Somehow, there are only two weeks left in 2019. Man, that went fast! When we look back at the year, there were a lot of promotional products (or related) stories that made waves. In the coming days, we’ll be recapping 2019 with a series of wrap-ups to wind down the year. First up: Our top 10 most-read stories by web traffic totals. Take a look and catch up on any you may have missed. And, as always, thanks for reading!
1. Report: Sycamore Partners, Staples’ Private Equity Owner, Wants Out
Staples has had an eventful year or so, to say the least. The latest news from Staples HQ was that its private equity owner Sycamore Partners was already exploring ways a sale of the office supply giant mere months after purchasing it.
2. Unlikely Promo Lessons I’ve Learned from ‘Slobby’s World,’ the Weirdest Show on Netflix
Right around the new year, our Brendan Menapace was enamored by a Netflix show called “Slobby’s World,” where a loudmouth in Arizona ran a secondhand store. Slobby taught Brendan valuable lessons about the resale game, how common counterfeiting is in fashion and how nostalgia inflates an item’s worth exponentially.
3. The Biggest Promotional Products Trends We Noticed at PPAI Expo 2019
The PPAI Expo is such a good place to see what’s on the promotional products horizon for the upcoming year. For our coverage of the show, we put together a recap of upcoming trends in all sorts of product categories. Keep your eyes peeled for our 2020 edition next month!
4. Starbucks’ New Rewards Program Will Allow Customers to Redeem Points for Branded Merch
Starbucks went beyond just a punch card that they know we’ll lose (or forget in our pocket and accidentally put through the laundry) by giving frequent customers the option to use points for various promotional products.
5. Department of Labor Eliminates Printing, Screen Printing Jobs from Statistics Database (and What That Means)
The Department of Labor announced in February that it was removing “printer,” “screen printer” and “support activities for printing” from its Current Employment Statistics database due to the jobs being too small or concentrated to be tracked.
6. The Dodgers Broke an MLB Record for Promos, But It’s Not Free of Controversy
The Los Angeles Dodgers scheduled their popular Mexican Heritage Night and themed giveaway on the anniversary of the day Los Angeles police officers forcefully removed Mexican American residents from their homes to build Dodger Stadium.
7. People Are Not Happy About Kamala Harris’ New Campaign T-shirt
Former presidential candidate Kamala Harris received backlash for printing a T-shirt with a message she used at a debate. The problem was that the T-shirt was made available a little too soon after the debate, leading some to believe her rhetoric was all just planned for selling merchandise.
8. 2019 Top Distributors List: Stats, Trends and Analysis
Our annual report on the fastest growing and most successful distributors in the industry. We looked at particular stats like how hard goods compared to soft goods, top vertical markets and more.
9. ‘Cheap Swag:’ How the Promo Industry is Fighting a Decades-Old Perception Problem That Just Won’t Quit
Every distributor has likely heard promotional products referred to as “swag,” “junk,” “trinkets” or some other reductive synonym. How does an industry overcome that reputation, and what are some companies already doing to change that narrative?
10. Nobody’s Received Soulja Boy’s Branded Electronics, But He Still Wants You to Buy Them
We’re not sure what anyone expected from a company started by the guy behind the song “Crank That” a million years ago and made the cornerstone of his new business ripping off existing tech for cheap. And yet, people were upset they didn’t receive their items.
This list barely scratches the surface of everything we covered this year. We’re looking forward to another eventful year in promo and beyond. Starting Tuesday Dec. 24, our Headlines and Threads newsletters will be taking some time off for the holidays, but don’t worry. They’ll be back Thursday Jan. 2 to catch you up and keep you updated on all things promotional products.
