For years, Yahoo and the rest of the brotherhood of big-name Silicon Valley tech companies have used perks such as telecommuting, free food, bocce ball courts and on-site eyebrow shaping as a means to recruit and retain top talent. And it has resulted in gaining many of them high-ranking spots on mainstream lists of the best places to work.

Oddly, though, Mayer’s memo heard ’round the world cites workplace quality as the reason for the change. It states: “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices.”

These words triggered much debate over whether or not working from home is good for companies, for employees, for working moms—everyone had a point of view. But no one had a definitive answer for the long-term effects of allowing or disallowing employees to office from home.

When this year’s crop of the industry’s Greatest Companies To Work For were selected, PPB thought it might have the answer. After polling all 14 companies, the results were inconclusive—fully half of those selected allow at least some employees to work at home, while the remaining half requires employees to be in the office every day.

So what qualities make a company one of the greatest to work for in the industry? It turns out it’s a hard-to-define mix of culture, freedom (including but not limited to working from home), respect and recognition. Still not sure you understand? Meet this year’s honorees and you’ll see.

The team at ADG Promotional Products enjoys a casual dress code and is known for being calm and collected.

ADG Promotional Products

UPIC ADGPROMO / CATEGORY Supplier / HEADQUARTERS St. Hugo, Minnesota / Employees 300 / ESTABLISHED 1965

Why employees love it—Employees play a part in developing their roles and job descriptions. “I’ve had a pretty direct say in what my job and responsibilities are and where my time is spent most effectively,” says Joshua Russell, website artist and layout editor for ADG. “I love this because I’m overseeing the development of my skill set, customizing it to what I believe is most important.”

How it celebrates success—Parties, happy hours, lunches and gift cards are typical at ADG, and the company also rewards individuals with trips to industry trade shows and other events. “We have many ways of celebrating our successes,” says Mary Kay Anderson, who has worked for ADG for 16 years. “We celebrate our success as a team and learn from our shortcomings in the same manner—as a team.”

What makes it the best—Everyday is casual day at ADG, but the culture doesn’t support lazing on the job. “Even when there is a maelstrom of technical difficulties, customer worries or other uncommon problems, everybody is still focused on getting the job done quickly and effectively,” Russell says.

Tip for building a better workplace—Develop inside talent, hire smarter, remove bureaucracy, let people make and be responsible and accountable for decisions. Always ask, “Is there a better way?”

>>Culture At A Glance “We all have fun doing our jobs, but at the end of the day it’s about achieving what we set out to do.”
 

PPB: You’ve had a really impressive track record for success. What was the hardest lesson you had to learn?

Nadel: I had to learn to do my own research when making important decisions. For example, when I opened my company’s operation in Europe, I started with an office and factory in Italy and it was a mistake because the employment situation wasn’t right. If I’d done my research properly, I would have opened it in the South of France—and saved a lot of money.

No. 2, I learned to dismiss my ego and admit I’m capable of making mistakes. No. 3, I learned to listen. Some people are so intent on what they want to say they don’t hear what the other person is saying. If you learn to listen you really find out how to make a deal because you hear what the other person wants. There are two ends to a deal—I’ve got to find out what the other person wants before I can make a satisfactory deal. Perfect your ability to listen and then decide what you can take in. You can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday’s answers. You have to learn how to think.

PPB: What would you say is your proudest accomplishment and why?

Nadel: I’ve been a fortunate guy. I was chairman of PPAI in 1970, and I’m proud of the accomplishments of my administration. I’m also proud to have been elected to the PPAI Hall of Fame [1988.] I also helped women to crack the glass ceiling in the promotional specialty business by being one of the first to hire female account executives in 1953, and I’m proud of that. Another is when I sold my company to a public company in 1968. It was the only time I worked for anyone else—for four years. Then I bought back the company on a leveraged buyout.

I’m also proud of the writing, lecturing and mentoring I’ve done. I get a kick out of seeing people make more money. I can’t leap over tall buildings anymore, but I can write.

PPB: What advice do you have for small distributors struggling to stay afloat?

Nadel: I think small distributors have to take all the risks of business conditions into mind. Are they better off as a small distributor, taking all risks and having to perform all functions, or should they do the things they do best? The most important advice I would give is for the small-business owners to take stock of what they can do better than anybody else and specialize in that arena. What are the capabilities you can bring to bear that will make you stand head and shoulders above the competitors? And stop selling products—sell ideas. One of the things I understood from the get-go was that it wasn’t about the products; it was about the ideas and solving problems. When I was a salesman, my opening question was: “What’s your biggest problem? If I know what your problem is, I can help you solve it.” I became an ally rather than an opponent.

PPB: If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?

Nadel: There’s really nothing that I can think of that I would have not done the same way today. The thinking was right. Anytime you have a new idea or a different approach, you’ll find a thousand people who will give you reasons not to do it. When I went into Europe, everyone said I was crazy—that it wouldn’t work. But it did work. I had the experience. I was in foreign trade; I had traveled to other parts of the world. If I had it all to do over again, I’d do more!

I’ve certainly made mistakes, but I’ve never agonized over them. It’s a mistake to agonize over bad decisions. I never lost something for lack of effort. I never agonized over losing a deal. You lose a few. Take your losses and don’t go down with the ship. Put it into your bank of understanding and don’t do it again. I never use the words “should have” or “could have.” I don’t reprimand myself, and if I made a mistake, then I correct it.

