In this PromoKitchen podcast, Mark Graham, Kate Plummer and Jeremy Picker riff about the impact of promo on world events (and the other way around).

We spend a lot of time reminding end clients why promotional products are an effective marketing strategy. However, we often find ourselves fighting an uphill battle when we see some end clients dismiss our medium as trinkets and trash.

But what happens when our medium is “too effective”, when it moves audiences in ways that are uncomfortable for some people? We have seen examples of this in the past few weeks with the use of branded merchandise as a rallying force at the US Capitol on January 6. Or Facebook’s encouraging its employees from wearing company merchandise lest they be the subject of attacks. Or Shopify’s decision to take down Trump’s MAGA store.

Our industry has evolved considerably over the years. Thanks to advances in technology - like print on demand, just in time inventory, e-commerce, no minimums, Direct to Garment printing - our industry has been able to respond to current events with unprecedented speed. The result is a new relationship with our medium that allows us to break out of the confining trinkets and trash category. A big part of this discussion is how we feel about our new role in world events.