On May 10, 2019, the US government announced a sweeping tariff increase from 10% to 25% which impacts the costs of several promotional products categories. As this news is fresh, we wanted to explore the impact on promotional products suppliers and distributors. In this episode, PK Chef Mark Graham speaks to Larry Cohen, President of distributor Axis Promotions and Josh Goodelman, President of supplier Liquimark to weigh in on the good, bad and the ugly around this announcement. It's Promotional...
May 15, 2019•41 min
n this week's Deep Dive, PK Chef Kate Plummer chats with Beccah Stains from Geiger about solution selling, how free doesn't equal cheap and why we all need to factor sustainability into our sales pitch. Join us every Wednesday on Twitter for another #Promochat. Jump in at noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern.
Apr 30, 2019•25 min
In this week's Deep Dive, Kate Plummer and Bill Petrie sit down to have a chef-to-chef conversation about experiential marketing and the benefits of Recall ROI. Join us every Wednesday on Twitter for another #Promochat. Jump in at noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern.
Apr 23, 2019•21 min
In this episode, Johanna Gottlieb (Axis Promotions) and Mark Graham (commonsku) sit down with industry newbie Laura Gibson with Brand Fuel and industry veteran Lisa Pine with Axis Promotions. At the time of this recording, Laura celebrated her 4 week anniversary in the industry while Lisa has led a distinguished 30-year career. We wanted to see where their experiences were similar and where they differed in this wide-ranging conversation.
Apr 23, 2019•31 min
This week, PK Chef Kate Plummer sat down with Scott A. Nussinow to talk about not one but two amazing answers to our #Promochat questions. Strap in for some knowledge, because this is one heck of a ride. Thanks to our friends at Maple Ridge Farms for supporting our Deep Dive video interviews! Tune in every Wednesday at 3PM Eastern, Noon Pacific over on Twitter for another round of #promochat
Apr 22, 2019•22 min
On this week's Deep Dive, Chef Kate Plummer of Clearmount, talks to Meagan Upole from Catalyst Promotions and Thread Mail Designs about innovation and bringing the personal to the digital. You can join us on Twitter for a brand new #promochat every Wednesday at 12:00 Pacific, 3PM Eastern.
Apr 09, 2019•12 min
On this week's #promochat Deep Dive, PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount sits down with Sam Stevens from World Emblem to talk about the best ways to communicate with your entire team when you start a new project. Thanks to our friends at Maple Ridge Farms for supporting our Deep Dive video interviews! Tune in every Wednesday at 3PM Eastern, Noon Pacific over on Twitter for another round of #promochat
Apr 02, 2019•7 min
PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount talks with veteran Promochatter Charity Gibson about collaborating with your competitors while they reminisce about 100 #promochats. Catch #promochat every Wednesday at noon Pacific (3PM eastern) over on Twitter.
Mar 28, 2019•14 min
In this episode, Jay Busselle (Equipment Zone) and Mark Graham (commonsku) sit down with Mark Stephenson, Marketing Director for ColDesi and one of the co-hosts of the popular podcast Custom Apparel Startups. In this episode, Jay and Mark explore why a distributor might bring decoration in-house, and what pitfalls to avoid when going down this path. We also discuss the concept of a “Maker vs a Marketer” which broadly describes the difference between the sales and marketing culture of the promoti...
Mar 26, 2019•57 min
On this week's #promochat Deep Dive, PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount talks to Jessica Gibbons-Rauch about achieving milestones using SMART goals.
Mar 19, 2019•10 min
PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount talks about mission drift with Anna Henley in this week's #Promochat Deep Dive. Tune in every Wednesday at 3PM Eastern, Noon Pacific over on Twitter for another round of #promochat.
Mar 12, 2019•15 min
In this episode, Johanna Gottlieb (Axis Promotions) and Mark Graham (commonsku) sit down with industry newbie Krista Franchuk with The Promo Addict and industry veteran Perry Wehrle with Image Source. Krista has been in the promotional products industry for less than 1 month while Perry has been developing his craft for 4 decades. We wanted to see where their experiences were similar and where they differed in this wide-ranging conversation. Thanks to our sponsors PPAI and SanMar for supporting ...
Mar 12, 2019•36 min
Chefs Kate Plummer and Bill Petrie sit down with Darel Cook, Director of Expositions and Meetings from PPAI about the work that went into Expo 2019. They cover all the technology that went into making this Expo successful and why there was puppies and chocolate covered bacon on the show floor.
Mar 01, 2019•41 min
PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount talks to Erich Campbell from BriTon Leap about turning failure into success and working smarter! Tune in every Wednesday at 3PM Eastern, Noon Pacific over on Twitter for another round of #promochat.
Feb 26, 2019•27 min
Patrick Kennedy from The ASI Show talks with PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount about using promo to change the perception of promo. Join us every Wednesday at noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern for another round of #promochat on Twitter.
