You know it’s time for Ep. 172 of the Promo UPFront #podcast with Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie! This week the hosts with the mosts talk about the value of an end-user event, debate the impact of Koozie Group and Imagen Brands combining as one organization in 2024, ponder if United Airlines has finally made boarding a plane efficient, wonder if anyone would really enjoy drinking their beer through a silicone glizzy, and so much more!

Big thanks to our friends at PXP Solutions for sponsoring this fine broadcast. They are ready to help you with all your apparel decorating needs – simply call the owner, Bruce Jolesch, at 214.226.3105 or email him at [email protected].

You bet it’s time for Ep. 171 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the impact of the return of commercial jingles (or, should we say, singles), whether the trend of all things pumpkin spice has (finally) run its course, the seismic shift of Jon Norris leaving Starline for Hit Promotional Products, what to think about the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Pioneer Balloon, PPEF football picks for good, and so much more!

A BIG thanks to our pals at Evans Manufacturing for sponsoring this fine podcast. As a supplier that has built their entire business into making the lives of their distributor partners easier, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not using them regularly. Check out all their fine merchandise at evans-mfg.com.

You’re darn tootin’ it’s time for Ep. 170 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the big bombshell of Ashely McCune leaving Facilisgroup, debate the merits of a lawsuit against food looking unrealistic in advertising, marvel at how Netflix is doubling down on merchandise, wonder how Lyft dropped the customer service ball after a rider forgot his cat after a rideshare was complete, football picks for good, and so much more!

A HUGE thanks to our sponsor in Shepenco. With a 90-year history in the promotional products industry, they define stability. To see all their amazing merchandise, visit them at shepenco.com.

You bet it’s time for Ep. 169 of the Promo UPFront Podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the PPAI Icon Award Winners for 2024 (which may or may not include one of the hosts of this fine broadcast), the anatomy of the spin starring Apple and USB-C, Netflix sending its final red envelope and what that means for the company, a VERY controversial top three/bottom three, football picks for PPEF, and so much more!

A big thanks to our sponsor, PXP Solutions. They are ready to help you with all your fourth quarter creative apparel decorating needs – simply email the owner, Bruce Jolesch, at [email protected] or give him a call on his cell phone at 214.226.3105.

That’s right, it’s time for Ep. 168 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about one of the strangest merchandise collaborations ever, discuss whether it’s time to send after-work happy hour into the sunset, Bill interviews Kirby about the launch of his new book “Hitting the Target” and demands answers to the tough questions others are too afraid to ask, ponder if 8-minute long songs will survive in the streaming economy, pick football games for good, and so much more!

A BIG thanks to our friends at Seven Sourcing for sponsoring this fine broadcast. They work with distributors just like you to demystify the direct custom sourcing process and would love to help you create “wow” and “aha” moments for your clients. Email them at [email protected] today!

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 167 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! Today hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss (over)using AI in marketing, Kirby wraps up his experience at commonsku’s skucamp in Austin, debate the merits of Gannett hiring a reporter to ONLY cover Taylor Swift, the real reason McDonald’s is doing away with self-serve soft drinks, week 2 of PPEF football picks for good, and so much more!

A HUGE thanks to our good pals over at Evans for sponsoring this fine broadcast. When you’re looking to work with a supplier that always has your back, look no further than Evans.

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 166 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! Today hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the PPAI Rising Star list, discuss the efficacy of streaming services leveraging email addiction to retain subscribers, share the ways content creators are revolutionizing marketing (and how to apply them to your business), debate whether a plane contaminated with a biohazard should be ever put back into service, launch the second year of football picks to benefit PPEF, and so much more!

A BIG thanks to our friends over at Kanata Group for sponsoring this fine broadcast. When you’re looking for the most comfortable, cost-effective, and impactful merchandise solutions, head over to kanatapromo.com.

Yes, indeed it’s time for Ep. 165 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! On this hard-hitting Labor Day edition hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the big industry hiring of Charity Gibson at Proforma, debate the merits of hopping on the spiked-everything bandwagon, review passive/aggressive phrases that some suggest need to be removed from communications, muse on the use of robo taxis, and so much more!

A BIG thanks to PXP Solutions for presenting this fine broadcast. They are poised to help you finish the year strong with creative decorated apparel. Call Bruce Jolsech at 214.226.3105 or email him at [email protected] to get started today!

It’s crossover time on Ep. 164 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! That’s right, Mark Graham and Bobby Lehew from commonsku join regular hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie to discuss the value of the new position of Director of Sustainability and Responsibility at PPAI, take a deep dive into the power of merchandise to identify beliefs – and whether distributors have a moral obligation regarding what is imprinted on products, examine the interesting ASI statistic of growing sales for large online distributors while there is a decline at smaller, boutique operations, debate whether malls are back with a rise in sales, Bill asks everyone to weigh in on his most recent Top Three/Bottom Three, and so much more!

A BIG thanks to our friends at Tervis for sponsoring this once-in-a-lifetime podcast! If you follow Tervis on both commonsku and LinkedIn before August 31, 2023, they will waive the set-up charge on your next order! You can also check out all their legendary drinkware at tervispromos.com.

Heck yes, it’s time for Ep. 163 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! In this white-hot episode, hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss how to properly celebrate PPAI’s Promotional Products Work Day on August 24, say goodbye to a retiring industry legend in Mike Szymczak, debate whether Facebook intentionally creates divisiveness with their algorithms, go off on the trend of posting anonymously, and so much more!

A HUGE thanks to our pals at Shepenco for sponsoring this world-class broadcast. Shepenco defines stability in the promotional products industry, and they would love to work with you to create impactful promotions for your clients. Check them out at Shepenco.com.