Colliding Worlds: Does This Scare You?

In building our PPAI-award winning FreePromoTips.com program into a valuable resource for the industry, we have always made a conscious effort to keep it out of the radar of the non-industry online community. This is a program with content that specifically is focused on the promotional marketing industry.

If end-user buyers were to open the window into the promotional products industry, what would they find?

• Companies promoting they have the lowest prices?
• Companies selling the same products, but failing to offer suggestions on how they work as a branding solution?
• Companies suggesting they are better than the options available to buy “swag” locally and online, without offering reasons why?

Or will they see …

• Companies that offer proven effective branding tools and strategies
• Companies driven by creative people who are positioned to help their clients achieve their marketing goals
• Companies that care about being socially responsible and delivering quality, safe products that protect an organizations brand

Those who are savvy in any industry will effectively communicate their value proposition in a way that builds a mutually beneficial relationship. And that message will be spread everywhere, not just on the public face of the company or its home page. If they are active on social media, its company image and online voice is available for all to see … both in our business and personal online presence. It’s “colliding worlds.”

We have gone through a few rebuilds of the FreePromoTips.com site since its creation in 2005. Because it is an industry specific resource, it doesn’t really need to be found, so we always stay away from search engine optimization.

But if an end-user finds our site, you don’t need to worry. The content and resources on FreePromoTips.com can be relevant to companies in or out of our industry. Our supplier partners are committed to our industry’s business model just like we are. The end-user-safe videos featured on our YourPromotionSolution.com website all have a “Contact Your Local Promotional Consultant” tag at the end of the video. This website has no contact information.

There are paranoid distributors who say they would never share a video, product or collateral material with a supplier’s logo on it. This speaks directly to their insecurity and inability to be a valuable resource for clients. These people are spending time being afraid instead of embracing reality. They don’t seem to realize that in this day and age, almost any information is available to those who are willing to spend time looking for it. Colliding worlds aren’t a bad thing. It just means there is more opportunity.

Colliding worlds will still make some uncomfortable. The reality is that buyers can find suppliers who blatantly sell direct. They also can find quality promotional consultants who bring value to them locally or online.

There is no way to avoid colliding worlds in the online community, nor should we be afraid of worlds colliding. Those who can think past fear realize that the benefits of wide exposure for promotional products are beneficial for everyone. If an end-user buyer sees something they like, they will buy it from a distributor … locally or online. Buyers have the same option anyway.

This is why it’s important that we embrace the opportunity we have through an effective online marketing strategy. Meaningful social media combined with the relationship building personal connections we make put us in the best position to achieve our goals.

I am doing things both in and out of the promotional marketing industry, so I’ve expanded my personal online presence. That leads to “colliding worlds.” This concept is illustrated in the classic Seinfeld series. Here’s a clip on colliding worlds.

What we are doing online is great for our supplier partners and the distributors who take advantage of the content FreePromoTips.com offers. The short product videos we produce that reside on YourPromotionSolution.com are helpful for distributors, suppliers and end-user buyers.

Before the Peyton Manning keynote at last weeks Chicago ASI Show, I talked with a distributor who is using our FreePromoTips.com content and taking advantage of our YourPromotionSolution.com end-user-safe product videos.

We couldn't have orchestrated anything more effective to tell our story than what Jill Douglas shared in this candid under two-minute testimonial video. Jill clearly understands the positive impact of social sharing, and has the Google analytics to back it up.

At the Chicago ASI Show, we utilized our social media reach to offer exclusive specials for suppliers who chose to take advantage of this opportunity. Real connections were made, and it was beneficial for distributors and suppliers. Content was also shared that put our industry in a positive light via social media. It’s understood that what we post online can been seen by many. This is colliding worlds.

While there was a technical glitch with the high-definition recording of my interview with Tim Andrews, ASI president and CEO, our Periscope live broadcast saved the day. We were able to capture the content despite the poor video quality. You can see the video here.

We would like to thank the great companies who supported our reporting from the Chicago ASI Show: Adcapitol, Ad-A-Day Company Inc., Gemaco, Goldstar, The Vernon Company and Warwick Publishing Co. They made it possible for us to bring you a variety of content that we publish in our popular e-newsletter.

Colliding worlds are not bad. They create opportunities!