Massive parts of California are facing danger from ongoing wildfires, which threaten to wipe out homes and businesses alike. ASI’s Counselor Magazine reached out to some of the potentially affected promotional products companies in the fire zones to see how they’re doing. Here’s what they had to say.
November 6, 2019
California Wildfires Strain Promo Products Industry
Submitted by amcginnis@affin...
September 25, 2019
The Best Ways to Communicate in the Promo Products Industry
Submitted by amcginnis@affin...
In this modern tech-enhanced era, the number of people screening their calls or just shirking the phone altogether is continually rising. And that can make business communications a little tough to manage. Does your client want a phone call, or just a voicemail? A Facebook message or a LinkedIn InMail message? A tweet or an Instagram follow? The opportunities for communication are virtually endless. But don’t worry—Advantages recently published a guide to connecting with others in the promotional products industry, including the best ways to do it and how.
July 9, 2019
Fanny Pack Fandom: A History of the World’s Most Hated (or Loved) Accessory
Submitted by amcginnis@affin...
It’s official: fanny packs are back in style. For us in the promotional products world, that’s a great thing. It means another spot for an imprint to help show our clients off to the world. But now that they’re back, many wonder where fanny packs came from at all. Here’s a hint: They weren’t born during the last mega-surge of the accessory’s popularity.
March 12, 2019
Four Times Promotional Campaigns Went Terribly Wrong
Submitted by Kelly Glass
We all love a good promotional products campaign. Remember those flexible straws with people doing yoga poses on them or Shark Week’s surfboards with bites taken out that were scattered on beaches? Sheer marketing genius! However, sometimes things don’t go quite so well. Here are four of the biggest promotional marketing flops in recent history.
March 5, 2019
OREO Wants You to See What’s Inside
Submitted by Kelly Glass
From February 4 to March 6 (also known as National OREO Day), the stuffed cookie brand is holding a huge celebration in honor of its new Most Stuf cookie. The promotion is called The Stuf Inside and features an interactive online cookie that you twist open to see, well, what’s inside.
February 26, 2019
How to Land and Work with Your Dream Account
Submitted by Kelly Glass
Have you heard of whale hunting? It’s a clever play on landing your white whale, meaning catching that dream account you’ve always wanted. Some promotional products companies, though, are afraid to do a bit of hunting. Either they think they’re too small, don’t have the resources or they’re just fine surviving on the profits from several small accounts. And that’s understandable, but why limit yourself? Companies of every size and scope can land massive accounts — the ones that pay all your bills in one single order. You just need to know how to do it.
February 19, 2019
The Legacy of Logos
Submitted by Kelly Glass
Like many other things (it seems), logos have their roots in ancient Egypt. The culture was among the first to use a standardized writing system made up of symbols, with specific colors holding specific meaning. Later in history, medieval Europe prescribed meaning to specific symbols as a part of different crests and coats of arms, each designed to convey the status of the bearer in society and to explain who they were.
February 12, 2019
Specialty Market Spotlight
Submitted by Kelly Glass
With the beginning of every new year, it pays to take a look at your promotional products business and see where you can cut back and where you can expand. These three specialty markets are trending right now and it’s important to consider if you can sell to them and ride those trends to new income streams.
February 5, 2019
The Curious Case of the Koozie
Submitted by Kelly Glass
In 2013, researchers at the University of Washington set out to accomplish a very scientific task: to see if can koozies really do keep our drinks cold. The project, which was eventually funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, proved what canned beverage lovers knew all along. We were absolutely right. It does keep canned drinks cold, mostly because the material in the koozie stops condensation forming on the outside of the can, preventing drinks from sweating away their chill.
January 29, 2019
It’s Tax Time for Your Small Business
Submitted by Kelly Glass
It’s that time of year again — the ever-exciting tax season. 2018 brought with it a number of changes to tax laws, including alterations that affect how small and mid-sized businesses, like most promotional products companies, should be filing. Idea Custom Solutions doesn’t want you to be left in the dark when you work on your business taxes, so we’ve compiled some tips and helpful things to get your business through tax time without incident.