Feb 19, 2019•13 min
PK Chefs Kelsey (from Warwick Publishing) and Josh (from SanMar) are coming at you for the SECOND #Promochat Deep Dive of the week. We had so many great answers to last week's topic that we decided to do two videos. Enjoy this extra content and be sure to check us out #Promochat every Wednesday on Twitter.
Feb 14, 2019•8 min
Cari and Katie from alphabroder talk to PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount about managing two large corporations' social accounts. Don't forget to jump in with us for another #promochat, every Wednesday on Twitter at 3PM Eastern, Noon Pacific.
Feb 12, 2019•22 min
David Glenn, president of CoasterStone, talks to PK Chef Kate Plummer from Clearmount about cleaning up dirty POs and tackling time sucks. Don't forget to jump in with us for another #promochat, every Wednesday on Twitter at 3PM Eastern, Noon Pacific.
Feb 05, 2019•12 min
In this episode, Johanna Gottlieb (Axis Promotions) and Mark Graham (commonsku) sit down with Alan Pedrosa, First Shift Supervisor at Spector & Company, to discuss the realities of working on the production floor of a fast growth supplier. Jo and Mark cover everything from what really happens when an order messes up (not often!) to the camaraderie between colleagues in an operations environment. It's a fascinating look behind the curtain. Thanks to our sponsors PPAI and SanMar for supporting...
Jan 30, 2019•33 min
This week, Kate Plummer from Clearmount takes a #Promochat Deep Dive with Danny Rosin, co-owner of Brand Fuel and our very own Promokitchen Chef to talk about sales tactics and practicing what you preach. Join us for #promochat on Twitter each Wednesday at 12PM Pacific/3PM Eastern.
Jan 29, 2019•13 min
In this new series, Stories from the Floor, we go behind the scenes. In this episode, Mark Graham (commonsku) and Johanna Gottlieb (Axis Promotions) sit down with Chris Garcia and Josh Wees at SnugZ USA. Chris has worked in the laser printing area of the production floor for 2 years while Josh has been in the label cutting department for 5 years. We learn about their ups and downs on the job, their favorite products and what can completely throw off their days. We hope you enjoy! Thanks to our s...
Dec 20, 2018•38 min
This week, Kate Plummer from Clearmount talks with Rich Patterson from Patterson Brands about how how he prepares for networking events. Join us for #promochat on Twitter each Wednesday at 12PM Pacific/3PM Eastern.
Dec 18, 2018•8 min
This week, Kate Plummer from Clearmount talks with Patrick Black from Perfect Imprints about how he's promoting North American suppliers and his sales pitch for buying domestic. Join us for #promochat on Twitter each Wednesday at 12PM Pacific/3PM Eastern.
Dec 11, 2018•8 min
This week, Kate takes a LIVE #Promochat Deep Dive with Edward from Redwood Classics, to chat about sustainability, and how we can leave the world and planet a better place as promo professionals, and educate our customers on sustainable practices and options. Redwood invests in quality -- not "fast fashion" or "fast promo"-- but rather, durable apparel products that last. Join us for #promochat on Twitter each Wednesday at 12PM Pacific/3PM Eastern.
Dec 05, 2018•10 min
For this week's Deep Dive, Kate talks to Javier from All Star Incentive Marketing about his rockstar mobile app setup and how he keeps up with everything when he's on the road. Join us every Wednesday at Noon pacific for another #Promochat over on Twitter!
Dec 05, 2018•14 min
In this new series, Stories from the Floor, we go behind the scenes. In this episode, Mark Graham (commonsku) and Johanna Gottlieb (Axis Promotions) sit down with Eliseo Cervantes and Stephanie Esse from Chameleon Like. Stephanie is a Pre-Production Manager and Eliseo is the Production Manager with extensive production experience such as Paper Cutting, Machine operator, Die-cutting Press Operator, Offset Press Operator, Warehouse Supervisor. We learn a bit about how they make the wheel turn and ...
Nov 28, 2018•31 min
Managing mental health in the workplace is more important than ever before. Fortunately, the stigma around mental health is starting to dissipate as society accepts that mental health is no different than one's physical health. In this episode, Mark Graham and Robert Fiveash sit down with Shaun Lichtenberger, President of Brand Blvd, to discuss their forward thinking approach to mental health in the workplace. It's a progressive and inspiring conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we d...
Oct 11, 2018•45 min
On Sept 14, Hub Promotional Group rocked the industry by announcing that they had acquired Origaudio and that Jason Lucash and Mike Szymczak were joining the Hub management team. To some, it felt like Origaudio would never sell, to others they felt that Jason and Mike might not fit in at a more traditional, larger supplier. So in true PromoKitchen fashion, we wanted to get to the bottom of it to find out why and how this deal went down.
Sep 26, 2018•38 min
There were so many great answers, we had to do a bonus deeper dive as Jay Busselle talks with Johanna Gottlieb of Axis Promotions about prospecting and cold calling.
Sep 18, 2018•18 min
On this week's #Promochat Deep Dive, Jim Jay Busselle talks with Reagan K Hartman about how miscommunications can cause roadblocks in our productivity.
Sep 18, 2018•7 min
