I thought I would keep you up to date with our progress following our successful first trade show at the Trade Only National Show at the Ricoh arena and also chat a little about our efforts and learning curve in the area of social media.

 

Firstly the show, we had a small booth in one of the outer halls, I think there were five in all, I say think because we were busy pretty much from start to finish, I never got chance to look around, That’s a result in my book in fact we had people look us up after hearing about our innovative products. We even had people coming to visit because they had personal instances of contactless bank card scanning and wanted to discuss VoyagerBlue.

 

We have been following up every lead and in fact we had e-mailed every visitor by the Tuesday following the show. We would like to thank all those who took time out to speak with us. Next year a bigger stand and more staff hopefully.

 

On to the social media side and everyone knows how important this has become. We now have quite a list of sites and links and feeds that strengthen our online presence and would say we have covered the most important ones. Having researched and taken advice we would agree that the following are vital. Facebook page it takes some time to get going but we consider it vital, Twitter more immediate than Facebook and it becomes quite a snowball effect but you can find great advice, contacts and resources if you search and use it well. We also have a BLOG here and on a separate site and also use Quora to post and interact with other likeminded individuals and businesses.

 

Google+ is possibly underestimated, given the power of Google and the threat of a new Facebook search engine it’s likely that Google+ will receive a lot of attention from its parent, ignore at your peril.

 

Pintrest and pearltrees are a little more of a catalogue and unknown quantity yet for us but we are there and we will review later in the year to see what benefit we derive. Pintrest certainly has rave reviews.

 

In addition we have YouTube which we launched our first “silent” movies on recently. It’s a start and soon we will be adding more video. Again this has been touted as a must have for business.

 

Of all the above Twitter and our own website are having the most effect so far and we are encouraged by the efforts of U-do an ethics based website and marketplace, if you are a small company or organisation maybe give them a try. They seem to be quite energetic in promoting their members.

 

Of course all the above only really cost time that means it can be expensive even if not in cash. However the rewards are there if you go after them and if you don’t someone else will. The last piece of advice is to get some social media software that allows you to post on all your sites and schedule the timings of your posts. We are trialling Virulheat at present. That does take away some of the hours you may spend posting to individual sites one after another.

 

Have a great February see you all soon, Gizmo.

 

 

Contactless Technology Update

 

The New Year is well and truly underway and we are rapidly approaching our first Trade Only Show in Coventry at the Ricoh Arena on the 23^rd and 24^th of January. It’s exciting to be meeting so many people and have the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate the VoyagerBlue® range with so many people. The demonstration has a much greater impact than any leaflet or e-mail could ever have.

 

Seeing the look on someone’s face when you show them your Smart phone reading a passport and having every detail come up; passport No, date of birth, expiry date and most convincing the digital photo. This is all done with a free app downloadable from the web. Why not try it for yourself if your phone is NFC enabled (I Phones are not)

Here’s an app that will do it...NFC Reader

 

This will also ping bank cards, both debit and credit that have NFC technology but this free app won’t steal anyone’s cash so don’t worry. Makes you think though doesn’t it? If we can do this then what about the likelihood of someone getting hold of an illegal version that will access data and even make a debit. There are App developers around the world and how would you suspect a person stood next to you with a mobile phone, it’s a normal occurrence but they “could be scanning your contactless data” There are over 250 Million contactless bank cards in circulation and its growing everyday as these cards replace old chip and pin only cards. 25Million UK customers have a contactless bank card. So there is a huge potential market for fraudsters.

 

 

 

There is also accidental scanning, only this week we heard of someone reaching across the counter at a popular coffee shop chain for a napkin, he went close by the terminal for the next till with his wallet in hand and accidentally paid for another customers bill on this other till.

 

London transport has installed 8500 terminals on London buses and admits in a BBC interview that accidental scanning may take place. In other words you may wish to pay on Oyster yet get debited from your bank or credit card. If this is easily done then how easy is all this for the less scrupulous?

 

There are a number of articles on the web about protecting your card with TIN FOIL.

However this web page written by a young science enthusiast proves that it does not work efficiently, have a look at this http://www.omniscienceisbliss.org/rfid.html for more detail.

