Promokitchen Podcast

Larry Alford is with Axis Promotions. In this discussion we hear tips on keeping your team engaged and sticking to a routine!

Andrea Pereira from Rocket Science Branding joins Chef Kate Plummer to discuss her technique for staying on task and productive. Stay tuned for her suggestions to keep your brain busy. This was recorded Monday March 23rd

Promo Kitchen Podcast 162: A Conversation with Brian Gill by PromoKitchen

Valerie Spiller is with Elite Marketing. Val is a multi-line rep in IL and in this discussion we talk about working from home, tips and tricks.

Kate Kailik from Spector & Co is a road warrior and a WFH veteran! Join her and chef Kate Plummer to get tips on how to be productive while working from home and a really cute story of what's keeping her sane right now!

How are you holding up with everything that's going on? We want you to know that we're thinking about you and want to get you through these tough times so we'll be sharing stories with suppliers and distributors about how they're surviving, their tips for working from home and what's keeping them sane during these unprecedented times. PK Chair Johanna Gottleib and Vice Chair Kate Plummer are our first participants in our new series!

In this special episode, Mark Graham and Danny Rosin welcome back long time guest, Paul Bellantone, CEO of PPAI. We all know the industry is going through a challenging time as we grapple with the impact of the coronavirus. On this particular recording date, March 13, 2020, stock markets are crashing, suppliers are being run off their feet with hand sanitizer orders, distributor sales forecasts are being rewritten, employees are being asked to work from home, end clients are cancelling events in droves and some people are getting sick. And it feels like we’re at the very beginning of what could be a long and difficult journey. We even hear from a special guest at the end of the podcast who shares how a 10 year old sees the pandemic.

Bobby Lehew from commonsku sits down with Chef Kate Plummer to discuss how to pivot with promo and prepare for disaster on all scales. Join us every Wednesday over on Twitter for a brand new #PromoChat 3:00PM Eastern, Noon Pacific (For extra #PromoChat credit, go read the article Kate and Bobby reference in their Deep Dive: https://buff.ly/3cQC253)

Jo-an Lantz, president and CEO of Geiger and Jeff Lederer, president of Primeline, join Chef Kate Plummer to discuss how their companies have prepared for disasters, and what they’re doing to be on top of COVID-19. Join us every Wednesday over on Twitter for a brand new #promochat 3:00PM Eastern, Noon Pacific

Nick Lateur is National Sales Manager at IMAGEN Brands. He lives in Austin, TX and has a quirky fetish for Mondays. When he is not busy strategizing with his IMAGEN Brands team or brainstorming new product video ideas, Nick enjoys cooking with his daughter and jamming with his cover band. You can find him on MONDAYS with Nick on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Nick made a splash in the industry over the last few weeks when he was named #1 on Dale Denham's 2019 Online 18, a list of the most socially influential people in the promotional products industry. He came in hot and the industry is tuning in each week to see how he can brighten our Monday mornings.

Mandi Rudd from Brand Energy Marketing talks to Kate about online personas and keeping your social feeds personal and professional at the same time. Join us every Wednesday at 12:00 PM Pacific, 3:00 PM Eastern on Twitter for an all new #PromoChat.

Try as they might to avoid making a mess in the kitchen, your hosts and PK chefs, Mark Graham & Jay Busselle, pull on some industry threads to discover interesting people and situations in the apparel & branded merchandise space. This is a rags-to-riches, then back to rags… and climbing back to riches, story. Listen to how a small contract apparel sewing company of 5 family makers and a few machines in 1988 grew into a full service large scale apparel contractor who employed over 500 people in 3 different facilities in Canada. This podcast shares the account of Kathy Cheng and WS & Co. scaling up, scaling down and then rebuilding to launch Redwood Classics. Kathy Cheng is the founder & president of Redwood Classics. This is a story of family legacy, restructure, reinvention, fight, change and entrepreneurism. What’s your North Star? Listen and learn from Kathy as she explains the importance of her North Star and how she’s used that to guide her through the challenges of reinvention and innovation. Kathy ch

The Pyramid Award-winning Deep Dive is back! This week, Kate Plummer talks with Scott Nussinow about getting the most out of the organization you belong to. Join #PromoChat ever Wednesday on Twitter at Noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern.

It’s become commonplace to open up our weekly email from ASI and PPAI these days and see some news about industry consolidation, whether it’s a supplier buying another supplier or a distributor joining forces with another distributor. On Jan 29, it was announced that Halo had acquired Axis Promotions, the well known distributor agency based in midtown Manhattan. While these announcements are no longer surprising, the rate of consolidation is unique to this time in the industry and that’s part of what we want to explore in this conversation. On our program today, we welcome Larry Cohen, CEO of Axis Promotions and Marc Simon, CEO of Halo. And while Johanna is a co-host, she’s doing double duty today as she’s also an employee at Axis, heading up their Chicago office.

Robert Fiveash and Jay Busselle bagged a unicorn! Michele Bell from ASI is perhaps the highest-profile industry leader who really doesn’t agree to podcast interviews. But we had an offer even MB couldn’t refuse. Jay’s promise of tacos for life, and Robert’s promise of yearly Stones-related gifts, did the trick! Michele was very generous with her time and was her hilarious, insightful, and intelligent self throughout. We talked about what the future likely looks like, the impact of tariffs, industry terminology, the role of suppliers and distributors, and of course, the Rolling Stones. Thanks Michele for sitting down with us, and thanks for being such a positive and influential part of this industry.

In this episode, Jay Busselle and Mark Graham speak with Ryan Moor, CEO at Ryonet & Allmade, about the world of apparel decorating and how his roots as a screen print supplier (Ryonet) led to the creation of a new project, Allmade Apparel - a shirt for screen printers by screen printers. Allmade has also made a name for itself by offering socially and environmentally responsible Tshirt alternatives in a sector not particularly well known for its environmental track record. It's a fascinating grass roots revolution that Ryan and several of his screen printing colleagues have kicked off and we're happy to share the story with you.

Chef Danny Rosin, our first chat of 2019 comes in to close off the year. He and Chef Kate Plummer talk about goal setting, how you achieve and how you bring your team in to make it count. Join us every Wednesday on Twitter for a brand new #PromoChat! 12PM Pacific, 3PM Eastern.

Amanda Delaney cures her Promo FOMO and talks with Chef Kate Plummer about the best ways to give back and support your community. Join us every Wednesday on Twitter for a brand new #PromoChat! 12PM Pacific, 3PM Eastern.

In this special episode of the podcast, Mark Graham and Johanna Gottlieb speak with Neil Ringel, CEO of Polyconcept, and Sharon Eyal, CEO of ETS Express, about Polyconcept's blockbuster acquisition of ETS Express on Dec 10, 2019. In our conversation, we explore how this transaction took place, what this means for Polyconcept and ETS customers and the impact this will have on the overall promotional products industry. It's a rich conversation, required listening for anyone looking to understand the strategic mindsets of two of the most influential companies in the industry today.

Jamie Mair sits down with Chef Kate Plummer to talk about sustainability and all of the things that go unsaid in the promo industry. Join us every Wednesday on Twitter for a new #PromoChat. 12PM Pacific, 3PM Eastern.