Date:02/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/02/stories/2006020202070800.htm

Back Adwareonline's Triumph

Preethi J.

Bangalore , Feb. 1

FROM last decade's chunky steel watches given to employees at silver jubilees to the stylish desktop accessories, corporate branding has undergone a sea of change.

Promotional gifts that are generally given to clientele as a gesture of goodwill now double as brand agents. They unceremoniously sit on your desktop and subconsciously register in your mind every time you use them, said Mr Ravi Varadarajan of Adwareonline, an organisation that deals in corporate gifting.

Corporates are also going great lengths to spread brand loyalty amongst their employees. T-shirts are distributed, Parker pens are gifted and some IT companies have even initiated award ceremonies where employees are handed over mini-medals. Adwareonline is coming out with a new `Triumph' range of awards that say `Star Performer of the Month' and `Employee of the Year' and so on. This will cost from Rs 600-Rs 1,000, said Mr Varadarajan.

This Bangalore-based organisation offers a one-stop shop for corporates to order banners, watches, T-shirts and other merchandising solutions. The company sources electronic goods from China and Taiwan and relies on local warehouses in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, for clothing. The company made a turnover of Rs 50 lakh in 2005 and earns from 15 to 20 per cent in profits per transaction.

Adwareonline is expanding to Pune and Hyderabad by April and is also setting up an office in the US to tackle the $55-billion promotional collateral market there, said Mr Varadarajan.