PPB: How do you want to be remembered in the promotional products industry?

Nadel: I would like to be remembered as an innovator, original thinker and as a doer. I’ve always been very positive and thought out-of-the-box but had an outrageous percentage of success. I would say I want to be remembered as originating, innovating and succeeding.

My goal now at 89 is to pass it on through this book, the internet, blogs—whatever means I have to pass on the word to a better life. If you look at the base of a great number of problems we face in the world today, it always comes back to the economy. People with full stomachs who are doing what they like to do are happier than those with empty stomachs. The spirit of entrepreneurship is one of the major solutions to our economic problems. The individual worker, small-business man or woman can no longer count on what used to be a staple … the relationship of the individual to the corporation has diminished tremendously.  One of our greatest weapons is the American entrepreneur.

Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB.

>>Read an excerpt from Jack Nadel’s book, The Evolution of an Entrepreneur.

Since the beginning of my career, I have been creating and refining what I call the “Nadel Method.” After nearly 70 years of business experience, I am confident this method can be used by all entrepreneurs.

Step One: Identify a business idea you love.

A few years back, I was teaching a business course at the University of California-Santa Barbara. One of the first questions I was asked was, “What is the right business today for me to be in?” My answer to this question is always, “What is it that you really love to do?” This is the first question you must answer; then you find a way to turn what you love to do into a business. When you make this choice about your career, however, you must clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses. There is a difference between a wish and a goal. A wish might be to play point guard for the Lakers. An achievable goal might be to work with an NBA team in their marketing or sales department or to become a supplier to an NBA venue or retail outlet.

Step Two: Ask the right questions as you research.

Okay, you have pinpointed a new business. Understand that if it is a good idea, the odds are that someone has thought of it before you. This fact should not necessarily discourage you, but it is imperative that you research what they did, how they did it and how you can do it better. Before you spend a dollar or many hours of your time, you must use logical thinking to get answers to some very precise questions. First, is your business idea a product or a service? If it is a product, what other products in the marketplace are the same or similar? If it is a service, who else is performing this service, and is it being done successfully? How big is the market?

How fortunate we are that much of what we want to know is accessible right on our computers or even on our mobile devices. I remember one budding entrepreneur who came to me for advice on how to make his newly created business really work. I asked him if anybody was already putting his idea to use or attempting to develop it. He replied, “Absolutely no one has done it … isn’t that amazing?” I immediately went to my computer; a number of different companies were doing everything he had talked about. Yet this person had spent a great deal of money on proposals and trying to raise capital. This is one of the first things you have to know. It is not easy to raise capital on an idea that you have not investigated thoroughly. Thousands of people come up with millions of ideas. But they have nothing until they have proven that an idea can work.

Step Three: Plan a deal and focus on the details.

At this point, you are ready for the first phase in structuring a deal and creating a business plan around it. (Note that the Nadel Method uses the term business plan to indicate the steps required to execute a particular deal. Also, the advice presented applies to any deal in the life of your business, not only to the first one.) Just as an athlete needs to condition his or her body to go into competition, you must likewise condition your mind to engage in business. The Nadel Method is based on the ability to think in terms of a particular situation and react to it in a specific time frame. An entrepreneur must learn to conceptualize in a highly focused way, with an emphasis on market demand and profit potential. Asking and answering questions is an ongoing part of this process. What tools are available to expedite your plan? How will you make the best use of them? How will you transition from proposing a deal to making a concrete business plan? Remember, the business plan has to tell you not only how to execute the deal, but how to do it profitably.

Visualize the steps you will have to go through to carry out the deal. I mean really go through them in your mind, step by step and meeting by meeting. Imagine that you are watching a video as you mentally go through the motions of completing a plan and making a deal happen. You write the script, and you are the star.

This process can take any amount of time. You should not put restrictions on it because it sets you on the right track and may save you from many mistakes. Take a totally optimistic view: Everything goes right, happening just as you had planned. In your mind, see the deal as it’s made. Now sit back for a moment and ask yourself how you feel. Are you thrilled with the deal, or are you disappointed? I have gone through this visualization many times and occasionally felt at the end that I was really not happy with the results.

Remember, you went through this process as if everything transpired perfectly, which it never does. If you do not feel good about the deal, do not even start it. If you love where you are after the deal is completed successfully in your mind, you can go on to the next phase: putting your business plan on paper. Compare this process to a football team going up against a tough opponent (the deal). The coach must prepare a game plan that the team reviews many times before the opening kickoff (the business plan).

Now that the stage has been set mentally, you must be determined to start making good things happen. Every vocation requires a distinct mindset. A philosopher thinks in abstractions, while an engineer imagines the way things work. A comedian searches for humor in every situation, while an entrepreneur thinks in specifics with laser-like precision. Business details can be tiny, in the form of millimeters, pennies or subtle shades of color. As an entrepreneur, you have to know that stress is guaranteed. You must have a genuine passion for success in order to manage the frustrations of the journey.