 

Finally and potentially equally an opportunity for fraudsters is the fact that many hotel room keys are being switched to the same technology, illicit scanning and cloning of your room key is a possibility. We will let you know more on this as we explore the Apps available, we have had word of a hotel key App already so as soon as we have researched this we will let you know. Watch out for updates on this issue. We do know that some of the bigger chains in the UK are using this technology

Including one of the premier budget groups if you get my drift! Checkout our Facebook page and our photographic competition

 

See you soon with more updates

 

Gizmo

 

 

 

 

 

VoyagerBlue on BBC Radio 2 14th DEC

VoyagerBlue's creator will be discussing contactless cards and VoyagerBlue on the Simon Mayo show today 14th Dec 2012

Announcing that London buses are accepting contactless card payments here is what they say about the fact that more than one card may be read;
"If you present two cards together, the reader will normally reject them both," an email to Oyster card users said.
"But there is a small possibility of payment being taken from a card which you did not intend to use."
TfL said it planned to introduce the technology to the London Underground Tube system at a later point.
see the full article here BBC NEWS LONDON BUSES.

Surely this highlights again that unwanted scanning of your cards is possible. If the bus company "may" do it by accident then what about someone with fraudulent intentions?

VoyagerBlue® can protect your other cards and you can still use your oyster card, here's how.
By placing VB on the inside with the Oyster card outside all your VERY important cards are shielded but the Oyster card still work, so:
A) It allows you to proceed as usual through the turnstile without opening your wallet or purse.
B) Keeps all your other contactless cards safe from criminal access at the same time.

Read about how our contactless bank card shields can help you protect whats in your wallet.

 

If you would like information on how you can promote your company then find us here at Gizmo Promotions, you can put whatever corporate message you want on these contactless card shields. A simple yet effective way of getting your message close to your customers. Don't forget we also protect Biometric or e-passports as well!



New ideas for 2013

Christmas fast approaching and everyone is thinking about gifts. So too in the world of promotional gifts. Companies like to give away a memorable item to their key clients, we all enjoy the wine passed out by our suppliers at this time of year or maybe something a bit stronger if they feel you are worth it. There is a reason for this, memory, they want you to remember them and keep doing business.

So apart from the festive tipple what else do companies use to keep them in your mind? Pens, USB sticks are an obvious choice from the current market, maybe you put the corporate calender from a supplier at the top of your wish list? Great for them, their name in view all year. And that is what its about, getting their name in your head for as long as possible.

A key factor in corporate gifting or promotional giveaway campaign is innovation. How unique is a product? We all get many pens with logo's but if you are like me you don't always remember where they are from, unless its a good quality product that you really get on with.

Corporate bodies want something unique, if possible innovative and they like being the first to promote their brand using that product. As we search for new ideas we meet many innovators and we meet people with some crazy ideas.

As we move forward we aim to bring innovations and a few crazy ideas to the promotional market. Following on from our range of contactless bank card and e-passport shields we now welcome a fantastic range of smart phone cases. Smart phone cases with a difference though, these are PowerCases, which are specially designed and engineered to ensure an ultra slim and sleek profile, yet carry a powerful re-chargeable lithium polymer battery that uses the latest technology to give you more power while you’re on the move. Simply charge your iPhone in the usual manor via the mini USB port, and the additional power provided by the PowerCase will keep you in charge for when you need it, the PowerCase gives you up to: 8 additional hours of talk time, 10 additional hours of video playback and 40 additional hours of audio playback. PowerCase can be branded with a corporate logo making it an ideal corporate/promotional gift either to clients or staff. you can view the range here at www.gizmopromotions.co.uk

 

PowerCase Classic Black for 4S

At the budget end of the promotional range watch out for our launch of a simple yet effective in car product for safely carrying such things as takeaways, bottles etc in your car. Of course this product will be launched with a very high visibility branding space making it a cheap but effective advert for your company.

So as we move toward the new year, the excitement of Trade Shows looming and the prospect of new ideas in 2013 Everyone at Gizmo's would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

PowerCase Bumper White for 4S

The press and the risk to "contactless cards"

There are still many people who have not realised that their personal data and even their bank balance may be at risk from RFID scanning technology. At Gizmo we understand that this is one of life’s invisible risks. Their have been a number of press and television articles about the issue so in this blog we are exploring what they have to say about the problem and the threat to our identity data.  

