Brendan Menapace, Author at Print & Promo Marketing

Cartel Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Tried to Trademark His Name for Merchandise

Mexican cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been all over the news since his escape from prison and his recent arrest. Apparetly, El Chapo’s family wanted his name to appear on more than newspaper headlines and wanted posters. According to The…

After “Star Wars” fans voiced their opinions on the lack of merchandise including Rey—one of the new movie’s lead characters played by Daisy Ridley—Disney announced that it has released new merchandise, much of which includes the new female character. Even “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” director…

Now that the exhibit floor of the PPAI Expo is open, Promo Marketing has been roaming the booths and checking out all of the great new products suppliers have to offer. Though we could go on all day about what we saw, here are seven items from the show floor that stood out to us.…

Last week, we reported that a donor close to former Los Angeles-based American Apparel CEO Dov Charney reportedly made a takeover bid worth $200 million. Now, new information has come out that the investors, Hagan Capital Group and Silver Creek Capital Partners, made an “upward revision” from the previous bid, and the current takeover bid…

The Golden Globe Awards took place last night, and we all know these types of award shows usually include a pretty impressive gift bag for attendees. This year was no different. According to Extra, the Golden Globe promotional bag included the…

GatewayCDI, St. Louis, announced that it has been acquired by U.K.-based Brand Addition. The acquisition became effective Jan. 1, 2016. According to a press release, GatewayCDI will serve clients under the Brand Addition name, with operations and structure continuing uninterrupted. “Chuck Fandos [president of GatewayCDI] and Conrad Franey [vice president of GatewayCDI] have built a…

Reports are coming in that American Apparel, Los Angeles, has received a takeover bid of more than $200 million from an investor associated with former American Apparel CEO Dov Charney. Bloomberg reported that, according to an anonymous source familiar with the situation, if the offer is accepted, Charney would return in some capacity to the…

PM Video Battle: Next Products Versus Brand Fuel

Editor’s Note: Due to a technical error, this week’s Video Battle has been removed. Promo Marketing’s Video Battle pits two industry videos against each other for the chance at the ultimate bragging right: Being declared our readership’s absolute favorite. (Next up: We’re still thinking of a New Year’s resolution. Maybe it should be to use…

We know the dangers of staying out in the sun, and the importance of always protecting ourselves, but how do we know when we’ve had too much sun (aside from when we look like a lobster, in which case it’s too late)? L’Oreal has…

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel reportedly partied in Vegas wearing a blonde wig and fake mustache, referring to himself as “Billy.” Now, according to Cleveland.com, merchandisers are cashing in on the odd story by making “Billy Vegas” items, such as T-shirts, candles and paintings. The item that stood out to us most was this T-shirt…