Category: Uncategorized

The Aftershock

Staff Writer

Though it seems more than a little callous to worry about how the earthquake in China’s Sichuan province will affect our marketplace, in an industry that heavily depends on Chinese manufacturing, it would be sheer folly not to.
However, various reporting outlets are stating that the disaster’s effect on the Chinese economy will be minimal, which hopefully by extension, means U.S. manufacturing will receive nary a jolt. Here are a few soundbites from various news sources that you might be interested in:
BusinessWeek: ”China Quake Won’t Shake Economy”
However, many economists expect the impact on the Chinese economy of the power outages, communications

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The End of Paper or Plastic?

Staff Writer

I think supermarket vocabulary is about to change. As plastic grocery bags look to be heading the way of the dodo, the age-old question of paper or plastic my not be relevant in the not-so-distant future. I say this for many reasons, both societal and personal. Firstly, a string of cities and even entire countries have moved to ban the unbiodegradable petro-chemical sacks that have a tendency to not only end up as unsightly litter, but to also clog up drainage and sewage systems. Secondly, many companies have started to produce some quality, green alternatives, which, citing the laws of supply and demand, indicates

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Say A Little Prayer

Staff Writer

Today’s installment has nothing to do with promotional products. In fact, it’s not even my typical, lighthearted fare.
I’ve been on CNN.com numerous times throughout the day, following the breaking news of the earthquake in China. I simply have no words to describe how staggered I am by the amount of destruction Mother Nature can cause. They are reporting more than 8,500 lost lives.
8,500 people.
And all this in the wake of the recent disaster in Myanmar. The toll there keeps rising, but at this point, it’s way beyond normal human comprehension. My brain is literally shutting down at the sheer

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Rocky Road

Staff Writer

Astronomical gas prices. Food shortages. Global warming. It’s feeling a little apocalyptic out here, no?
In case you happen to have missed the news, are evading the stock market or avoiding all human contact—there’s this economy thing going on right now and people are kind of freaking out.
The possible imminency of a recession is palpably affecting the retail sector, according to the Women’s Wear Daily Web site, WWD.com.
Obviously, the real question is how/if it will affect the wearables contingent of the ad specialties industry. I think we’re all fairly confident the T-shirt will remain a sound investment. However, does a slowdown

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$200 a Barrel Oil

Staff Writer

Light, sweet crude. This market term for oil is somehow endearing, hearkening back to a time when Hollywood glorified oil men. Wildcatters striking it rich and Jed Clampett moving his family to Beverly … Hills, that is. There was an everyman’s face put to the image of oil wealth.
Oh, how times have changed.
As of today, oil has peaked to an all-time high of more than $122 dollars a barrel as worried traders start buying on what they think the future will hold, whether it be increased demand (see China and India) or decreased supply (see OPEC). And as

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Extreme Office Makeover

Staff Writer

I’m surrounded by promotional products—and I mean that literally. For the upcoming June edition of Promo Marketing magazine, we will be doing an Extreme Office Makeover, which is very similar to the reality television home makeover shows, only on a much smaller scale (and, of course, limited to promotional products).The response from suppliers wanting to participate has been amazing and products are starting to stack up (one of the publishers started calling me Fred Sanford because of the junkyard quality of my cube as boxes roll in).
To my right are a rainbow collection of new-fangled letter openers/staple removers. At my feet, sits a

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That Pesky Flag Pin

Staff Writer

The Pennsylvania Democratic primary finally arrived, and it’s good to see the promotional products industry is so relevant on a national (and, dare I say, international) stage. I’m, of course, talking about the flag-shaped lapel pin scandal which is sweeping the nation (for a second time). Poor Senator Obama can’t seem to catch a break on this one. First it was on. Then it was off. And, now, apparently it’s back on again. People are latching onto the issue to say he isn’t patriotic. That he hates America (as if the act of running for the presidency doesn’t earn you any patriotic points). <br

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‘Til We Chat Again …

Staff Writer

I’ve got some good news and some great news. I’ll start with the great news first: After a tenure of 51⁄2 years, Friday, April 25 will be my last day at Promo Marketing magazine. I’ve accepted a new position as a writer at an ad agency. So, herein is my final entry to my three-month stint as a PromoMarketing.com blogger (well, I suppose the part about the end of the blog might be the only bad news).

But, here’s the good news: Although I will no longer be a full-time staff editor at Promo Marketing, I will, however, continue writing for the magazine

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Dress Me Up for the Ballgame

Staff Writer

It was bound to happen sooner or later. The work-life collision. I actually wrote this entire blog in my head at a baseball game. But let’s start from the beginning …

This past Friday, I went to see the Phillies play (they lost to the Mets, which was kind of a bummer, but it was the most perfect baseball-game weather ever, so I got over it pretty quickly).
Anyway. Before the game, I decided to peruse the store to get myself a new Phillies T-shirt. I’m really not picky, I just wanted something fitted and not ugly. As I made my way

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The Folly of E-mail

Staff Writer

If you’ve never taken anything I’ve blogged about to heart these three months or so, please don’t let this entry fall on deaf ears.
There is a small project I’ve been working on in the evenings, and, like most things these days, much of the correspondence with those involved has been through e-mail. Almost a month ago, I’d e-mailed the project’s financier with some specific questions related to the work. After the first week passed without receiving a response from him, I grew uneasy, but did not take action. An obvious next-step would have been to make a follow-up call, right?
It’s

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