Hello everyone, welcome to the PromoKitchen podcast. We are a community inspired conversation featuring guest suppliers, distributors and service providers discussing insights into the 20 billion dollar promotional products business. Join Mark Graham, co-founder of commonsku as he welcomes to the podcast Rich Patterson, owner of Patterson Brands in beautiful Vancouver, BC. This episode looks at the perception of our industry as a place to start one’s career. Specifically, we’ll look at how high ...
Dec 14, 2016•30 min
Mark Graham, co-founder of commonsku, joined by blogger, consultant and all around promotional products nice guy, Bill Petrie, President of brandivate. Many people in our industry worry and complain about the younger generation, most commonly known as millennials or Gen Y. Whether their concerns are based on reality or fiction, suffice it to say that much ink has been spilled on why our industry needs to sit up and pay attention to younger buyers and employees. While today’s podcast will add to ...
Nov 30, 2016•42 min
This podcast. There aren't words. It's the PromoKitchen Podcast Rebel Edition, episode no. 2. Listen in as industry ruckus rousers and misfit box of toys, Jason Lucash of OrigAudio, Kevin Mullaney of Brandito, Mark Graham of commonsku, Roger Wasson of Elite Promotions, and Bill Petrie of Brandivate, talk shop. If Jason's intro doesn't say something about what this 44 minutes will hold, nothing will. Welcome to PromoKitchen Podcast #107 - order up!
Nov 08, 2016•45 min
Several months ago Mark Graham and fellow chef Jason Lucash were talking about a fun theme for an episode or two. The idea was to explore what it means to be a rebel. For anyone who knows Jason Lucash, they won’t be surprised that the idea of rebellion is something that comes pretty naturally. When asked who should be the first guest on this so-called rebel show, he said: “That’s easy: Johanna Gottlieb.” So, let’s turn attention towards Johanna ... Johanna is a Senior Branding Specialist at Axis...
Oct 19, 2016•44 min
Join Mark Graham and Danny Rosin as they speak with a promotional products alumnus and to understand what the world looks like when you move from distributor to end user. Our guest today is no stranger to many listeners: Rebecca Kohlmann. Rebecca got her start in the promotional products industry as the Marketing Manager for 4imprint in 1996. In 2004, she moved over to head up Business Development for AIA, a role excelled at for 11 years before moving away from the industry to join Fox World Tra...
Oct 10, 2016•35 min
Join Mark Graham and fellow chef Marshall Atkinson as they leap head first into the world of embroidery and digitizing. It’s a fascinating world populated by colorful characters and professionals who make it their duty to create the guts of an embroidery design. For some, digitizing is a mere setup charge that represents a cost to be minimized when building a promotional products campaign. For others, it’s one of the most important elements of the entire order. Digitize poorly and you end up cos...
Sep 26, 2016•45 min
Joining us today in the guest chair is Jessica Hiner, VP of Key Accounts at The Magnet Group. Jessica got her start in the industry in 2003 when she worked as an Account Executive at the distributor Promotion Concepts. It was during this time that she had the chance to work with the great Paul Kiewiet, where she learned how to sell promotional products in the most creative and strategic way possible. In 2007, she moved over to the supplier side when she joined the Magnet Group. Since then it’s b...
Sep 15, 2016•37 min
We are conducting a grand experiment today. We recently recorded episode 100, and to honor this we wanted to get as many chefs on a podcast as possible. On today’s podcast - PromoKitchen Podcast #102 - we welcome PromoKitchen chefs Charity Gibson, Aubrey Collins, Danny Rosin, Kirby Hasseman, Marshall Atkinson, Robert Fiveash, Larry Cohen, Patrick Black, Tee Hamilton, Bill Petrie, Dale Denham, Jess Hutwelker, Nate Bailey and Roger Burnett. We wanted to hear from them about what they’ve learned fr...
Aug 30, 2016•1 hr 28 min
Joining Mark Graham for an interview with David Nicholson, President of Polyconcept North America. PCNA is one of the industry’s largest and most influential suppliers. Under David’s leadership, Polyconcept has grown into a $ ½ billion organization. It’s been a staggering run. On July 18, the industry learned that Polyconcept was acquired by Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on middle market companies. This acquisition marked the end of a successful 11-year partnership ...
Aug 22, 2016•43 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #100 | Paul Bellantone by PromoKitchen
Jun 13, 2016•47 min
Long time listeners might recall the last time when Bruce was on the podcast. It was October 2012 and we spoke at length about Bruce’s endless curiosities and passions. I maintain to this day that Bruce is the only person in this industry who gets younger which each year he gets older. Bruce is the owner of Embroidery Unlimited and current member of the PPAI board. He lives in Tempe, Arizona with his wife Suzanne and family. In addition to his responsibilities as a decorator and family man, Bruc...
