Is it a Promotional Stapler or Promotional Tape Dispenser, or Both?

Apparently first coined by the fantastically imaginative Lewis Carroll in his book Through the Looking-Glass, a portmanteau word is a combination of two words. In the Carroll story Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the unusual words in the poem Jabberwocky. ‘Slithy’, says Humpty Dumpty means ‘slimy and lithe’, while ‘mimsy’ means ‘miserable and flimsy’.

The Tapler could be described as a portmanteau product – a neat tape-dispenser and stapler merged into one – but there’s definitely nothing mimsy about this robust, high quality, eye-catching and eminently useful item.

We tracked down Artur Sikora, sales manager at Power Brands BV to ask him about its development…

Tapler’s such a great concept. How did you get the idea? Was someone searching the office for some tape, decided to use a stapler instead and then, ‘bingo!’ Or was it the result of a more formal new product development brainstorm?

‘The idea was already there when Markclip acquired Power Brands in 2010. We took the existing product and had our Dutch designers redesign it. The new focus was that the product had to be more user friendly with a nice Dutch design. All of our products have to fit our slogan: “bring power to your brand”.’

How are you marketing it? Can it be bought individually online, or is it being distributed via retailers?

‘Power Brands only sells to professional promotional products distributors. We support our distributors to sell our products in 52 countries.’

Can it be customised?

‘Yes. We specialise in the production of fully customised products at a small minimum order quantity. The fully customised Tapler is available from 250pcs, but in order to make it accessible for smaller companies or projects they can be supplied as 50pcs in six standard colour schemes.’

They sound like the perfect promotional product.

‘The power of the Tapler is that it’s a product that’s put on a desk, in our opinion the prime real estate in the promotional world, and stays there for many years. If you then look at the price of the product and the long term impact that it has, it is a great advertising investment.’

How can you ensure no-one copies the idea?

‘We have protected the design but feel that it is more important to deliver a great product for a good price with awesome service. I think that our service and quality of the product is our best protection. The fact that we produce it in Europe also ensures clients’ peace of mind that the product is made within all the ethical and environmental standards that exist in Europe.’

Are you thinking of other office items that can be combined!?

‘We are always looking for the next hot item in the office domain. It’s not easy to find suitable products and we only want to produce products we totally believe in. We do not have a new product ready yet but I’m confident that we will find something special in the future.’

Thanks Artur

For more creative promotional product ideas, contact us at sales@arcadiaonline.co.uk or call us directly at 0845 130 2620.

 Make Memorable Merchandise

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Jason Markwick

Having worked in Promotional Merchandise for the last 25 years I have been exposed to all aspects of the industry. Starting out as an account manager working with some of the worlds leading brands, I have learnt to understand the needs of a client, manufacturing processes, and what it takes to deliver a successful promotional campaign that is on brand, on time and within a given budget.