Without a frantic crisis-of-the-month to monopolize her time in the past few weeks, Michele has been thinking of some ways to improve and document the understandings and expectations between her company, Golfster Promo, and its many suppliers. From her painful ordeals, Michele has realized that all of her quality, safety and compliance problems have stemmed from her company’s failure to establish, communicate and memorialize (in writing) its expectations with its suppliers. Michele knows that a written supplier agreement would be a valuable and necessary tool to hold her suppliers responsible for fulfilling their duties to provide her company with safe and compliant quality products. But, being a reasonable person, Michele does not want to use the supplier agreement as a “hammer” over her suppliers’ heads, but more as a document that will mutually benefit Golfster Promo and its suppliers by accomplishing the overall goal of reducing product safety and compliance risks in the supply chain. Thoughtfully, she has jotted down the following objectives and components for her supplier agreement:

• Set expectations for performance by both parties to avoid misunderstandings and disagreements that can result in finger-pointing, conflicts, product safety claims, recalls and lawsuits;
• Establish basic business terms such as pricing, payment terms, discounts and packaging and shipping requirements;
• Ensure a clear understanding of product safety and other regulations that must be met by the supplier, such as Consumer Product Safety Information Act (CPSIA), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), Cal Prop 65, Health Canada, customs and other applicable regulations that govern product compliance;
• Provide for requirements of product safety testing, test reports and other conformity documents upon request;
• Describe suppliers’ requirements for social responsibility and environmental compliance, including a requirement that suppliers meet the PPAI Code of Conduct, and the company’s rights to audit suppliers’ factories to verify compliance; and
• Include basic legal protections, for both parties, in the areas of indemnity, insurance, confidentiality, intellectual property protection and conflict of interest.

Even though Michele understands that, as a distributor, her company would have greater negotiation powers than her suppliers when she submits her new supplier agreement to them, she also realizes that the “hammer” approach to vendor relations would not be helpful if her company wants to form long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with her suppliers. Does she want to use her new supplier agreement to serve as a set of mutual, hopeful promises to take care of each other, to provide support and to strengthen their relationship ‘til death do us part? Or does she envision the agreement as a hard-and-fast document that spells out the parties’ legal obligations and remedies after a bad event that causes the parties to part ways and sue each other? Michele understands that a balanced and fair agreement will serve her and her vendor partners the best.

What are Michele’s next steps? Who can help her with this agreement? Golfster Promo is too small of a company to have an in-house lawyer to prepare such an agreement for her. Can an outside law firm draft the supplier agreement for her if she explains what she needs? Michele’s boss doesn’t want to spend thousands of dollars for a lawyer to start a contract from scratch, so are there more practical alternatives that can give her a head-start on this important project? Yes! Here are some of the alternatives she can use to get started on the preparation of her agreement:

• A Little Help From Friends: Michele can call on a few friends and colleagues in the industry and ask for templates of supplier agreements they may have in their files. She can use these as “inspiration” on how to set-up her agreement and to learn of the basic boilerplate provisions that are used in our industry. Michele must be sure to have her friends black-out any confidential information contained in those samples to avoid any breaches of confidentiality obligations by the parties involved in those agreements. There is also the potential for “duplicating” too much from these sample documents that can be embarrassing down the line or pose some legal issues for plagiarism.

• “Free” Online Templates: Many websites offer free contract templates but most of those “freebies” are often too basic for serious business applications. Most of the free templates are incomplete and you must sign up and pay a fee to get the full version of the template. Let the buyer beware when using the internet for templates.

• Hiring A Consultant: Hiring a consultant who specializes in the field of Vendor Relations and Compliance would be a smart way to go for most companies that don’t have the in-house expertise or simply want a turnkey package that can be implemented within a short window. A skilled vendor relations consultant can provide valuable assistance for customized templates, compliance requirements and other vital components for a robust, semi-custom vendor package that won’t break the company’s budget. If Michele brings on a consultant to help her, she understands the importance of making sure that the consultant is experienced in the promotional products world so that the agreements and other documents are specifically tailored for (1) the way business is conducted in our industry and (2) the unique business practices at Golfster Promo.

Michele is really excited about this project. For the first time in her new career as a newbie compliance manager, she is able to take a deep breath and think about taking a proactive course of action to improve the processes at her company. She knows with certainty that a practicable and balanced supplier agreement for her vendors will serve as an excellent tool toward reducing risks and liability to her company. Just as important, she envisions that the supplier agreement will work in a positive way to help her vendors learn how to meet production and compliance expectations so they can be long-term partners for Golfster Promo.

So, do supplier-distributor contracts act as (1) a set of optimistic wedding vows and promises for good behavior ‘til death do us part, or (2) do they serve as a distasteful, but sometimes necessary, prenuptial agreement to keep the parties from brutally suing each other over the doomed marriage’s debts and obligations? Michele thinks it’s both. As the old English proverb says, “Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.”

Leeton Lee has been in the product safety and compliance industry for more than 18 years, starting as in-house legal counsel at The Walt Disney Company where he worked for seven years and helped to form Disney’s industry-leading Corporate Product Integrity Department and managed the company’s legal matters for its worldwide product safety and liability program. As an attorney for approximately 25 years, he has extensive experience in regulatory compliance and product safety, namely in toys, children’s products, promotional products and apparel. In addition to working at Disney, he has performed associate general counsel duties at industry leaders Sega Gameworks and Equity Marketing (aka EMAK Worldwide). He is currently vice president of regulatory compliance and general counsel at drinkware supplier ETS Express, Inc. in Oxnard, California. He is also a member of PPAI’s Product Responsibility Committee.

