By Ilise Benun, marketing mentor www.marketing-mentor.com If you want to start a blog, you might be wondering how much time it really takes. In terms of set up, it can take as little as 5 minutes—really. But if you want a special graphic treatment, it could take up to an hour, which is still not much. When we asked our Blog Mistress, Colleen Wainwright, how much time she spends, here’s what she said: On MarketingMixBlog.com, which I both administer and write for, I spend between 30 minutes to two hours per week. It’s a group blog, so Ilise spends time writing and we have
Read MoreThe Leslie Company Celebrates 30 Years in Business
This year, The Leslie Company, Olathe, Kan., is celebrating its 30th year of manufacturing custom imprinted presentation products. The family-owned and operated company opened its doors on April 1, 1977, manufacturing vinyl binders and heat-sealed products. Over the past 30 years, its capabilities have grown to include offset printing with index tabs, pocket folders, turned-edged binders and calendars, book printing and finishing and complete fulfillment services. Jerald Byrd, CEO and founder, said: “I would like to thank [the] countless Leslie Company customers for their loyalty and patronage over the past 30 years. Its our customers that make us successful.” The company will
Read MoreAmerican Banknote (ABnote) Acquires Arthur Blank & Company
American Banknote Corporation, Fort Lee, N.J., parent company of ABnote Group, recently announced it has acquired Boston-based Arthur Blank & Company for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. The transaction will result in combined sales of more than 2 billion cards. The acquisition nearly doubles ABnote’s U.S. operations, and provides the worldwide ABnote Group access to Arthur Blank’s capabilities, high-volume capacity and intellectual property, along with the ability to offer new products throughout the six continents that it serves. Arthur Blank’s Stuart and Eric Blank will assume responsibility for ABnote’s entire North American plastic card operations, including the ongoing management of
Read MoreTips of the Trade: Why Handwritten Notes Work
By Colleen Wainwright, marketing-mentor.com After visiting an interesting post on how people start their work days, I blogged about it and an even more interesting thing happened (because that’s how the interwebs work!). A commenter followed up on my surprise over the effectiveness of handwritten notes with some pretty astonishing claims. So, I followed up with him, and Mike Kaselnak of HOARD Clients System, Inc., sent back a detailed account of his experiences with handwritten communication, along with good support and rationale… I am a commodity. Financial advisors are a commodity. We like to think that we aren’t, but we are. We all look
Read MoreNational Pen Purchases Atlas Pen & Pencil
National Pen Company, San Diego, Calif., has acquired distributor Atlas Pen & Pencil of Hollywood, Fla. Both companies will continue to operate as separate entities under their respective company names and brands. Of the acquisition, Rich Schulte, National Pen CEO, said: “National Pen has been growing steadily for several years now and intends to continue its growth, both organically and through carefully chosen adjacent acquisition opportunities. Both companies have long traditions in the direct marketing of promotional products; yet our customer base overlaps very little.” “This acquisition paves the way for marketing and sales synergies, which will provide strong advantages for
Read MoreQuikey Manufacturing’s Quikoin Receives Play on American Idol
The Quikoin coin holder from Quikey Manufacturing, Akron, Ohio, recently received national air time on the popular television talent show, American Idol. American Idol ordered Quikoins and apparently handed them out to contestants. One contestant, Phil Stacy, was filmed holding his daughter, who was waving a Quikoin with the American Idol imprint visibly displayed. Quikey Manufacturing’s president Mike Burns, remarked: “This is not the first time the Quikoin has received awareness in the entertainment and film industry. Back in the 60’s, the coin purses were the promotional item of choice. Frank Sinatra was known to use one to keep his coins from jingling in
Read MoreCerberus Capital Management Acquires Bankrupt Corvest
Corvest Promotional Products, Largo, Fla., the parent company of Adva-Lite, Toppers and It’s All Greek To Me, has been acquired by a subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management. The deal will enable Corvest, which is currently operating under federal bankruptcy protection, to emerge from Chapter 11 on firm financial footing, according to company personnel. Mark Holland, Corvest vice president of marketing, said: “This is truly an exciting event for all of us. Cerberus is a first-class operation with a reputation for innovative thinking and inter-company collaboration. We believe this mindset, combined with the new capital structure, positions all the Corvest brands for an extremely successful future.” The
Read MoreS&S Activewear Sees Record Attendance at 2007 Open House
S&S Activewear, Bolingbrook, Ill., welcomed more than 1,900 guests to its ninth annual Open House, on April 27. The attendance was a record for the day-long event. This year’s theme, “All For You,” showcased the company’s emphasis on building and maintaining strong customer relationships by offering guests the opportunity to see S&S Activewear’s new products for 2007, meet the company’s employees and talk directly with manufacturers. Show highlights included: a 45-minute runway fashion show with styles from S&S Activewear’s complete 2007 product line; tours of the 454,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and office facility, as well as trade show exhibits, featuring products and representatives from the leading
Read MoreThere’s No Place Like Home
WHETHER IT’S BUILDING or selling one, for those in the real estate and construction industries, there’s just no place like home. While promoting oneself can be just as hard as battling flying monkeys and wicked witches, red ruby slippers aren’t the only thing that can get advertisers to that fabled other side of the rainbow. There are a variety of products available for clients in the real estate and construction industries, and they run the gamut from tried-and-true market mainstays to high-end, custom-made works of art. For Michelle Fey-Mitchell, vice president of marketing, and Mike Fey, vice president of sales at Fey Line, a vinyl
Read MoreWhat Women Want
WOMEN’S APPAREL IN the promotional products industry is a single creature with two contrasting personalities. The Dr. Jekyll of promotional apparel is the side of the industry focused on office workers and business-casual attire. After hours, Ms. Hyde likes to come out wearing tank-tops and scoop-neck T-shirts in flashy colors. Both sides of the promotional business are trailing behind the younger, crazy sister known as the retail market. Dean Vuong, vice president of Kavio, Commerce, Calif., said it is a “good thing” that promotional apparel is “one step behind” retail. “We know that if you can modify from [retail] to the promotional, then you will
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