Fresh Concepts President Bob Felice on the Value of Reliability and Promotions That Do Good
Sometimes a plan just comes together without any real problems. Do you know what we call that? A blessing. Sometimes the most memorable or successful promotions aren’t the ones that are flashy or crazy-original, but the ones that just work. They do what they need to do. We all want to be Michael Jordan, but sometimes it’s better to be John Stockton. (That’s basketball-speak for “consistency and reliability are good!”)
Bob Felice, president of Fresh Concepts, New Haven, Conn., remembers one promotion that went especially smoothly for him, and did some good for a local community, too.
Promo Marketing: What is a promotion that you think was one of your best?
Bob Felice: It was a diaper kit program at a N.Y. hospital.
PM: What was it about this promotion you liked, in particular?
BF: [I liked] how all aspects of the program came together—a grant for the hospital to establish the program, source custom product from one vendor for a direct import, and stock products from other vendors and having kitting done by supervised mentally challenged students at a local school.
PM: Did you run into any challenges with this promotion? If so, how did you over come them?
BF: Managing the inventory for the imports and managing the standing orders with the domestic product.
PM: Do you have any advice for distributors looking to do something similar?
BF: Use the resources that are available in order to create a win-win-win for the customer, vendors and your business. Finding ways to help others in the community is not only necessary for a business but also serves as a terrific selling tool and illustrates the type of company you are to your customer.

Brendan Menapace is the senior digital editor for Promo Marketing. While writing and editing stories come naturally to him, writing his own bio does not.