>>An Eye-Opening Two Days

How does a newbie, a junior or even a senior compliance manager keep up on the latest developments in product safety and other important aspects of responsible sourcing? How can account managers and salespeople who work with major brands impress their prospects with confident and articulate compliance knowledge to close the big deals? If your company is a supplier and wants to get on major distributors’ preferred supplier lists, how can you learn about key issues in product safety and compliance in two days? Attend the PPAI 2013 Product Safety Summit, August 14-15, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois.

Held in conjunction with the North American Leadership Conference, the PPAI Product Safety Summit is designed to provide excellent resources to help you explore the latest developments in product safety regulations and best practices for greater success in your business.

Register for the PPAI Product Safety Summit today—seats are limited. Visit www.ppai.org/summit for more details.

When you are selling promotional products as an advertising medium, you need to know your competition and what it can and cannot do. Research has shown that promotional products are a highly effective way to reach an audience and deliver a message, but they are not the only game in town. This series takes a look at how to sell promotional products as an advertising medium against print, broadcast, digital and non-traditional media (outdoor advertising, events and product placement). Let’s take a look at print advertising media.

Print, the oldest form of advertising media, dates back to the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1439. With its movable wooden or metal letters, the printing press made printed materials available to the masses.

Today, print media include magazine and newspapers, both of which can have a local, regional or national reach. Newspapers such as USA Today and The Wall Street Journal are national in scope. The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and other major market publications often reach a regional audience. In a small- or mid-sized market, your local newspaper has an even smaller, but more targeted reach.

There are two categories of magazines: Consumer magazines and business-to-business (B2B) or trade magazines. Consumer magazines are typically national in scope and reach, and include well-known titles such as TIME, Ladies Home Journal, People magazine and Sports Illustrated. But there are regional and even local consumer magazines that focus on the local community scene, arts scene or other items of local interest. Chicago magazine keeps me in touch with my old adopted hometown, and Grand Rapids magazine teaches me about my new community.  Similarly, consumer magazines can be very targeted by lifestyle, interests, hobbies and affiliations.

B2B magazines range from broad interest in business topics with magazines such as Entrepreneur to extremely industry-specific trade magazines such as the magazine you are holding right now. Some magazines are published by the industry trade association serving the particular market. (For example, PPB is published by PPAI, and Speaker magazine is published by the National Speakers Association.) Sometimes B2B magazines are published by publishing companies that specialize in various industries and industry segments. B2B magazines can also be tightly targeted by an industry and even by a job within an industry.

A Quick Look At Print Sales

PPAI tracks the annual sales of 14 advertising media including direct mail, radio, TV, magazines, newspapers and others. The latest year in which data is available for all 14 media is 2011, a year in which promotional products was the fourth fastest growing of these media. The sales growth of promotional products was outpaced in terms of percent of change from the previous year only by mobile phone advertising, internet and cable TV. In 2011, print advertising did not fare so well. Consumer magazine ad sales were flat compared to 2010, and business magazines had only a slightly better story, up 3.8 percent in 2011 over the previous year. For newspapers, bad news continued as sales fell 9.2 percent to $20.7 billion in 2011. The really, really bad news for newspapers was that in 2005, newspapers were a $47 billion industry—a stunning drop of more than $26 billion in advertising revenue over those six years. Ouch!

Let’s Localize This.

Most of these research numbers are consolidated from the big picture, but let’s face it: Many distributors are selling to advertisers who are making choices on local and, in some cases, regional levels more often than on a national level.

When you’re selling against magazines, you are likely selling against a local or regional consumer or business magazine. When you’re selling against newspapers, you’re likely selling against the Main Street Gazette or maybe the College Times if your city has a local college or university. Whether it’s The Wall Street Journal or the Kalamazoo Gazette, People magazine or Asheville magazine, print advertising is sold based on circulation—the number of people the publication will reach—the demographics of those people and the basis of the benefits each media has to offer.

Why Magazines?

High Quality. Magazines are sleek, shiny and glossy. They create a high-quality look and feel for an advertiser. They can enhance a brand image. They provide color and a creative landscape for painting a brand story. Magazines’ ad salespeople can give prospects plenty of compelling reasons to choose this media starting with the No. 1 reason: A high-quality image.

Eye-Catching. Magazines have stopping power. They are an engaging medium that people choose to get involved with and to which they give their attention—and attention is a valuable attribute to gain. The stopping power created by an ad with a captivating graphic, a strong headline and an interesting promotional offer (Did you catch that?) makes magazine advertising a strong marketing tool.

Keepers. Magazines also have staying power. They’re often too nice to throw away until the recipient is sure to have read or saved all of the articles. Magazines are also often passed around for secondary readership and often put out in public spaces for sharing with employees, clients and vendors.

Targeted. Magazines can also reach tightly targeted markets. Activities, interests, hobbies, passions and affiliations are exploited by great content in consumer and B2B magazines. A large part of the continued success and the continuous launch of new titles are the result of this targetability.

Detractors of magazine advertising will tell you that circulation, readership and ad pages are down, and that magazines are no longer relevant. With some magazines, especially news magazines, this may be true, but many consumer, B2B and trade magazines are continuing to thrive by expanding to digital and mobile formats to complement the print version and reach their intended audiences where they live and work. For example, Esquire magazine, a pioneer in integrating some of the first QR codes in print, now includes augmented reality codes making it truly multimedia. At the same time, there are a number of successful magazines celebrating centennials and, in 2011, there were more new magazines launched than closed for the second year in a row.

