The Dish
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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.
Industry Members Come Together for Friend in Need – “Must Read” Article of the Week
As I’m sure many of you know (but just in case you don’t), creative industry leader, colleague, and friend Tee Hamilton was recently diagnosed with a cancer. This article put together by the good people at Promo Marketing Magazine – along with this blog post on the PromoKitchen site – details not only what is happening with Tee but, more importantly, how you can help. Spoiler alert: a GoFundMe page has been set up to help Tee defray medical expenses. Should you be moved to donate, you can visit that page here.
American Apparel Founder Says Company Couldn’t Survive Without Him
Sometimes I feel like it wouldn’t be “The Dish” without some sort of article about American Apparel. Plus, and let’s be honest here, it fills space and it’s usually some interesting reading and this article is no different. In an interview with Bloomberg, the ousted (and, allegedly, quite sexually charged) founder of the company, Dov Charney, stated that the company simply couldn’t “survive without my leadership.” This article is worth the read simply to gain a little more insight into his perspective on how and why American Apparel failed.
Coca-Cola Invented a Bottle that Takes Selfies, Because We Really Needed That
No. No. No. No. No. Never. Never. Never. To paraphrase the opening of this article, what’s worse than a selfie stick? A thirst-quenching selfie stick. Essentially, Coca-Cola created a bottle (available only in Israel) that takes a selfie when you take a tug of the sugary slurry. While the technology is cool – there is a sensor built in that snaps a picture when the bottle is tilted to 70 degrees – I don’t love the idea of a beverage vehicle snapping pictures of me while quaffing.
How Trump Won Using Strategic Branding, and What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Him
Look, I’m just as beaten down by post-election coverage as you are. However, this article from Entrepreneur Magazine is a very interesting read on how the president-elect’s team used strategic branding to claim victory. I found the most interesting part at the end where the author discussed how Trump branded the competition from “Lyin’ Ted” to “Crooked Hillary.” While few would argue that this branding strategy wasn’t polarizing, it doesn’t change the fact that it was effective regardless if you are thrilled, outraged, or somewhere in between with Mr. Trump.
7 Excellent Branding Opportunities You Have Right Now – “Don’t Waste Your Time Reading” Article of the Week
This article is about as generic and obvious as anything I’ve read on the internet. From such enlightening “ideas” as ensuring your logo is included on outgoing emails to putting you brand on a PowerPoint deck, this is about as lame as business advice gets. The kicker is that, almost as an afterthought, the author suggests using giveaways (oh how I loathe that term) with – are you ready – YOUR brand on them! Do yourself a favor and be thankful that you don’t have to read this article.