Every week there are articles published that are of interest to promotional products industry professionals across the land. To save you time, a rotating group of PromoKitchen chefs have culled the internet for the ones you should read and the ones you should skip. This week’s Dish was authored by Chef Bill Petrie.

How Branding ‘The Small Business Way’ Got My Company Out of Debt – “Must Read” Article of the Week

It’s a problem that just about every entrepreneur has faced: creating profitability in the business. Taking lessons learned by the author, this article shares some very practical advice that will help just about anyone take control of their branding to grow and scale. The best point: branding is not one-size fits all as national big-box branding is quite different from small business branding.

The 12 Weirdest Trump Inauguration Day Promotions

With all the activities surrounding the inauguration of our 45th president, this article is a delightful distraction and highlights just how diverse the promotional products industry can be. From t-shirts proclaiming that 1/20/2017 was the “Best Day Ever” to limited edition “Wake Up America” inauguration coffee to official inauguration Christmas ornament, there was something for just about everyone. In fact, there were even tickets to the “resistance.”

4 Key Takeaways About the Future of Content from the Brand Storytelling Conference

First, who knew there was a Brand Storytelling conference? This event, held in Park City, Utah at the same time the Sundance Film Festival is beginning, shared some key thoughts about the future of every marketer’s favorite buzzword: content. In this article, there are thoughts on producing content for the Snapchat age as well as not making the brand the story – yes, you read that right. My favorite part of the article talks about Gen Z and how they are a “hot, fascinating mess that may just save the world.”

The Top 8 Content Marketing Trends in 2017 (Infographic) – “Don’t Waste Your Time Reading” Article of the Week

As much as I love infographics – and this is a very pretty one – there is so little information that it’s just a graphic. Among the findings of this infographic are such stunning revelations (please note sarcasm) as “more brands will utilize visual content,” “more brands will tap the power of influencers to boost their reach,” and my choice for the worst “brands will start promoting their own content through paid channels.” Yes, content is important and should be part of every organizations marketing strategy, but this article won’t help you one bit.