Yeah, they’re good, but promotional products are even better!

Four Ways Promotional Products Trump Magazine Print Ads

If you do your job well as a promotional products distributor and recommend the right product for the right audience, and if you understand the image of your advertiser customer, you too can enhance and build your clients’ brand image by playing off their current print media budget.

When you look at promotional products as one of the fastest-growing advertising media, it’s easy to point out the advantages to your clients. Promotional products can make a claim that no other media can touch: They make the recipient feel good about the advertiser, according to PPAI research. In the latest study, “The Influence Of Promotional Products On Consumer Behavior,” 59 percent of recipients had a more favorable impression of the advertiser after receiving a promotional item. That is the ultimate brand image builder.

Promotional products are also the only advertising medium for which people will say “thank you.” Try that with an internet ad or TV commercial.

Not only that, but you can recommend promotional products to your clients who are currently running ads in magazines because promotional products enhance other types of advertising. You see, research shows that ads with promotional offers stop readers’ eyes and they spend even more time with the advertisement. If your clients are currently using magazine print ads, discuss the opportunities to include an offer for a promotional product and a call to action in every one of their ads. This step causes readers to be more engaged, spend more time on the ad and take more action. (And you’ll sell more promotional products!)

When it comes to staying power, promotional products beat every other media hands down.  Long touted as the medium that remains to be seen, remains to be used and remains to be remembered, promotional products cost so little per impression because people keep them, use them and remember the advertiser who gave them the product. A recent study showed that 53 percent of recipients use promotional products at least once a week and 47 percent of recipients keep promotional products for more than a year.

Targetability is also the strong suit of promotional products. Ask your clients which magazines they are advertising in and you’ll have the basis for creating the right recommendations to help them reach that market. Research those magazines to uncover the demographics your client is trying to reach and the interests of their target audience allowing you to recommend on-target promotional products to help them accomplish their objectives.

Newspapers: Not Gone, Not Forgotten

Your local newspaper is likely an important part of your local community. Local newspapers participate in local events, sponsor important happenings and may, in many ways, be a part of the fabric binding your community together. Most newspapers are still trying to find their way to serve their audience through both relevant online content delivery and a printed format.

You likely have prospective clients who are local newspaper advertisers and represent an important segment for you. You can help them get more bang from their newspaper buck and get more bang from their overall advertising dollar as well.

The local newspaper has seen drops in display advertising as many of those dollars have gone to digital media. It has likely also seen a decline in Help Wanted ads as these moved to online job search sites; declines in real estate ads as home buyers shopped online; and declines in auto, paid notices and other classifieds as those ads moved online as well.

Despite the doom and gloom, newspapers still have some strengths as a local media:

Relevance. Ironically, Google took out a half-page newspaper ad to advertise Google Ads. That media buy should have us all thinking about how to reach the right audience with the right message at the right time.

Targeted. From the standpoint of location, newspaper advertising is targeted. If a client wants to reach a Chicago suburb, he or she doesn’t need to advertise in the Chicago Tribune; there is a suburban newspaper that will be a much more cost-effective, local and targeted buy. Compared to social media, the newspaper offers an established reach and solid demographics about the people who live there.

Authentic. Print has a more established feel, a realness that an iPad, laptop or other digital image just can’t replicate. There is just something fleeting about those electrons on the screen when compared to the ink on your fingers. We’ve come to trust that old-fashioned masthead too, whether it says Des Moines Register, The New York Times or Kalkaska Star.

Reach. The newspaper has an established reach. Subscribers have asked for it and pay for it. There is value in the fact that subscribers want it. Despite declines in many areas, the facts remain that most papers reach more than 50 percent of communities, and the people they reach are older, better educated and have a higher income than the general population.

Newspaper ads are ads and the readers know it. They trust the source and they know the game. This is the place to make the complete sales pitch, to tell the whole story and to make a strong promotion or offer a high-value coupon. This is an invited media environment where the reader chooses to engage with the media and spend as much or as little time as they want with it. A daily or weekly newspaper is a way to deliver a time-sensitive message quickly. Yes, this old dog is a fast one. Advertisers can offer a one-day-only sale and use newspapers to dependably get the message out there.

Three Ways To Pick The Newspaper’s Pocket

Your advertising clients may be picking up the vibe about newspapers losing their luster and they may be looking around for some alternatives. You’ve got some great options for them.

1. Talk about the targetability of promotional products. You will need to have a plan for how to deliver the products to recipients. Options to consider include direct mail, door hangers and even ride-along insertions with newspapers depending on the item selected.

1. Promotional products engage rather than interrupt. Consumers get involved with promotional products through all five of their senses. The products offer that security of a solid item—physical advertising—that can deliver promotional offers, links to more information, reinforcement of product attributes and so much more.

1. Challenge your newspaper advertising clients to include a promotional product offer in their print ads. The offer, such as redeeming a coupon for a free tote bag at their local grocery store, will attract more readers for their newspaper advertising and gain higher response rates, which equate to more effective advertising and more sales revenue for your client. A promotional product can be the newspaper ad’s friend as it helps the paper prove readership and the effectiveness of their print media.
   

