Distributor News

Reaching Your Limit as a Business Owner
June 7, 2011

Many business owners reach a point in the life of their businesses where they hit a wall, a point beyond which they are either unable or unwilling to go. "Somewhere around $3 million dollars of revenue, I went from being the driver of my business to the bottleneck," John Warrillow, author of "Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You," wrote in a recent blog post. "Each year we stood still, I grew more frustrated. I felt like I was trying to swim in a pair of jeans."

How Social Media Can Destroy Your Business and What You Can Do About It
June 6, 2011

CEOs, executives and employees in the U.S. have rallied to face the challenge of a social media marketplace. Social media has impacted how they perceive their roles, how they organize themselves, how they communicate to the marketplace and how they interact with customers. Some critics have challenged what the return on investment is for social media. Others have complained that the metrics don't exist to demonstrate value. What both overlook is the fact that their brand community has not only embraced socially media, but is leveraging it in ways that can either ensure that your business thrives or doesn't survive.

Benchmark Displays Announces Contest Winners
June 6, 2011

Benchmark Displays invited customers, prospects and other Internet visitors to an Easter Egg Hunt Contest recently. The contest was an innovative and interactive promotion that took visitors to three of Benchmark's websites. Contestants searched for hidden eggs while viewing Benchmark's custom display services, products and stock display items.

Contestants finding special numbered eggs were entered into three separate prize drawings. If they found the prized Golden Egg, they had a chance to win a brand new iPod 32G.

Newton Manufacturing Publishes QR Code "How to" White Paper
June 6, 2011

With QR code usage continuing to grow, Newton Manufacturing Company has published a free white paper about the technology. "How to Sell QR Codes" is a guide for industry distributors, agencies and suppliers for implementing QR codes in promotions.

Western Associates Announces Three Promotional Product Expos for 2011
June 3, 2011

Western Associates, Marion, Kan., has announced the dates for its annual "Christmas in October" events featuring top manufacturers of corporate apparel and promotional items.

Each event will feature the nation's top promotional manufacturers including Swiss Army Brands, Cutter & Buck, Cross, Callaway, Leed's and more. Attendees must register but the trade show formatted event is free to qualified buyers of promotional material.

"We appreciate the opportunity our clients get to 'touch and feel' products as well as interact directly with and learn from our factory reps," said Dave Crofoot, president of Western Associates.

Can "Made in USA" Survive in a Global Economy?
June 3, 2011

Every year nearly 30 million people visit the 19 Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C. to see some of our nation's prized historical artifacts.

But visitors seeking souvenirs from "our nation's attic," as the museums are known, have recently been surprised to find one very un-American artifact in the museums' gift shops: a stamp that reads "Made in China."

"I think it is utterly absurd and frankly insulting that the patriotic American mementos [visitors] are taking home today are stamped with the words 'Made in China,'" said U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Corporate Incentives Merges with Brady Hull & Associates
June 3, 2011

Corporate Incentives Inc., located in The Woodlands, Texas, has merged with Brady Hull & Associates L.C., a similarly focused distributor company.

Corporate Incentives and Brady Hull & Associates, also based in The Woodlands, individually have represented the largest independently-owned logo specialty companies in Montgomery County and have each consistently earned a spot in the top three percent of the advertising specialty industry in the nation. Together, their merger will move them up in the top one percent in the industry.