Business Lessons from Mickey Mouse

Disneyland has the appearance that all is well in a world that includes Frontierland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and of course, Fantasyland. Is all well in our industry’s Frontierland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland?

Our Frontierland offers the excitement of the old west and the challenges that go with it. We’ve also got some good old-fashioned gun fighting going on.

Clearly the promotional marketing industry’s Adventureland actually is filled with adventure. There are new products and directions we can move in. Everyday is different.

While Tomorrowland looks ahead to the future, we look forward to an evolving marketplace that differs from our past and offers new opportunities as well as new challenges.

Some are quite comfortable in Fantasyland, believing things will stay the way they always have been. Reality is that things will always evolve and change. Nothing stays the same.

Over the last few months I’ve covered a variety of topics and touched on the discontent of a few readers over things they cannot change. Wanting an industry where everything is perfect really is Fantasyland.

Industry online forums and a few of our FreePromoTips.com readers have been concerned about our changing marketplace. And we should be concerned. I recently had the opportunity to talk with two key industry leaders who addressed these issues and provided a state of the industry report. I am happy to share these interviews with you.

Tim Andrews, President and CEO of The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) addresses a variety of issues in this video interview.

Paul Bellantone, President and CEO of the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) offers his comments in this video interview.

Wanting everything to perfect, or expect our industry to police how business is being conducted would be like Disneyland, and Disneyland is not the real world.