Five Lessons To Learn From Print Advertising Salespeople

Here’s how print ad salespeople sell:

1. One thing they do that you should always do is ask the client what sales and marketing problems they are trying to solve. Lead off your conversation with that line of questioning.
2. Good print advertising salespeople know the competition inside and out. They see who is advertising where and to whom. Learn from this to build your prospecting muscles.
3. They know their ad medium. Newspaper ad salespeople know how many people their newspaper reaches, who reads it and how it compares to other publications. Do you know who uses the various product and program categories within promotional products? Do you know the top products consumers rely on to keep contact information handy about a business? You need to not only know what’s new, but know who will be turned on by a writing instrument versus drinkware or apparel as well.
4. They create a media kit and rate card that suggests various ways to use their media and the various levels of spend needed to reach particular audiences.
5. They sell from the top down. Newspaper ad salespeople always start by trying to sell a full-page, color ad with scratch and sniff tip-ins, bonus ride-along pieces and the cool but expensive packages. They never start with a small black-and-white ad and try to upsell to a larger spot because they know it won’t work. Follow their lead.

Print media buyers (your potential clients) are advertising buyers. Advertising buyers are your best prospects for promotional products. Learn to think like an advertiser. Learn to sell like a marketer. The budget money is there. Go get it.

Paul Kiewiet, MAS, CIP, CPC, founder of distributor Promotion Concepts, Inc. and winner of numerous PPAI Pyramid Awards, is now executive director at Michigan Promotional Professionals Association. He is also a popular speaker and writer within the promotional products and incentive industries, and former chair of the PPAI Board of Directors. Connect with him on Twitter @paulkiewiet.

>>Listen in as Paul Kiewiet discuss strategies, approaches, do’s and don’ts of selling against other media and ask your own questions by tuning in to this series of live webinars sponsored by PPAI:

Selling Against Print Media, June 20 at 10:30 am CDT (Early-bird deadline: June 13, coupon code EBIRD20)

Selling Against Broadcast Media, July 25 at 10:30 am CDT (Early-bird deadline: July 18, coupon code EBIRD25)

Selling Against Digital Media, August 15 at 10:30 am CDT (Early-bird deadline: August 8, coupon code EBIRD15)

Selling Against Non-Traditional Media (outdoor advertising, events and product placement),

September 17 at 10:30 am CDT (Early-bird deadline: September 10, coupon code EBIRD17)

Premium Education Fee: $15 for PPAI members; $30 for nonmembers. Early-bird discount saves $5 off the regular price. Register at www.ppai.org/education/e-learning/five-webinars.

During the week of February 26-March 1, hundreds of promotional products companies—both members and nonmembers, large and small companies, regional associations, distributors and suppliers, business services providers and multi-line representatives—joined in the effort to unite the industry, educate and inform key stakeholders and create awareness for the proven power of promotional products.

Taking their cue from a day-by-day themed schedule developed by PPAI staff and key volunteers, many participating companies kicked off the week strong on Day One with open houses and company tours for clients, prospects, local media and dignitaries. On Day Two, company principals and employees advocated for the industry by speaking at colleges and business clubs and hosted live webinars and Facebook events. On Day Three, participants focused on community service by working in shelters and collecting and donating supplies to the needy. Day Four was the day to take the industry’s message to lawmakers. Participants educated legislators and government officials about the impact promotional products companies and professionals have on the economy at the local and national levels, jobs and the their communities by writing letters, posting blogs, visiting their city halls and state capitals, and honoring local officials for their support of the industry. Customer appreciation was the theme for Day Five and participating companies ended the week by sending thank-you notes and personalized gifts to clients and holding special events.

“The buzz surrounding PPW! Week was big, and its impact will continue to be felt throughout the entire industry,” says PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, referring to the extensive reach and compelling results of this first-time event produced through social media, print and digital media.

The Numbers Help Tell The Story

In coordination with the event launch, PPAI re-released its “People Love Promotional Products” video, which included new data from the Association’s latest consumer study, The Influence Of Promotional Products On Consumer Behavior. The video was shared 85 times and viewed more than 5,500 times on Facebook. On YouTube, it was viewed nearly 1,000 times, which prompted a spike in views of other promotional products videos. PPAI’s news release about the week was picked up by industry, business-to-business and consumer publications and reached more than 702 million readers. In addition, there were 362 news posts and 1,031 shares of videos on Twitter. The week before and during PPW! Week, PPAI’s end-buyer website had 1,711 visits and 5,600 page views, and PPW! Week ads in PPB Newslink were clicked through on average 4,181 times.

PPAI’s Public Relations Committee chair, Teri Ray, MAS, led an extensive team of members and worked with PPAI’s Manager of Public Relations Kim Todora in planning the week. “We had wonderful commitments from our group of volunteers,” she says. “Kim Todora does wonderful work. She made it so easy.”

Looking toward next year’s event, Ray recommends companies and regional associations begin planning early. “It would be great if companies could do something every day of the week; the exposure would be wonderful for our industry. The material PPAI offered was excellent; you just had to go online and download it. It was so easy to do.” She also recommends regional associations set up an internal PPW! Week committee now so they can jump into the action quickly next year.

