Promo History Lesson: The World’s First Movie Poster Was a Promotional Failure (But Still Sold for $70K at Sotheby’s)

Today’s lesson comes to us from 19th Century French cinema—specifically, the poster that is believed to be the first film poster in history. It was unsuccessful at driving people to the theater, but it was successful at raking in some cash more than 100 years later. The poster for Auguste and Louis Jean Lumiére’s film, which was also the first public movie screening, only garnered 30 attendees out of an invited 100…

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Chocolate Inn/Lanco’s Chris Barlow Elected to SAAGNY Foundation Board

Chocolate Inn/Lanco regional sales manager Chris Barlow has been elected a trustee of the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York Foundation (SAAGNY) board. In this role, he will aid the foundation’s mission to connect with and support the local tri-state communities through charitable activities. “I am very honored to be elected to the SAAGNY Foundation…

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This Subscription Box Partners With Breweries to Send Beer Merch Far and Wide

We might never have world peace, but we can take solace in knowing that at least one thing enjoys almost universal acclaim: beer. Owing to that acceptance, the First Sip Brew Box has enjoyed a three-year existence as a subscription box provider that sends beer merch to aficionados across the globe, giving breweries some clout in a promotional products-heavy cosmos…

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Sony Music UK Bought Its Own Music Merchandise Company

Though record sales are what people often use to measure a band’s or artist’s success, everyone knows that its the touring and merchandise sales that really generate money. It’s such a vital part of the job, and knowing that it’s the most direct way of supporting artists you love financially is usually enough to ignore…

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Proforma Invests Technology Education with Tampa Coding Event

Proforma, Cleveland, recently sponsored its first Code Kata event at the Technology Innovation Lab in its Worldwide Support Center in Tampa, Florida. This event was open to developers and data scientists of all skill levels in the Tampa area to practice structured coding challenges with professionals from Proforma’s 75-member technology team. “It gives me great…

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Vintage NASCAR T-shirts Are the Latest Fashion Trend

As we learned from Brad Pitt’s vintage Champion shirt in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” retro tees are having a moment. Now, according to Esquire, NASCAR’s throwback merchandise is the latest must-have fashion accessory. In celebration of the 70th running of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR released a line of T-shirts that…

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Fourth Quarter Fun: Fill Up on Q4 Promo Products and Sales Ideas

It seems like just yesterday we were scraping New Year’s Eve confetti off 
of our shoes and checking the weather for snowstorms. But, thanks to time’s ability to fly, 2019 is almost over. And many distributors are deep in the throes 
of planning for their fourth quarter sales. 
If you’re not, that’s OK! There’s still time to get the ball rolling. But now is the time to start thinking about what Q4 promo products clients are looking for at year’s end…

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What to Know About the Booming Promotional Socks Category

The global footwear market is expected to hit $11.6 billion by 2023. What does it take to provide buyers and wearers with promotional socks they’ll love? Promo Marketing talked to Vincent Goralczyk, president of Custom Sock Line LLC, Dumont, N.J.; Chloe Ayres, marketing manager for Sock Club Enterprises LLC, Austin, Texas; and Kelly Yarborough, CEO of Sock101, Lee’s Summit, Mo., to find out…

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