PromoKitchen Podcast

Join PromoKitchen Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku and Charity Gibson of Green Banana Social as they speak with Jake Director, co-founder of Strideline.

At the young age of 17, Director and business partner Riley Goodman started Strideline as a way to sell custom socks to fellow lacrosse players and ended up finding huge success in the retail space. Just a few years later they have made a flying leap into the promotional products space and are absolutely crushing it.

Listen in to find out how Strideline has handled the transition from retail to promo, how they view the promotional products industry, and where branded socks are headed.

Join PromoKitchen Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku and Charity Gibson of Green Banana Social as they speak with Jake Director, co-founder of Strideline.

At the young age of 17, Director and business partner Riley Goodman started Strideline as a way to sell custom socks to fellow lacrosse players and ended up finding huge success in the retail space. Just a few years later they have made a flying leap into the promotional products space and are absolutely crushing it.

Listen in to find out how Strideline has handled the transition from retail to promo, how they view the promotional products industry, and where branded socks are headed.

Mark Graham of commonsku and Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions talk with Seth Mattison.

Seth is an internationally renowned expert on workforce trends and generational dynamics. As Founder and Chief Movement Officer of FutureSight Labs, Seth advises many of the world’s leading brands and organizations on the key shifts happening around talent management, change and innovation, leadership, and the future of work.

Over the past 10 years Seth has shared his insights with thousands of business leaders and has received accolades from many of the world’s best brands including: MasterCard, Johnson and Johnson, Microsoft, and Disney to name a few.

Seth’s experiences are highly applicable to the topsy turvy world of promotional products so we are honored to have him here with us today.

Mark Graham of commonsku and Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions talk with Seth Mattison.

Seth is an internationally renowned expert on workforce trends and generational dynamics. As Founder and Chief Movement Officer of FutureSight Labs, Seth advises many of the world’s leading brands and organizations on the key shifts happening around talent management, change and innovation, leadership, and the future of work.

Over the past 10 years Seth has shared his insights with thousands of business leaders and has received accolades from many of the world’s best brands including: MasterCard, Johnson and Johnson, Microsoft, and Disney to name a few.

Seth’s experiences are highly applicable to the topsy turvy world of promotional products so we are honored to have him here with us today.

Today PromoKitchen Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku and Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions welcome Lou Diamond to the podcast.

Lou can be described as a Coach, Consultant, Master Connector, Best-Selling Author, Speaker & Motivator.

In these capacities, Lou is the Founder & CEO of Thrive, a leading consulting and coaching company focused on making the most incredible leaders and their companies even more amazing. He has led teams at Accenture, Deloitte, Omnicom, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America.

If that weren’t enough, Lou is certified as a Co-Active Coach by the Coaches Training Institute (CTI), a Cornell University graduate, a passionate sports fan, avid golfer, loving husband and extremely proud parent.

Today PromoKitchen Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku and Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions welcome Lou Diamond to the podcast.

Lou can be described as a Coach, Consultant, Master Connector, Best-Selling Author, Speaker & Motivator.

In these capacities, Lou is the Founder & CEO of Thrive, a leading consulting and coaching company focused on making the most incredible leaders and their companies even more amazing. He has led teams at Accenture, Deloitte, Omnicom, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America.

If that weren’t enough, Lou is certified as a Co-Active Coach by the Coaches Training Institute (CTI), a Cornell University graduate, a passionate sports fan, avid golfer, loving husband and extremely proud parent.

Chefs Marshall Atkinson and Mark Graham recently did a megacast with the guys over at 2 Regular Guys. The 2 Regular Guys, Terry Combs and Aaron Montgomery, have a podcast that focuses on the decorating industry. During this podcast they talk about what keeps people up at night in the promotional product industry, and more so the why, how and what of podcasting. What does it do for your business, how do you get started and what it takes to get it out to the world.

