The phrase, "Don't Shoot the Messenger" is attributed to Shakespeare in Henry IV. However, we chose to memorialize it with the story of Pheidippides, the messenger who in 490 BC ran from the battlefield in Marathon to Sparta and collapsed and died on the spot from exhaustion.

Sadly, we see many similarities between Pheidippides and organizations making the wrong choice of a promotional product to send a message, only to see the product fall on its face. A perfect example was a t-shirt and baseball hat that a competitor used to convey a corporate strategic initiative with a group of senior level management consultants. Like Pheidippides, it fell on its face and died.

We would have recommended a product that would have either sat on the recipients' desks to be viewed on a daily basis and one that conveyed the legacy and prestige of their well know global firm. The key is understanding the demographics of the recipients, the culture of the giving organization, the budget and the logistics of the event.

Yes, even logistics is a critical selection component. We had a client who wanted to give out expensive Leatherman tools with a knife blade to a group of engineers who flew in for a one day meeting. TSA would have had a barrel of confiscated knives that night if we hadn't brought this simple detail to the client's attention.

If Pheidippides had used a horse to deliver his message he would have probably lived to see another day. It's too late to save him but at MCM we are ready to make sure that as a client, you will always be given a free consultation where we will ask you the right questions to insure that your message is properly delivered without a hitch.