Blog posts by Maggie Mason

City Paper Blog

2020 vs 2021 Industry Changes

2020 was quite a year. It’s hard to even think back to the days of lock down when chicken, toilet paper, and Lysol® were difficult to come by. It feels like it was both yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time. But here we are! It’s a new year and, while COVID-19 is not fully in our rearview mirror, we are most certainly turning a corner.

Continue reading

Allusive 2020

It goes without saying, but I’ll go ahead and say it – this time last year, I could have never dreamed I’d need to wear a mask to go into my office or that our entire team couldn’t be in the office at the same time because we need to be distanced. Which reminds me, who came up with 6 feet apart? Do we know if that works? All very allusive.

Continue reading

Promo PPE

Our industry’s normal product offering has moved from plain old pens and mobile tech accessories to antimicrobial stylus pens and no touch keychain tools.

Continue reading

The Compassion Project

As our team sorts through life in the “new normal” and we try our best to make sense of how to adjust, we have found ourselves looking to the uplifting messages and underlying hope for guidance.

Continue reading

Promo Love is in the Air

We’re in the business of loving the latest promotional trend, but it’s easy to fall in love with products this sweet.

Continue reading

HOT TRENDS FOR 2019

Trends for 2019’s Promotional Marketing space are full of mixed materials & textures, high performance drinkware, retail packaging first impressions and dual function products.

Continue reading

Women's Day 2019

It’s no coincidence that promo products seem to be more and more geared towards women. Our industry is not only full of women on the distributor and supplier side, but frequently promotional product buyers are also women.

Continue reading

The Layered Style Guide

Trends aren't just in retail, they're appropriate for the workplace too. Even business casual can even be confused for "athliesure" these days. And let's face it, we spend the majority of our time in our "work-wear" so we should fee confident, but also comfortable.

Continue reading

YOU can HELP!

We are all thinking it - how do I help? How can I give back from 4 states away? What if that was my home or my family? It's our time to show support through thoughts and donations.

Continue reading

120 Years Young

As we make our way to the halfway mark in our 120th year in business, we’re taking a little extra time to stop and appreciate where we’ve been and, even better, where we’re going!

Continue reading

The Best Kind of Promotion

One of our local Birmingham Account Executives, Nadav Raviv, was recognized in Promo Marketing magazine for recently providing an environmentally friendly solution at the right time. The added bonus that made this project worthy of "Best Promotion" is the promotional solution helped volunteers in the community with clean up efforts. The article details the importance of knowing your client as well as their target audience. Way to go, Nadav!

Continue reading

Retail Space Developing Trends

A new year brings excitement with the possibility of a fresh start and expectations to meet new horizons. There’s no exception to this notion when it comes to marketing and branding for retailers. Promotional marketing must stay in touch with what's hot for the new year and what could turn your reoccurring campaigns into branding home runs.

Continue reading

The Face of Branding

Such an honor to be featured in Birmingham's B-Metro magazine as the face of branding. We're off to an exciting start in our 120th year and appreciate the support from partners like B-Metro.

Continue reading

Promo Builds Collegiate Sports Programs

Everyone’s a Lobo! If you’ve ever had the chance to visit a sporting event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, chances are you have heard this chant. Cheers and chants are a great way to get fans excited about a game, but how can a program take the gameday experience to the next level?

Continue reading

Eco-Friendly Trend to Stay

One of the easiest ways to be environmentally mindful is to use recycled products. Number 11 of Huffington Post’s 15 Ways to Be Environmentally friendly is to buy recycled products. Companies that are doing their part to “save the planet” are likely to gain respect from potential and current clients as well as employees.

Continue reading

Smart Choices for Employees Result in Better Bottom-line

If you’re not talking to our clients about wellness programs, you are missing an opportunity that resonates with executive team members. A recent study conducted by FitBit determined that 80 percent of the CEOs surveyed see corporate wellness programs playing a key role in reducing stress at work.

Continue reading

10 Steps to go from Good to Great

Develop an Unshakable Work Ethic. Remove the word busy from your vocabulary. Your version of busy likely differs from what others consider busy. Be determined, unwavering and purposeful in your work. Overcome challenges. Obstacles are going to arise. This is inevitable. It’s how you respond to them that makes all the difference.

Continue reading