Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Bill Mahre, president of ADG Promotional Products. I received an invitation to participate on a recent panel discussion (as one of four ad-specialty suppliers). It was on the state of the industry in front of 800-plus key distributors and suppliers was a terrific opportunity to review key challenges…
Read MoreSoftware Sunset: Why You Should Update QuickBooks Every 3 Years
Question: Why can’t I email out of my QuickBooks Premier 2013 anymore? Answer: “Software sunset.” Intuit, the company that owns QuickBooks, like other software providers, continually upgrades and improves its products. And, from time to time, it stops supporting the older software in favor of the more recent versions. The QuickBooks products have been evolving…
Read MorePM Video Battle: Dkspecialties Versus EMT
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: It’s 108 degrees outside with the heat index right now. Or, as we like to call it, video game weather.) Last week, Logomark won its fourth battle, earning…
Read More6 Cool Products from the 2016 SAAC Show
The 2016 Specialty Advertising Association of California (SAAC) Show wrapped up yesterday, and we got to take a good look around the showroom floor. While the sun in Southern California sure was nice, getting to check out some cool promotional products really was the highlight for us. Here are some of the items that stood…
Read MoreHow Much Is an Olympic Gold Medal Worth?
Maybe I’m too materialistic, but I’ve spent a decent amount of time obsessing over the value of this year’s Olympic gold medals. Last month, we learned that the…
Read MoreBDA Expands its Operations Into Europe, the Middle East and Africa
BDA LLC, Woodinvile, Wash., a merchandise agency serving Fortune 1000 companies worldwide, announced this week that it has…
Read MoreDennis East International Recalls Whiskey Glass and Stone Sets
Dennis East International LLC, Yarmouth Port, Mass., is recalling its Whiskey Glass and Stone Sets after receiving two reports of the whiskey glass spontaneously breaking. The set includes a 16 oz. clear glass, four…
Read MoreHALO Branded Solutions Completes Record-breaking National Sales Meeting
HALO Branded Solutions, San Diego, recently concluded its annual national sales meeting with record attendance of more than 250 of the company’s top account executives and more than 150 supplier personnel from HALO Branded Solutions’ Preferred Supplier Program at…
Read MoreDonald Trump Has Hillary Clinton Beat in Merchandise Searches
If the number of merchandise queries determined presidential elections, Donald Trump would have an advantage over Hillary Clinton. According to Multichannel Merchant, the Republican presidential nominee has Clinton beat in merchandise searches. Currently, Trump is outnumbering Clinton at a ratio of almost five-to-one. But, those aren’t the only numbers to consider. The numbers immediately following…
Read MoreWho Talks on Elevators Anyway?
A frequently asked question that I get at speaking engagements is, “What is your elevator speech?” Or, I’m asked to help someone craft an elevator speech. Here’s what I don’t like about elevator speeches: They’re canned. They are a one-size-fits-all recitation that’s not going to win anyone any business. It’s not that I’m down on being…
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