PromoKitchen Podcast

In this episode of the PromoKitchen Podcast, Chefs Mark Graham and Dale Denham speak with one of the most influential and dynamic people in our industry, Norman Cohn. Norman is the Chairman of the Advertising Specialty Institute, most commonly known as ASI.

In June 2012, the Wall Street Journal described Norman as the “Sultan of Swag.” It was a breakthrough piece written by one of the country’s most prominent media outlets and it shone a bright light on our industry. However, Norman is much more than just the sultan of swag, some might say he’s the architect of the modern promotional products industry.

Norman was born Iowa in 1933 and had his first encounter with promotional products in high school. Then in 1962, Norman convinced his family to sell off their supplier interests and acquire ASI, at the time, a small trade association. Over the next 6 decades, ASI grew into a powerhouse with media, technology, trade shows and education as part of its product mix. ASI now touches over 25,000 distributors and suppliers and wields enormous influence over how the industry operates today. How ASI grew to where it is today is an incredible story of perseverance and entrepreneurship and one that we are privileged to bring you.

Click, listen, and comment. Without further ado – enjoy!

In this episode of the PromoKitchen Podcast, Chefs Mark Graham and Dale Denham speak with one of the most influential and dynamic people in our industry, Norman Cohn. Norman is the Chairman of the Advertising Specialty Institute, most commonly known as ASI.

In June 2012, the Wall Street Journal described Norman as the “Sultan of Swag.” It was a breakthrough piece written by one of the country’s most prominent media outlets and it shone a bright light on our industry. However, Norman is much more than just the sultan of swag, some might say he’s the architect of the modern promotional products industry.

Norman was born Iowa in 1933 and had his first encounter with promotional products in high school. Then in 1962, Norman convinced his family to sell off their supplier interests and acquire ASI, at the time, a small trade association. Over the next 6 decades, ASI grew into a powerhouse with media, technology, trade shows and education as part of its product mix. ASI now touches over 25,000 distributors and suppliers and wields enormous influence over how the industry operates today. How ASI grew to where it is today is an incredible story of perseverance and entrepreneurship and one that we are privileged to bring you.

Click, listen, and comment. Without further ado – enjoy!

Mark Graham recently stumbled across a great blog post written by the owner of a South African ad agency. His name was Mike Stopforth. He loved the post so much that he tracked him down in Johannesburg for an interview.

Mike is the CEO of Cerebra, an ad agency based on South Africa and one of the most of original and creative minds in the business. Cerebra specializes in social media and social business consulting, education, and implementation for corporate brands. In 2013 WPP acquired a majority stake in the company.

In 2014, Mike published #BrandSchizo – a business book designed to help brands navigate the opportunities and challenges of the social era of business.

When he’s not working, Mike is golfing, drumming, fishing, running, cycling, swimming or spending time with family and friends.

Take 42 minutes and 2 seconds of your day to join chefs Mark Graham and Larry Cohen in a brilliant conversation about differentiation, shifting focus from acquisition to retention, and a whole lot more.

Mark Graham recently stumbled across a great blog post written by the owner of a South African ad agency. His name was Mike Stopforth. He loved the post so much that he tracked him down in Johannesburg for an interview.

Mike is the CEO of Cerebra, an ad agency based on South Africa and one of the most of original and creative minds in the business. Cerebra specializes in social media and social business consulting, education, and implementation for corporate brands. In 2013 WPP acquired a majority stake in the company.

In 2014, Mike published #BrandSchizo – a business book designed to help brands navigate the opportunities and challenges of the social era of business.

When he’s not working, Mike is golfing, drumming, fishing, running, cycling, swimming or spending time with family and friends.

Take 42 minutes and 2 seconds of your day to join chefs Mark Graham and Larry Cohen in a brilliant conversation about differentiation, shifting focus from acquisition to retention, and a whole lot more.

In today’s episode, Chefs Mark Graham of CommonSku and Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel, are going to explore the new and exciting world of 3D Printing. 3D technology has been getting a lot of play in the media these days, but many of us in the promotional products industry are waiting for 3D tech to make an impact within our professional day to day lives. Presently, 3D printing represents an intriguing, yet very small niche. However, this is poised to change. Suppliers are increasingly using 3D printing to create inexpensive prototypes and marketplaces are being setup to sell 3D printed goods to end customers. Immersed in this vibrant world, we find today’s guest, Kevin Maloney.

Kevin Maloney is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of ZVerse, a 3D printing platform devoted to “Making the World’s Content 3D Printable”. Kevin is chiefly responsible for developing relationships with many of Zverse’s key partners and customers. He’s a sales rock star as he has presided over the company’s rapid growth trajectory over the past 2 years. Prior to ZVerse, Kevin was a sales executive with Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer, Boston Scientific. And prior to this role, Kevin was the first sales representative hired at a startup called Fine Line Technologies. Welcome to the PromoKitchen Podcast, Kevin Maloney.

In today’s episode, Chefs Mark Graham of CommonSku and Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel, are going to explore the new and exciting world of 3D Printing. 3D technology has been getting a lot of play in the media these days, but many of us in the promotional products industry are waiting for 3D tech to make an impact within our professional day to day lives. Presently, 3D printing represents an intriguing, yet very small niche. However, this is poised to change. Suppliers are increasingly using 3D printing to create inexpensive prototypes and marketplaces are being setup to sell 3D printed goods to end customers. Immersed in this vibrant world, we find today’s guest, Kevin Maloney.

Kevin Maloney is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of ZVerse, a 3D printing platform devoted to “Making the World’s Content 3D Printable”. Kevin is chiefly responsible for developing relationships with many of Zverse’s key partners and customers. He’s a sales rock star as he has presided over the company’s rapid growth trajectory over the past 2 years. Prior to ZVerse, Kevin was a sales executive with Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer, Boston Scientific. And prior to this role, Kevin was the first sales representative hired at a startup called Fine Line Technologies. Welcome to the PromoKitchen Podcast, Kevin Maloney.

In this episode of the PromoKitchen Podcast, PK Chefs Mark Graham of CommonSku and Robert Fiveash of Brand Fuel Promotions chat with Jim Martin of Kolder Incorporated. Kolder is the parent company of industry icon Numo Manufacturing. Jim talks to us about what it takes to create a much loved supplier brand, how to compete with a Made in USA product line, and how he’s been able to move beyond Koozies and into a diverse collection of unique and innovative products.

In this episode of the PromoKitchen Podcast, PK Chefs Mark Graham of CommonSku and Robert Fiveash of Brand Fuel Promotions chat with Jim Martin of Kolder Incorporated. Kolder is the parent company of industry icon Numo Manufacturing. Jim talks to us about what it takes to create a much loved supplier brand, how to compete with a Made in USA product line, and how he’s been able to move beyond Koozies and into a diverse collection of unique and innovative products.

Every February a team of marketing and design geeks descend upon Raleigh for the annual High Five Conference. At this year’s event, no one was geekier than today’s guest. This someone dazzled the High Five audience with stories about how he became a one man graphic design branding machine and how local advertising campaigns were manhandled under the ruse of his newly formed, and gigantically reckless, Draplin Design Co.

In today’s episode, PK Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku, Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel, and Tee Hamilton of CreativeAlchemy, speak with the one and only – Aaron James Draplin, who is also the founder of Field Notes. Listen in as they talk about art, graphic design and zigging while others are zagging.

*Just a quick note to listeners of this particular episode: If you are sensitive to the use of strong language you should be advised that this podcast was left unbleeped and uncensored to maintain the authenticity and (as our resident Canadian Mark Graham would say…) flavour of the interview.

Every February a team of marketing and design geeks descend upon Raleigh for the annual High Five Conference. At this year’s event, no one was geekier than today’s guest. This someone dazzled the High Five audience with stories about how he became a one man graphic design branding machine and how local advertising campaigns were manhandled under the ruse of his newly formed, and gigantically reckless, Draplin Design Co.

In today’s episode, PK Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku, Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel, and Tee Hamilton of CreativeAlchemy, speak with the one and only – Aaron James Draplin, who is also the founder of Field Notes. Listen in as they talk about art, graphic design and zigging while others are zagging.

*Just a quick note to listeners of this particular episode: If you are sensitive to the use of strong language you should be advised that this podcast was left unbleeped and uncensored to maintain the authenticity and (as our resident Canadian Mark Graham would say…) flavour of the interview.