“No doubt the success of this first-of-its-kind event was in large part due to industry members’ input, contributions and participation, and it will attract (and already has) the attention and interest of the industry worldwide,” said Marc Simon, PPAI Board Chair, in a thank-you statement to participants. “You should be proud of all you have accomplished on behalf of the industry, your companies, your businesses and your customer relationships. By carrying the PPW! Week mantle, you have demonstrated that promotional products are the most cost-effective way to impact a targeted audience in a tangible, long-lasting and memorable manner. And, working with promotional products experts produces results.”

PPB selected a sample of activity highlights from the week to share with readers:

With Newton, Iowa Mayor Michael L. Hanson (seated) are representatives from Newton-based companies, from left: Molly Beavers, Mancil Laidig and Jeff Stolp of Newton Manufacturing Company; Chris Vernon, Mark Gammon, and Stephanie Vernon Critchfield of the Vernon Company; and Dave McNeer of Maxim Advertising.

The Vernon Company (UPIC: Vernon), Newton Manufacturing Company (UPIC: NEWTON) and Maxim Advertising (UPIC: MAXI0001) joined with the Newton, Iowa, Mayor Michael L. Hanson to proclaim Promotional Products Work! Week. All three businesses were founded in Newton and have kept their national headquarters in the city. (also hosted a Chamber of Commerce breakfast where Dan Livengood presented the “More Than Just A Mug” presentation.)

Jim Socci, president of supplier Artistic Toy (UPIC: ARTSTOY) in Allentown, Pennsylvania, advocated for the industry by making a presentation to marketing and accounting students at Quakertown High School. Socci’s presentation, “Take A Tiger By The Tail,” featured a plush tiger toy and taught students to take risks even when facing impossible odds. In recognition of Legislative Outreach Day, the company also sent a promotional package featuring the plush toy tiger wearing an imprinted t-shirt proclaiming, ‘Promotional Products Work!’ to Allentown Mayor Ed Pawolowski and Pennsylvania State Rep. Justin Simmons.  To show customer appreciation, the company sent out the tigers with thank-you notes to their clients. As a result, Rep. Simmons visited the company to learn more. See the video on YouTube; search for Rep. Simmons’ Legislative Report: Artistic Toy.

Tim O’Neill, CEO of Merced, California-based distributor Image Masters (UPIC: IMASTERS) was a guest lecturer at the University of California-Merced on Day Two speaking to approximately 50 marketing students about promotional products. On Day Three, the 20-employee company held a clothing drive in the local community and, at week’s end, delivered three truckloads of clothes to benefit the Merced Rescue Mission. The drive was promoted on the company Facebook page, and those who donated clothing were rewarded with a sweatshirt imprinted with “Pay It Forward.”  Holly Lourenco, marketing and sales coordinator who managed the company’s PPW! Week events, says the promotion drew about 100 clients and potential clients to the company’s new showroom to drop off old clothing and pick up a sweatshirt. Those who visited also got to spin a prize wheel to win additional promotional products. On Day Three, the company also hosted a presentation and luncheon for its top clients, which was a bonus opportunity to draw clients to the new showroom.

Coshocton, Ohio-based distributor Hasseman Marketing & Communications (UPIC: H314957) held a customer open house showcasing new products and a product giveaway on Facebook. On the first day’s post, showing the company’s mascot stuffed dog, more than 3,600 people clicked the required Like/Comment/Share buttons for a chance to win the stuffed toy. That trend continued all week, says Hasseman, whose highest Facebook participation rate previously had been 500 Likes on a post. “Promotional products are not only great incentives to get people to act, but they create lasting power.”

Money is made when a visitor is attracted to, and “transacts” with, a web site. These transactions have a value that can be calculated. An e-commerce sale is easy to value; filling out a contact form or signing up for an e-newsletter will, in time, be easy to value, as well.

For example, a dental contact form fill could equate to $5,000, with 50 percent of all forms leading to a new, $10,000 lifetime-value patient. An e-newsletter sign-up could equate to $8.25 per person ($84,342.86 in sales to 10,222 people on the list).

To drive value and transactions, your social media connections need to have these essential elements:

Message: This is how you engage potential customers and bring them to a web site. The best place to sharpen these skills is on Twitter, since you are limited to 140 characters. Brevity is the soul of social media. The message (which can include links to valuable content) has to be laser-focused on either, “Why the heck should I care that you (your client) exists?” and/or, “Are you offering me something valuable enough for me to identify myself to you?”

Target: Who should get the message? There are social media communities formed around any product or service. Our company is tapping into everything from upscale candy to industrial/municipal wastewater treatment. If you engage them with the right message and content, they will go to your web site and, in time, transact.

Vehicle: Which social media platform should you use? Here are some actual dollar values: Facebook: $1.24 per Like; LinkedIn: $0.57 per company follower; Twitter: $0.03 per follower, YouTube: $0.17 per video view.

Learn more at Joe Scott’s workshop, “Making Money With Social Media,” at Expo East on Wednesday, May 23 from 8 – 9:30 am in room 301 at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Scott will also co-present “How To Take Off 2 Months Every Year” on Monday, May 20 from 3:30 – 4:45 p.m. The sessions are free to registered show attendees who are members of PPAI, SAAGNY, CPPA, NEPPA, PAPPA, TRASA or VAPPA. Participants earn 1.5 MAS points. Click here for information and to register for Expo East.

