What Was Our Industry Like in 1912?

Recently a good friend gifted me with a rare historical find. Going through his late grandfather’s “stuff” he came across a solicitation from The Oakland Advertising Company located in Akron, Ohio, mailed December 3, 1912.

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A Salute to Our Industry’s Heroes

Inspiration for this piece came from a recent journey that made me realize I needed to stop and salute our Industry’s Heroes—those road warriors that spend time away from home to help us.

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Bar Soap or Liquid Soap?

As a confessed marketing madman who thinks different, I’m always pondering branding strategies, marketing messages, hot products, and changing business trends.

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Who is Crazier… Our Clients… Or Us?

Anyone who has been in our industry a while has a few client horror stories to tell. I am no different. I do like to think, however, that in every cloudy rant there is a lesson that can be learned.

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What Can We Learn from March Madness?

It’s amazing that millions of dollars will be lost in business productivity during the College Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness.

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Become the “Big Dog” in Your Community!

Attending local business expos are always enjoyable for me. I like to analyze how businesses choose to stand out from the crowd and market their companies.

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Scan My Badge and Send Me 5 Catalogs… Please

As I have visited with suppliers at trade shows, other folks are often seen in the time-honored ritual of walking up to booths with their badge held out… asking the supplier, “Scan my badge.”

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Can I Buy You a Drink?

There have been many articles written on trade shows. I’ve certainly written a few of them myself. But here is one from a different perspective.

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Please Visit Our Booth #1234!

In January we have two significant trade shows in the east and the west. As is the case every year, flurries of e-mails come from suppliers asking that we visit their booths at these shows. The question I ask is why?

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