How One Promo Distributor Went Above and Beyond for a Client

By Brendan Menapace

An award that is truly one-of-a-kind stands out a little more for the recipient. It’s one more reason to keep it and display it proudly. Becky Webel, senior account manager for NBN360, a promo distributor based in Wheeling, Ill., told us about one awards promotion she’s been doing that’s about as original as they come. That, as we’ll see, creates the potential for some hiccups along the way—especially when you need expedited shipping from Brazil at the last second. But Webel is still excited about it. Here, she explains why.

Promo Marketing: Could you tell me about a promotion that you think is one of your best?

Becky Webel: So, for the past couple of years now, we’ve done a custom award that consists of a Brazilian geode that we glue to custom-made bases, put nameplates on, and package and deliver to the client. They are, as I mentioned, Brazilian geodes that come from Brazil strictly, and we purchase them locally at a rock shop in our area.

PM: What was your favorite part about this promotion in particular?

BW: The uniqueness of it. It is a one-of-a-kind award that you cannot get anywhere else. They cannot be purchased with the base and nameplate and such, and given as an award in any other space—not only within our industry but outside of our industry. I appreciate the fact that the client came up with this idea and that they were able to have us source it and create such a unique promotion.

PM: Have you run into any roadblocks while you were working on this promotion? If so, how did you overcome them?

BW: Yes, so, last year they miscounted the number of awards they needed, and they came to us late in the game and said that they needed 25 more rocks. So, unfortunately, the rock shop locally did not have them, so we had to go to their distributor in Brazil and have him expedite the rocks overseas to us. We were really close to missing the deadline, because there’s so much manual labor that goes into each piece.

PM: What advice would you give distributors looking to do something similar?

BW: Make sure that you have enough time to produce a quality piece. As I mentioned, we glue them to custom bases, and they need to be centered on the base and precisely glued using the right glue. Make sure you test the surfaces before proceeding, because there is so much that can go wrong, and you want to make it perfect for your client.