Marketing and Sales
October 23, 2019 at 10:57 am
When we last talked to Heather Achenbach, executive director for a small nonprofit animal shelter, she was gearing up to launch a two-week online pop-up shop selling branded merchandise to help raise funds. Heather joined the show to tell us how it went, what she looks for as a merch-buyer and why online pop-ups are a great option for organizations like hers...
October 21, 2019 at 5:00 am
When we look back, it feels as if our baby is “all growed up.” But we realize there is so much ahead for Brand Fuel and this amazing industry—despite the threats in our SWOT analysis. Alibaba, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Costco, Pete The Promo Peddler—we exist because we realize we are what they aren’t. Differentiation is a part of our DNA...
October 18, 2019 at 1:44 pm
Ask the Accountant… Question: How do you suggest I research credit cards to pay my suppliers and get points? Answer: Credit card points are a nice perk for our industry, but you should only use credit cards for this purpose if you pay the complete balance off each and every month. If you don’t plan…
October 16, 2019 at 2:13 pm
In January of this year, Staples Inc. finalized its merger with Essendant via Sycamore Partners, its private equity owners. Essendant is a wholesale distributor of workplace and office products. Its customers are resellers such as office supply superstores, mail order companies, drug and grocery store chains and e-commerce businesses. We didn't report on the merger…
October 16, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Who among us has not enjoyed going down the rabbit hole when watching YouTube? One video leads to another, and that second clip leads to six zillion more. In short, YouTube has been a sweetheart to video-sharing fans since its Valentine’s Day 2005 debut, and it is looking to prolong the spark for ages to…
October 15, 2019 at 1:14 pm
Heading to Twitter to inspect which brands’ logos enjoy the most distinction can seem like an artistic version of playing “Where’s Waldo?” The folks at Brandwatch decided to engage in such an investigation to determine the top 50 logos that make the most appearances through the social media platform, analyzing 50 million images to do…
October 11, 2019 at 11:14 am
Chris Hart and Rob Derrig have been hired to bolster Seattle-based iClick's national account management team, where they’ll support existing clients, while expanding account bases within their assigned territories. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to announce the hiring of two outstanding national account managers focused on two of our key region," said Wendy Knapp, vice…
October 9, 2019 at 2:40 pm
Despite being a much smaller company, we take guidance from giants like Apple and Amazon, companies that provide on-demand, high-quality products and services. We believe distributors of any size can meet today’s highly immediate customer expectations by implementing and matching the experience customers get when they buy from larger companies like Amazon...
October 9, 2019 at 10:59 am
Metal pioneers Slayer are in the final stages of a farewell tour that's already seen the band move $10 million in merch. Where the story gets really interesting, though, is Slayer's real-time transition from a working band to what its merchandising people are calling a "legacy" band. And also the idea of a Slayer-themed restaurant in the style of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville brand...
October 8, 2019 at 9:27 am
Vantage Apparel, Avanel, N.J., has announced the addition of industry veteran Dale Kleinman to its sales team. Kleinman will be covering the territories of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Before joining Vantage, Kleinman spent 14 years as a sales executive at Newell Brands and time as an apparel specialist at Norwood Promotional Products. “Vantage’s…
