Rank Company Promotional Total Employees Locations Principal(s) City, State Product Sales (000) Sales (000) 1. Corporate Express Promotional Marketing $235,000 $235,000 N/A 37 Dennis Multack, President St. Louis, MO 2. Proforma $227,500 $293,933 100 650 Greg & Vera Muzzillo, Co-CEOs Cleveland, OH 3. Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BD&A) $200,000 $200,000 400 21 Jay Deutsch, CEO Woodinville, WA 4. American Identity $191,000 $191,000 830 3 Roger Henry, CEO Overland Park, KS 5. Geiger $172,530 $172,530 425 21 Gene Geiger, President/CEO Lewiston, ME 6. Adventures in Advertising (AIA) $135,000 $135,000 65 310 David Woods, President/CEO Neenah, WI 7. HALO/Lee Wayne $130,000 $130,000 140 1 Marc Simon, CEO Sterling, IL 8. 4imprint $111,585 $111,585 330 1 Kevin Lyons-Tarr, President Oshkosh, WI 9. American Solutions for Business (ASB) $78,059 $249,022 926 455 Larry Zavadil, President/CEO Glenwood, MN 10. Kaeser & Blair $78,000 $78,000 128 1 Kurt Kaeser, CEO Batavia, OH 11. Jack Nadel International $77,000 $77,000 240 24 Craig Nadel, CEO Culver City, CA 12. Summit Marketing $74,100 $111,731 400 8 Dan Renz, CEO St. Louis, MO 13. The Vernon Company $72,561 $72,561 650 4 Chris Vernon, COO Newton, IA 14. Evigna $69,000 $69,000 172 18 Shan Mehta, President Madison Heights, MI
Promotional Marketing
It’s here, Promotional Marketing’s 2007 Top 50 Distributors of the year. Check out Promotional Marketing’s May issue for a complete run down of these top sellers. Rank 1. Corporate Express Promotional Marketing, St. Louis, MO Promotional $235,000 Total $235,000 Employees N/A Locations 37 Principal(s) Dennis Multack, President Rank 2. Proforma, Cleveland, OH Promotional $227,500 Total $293,933 Employees 100 Locations 650 Principal(s) Greg & Vera Muzzillo, Co-CEOs Rank 3. Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BD&A), Woodinville, WA Promotional $200,000 Total $200,000 Employees 400 Locations 21 Principal(s) Jay Deutsch, CEO Rank 4. American Identity, Overland Park, KS Promotional $191,000 Total $191,000 Employees 830 Location 3 Principal(s) Roger Henry, CEO Rank 5.
Should there be any reservations about the topic, the promotional products business is a thriving one. This assertion would be hard to dispute, given the impressive numbers the industry reported for 2006. According to an annual survey conducted for Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), total promotional product sales revenue in 2006 amounted to $18.8 billion, up 4.25 percent from 2005. This figure translates to an increase of $766 million in sales from the previous year. That’s a lot of promotional products! To put $18.8 billion into perspective, Promotional Marketing’s Top 50 Distributors brought in a total of $2.35 billion in promotional product sales
Promotional Marketing’s eCatalogExpress.com service proves to be even more beneficial as the Postal Regulatory Commission announces higher prices for mailings and catalogs, effective May 14. While traditional catalog mailers will suffer increased costs of up to 40 percent, suppliers and distributors who utilize eCatalogExpress.com will bypass the postage hike through the service’s reduced print, postage and fulfillment costs. The new rates recommended by the regulatory commission have given rise to concern, especially those changes for a small, but significant, minority of catalogs, which would increase by as much as 41 percent, according to the United States Postal Service. Even with a request from the post
Anthony Stover, senior distributor account manager for Promotional Marketing Publishing Group, Philadelphia, passed the certification examination administered by PPAI to receive the Master Advertising Specialist (MAS) industry certification. According to PPAI literature, “MAS/CAS certification is the only recognized credential in the promotional products industry and signifies that an individual has reached and continues to meet a higher standard of professionalism, knowledge and experience within the industry.” “I am proud of this accomplishment and honored to be recognized,” noted Stover. “The MAS certification enhances my ability to partner with distributors and assist them in meeting their sales and marketing objectives.” Stover has been in the
A SIGNIFICANT PART of promotional product sales requires instructing, demonstrating and coaching, not to mention frequent bouts with adding and subtracting—all activities generally associated with schooling. From the looks of things, it seems that a teaching degree or equivalent experience would be necessary in order to be successful in the industry. Maybe that’s a bit far-fetch, but it’s not impossible to find people from all walks of life who have pledged their allegiance to the rules of the industry upon relinquishing previous careers. And what better person to fall in line than a former public school teacher? Rosalie Marcus, Promo Biz Coach and founder
A total of 44 industry professionals passed the Master Advertising Specialist and Certified Advertising Specialist (MAS/CAS) certification examinations administered by Irving, Texas-based Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) at January’s PPAI Expo in Las Vegas. “Earning a professional certification is an avenue being traveled by more and more people in the industry,” noted Steve Slagle, PPAI’s president and CEO. “Making the commitment to pursue a MAS or CAS certification is a benchmark of the effort individuals are willing to make to ensure their future business success and the overall professionalism of the industry.” The MAS certification requires the equivalent of 170 hours from a structured curriculum, five
IN AN ERA where “charge it” has become not just a saying but a way of life, it’s not surprising that plastic cards of all kinds have found themselves at the top of the totem pole as profitable and enduring consumer products. To that end, some promotional products suppliers have adopted their own, increasingly popular version of the coveted plastic card—promotional gift cards. Promotional Marketing sat down with Watson Nichols, senior communications manager at Atlanta-based InComm and Steve Pruitt, vice president of marketing and business development at Midland, Texas-based Teraco for an in-depth look at this new wave in gift-giving.
Anyone who has attended one of the large trade shows knows the scene well: A long aisle of carpet covering a concrete floor; booths flooded with distributors and suffering a drought of people to answer questions; and little hand carts, blocking every turn and tripping attendees. The “beeping” sound of scanners creates a strange techno-music soundtrack on the show floor as distributors are scanned at each booth for catalogs to be mailed later. These are the trials and tribulations of trade shows in the promotional products industry. In a recent e-mail newsletter, the editors of Promotional Marketing addressed a concern voiced by some suppliers. Many
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