PPB December 2018

by James Khattak TheMagnet Group Dedicates The New Fran Ford Center The Magnet Group opened its new Fran Ford Center in Greenwood, South Carolina, in October with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication. The center is named after the late Francis “Fran” Ford, Jr., CAS, president of supplier Castelli, a division of Magnet, LLC, and 2015 PPAI Hall of Fame inductee, who passed away in May. Seth Godin, PPAI’s Bellantone Speak OnMarketing At Advertising Week On October 2, PPAI hosted author, entrepreneur and marketer Seth Godin at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York, New York, for a master class seminar focused on the fundamentals of marketing as part of the annual Advertising Week. PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, welcomed Godin to the stage and later joined him for a Q&A, with audience members also joining in to ask questions. On stage, Godin (right) said marketing is going through a defining change; it used to be the same as advertising but it’s not anymore. He pointed to the internet, the first medium created without advertising in mind, as driving that change. “Marketing is fundamentally different,” he said. “Today we market with people, not at them.” skucamp brought more than 130 businessowners and salespeople together for two days; they essentially stepped away from working in their business to spend time with industry experts to work on their business. skucamp featured a series of in-depth workshops for attendees, drawing on expertise from both within and outside the promotional products industry to cover a range of subjects relevant to industry professionals, such as simplifying the sales process, content marketing and website design. commonsku Brings Industry Pros Together At Second Annual skucamp In October, promotional products business and sales software provider commonsku hosted its second-annual skucamp, a business-by-design boot camp for entrepreneurs and sales professionals at the Ace Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. The dedication ceremony brought together members of the Ford family, the supplier’s leadership team and invited industry guests. Theresa Roberts, Ford’s wife and managing director at Boundless Network, cut the ribbon opening the new facility. The Fran Ford Center will serve as the new home of Castelli Magnet. Operations were recently moved from the previous location in Sparks, Nevada, and the new center will be able to house larger inventory levels and allow for faster shipping of journals from the company’s plants in Italy. | DECEMBER 2018 | 111 CONNECT