Fantastic plastic brightens up invites

Koziol's invitations to trade fairs stand out with brightly coloured give-aways. But customers in other sectors, too, have discovered the charm of the smiling coffee spoon.

Bright and colourful - it's not exactly difficult for Koziol, ideas for friends, based in Erbach to produce trade fair invitations with that extra panache. The accessory specialists from the Odenwald Forest who make anything for the kitchen, bathroom and lifestyle sector which can be moulded in coloured plastic, have a knack for staging their own trade fair appearance. And not just in Frankfurt. Next to Ambiente, this manufacturer of consumer products presents its range at all the other large sector fairs in Europe and beyond. Whether it's Maison & Object in Paris, Macef in Milan or Ornaris in Zurich, Koziol will be there. And knows how to make use of synergies. Last year they even sent out a triple invitation entitled "Wonderful Koziol" to Tendence Lifestyle, Maison&Object and Abitare il tempo in Verona. Their advantage is that they can create and manufacture suitable give-aways in special colours and shapes. Next to retailers who as customers are invited directly, no fewer than 400 press invitations to Ambiente go to journalists alone. And as Koziol products are exported to 40 countries, other recipients naturally include distributors. So as a result, around 5000 invitations to different events are sent around the globe.
The feedback proves that these bright little "appetisers" are doing their job. "Your snowflake is hanging up at my mother-in-law's" and similar such messages show Katrin Bode, responsible for PR at Koziol that this colourful post is not ignored. All the more satisfying since the entire creative process takes place in-house and ideas for invitations and give-aways are developed by the company's own team.
But Koziol isn't only drumming up business for itself. A whole range of different businesses have now discovered how easy it is to attract visitors to fairs with colourful freebies. In the meantime it has become so well established that the incentives business, which had been managed on the side, now has its very own department of four which exists independently alongside the export and domestic sales departments.
The opportunities that Koziol offers in this area are communicated not least by a close network of promotional gift suppliers who distribute products made in the Odenwald in large numbers. An estimated 20% of turnover is now generated in this area of business. Koziol is glad about the increased interest in its incentive products. At the moment it is a struggle to sell or even generate growth in the retail market. And one thing is clear: these fun little products are a good way of securing customer loyalty.

m+a report Nr.2 / 2006 vom 24.03.2006
m+a report vom 24. März 2006