Chefs Marshall Atkinson and Mark Graham recently did a megacast with the guys over at 2 Regular Guys. The 2 Regular Guys, Terry Combs and Aaron Montgomery, have a podcast that focuses on the decorating industry. During this podcast they talk about what keeps people up at night in the promotional product industry, and more so the why, how and what of podcasting. What does it do for your business, how do you get started and what it takes to get it out to the world.

Welcome to the PromoKitchen Podcast. I am Bill Petrie, founder/CEO of brandivate and PromoKitchen chef.

Many in the promotional products industry not only worry about working with the “younger generation,” – also known as Millennials – but have cast a very negative light on the entire group. As readers of my blog likely know, I have been a very strong advocate of Millennials and the overall need to have their voice heard in industry conversations.

However, in October 2016, I wrote a blog titled “Hey Millennials…enough!” where I took the generation to task for casting older generations for being comfortable with the status quo, backward-thinking, and having the inability to adapt. I went on to write that “being part of the Millennial generation doesn’t automatically make you a disruptor, more adaptive, or quicker to embrace technology any more than being part of Generation X unquestionably makes me resistant to changing the status quo.”

This leads me to our guest today, Seth Barnett.

Seth Barnett is the Diversity Development Manager for Promotional Products Association International (PPAI). As an advocate for the industry's marketplace success, he develops new ways for business to meet the growing demand of a diverse workforce and a changing consumer market. Barnett spent his first three years in the industry as the association’s Government Relations Manager where he coordinated legislative and regulatory obligations for the industry.

When it comes to advocating on behalf of Millennials, Seth is a key player. Seth wrote a very thorough and thoughtful response to my blog post titled, “Hey Other Generations…ENOUGH!” In that response, Seth expressed his concerns that the industry not be so quick to dismiss Millennials and, rather, should seek to embrace them and their ideas.

In Seth’s words, “I believe that we are in a great place to have these sometimes difficult generational conversations. However, we are not the only ones. What we need to be mindful of is that we as an industry are unique. From the way we go to market to our very specific supply chain, we must adapt according to our methods. I want to ensure that we are having the right conversations for our industry and our changing times.”

Seth is a featured speaker at many industry events, a champion of Millennials in the promotional products industry, and all around good guy.

Seth, welcome to the PromoKitchen podcast.

Welcome to the PromoKitchen Podcast. I am Bill Petrie, founder/CEO of brandivate and PromoKitchen chef.

Many in the promotional products industry not only worry about working with the “younger generation,” – also known as Millennials – but have cast a very negative light on the entire group. As readers of my blog likely know, I have been a very strong advocate of Millennials and the overall need to have their voice heard in industry conversations.

However, in October 2016, I wrote a blog titled “Hey Millennials…enough!” where I took the generation to task for casting older generations for being comfortable with the status quo, backward-thinking, and having the inability to adapt. I went on to write that “being part of the Millennial generation doesn’t automatically make you a disruptor, more adaptive, or quicker to embrace technology any more than being part of Generation X unquestionably makes me resistant to changing the status quo.”

This leads me to our guest today, Seth Barnett.

Seth Barnett is the Diversity Development Manager for Promotional Products Association International (PPAI). As an advocate for the industry's marketplace success, he develops new ways for business to meet the growing demand of a diverse workforce and a changing consumer market. Barnett spent his first three years in the industry as the association’s Government Relations Manager where he coordinated legislative and regulatory obligations for the industry.

When it comes to advocating on behalf of Millennials, Seth is a key player. Seth wrote a very thorough and thoughtful response to my blog post titled, “Hey Other Generations…ENOUGH!” In that response, Seth expressed his concerns that the industry not be so quick to dismiss Millennials and, rather, should seek to embrace them and their ideas.

In Seth’s words, “I believe that we are in a great place to have these sometimes difficult generational conversations. However, we are not the only ones. What we need to be mindful of is that we as an industry are unique. From the way we go to market to our very specific supply chain, we must adapt according to our methods. I want to ensure that we are having the right conversations for our industry and our changing times.”

Seth is a featured speaker at many industry events, a champion of Millennials in the promotional products industry, and all around good guy.

Seth, welcome to the PromoKitchen podcast.