Where Are Trade Shows Going?

In our first article on What’s Happening with Trade Shows, we covered the SAAC Show, a strong regional association event, in Long Beach, Calif. There were a couple of anonymous comments bemoaning that the article featured links to product videos from some interesting items we found at the show.

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5 Problems With Promotional Supplier Videos

Dear promotional product supplier: That video you made has a great soundtrack. The special effects? Nice touch. I even like the way you demo the product. It makes me want to sell the item. I want to feature your video on our website and social media channels, which reach thousands of people every week. Unfortunately …

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Truth in Product Labels—This One Will Kill You

Proper labeling of promotional products is a big deal. While sourcing, the proper risk assessment of any product must include planned usage group as well as delivery destination.

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What’s Happening with Trade Shows?

Full disclosure here—and I’ve said this before—I love trade shows. There is no better way for distributors to connect with their supplier partners. Suppliers have the opportunity to connect with new prospects and to strengthen relationships with current customers. There is no question, however, that the dynamics of trade shows are changing. It’s a big topic that I will address in two parts.

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Feeling Price Pressure from Online Discounters? Here’s What You Can Do

What do you do when a prospect tells you they can buy the promotional products you’re recommending cheaper on the Internet?

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So You’ve Got a Recall. What Now?

It wasn’t very long ago, working as a promotional products end-user client that I thought of product safety as pretty much a black and white issue. Products were either safe, or they weren’t. If you’re sourcing and buying promotional products, and keeping up with the increasing discussion and awareness of product safety and compliance in our industry, you likely know that’s not the case.

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I Confess: I Lied

Many of you may know that my faith and values are important to me. Reluctantly, I must share that I’ve done something I normally don’t do. I lied.

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Alphabet Soup of Promo Products Industry: CPSC, WBENC, ETS and QCA Webinar

Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, old and new, are in print this week. While style and subject are in stark contrast, both are worth a read.

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With a Name Like “Honest Company” You Should Be

We’ve written in this space before about the unique challenges faced by a product when a celebrity endorser goes off the rails. Now, as Jessica Alba’s Earth-friendly Honest Company is just about to launch in Target stores, there are new reports that some products imported by the company from China have been previously blocked by the FDA as unsafe.

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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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