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When I decided to
pursue my degrees
in communication
studies, I initially
thought it was all about learning
to speak more effectively. It
was not until I was in that
space that I learned that
communication is actually
primarily about listening. Fine-
tuning those skills has been
our company’s differentiating
factor. I don’t just take orders
but instead ask the deeper
questions to really discover
why my clients are making a
purchase. This process leads
to result-driven promotional
products, additional sales
and has been magical for
the growth of my business.
Diane Sakowicz, MAS
President
Service With A Smile
Naperville, Illinois
Our company
differentiates
itself by focusing
on brand,
message, market and value. We
believe that promotional items
need to help tell a story and
engage the audience. To us, it
is all about developing creative
campaigns that allow clients
to be noticed and tie back to
their brand.
Promotional marketing pieces
that do not reflect a brand and
do not have a message that can
be relatable and seen as valuable
by the specific audience being
sought out are useless. They
should be a conversation starter
and remind people of the
client and their story long after
they have left the room. The
marketing pieces should push
people towards the clients’ other
marketing channels and allow for
the conversation to happen. That
is what makes us different.
Ben Baker
President
Your Brand Marketing
Richmond, British Columbia
One of the main
ways we do
this is by what
we offer. We
started out as a print shop, later
bought out a local office supply
store, and have since bought
an outdoor/gun shop. With
the combination of an outside
sales force and professional
graphic artists on staff we
specialize in complete branding
rather than just selling out of a
catalog. Now, with the addition
of the outdoor shop, we are
branching out even more in
the outdoor products/clothing
lines. We just turned 25 years
old so the mix must be working.
Terry Lee Cook
Chief Operating Officer
Eagle Business Products
Louisiana, Missouri
We recognize
that to keep
customers
engaged and
our brand top of mind, we have
to be a bit different. For Goldstar
that means fun, partnership and
appreciation. If you are familiar
with our VP of Sales Kenny
Ved [read more about Ved on
page 31], you know he and his
team are all about fun. From
the custom tailored pink suits
to the huge sombrero on Cinco
De Mayo, their sales meetings
are never a bore. You may have
attended an event where you got
a bag of candy and a pack of
samples that match the brand of
candy you are eating. Or, maybe
he’s treated you to an elementary
school throwback luncheon
where the menu consists of
Lunchables, Capri Sun and
cupcakes. We appreciate the
partnership we have with our
clients and hope they remember
us as fun, friendly and easy to do
business with.
RJ Hagel
Marketing Manager
Goldstar
San Diego, California
We are fairly
active with social
media, thank-
you notes, email
blasts, mailers, reorder reminders
and follow up communications.
While we do lots of little touches
throughout the year, our favorite
is keeping clients informed about
top trends through a branded,
digital catalog-type publication
that we develop especially for
our clients.
Sonya Beam, MAS+
Co-Owner
The POP SHOP—A Geiger
Company
John’s Creek, Georgia
For more than seven years now, we’ve been sending a live
chili pepper plant in a self-watering pot to a targeted database
of marketing contacts. They’re all hand delivered and have an
addressed tag with a code. We’ve set up a website where the
receiver goes to log on (we get a notification by email). It has
created so much viral marketing within the office, and the stories we
have heard from recipients are very impressive.
In 2010, we won a PPAI Silver Pyramid Award for this self-
promotion and gained $40,000 in new business within the first year.
Every year we send these in batches out to our prospects, and to
date have distributed nearly 1,000. It fits our brand perfectly.
Andy Galbally
Director | Chilli Promotions | Port Melbourne, Australia
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SEPTEMBER 2016
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FEATURE
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A Matter Of Distinction