Drinkware, Social Media & the Continual Search for the Next Stanley

First, it was Nalgene. Then, it was Yeti. After that, it was S’well, Hydro Flask, Stanley, Owala – an ever-growing list of water bottle brands making their mark on the cultural zeitgeist. In each of these “it” brands’ moment of glory, they dominated both retail and promo. S’well generated over $100 million in revenue from…

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Executive Perspectives: Metrographics’ Casey Duke on Controlling Variables

Print & Promo Marketing’s ongoing feature series, Executive Perspectives, tells the personal entrepreneurial stories of leading professionals in the print and promotional products industry. This month, we interviewed Casey Duke, partner at Metrographics (asi/268937) in Fairfield, NJ. In our chat, Duke discussed everything from taking over the reins from his father and modernizing the business, to adapting…

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Leather and Lace: The Challenges of Tough and Delicate Media

Working with substrates outside of the normal range of materials can be difficult. Thick and tough substrates, as well as delicate ones, are some of the most challenging. When you think of printing, your mind may go straight toward the most common media, like paper, vinyl, and films. However, wide-format printers often tackle a wider…

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Breaking Point: Why Rebates Are Tearing Apart Distributors and Suppliers

When Kate Ivory, owner of GIDI Promotions, started out as a distributor more than 20 years ago, something happened that really bothered her. She was immediately offered end-quantity pricing (EQP) by suppliers – even though she’d never worked with those suppliers before. “It’s like, I’ve done nothing to deserve that,” says Ivory, who’s based out…

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