coyne originally set the record in 2009. All 249 were Hanes T-shirts in a wide variety of sizes and weights, which is crucial in a competition that entails wearing more than one’s own weight in fabric. Coyne credited Hanes’ moisture-wicking lightweight fabrics with helping him reclaim his record, with the true star of the show being the 249th shirt to go on, a 6XL Beefy T emblazoned with “NEW WORLD RECORD”.

What better way to illustrate how the promotional marketing industry can meet the needs of literally any event? Read more here.

By now, we’ve all been in a situation where we desperately need to get online. Perhaps you had used up your smart phone’s data allowance for the month and needed to find a free Wi-Fi hotspot to avoid an overage charge. Or maybe you were in a lobby having trouble picking up the building’s spotty coverage. What did you do? Chances are, you futilely waved your phone or laptop around in the air like a magic Internet wand, hoping a bar or two would pop up if only you found the right location and position.

With trade show season now gearing up — including the promotional productions industry’s  PPAI Expo in Las Vegas this week — there will likely be many magic wand wavers in exposition halls and hotel lobbies across the country in the coming weeks. You can avoid being one of them with a handy Wi-Fi hotspot finder. There are a variety of models available which can detect Wi-Fi signals and signal strength from more than 100 feet away. Light and compact, most come with a key chain attached for easy access and use.

If, in addition to Wi-Fi bars, you’re concerned about keeping up the battery bars on your phone, tablet, or laptop, look no further than solar-powered backup chargers you can carry with you throughout the day. These work with any device that charges using a USB or USB-compatible cable.

Whatever your needs for you upcoming trade show, whether you and your team is hosting or attending, there’s always a perfect product out there to meet them. Talk to us and we’ll find your solution!

Somewhere in between making champagne toasts and mumbling the lyrics to everyone’s favorite old Scottish folk song, many a New Year’s resolution is bound to be made this upcoming long weekend.

Given that many — if not most — New Year’s resolutions won’t survive past the first week of January, maybe it’s not a bad idea to make several resolutions in the hope that at least one will stick. This seems to be the thinking behind Mashable’s list of 10 New Year’s resolutions for small businesses. A few of these resolutions are things we here at Matrix Resourcing already do, such as social networking in the real and virtual worlds and patronizing other small local businesses as much as possible. However, there’s always room for improvement, and we always love to hear from readers. Let us know how well we’re living up to our resolutions and feel free to suggest other good New Year’s resolutions for small businesses as Matrix Resourcing looks to make 2012 our best year yet!

We’re running short-staffed here at Matrix Resourcing with one of our cohorts out sick for the day. With cold and flu season in full-swing, we’re certainly not alone. This got us thinking: with the dizzying array of promotional products out there, why not give our followers some great ideas for keeping bodies — and brands — healthy?

It wasn’t long before it became obvious that there are some truly innovative products out there designed for precisely that purpose.

Take, for example, pens made from an anti-microbial plastic material that uses silver ions to inhibit germs from accumulating on the pen’s surface. From health care and hospitality to everything in between, there is hardly an environment this time of year that couldn’t benefit from an extra layer of protection on something routinely handled by many people.

And to account for all the other things you might touch on a daily basis that do not have the benefit of being made from such a clever material, there is a massive variety of hand sanitizers available for any application imaginable.

Looking for a less conventional promotional product? With vitamin-fortified chewing gum with customizable packaging, you can give your clients’ or employees’ immune systems a boost, not to mention a boost to your company’s visibility, all while by stopping the cold and flu viruses in their tracks!

This, of course, is a mere snap shot of the options available. If you are finding your ranks a bit depleted lately due to the spread of cold and flu, get in touch with us. It’s just what the doctor ordered!

How’s this for a jaw-dropping statistic: a study by The Center for Work-Life Policy found that beginning in 2007 and continuing through the most recent recession, employees’ feelings of loyalty to and trust in their employers were in precipitous decline. From June 2007 to December 2008, the proportion of employees who felt loyal to their employer fell from 95% to just 39%. The same figure for trust in employers in the same period fell from 79% to 22%.

Considering this sobering piece of data, and the fact that the economic recovery in the last few years has been tepid, it’s a no-brainer that companies which make the effort to combat their employees’ anxiety will have better retention rates for top talent, be more successful in recruiting new talent, and gain a reputation as a great place to work.

And with the holidays fast approaching, there is no better time to let employees know their hard work throughout the year has not gone unnoticed. From traditional plaques, awards, and greeting cards, to more functional recognition gifts like personalized writing instruments and custom universally-accepted Visa and American Express gift cards, there is a seemingly endless array of ways to boost employee morale and productivity within any budget.

Browse our website or get in touch with us today to let us know how we can help keep your company from contributing to a grim statistic!

We are officially into the second half of November, and that means anyone who isn’t already thinking about what gifts to give all the people in their life soon will be. No doubt many of us also want ideas for gifts that go beyond the traditional holiday card — gifts that won’t meet the same fate as so much ribbon, wrapping paper, and box stuffing on December 26, America’s most glamorous trash day.

If you are the sort of person described above, you may be in luck! This season’s fresh idea comes in the form of custom holiday cards printed on microfiber cloth perfect for cleaning dust and smudges off of smart phones, computer screens, or any other shiny gadget closely acquainted with people’s fingertips. It’s a handy, lightweight, and reusable item your clients or employees will be happy to keep around for the long haul. Fully customizable, they are great for other occasions beyond the holidays. Check them out here!