L.A.-based lunchbox maker sold 100,000 lead-tainted lunchboxes to the state. Oakland, CA -In San Francisco Superior Court yesterday, Judge Richard A. Kramer ordered L.A.-based T A Creations to pay $10,071,500 for the company’s violation of California law when it sold lead-tainted lunchboxes to the state for a Health Department give-away promotion. Click here to read the complete news release. Source: Center for Environmental Health, www.cehca.org
Read MorePromo Marketing Magazine Announces Top 50 Distributors
Philadelphia-based Promo Marketing magazine, the source of product and marketing information for distributor sales professionals, announced the industry’s Top 50 Distributors in its May issue. The annual awards recognize the largest distributors in the industry based on 2007 sales volume. This year’s list includes many familiar names like Proforma and Geiger, as well as some noticeable changes – most notably, IMS/Group II Communications, which ranks #5 on the 2008 Top 50, but did not make the list in 2007. The Top 10 Distributors for 2008 are: 1) Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BD&A) 2) Corporate Express Promotional Marketing (CEPM) 3) Proforma 4) Staples
Read MoreBroder Bros. Hosts Philly Open House
As part of the company’s 2008 Open House Event Series, Trevose, Pennsylvania-based Broder Bros. hosted more than 500 regional customers at an exclusive open house event at the Moshulu restaurant in Philadelphia. This regional event gave customers a firsthand look at how Broder is analyzing trends, meeting industry demands and providing the best possible service to customers. Customers were able to attend brand presentations and business seminars. Presentation topics focused on key product developments, customer prospecting tips, and new trends in digital printing. Guests received free product samples and special show pricing while being eligible for raffles. Girisha Chandraraj, vice president of marketing for
Read MoreSpruce Up Your Space
Tired of boring black staplers? So are we. Tired of institutional white walls? So are we. Tired of spending your days in a real-life version of The Office (or Office Space, take your pick)? Of course you are. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends more time working—8.2 hours a day*—than doing anything else, including sleeping, caring for children, participating in leisure activities and doing household chores. With so much time spent on the job, why does it seem there is rarely an effort to make the space in which we work more inhabitable? In addition,
Read MoreThe State of Real Estate
ACCORDING TO THE U.S. Department of Commerce, for the month of March 2008, the median sale price of a U.S. home was down 13.3 percent from March 2007. For the same month, sales of new homes dropped to the lowest level since October 1991. Regionally, the Northeast was hardest hit with sales down almost 20 percent when compared to the same month the previous year. The news is not rosy, and while experts differ in their opinion on how bad the housing crisis will get, there is no denying the housing industry slowdown is having and will continue to have a ripple effect on
Read MoreFollow the Leaders
GEORGE W. BUSH. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Franklin D. Roosevelt. What do all these men have in common, aside from the obvious? Need another clue? These are not the only famous faces to have this shared pastime on their resume. To name but a few, Katie Couric, Madonna and Meryl Streep also have their roots in similar soil. Giving up already? These well-known folks, all at the apex of their respective industries, got their start as the original No. 1 fans—cheerleaders. The connection is no coincidence. Regardless of whether it’s yelling out cheers, dominating the box office, topping the music charts or even
Read MoreSave the Date
WOE TO SIDEKICKS. The ever-underrated second banana never gets his moment in the sun. Worse, they’re the ones who usually have to take the bullet so the hero can live to fight another day. Replaceable, that’s what they are. Sure, time can fly, heal all wounds and save nine in a single stitch. But without its partner, the calendar, what would be there to bring order to time’s crazy impulses? OK, so the calendar has a tendency to run out when time has seemingly met its match (i.e. December 31, every year), but it always comes back renewed, and ready to face another day.
Read MoreBaggage Claims
WHEN OUTDOOR TEMPERATURES start climbing, the travel itch for millions nears its peak. People get in a frenzy to hit the beach, the lake—wherever they can go to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Only then does the luggage they tucked away inside some closet the year before become top priority. And when the last flight to paradise is leaving within a few hours, the forgetful traveler can’t help but wonder why she didn’t bother to inspect her collection months ago. The last-minute discovery that her bag’s shoulder strap is hanging by a thread and two of its four wheels are
Read MoreCAMPUS STYLES FROM DUSK ’TIL DAWN
THE COLLEGE DEMOGRAPHIC has long provided inspiration for artists, musicians, activists, sports enthusiasts, and as of late, presidential candidates. This important crowd is also where most designers and fashion-industry insiders who know anything about anything go to for creative guidance. If co-eds are wearing it, talking on it or riding in it, it will surely survive. In the case of promotional collegiate apparel, which has traditionally been regulated to the all-too-familiar sweatshirt/sweatpants/jeans/T-shirt/baseball cap/sneakers ensemble, there seems to be a rise in a trend toward more fashionable clothing. And these fashions outfit students (and their parents) in stylish selections from dusk ’til dawn. FROM
Read MorePOP QUIZ
EVERY SCHOOL YEAR brings with it a graduating class, a new batch of fresh-faced students and simultaneously, the sense of starting all over again. Educational institutions subsequently need to “restock” with incoming students, and revamped marketing initiatives can be just the thing to attract the next star quarterback or future valedictorian. Promo Marketing asked Ilene Wilder, director of marketing and business development at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, about the needs of such a sprawling institution. “My primary responsibility is to create and execute marketing plans to support the business initiatives of the [business services] division,” she explained. “In addition, I manage new
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