Company
October 16, 2023
A custom lapel pin can’t speak or even make a noise; but it can tell quite a story. Best of all, it’s your story, your experience, your emotion.
Well, I knew it all along, but it became more real as I started using LinkedIn.The idea of a daily LinkedIn lapel pin post surfaced in my mind. PinProsPlus makes thousands of different unique pins every year, so why not post a picture of a different lapel pin every day. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then showcasing images of pins should speak volumes about what we do. More importantly, it allowed me to be different, stand out, and promote pins in a non-pushy salesman sort of way. So, each day I looked through my pictures of sample lapel pins and always settled on one that made me think of a story, a thought, or an idea. In other words, the pin resonated with me. I would then post the picture and tell the story. And people responded.
They didn’t respond in the way I thought. They responded with emotion and unique stories of their own, which of course were triggered based on the picture of the pin. I realized more so than ever that pins tell good stories or conjure up emotions in people, and that was a powerful insight. A single pin has multiple stories to tell, because each person has different experiences.Over time as I looked through my lapel pin pictures, I realized that the ones I skipped over were ones that had no effect or no story for me personally. So, I didn’t post them. But occasionally, when I had no choice, I would post them and was amazed at the stories they elicited in others.
I have always believed my slogan, “I help promote your story with Custom Lapel Pins.”, but that belief was becoming even more real as I was hearing the stories being told by you.I posted a “SKIS” pin and heard:“Me and skis have a love/hate relationship….”“sounds exactly like my experience skiing! Snow plowed….then slow.”Or the “Vienna Sausage” pin.“I hate them. My husband buys them to snack on and I secretly feed them to the dog LOL”“I LOVE Vienna sausages!!! Yummy!!”Or the “Golden Gate Bridge” pin“it was a symbol (to me) that I was where I wanted to work and live”“I know that bridge well”Or the number “9” pin“In numerology, my life path number”“I love the number 9, always had it on my backpack, just seemed to be the right number”Or the black cat sitting on a stack of books pin“Books and 4 legged friends, I couldn’t live without either”“My granny had a black cat always sitting on the books”Those are snippets of stories and emotions that individuals began to remember in their mind. You begin to see the power of the pin.I have examples in my personal life. My wife has 2 pins sitting on the dashboard of her car – “ELF” and “I Love My Husband”?The ELF pin is her initials and how can you not get excited about your own initials and also the fact that she loves the movie “Elf”. And the “I Love My Husband” --- well enough said.Lapel pins really do tell a story; because, they remind us of experiences, events, stories, and memories from our own life. Like a song, a sound, a smell, a location, a pin triggers memories. Memories that come to life just by looking at the lapel pin.
Is it just another promotional give away? Or, is it viewed as a tool to create a memory for a customer about you and your business?
I’ll finish with two specific examples of customers using lapel pins to create a memory unique to their business.First, is Kimberly Hambrick and her podcast: “Leave the frustration. Take the cannoli”. Kimberly invites guests to participate on her podcast and tell their story. At the end she thanks each guest and presents them with a custom made “Cannoli Pin”. The pin depicts an image of a cannoli with the words “Leave the Frustration. Take the Cannoli”. That pin will always trigger memories of Kimberly and their experience on the podcast. You begin to see how Kimberly has created a memory trigger for her business.Second, is a California company A-C Electric. They have created a tradition of giving a uniquely designed pin for each of their company events such as Christmas parties, Halloween parties and summer picnics. Employees enthusiastically look for the pin at each event and collect them all. You can imagine the positive feelings this generates about the company and the memories and fun times they have with each other. It is a simple offering, but a powerful trigger for positive memories and feelings. The employees love it so much they won’t allow the company to end the tradition.
I say yes, and hope you believe it too. How can we tell your story in a lapel pin?Explore our website: www.pinprosplus.com