Source: Joseph Scott, MAS, co-founded Chanhassen, Minnesota-based distributor Scott & Associates, Inc. with his wife Katie in 1993. The second generation joined company in 2009. Scott has transitioned his distributorship into an agency that gets paid for its time and the results it generates for clients. Scott makes his living selling promotional products and advertising services.

According to technology research company Gartner, Inc., Androids made up 31 percent of the total mobile phone shipments in fourth quarter 2012 with more than 144.7 million smartphones. These phones are critical mobile tools for promotional products professionals who need to access images, data, contacts and reports while on the go. Despite their popularity, these smartphones have one flaw: The many variations of the Android make it tough to provide standardized tips. The following mobile engagement tips for Android are designed for Android 4.x users; and the steps to follow these tips may vary on your phone.

1. Change your signature. Open your email. Be sure you are at the listing of emails (not an individual email). Tap the Menu button. Tap Settings. Tap your Account Name. Tap Signature. Edit your signature. Tap OK.

2. Set up shortcuts with Swype. Swype is a faster way to enter text and is probably my favorite reason for owning an Android. If you don’t know how to swype, visit http://www.swype.com/category/tips/ to learn more. Tap Settings. Tap Language & Input. Tap Swype for your default keyboard. Slide the brightness control down to save your battery.

3. Use voice dictation. Yes, Apple has Siri but Androids have Google voice recognition and it’s awesome. Be sure to turn on the personalized recognition option (Settings, Language & Input, Voice Search, Personalized Recognition).

4. Enable Google Now. If you have Jelly Bean (4.1) or later, Google Now is a neat feature that predicts what you need to know. You can set up information you prefer to receive on a daily basis, such as traffic, weather, sports scores and news headlines. You can even access airline boarding passes from your online reservation. Start using Google Now by swiping up from your home screen or by tapping the Google Search bar.

5. Extend your battery life. There are several things you can do make your Android battery last longer.
- Use the auto setting to dim the display screen.
- Shorten the screen timeout.
- Keep GPS and Bluetooth turned off.
- Carry an extra battery.

Because the battery life on smartphones is not long, portable battery packs are timely and useful promotional items and they have a large imprint area.

For more tips from Expo East workshop leaders, read PCT tomorrow.

Learn more mobile tips at Dale Denham’s workshop, “Maximize Mobile,” at Expo East on Monday, May 20 from 3:30 to 4:45 pm in room 301 at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The session is free to registered show attendees who are members of PPAI, SAAGNY, CPPA, NEPPA, PAPPA, TRASA or VAPPA. Participants earn 1.5 CAS points. Click here for information and to register for Expo East.

Source: Dale Denham, MAS+, is the CIO of Lewiston, Maine-based distributor Geiger (UPIC: GEIGER). He’s also a technology-savvy business professional and regular blogger. Among the first 10 people certified as a Master Advertising Specialist+ by PPAI., Denham was also recognized by Counselor magazine as one of “40 under 40″ and named one of Corporate Logo’s Most Influential People in 2004.

Selling promotional products means you are always on the go, and your mobile device becomes a critical tool to your success. In fact, it’s estimated that 38 percent of the smartphone users in the United States prefer iPhones. To help navigate the world of iOS technology, below are tips to make you more productive on your mobile Apple devices.

1. Change your email signature. Tap your settings icon. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. On the right side of the screen, swipe up until you see Signature, tap Signature. If you have more than one account you can set the signature for all accounts or per account. Tap Per Account, change the default signature to whatever you want for each account. It will save automatically.

2. Utilize hidden controls. Double-tap the Home button (the round button at the bottom of your iPad/iPhone). Swipe your finger to the right in the section that pops up. iPad users will see Volume, Brightness and Lock controls. iPhone users need to swipe again to see these options. If you tap the Lock Control (the arrow going in a circle) you can lock or unlock the auto-rotation. This is helpful if you move the device but want the display to remain horizontal or vertical. Also, sliding the Brightness Control down will save your battery.

3. Auto-scroll to the top of the page. If you are on a long web page in the Safari web browser, tap the Clock at the top of your screen and Safari will return you to the top of the page.

4. Set Auto-typing shortcuts. Auto-typing shortcuts save you time inputting repeatable content, such as your email address. Tap Settings. Swipe your finger up on the right side of the page. Tap Keyboard. At the very bottom, tap Add New Shortcut. Put your email address in the box labeled Phrase. Type the shortcut in the Shortcut box (something like DDG). Tap Save. Next time you type your shortcut and hit space or enter, it will fill in your email address (or other phrase).

Do you love these tips but feeling left out because you’re an Android user? No worries. Read PCT tomorrow for Dale’s droid tips.

Learn more mobile tips at Dale Denham’s workshop, “Maximize Mobile,” at Expo East on Monday, May 20 from 3:30 – 4:45 pm in room 301 at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The session is free to registered show attendees who are members of PPAI, SAAGNY, CPPA, NEPPA, PAPPA, TRASA or VAPPA. Participants earn 1.5 CAS points. Click here for information and to register for Expo East.

Source: Dale Denham, MAS+, is the CIO of Lewiston, Maine-based distributor Geiger (UPIC: GEIGER). He’s also a technology-savvy business professional and regular blogger. Among the first 10 people certified as a Master Advertising Specialist+ by PPAI., Denham was also recognized by Counselor magazine as one of “40 under 40″ and named one of Corporate Logo’s Most Influential People in 2004.