Being Bob Hope: Becoming an Iconic Brand Superstar

Those of you who know me personally know that I am a film buff, and classic comedy historian and collector. I’ve been a member of The Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy organization, since I was 15 years old, and I founded the Cleveland, Ohio, branch of that organization in 1973.

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Business Lessons from Mickey Mouse

I recently returned from a few days at Disneyland. My wife and I agreed to be chaperones for Grad Nite. On Grad Nite, Disneyland is open until 2 a.m. with just high school graduates and their chaperones. (It sounded like a good idea at the time.) I’m sure this goes on at locations all around the country, but being from Southern California, Disneyland is the place to be.

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Safety and Compliance: Run Toward the Problem, Not Away

When the discussion turns to delivering safe and compliant promotional products, and specifically how difficult it is to do, I usually go with this response: “You can either run toward the problem, or you can run away from it.”

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Become a Better Strategic Partner by Helping Your Clients Plan

The promotional products industry for decades has bred reactive salespeople. As I have interviewed top performers over the years, one trait seems to surface more times than not. It’s not the verbalizing of having “great customer service,” no, it’s actually putting that statement into practice well beyond what most would consider good customer service.

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Duck Dynasty: The Dangers of Tying Your Brand to Celebrities

For years companies and brands have been in love with the notion of associating their brands with celebrities. But, before you decide to partner with a celebrity, be they musician, actor, reality show star or athlete, it’s a good idea to weigh the advantages and disadvantages.

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The Dangers of Celebrity Endorsers and the Wisdom of Crisis Planning

One misstep on the part of a celebrity endorser could potentially put you, your client and your merchandise at risk. Here are ways to protect your great ideas and brand campaigns.

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Greenwashing: Are You a Co-Conspirator?

Marketers bombard us with claims every day: “Bigger,” “better,” and of course, “cheaper.” But have you also heard “greener?” What about “greenwashing?” Have you heard of that term? Greenwashing is marketing-speak for product descriptions that are deceptively used to promote that an organization’s products, aims and/or policies are environmentally friendly.

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Bobbleheads: A Story of Promotional Products Delivering Measurable ROI

Successful promotional products are all about developing brand affinity—an emotional connection made with a brand through the magic of 3-D advertising. But calculating the ROI of using promotional products compared to other marketing tools or tactics often presents a challenge for brand management. For example, a statement like, “This creative giveaway resulted in this specific sales result,” is a calculation all too frequently unavailable. Enter the mighty Bobblehead, or even better yet, the calculable ROI of the powerful resin figure.

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10 Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses…

Brand building in the broad sense is based on innovation, which of course is a driving force in the electronics industry. In the promotional products industry, aside from the incentive sector, our products are used to support our client’s branding.

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For Promotional Product Sales, Protect Your Client’s Brand

Whether you are selling to a global brand like Nike or to your local YMCA, no single asset is more valuable to your client than the client’s good name.

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