May 24, 2016•33 min
Mark Graham, co-founder of commonsku and fellow chef and rabble rouser Jason Lucash, President of OrigAudio have a special episode lined up for you today as they speak with one of the emerging entrepreneurs in our industry, Adam Walterscheid. Ask Adam how his day is going and the response you get is “It’s great, just another day in t-shirt paradise.” The son of a cotton farmer, Adam learned early how cotton was made and distributed for wearables. Being a Division 1 Athlete taught him that it’s n...
May 02, 2016•31 min
On today’s show, we welcome Jon Levine, President of the distributor The Image Group based in Holland, Ohio. Jon graduated with a degree in accounting from Arizona State University in 1980 and used this experience to establish his early career in the steel industry. In 1991, he shifted his focus towards the promotional products industry when he started The Image Group. Since the founding of the company, Jon has grown The Image Group into one of the industry’s most respected distributors. Earlier...
Apr 26, 2016•43 min
Mark Graham welcomes Chuck Fandos back to the program. Chuck was first on the podcast in May 2012 so a repeat visit has been long overdue. Chuck is the founder of Gateway CDI, a prominent distributor based in St Louis. He is also the CEO of Facilis, a leading industry software provider and technology enabled buying group. In January 2016, it was announced that UK based distributor Brand Addition had acquired Gateway CDI. This got me thinking that there would be an opportunity to hear from Chuck ...
Mar 24, 2016•35 min
Tony Wavering is the founder of bidPress. In 2005, while studying at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Tony started a custom apparel business that sold to many student groups and businesses in Pennsylvania and New York. After graduating from Penn, Tony worked as a management consultant for Deloitte Consulting in New York City for six years, working primarily with global banking and securities companies on mergers, integrations, divestitures and performance improvement initiatives. ...
Mar 08, 2016•36 min
In today’s podcast, Mark Graham and Charity Gibson get the chance to speak with one of the smartest, if not one of the most eclectic and unassuming, characters in the promotional products industry, Jeff Batson. Jeff is the kind of guy you should know and here’s why: Jeff has been President of NEXT Products in Shelbyville, Indiana since 2013. On his watch NEXT was named one of ASI’s fastest growing suppliers in 2015. NEXT, with its onsite corporate parent, is a manufacturer of injection molded dr...
Mar 01, 2016•30 min
In 2001, when I was relatively new to the industry, I attended an education session at the PPPC show with today’s guest, Cliff Quicksell. It was a transformative moment for me as I was challenged by Cliff to see the bigger creative picture as it pertained to promotional products sales. I will always remember that class and the several others I attended in subsequent years as key to my development as a professional in this industry. While Cliff is certainly a household name in the industry, his b...
Feb 11, 2016•38 min
Chefs Mark Graham and Danny Rosin with a special edition PK Podcast - On Dec 8, news broke of the merger between 2 of the largest apparel suppliers in the industry: alphabroder and Bodek and Rhodes. According to ASI’s Top 40 Supplier list, the combined sales of these 2 companies is now over $1 Billion making this the first company in the promotional products industry to cross that threshold. This is the third major addition for alphabroder in the last few years, after it added Imprints Wholesale...
Dec 22, 2015•26 min
In today’s episode, we take a close look at the print industry, what makes it tick, how it’s different from the promotional products industry and where it complements the work we do every day with. We have this conversation with Marci Kinter, Vice President for Government & Business Information for the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association International, most commonly known as the SGIA. SGIA is the world’s largest trade association for the screen and digital printing industry. This includes ...
Dec 16, 2015•42 min
Today's podcast features Mark Graham and Robert Fiveash in conversation with Prime Line's CEO Jeff Lederer. Prime Line is one of the industry’s largest and most recognized supplier brands. Jeff joined Prime in 1993 as a regional sales manager and over the years has been a key visionary in helping shape the organization in areas such as product development, new service offerings, and technology innovation. Jeff has traveled extensively throughout the world and represents Prime as the only US memb...
Nov 30, 2015•44 min
PromoKitchen Podcast - Snack Sized Byte - Greg Washer by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•3 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #31 - Dave Regan | Vernon Company by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•41 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #11 - Sales And The New Hybrid Sales Rep by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•32 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #12 - Tech Meets Promo - PromoLabs by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•30 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #14 - Social - Nathan Bailey Ideation by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•44 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #13 - Tech Meets Promo - Essent by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•29 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #10 - Craig Morantz by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•33 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #4 - There's No Business Like Show Business Pt. 2 by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•44 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #2 - SWAG. What's In A Name by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•31 min
PromoKitchen Podcast #3 - There's No Business Like Show Business Pt. 1 by PromoKitchen
Nov 18, 2015•28 min