The Sun for example has this to say:

 

Twenty million Brits are at risk of having their bank details exposed. Robbed by radiowave 

The telegraph says; An investigation found users of the bank’s contactless debit or credit cards, designed to make payment when held next to special “readers”, could have their details stolen without their knowledge. "Contactless" cards exposed to fraud. 

Channel 4 news has a video exposing how mobile phones can read contactless bank cards.

The newscast can be seen here; C4 News video 

The voyagerBlue® bank card shields and e-passport shields can help provide protection from this invisible threat. Find out more here  www.gizmopromotions.co.uk

 

The product is available to promotional companies as an ideal corporate or promotional gift, with a large printed area for corporate messages and with a great reason for the grateful recipient to keep the gift, this innovative product should be something your company should consider as an ideal marketing tool. 

Developed in the UK in conjunction with university technology departments is a simple yet effective product to protect from hi tech fraudsters. If you have questions or feedback get in touch, and if you know of people who have had ID fraud share your story with us. For an independant video presenting the dangers here's a more technical critique of the issue from Renaud Lifchicz

What qualities do you look for in your promotional or corporate gift merchandise?

Grabbing attention is one thing but you need to keep that interest as long as possible, what should you do to get the best return from your promotional merchandise investment.

You could choose pens, USBs, Baseball caps etc all common items but are they relevant to you? More importantly are they unique to you? If your competitors all give out the same items you will need a reason for yours to be the one that gets used most.

You could try something new and innovative like the VoyagerBlue® contactless card shield from Gizmo promotions. This is product that is unlike any other on the market. Protecting your client everyday from the threat of fraud and ID theft by shielding their wallet or passport from unwanted scanning of their contactless technology.

Made to high quality standards in the UK the product will give lasting protection to contactless Bank cards, membership, loyalty and biometric or e-passports.

More importantly you can brand the whole card with you message, that’s a really big advertising space placed in you clients wallet, It’s a lot of space for a little cost. 86x54mm and then double sided. For the same price as buying your customer a cup of coffee. Passport size is 122x83mm again with the freedom to print your chosen message on one or both sides.

Interested?  Gizmo will be delighted to talk to you. If you are a company wanting to use our remarkable contactless card shields in your promotional campaign we have distributers across the UK, we will put you in touch with a specialist in your area.

If you are promotional distributer then get in touch now to get aboard with Gizmo Promotions and the innovative VoyagerBlue® cards.

 

Get more info from www.gizmopromotions.co.uk.

 

 

Gizmo announce BPMA membership

 

Gizmo promotions are pleased to announce that the BPMA (British Promotional Merchandise Association) have welcomed our company into the organisation as an associate supplier.

 

The BPMA Established in 1965, is one of the UK's leading industry bodies dedicated to promoting best practice around the sourcing, manufacturing and distribution of promotional products.Existing to enable members to be more successful and be seen as exemplars of best practice, centres of excellence to customers and partners within the promotional merchandise industry. The BPMA upholds a strict code of conduct that members must adhere to, and provides access to professional training and development resources to ensure members can continually improve their knowledge and expertise within the industry.

If you are a buyer of promotional merchandise such as the innovative new VoyagerBlue ® contactless card shield as supplied by Gizmo you can rest assured that you are backed by a commitment to high industry standards and best practices. Also as a buyer of such material you can access valuable information about effective campaigns using such merchandise within your marketing strategy.Gizmo promotions are delighted to have achieved membership of the BPMA, a significant stage in our development strategy.

Our aim is to bring exciting new products to the marketplace. The launch of the VoyagerBlue®  contactless card and e-passport shields is an example of an innovative product with extensive creative merchandising and branding opportunity brought to market by Gizmo Promotions.

As a marketing professional you can utilise a remarkably large area for your printed message, either both sides of credit card size or both sides of passport page size. This gives you a fantastic advert that your client has a real reason to keep. The cards help shield from theft and ID fraud by blocking the unwanted scanning of contactless technology such as bank cards and e-passports.

Read more about VoyagerBlue ® cards and how they prevent IDfraud and theft here, and if you have any questions visit the contact page or comment on the blog.