Michelle Bottino (pictured on the right) is helping to bring back in-person networking – and she’s doing it with a clever solution centered in promotional products.

Bottino, owner and operator of a Top 40 distributor Fully Promoted (asi/384000) franchise in St. Charles, IL, recently helped enable her local chamber of commerce to hold an in-person event by providing the organization with wristbands that identified comfort levels regarding social distancing.

Organizers provided the branded disposable wristbands to attendees at a check-in table. Guests could choose from three color options. A green band meant they were comfortable with a level of appropriate physical interaction – high fives, handshakes, hugs, etc. Yellow meant the attendee was happy to talk, but didn’t want any touching. Red meant the person wanted to observe stricter social distancing – what Bottino described as “happy to see you but keeping my distance.”

Green bracelets indicated event attendees were comfortable with handshakes and the like.

Bottino, who is an active member of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, collaborated with the organization to come up with the wristband solution, which helped the event be a success.

“The wristband is just one of the many ways we are looking to get businesses back to business at a time when they need us the most,” said Bottino. “The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce chose to use this affordable yet extremely effective visual aid to help put attendees at ease while attending an event and adhering to local guidelines and regulations. It takes away the need to verbally express, ‘Hey … I’m here, but I’m not comfortable shaking hands just yet.’ At Fully Promoted, our goal is to keep our customers safe, but we have to learn to live with COVID and get back to business.”

Attendees show off the bracelets that signify their level of comfort regarding social distancing.

Fully Promoted said the success of Bottino’s wristbands and similar solutions from other franchisees have led the company to introduce a line of “Networking Bracelets” for in-person gatherings and events, including reusable silicone bracelets, rubber wristbands and Tyvek paper wristbands.

“The past several months has presented challenges across every single industry,” said Mike Brugger, president of Fully Promoted. “I am proud of Michelle and our entire Fully Promoted network for their dedication to helping their local communities as businesses reopen. Michelle and the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce identified a safe way for businesses to get back to business and successfully host events where everyone can feel comfortable.”

With reported 2019 North American promotional products revenue of $105.6 million, Fully Promoted ranked 20th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry.