On this episode of skucast, we look at the world of mergers and acquisitions in the promotional products industry with Jamie Watson, a Partner at Certified Marketing Consultants

In this episode we explore the world of corporate social responsibility with President of SanMar Jeremy Lott. The apparel sector makes up more than 40% of our industry’s sales so it’s fitting that we get the chance to speak with someone who knows a thing or two about the subject.

This is part two of our special series focused on how to do marketing right. In part one we explored how distributors are using marketing effectively with Sam Brown, Marketing Director of BrandVia. In part two we look at the world of marketing from the supplier perspective with Lee Strom, Chief Marketing Officer for SanMar. In this episode, we are going to the learn about the art and science behind creating a marketing plan that delivers strong results.

This is part one of a special two part series focused on how to do marketing right. This first episode explores marketing from a distributor perspective. Our second episode to follow will explore how suppliers implement marketing effectively.

In this discussion, we speak with Sam Brown about why marketing matters more than ever today for the modern distributor.

Mark speaks to a close friend and long time collaborator, Danny Rosin. Danny is the President of Brand Fuel in Raleigh, North Carolina, the founder of Band Together and a chef with PromoKitchen, to highlight a few of his many responsibilities. Danny is currently a distributor candidate to be on the PPAI Board of Directors. This discussion will reveal what it means to run for the board and the impact that volunteering for the association can have on our industry.

Thought leadership is one of today's hottest business buzzwords. Usually it refers to creating content to build traffic and attention online. But that narrow definition discounts the larger opportunities this strategy offers.

In this workshop, we will reintroduce imagination and personality back into sales and jointly construct an approach to build a competitive advantage that is uniquely yours.

Mark Graham conducts an up close and personal fireside chat with two of the sharpest business minds in the industry about how we can ready ourselves for the next 5-10 years. PPAI’s CEO Paul Bellantone and ASI’s CEO Tim Andrews lead vast organizations that oversee, represent and advocate for our industry. This is only the second time in their careers that Paul and Tim have appeared on stage together.

From Hollywood story secrets to This-American-Life style narrative, you’ll learn how to brush off that stale 30-second elevator pitch by creating customer-centric stories that cut through the noise with a compelling and memorable message.

In this keynote, Lon McGowan shares success stories as well as a key lessons he’s learned from some prominent business failures. Lon founded what has become one of the industry’s most beloved companies, iClick as well as 2 additional companies outside the promotional products industry.