PPB January 2016

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Toy Safety Regulation
PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
JANUARY 2016 • PPB • 69
73
KEEP IN TOUCH
When it comes to person-
alized service, how can dis-
tributors break through the
wall of technology that seems
to keep them at arms’ length
from prospective and current
clients? Jeff Anderson, MAS,
chief operating officer at
Focus Branding Group (UPIC:
FOCUSBG) in Portland,
Oregon, doesn’t shy away
from connecting with clients
on a digital level—in fact, he
sends out regular email pro-
motions that provide clients
with ideas for incorporating
products into campaigns. But
he still believes a personal
touch provides the best out-
come, and he shared his
thoughts with PPB about
keeping tech-happy clients
engaged.
PPB Modern methods of
communicating—email,
social media and text—now
seem fully integrated into
many of our business rela-
tionships. What examples of
this do you see on a daily
basis?
Anderson I’m seeing more of
my young buyers choosing to
communicate with short
emails, texts and even
Facebook messages. It has
been far more common in the
past few years to have a new
buyer tell me what they want,
instead of asking for advice
or ideas. I will get text mes-
sages from clients both inside
and outside normal business
hours; texting is something
that Millennial buyers are very
comfortable with.
PPB How does it affect
your ability to do good
work for your clients; or,
how do you work to pre-
vent lost opportunities for
clients who gravitate
toward “one-click” promo-
tional buying experiences?
Anderson It makes me nerv-
ous when I have a client who
will go to our website, pick an
item and email me an order.
I’m never unhappy to receive
an order, but I think it is my
responsibility as a business
partner to consult with the
client to make sure that what
they are ordering will best fit
their need.
We will always follow up
and make the attempt to con-
sult with the buyer, to make
sure that what they want to
order is the right tool for the
right job.
For example, I have a
client who sent me a text
Five Minutes With
Jeff Anderson, MASCOO of Focus Branding Group
on3 Promotional Partners
PROMOTIONS 85 Building Blocks
MANAGEMENT 79
KAYAK’s suite of mobile app tools, along with Explore
and Price Forecast.
Dubbed a “travel assistant” tool for keeping itiner-
aries, travel documents and destination information in
one place and for sharing with others, Trips is the digi-
tal equivalent of a butler, according to KAYAK’s tagline.
The videos, developed by creative agency The
Adventures Of, meld with KAYAK’s “Travel Problem
Solved” campaign.
Keenly aware of its services’ global appeal, KAYAK
has produced the videos for Trips in English, French,
Italian, Spanish and German. View them at
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