12 Mind-Blowing Ideas Dropped at skucon 2022

From NFT’s, to virtual reality, to meta-merch for the metaverse, skucon 2022 was an explosion of future-focused ideas, fresh examples, and mind-bending thoughts to upend conventional thinking and challenge even the most progressive pros! 

The best conference experiences not only inspire you, but they shake you out of your complacency and reshape your idea of success. skucon 2022 was no exception to this, here are twelve epic ideas dropped by this incredible community of speakers and panelists:

1. The limit of our vision is the limit of our world. Bobby Lehew kicked off the day to talk about “The Future World of Branded Merch” citing example after example of how the world has changed how they view branded merchandise and also demonstrating how the market is much bigger than “the industry”. Branded merchandise now encompasses a massive world including streetwear, fashion, B2B, B2C, and more. The key question: How big is your world? 

2. Merch madness has changed how the market views branded merch. The market places an astounding value on what we sell and no longer deems it “cheap giveaways” or “swag” and instead, will pay a premium for merch done well. Does your work live up to this heightened state of demand? Are your creating demand and scarcity on behalf of your clients? Do your margins reflect today’s merch madness?

3. Do work you’re proud of – and let it speak for itself. Aaron Draplin delivered a simple but stunning presentation: he walked through the work he was most proud of and simply showed his work. His example spoke volumes. From designing “boring” products like a letter opener, a bottle opener keychain, and a toothbrush, to Presidents, big brand names, famous bands, and more. Aaron showed us how to do one thing well: respect your work. A bold thinker and bold designer, Drap emphasized that it’s a design-driven focus, simple products, and tactile experiences, that people respect and covet the most.

4. Experiential marketing is not an event it’s an approach. And branded merchandise is experiential when it is unconventional and unexpected. Ben Adam’s with Advoc8 shared this idea and even more mind-bending thoughts, like: experiential is no longer just about events, in fact, it’s the absence of a channel. “Creating a unique experience is about meeting people where they are at with engaging, immersive experiences that build relationships and create lasting memories. And branded merchandise is at its most powerful when it is grounded in purpose, unity, and trust.” When you create projects for clients, do you strive to make it experiential by asking: How can we make this unconventional and unexpected? 

5. “The competitive self and the compassionate self can co-exist in the same person.” As VP of Sales at SnugzUSA, Kathy DiFrancesco works hard at building and motivating a sales team and in our panel chat, (“How Emotional Intelligence is a New Business Advantage”) she shared insight from the front lines about what it takes to win in a world that strives to bring work and life together in harmony. She stated that if we embrace and understand empathy, our competitive selves actually become stronger because our mission is not just our own ambition, but the fulfillment, desires, and dreams of our colleagues and employees too. Are you bringing balance to your ambition by bringing both your competitive self and compassionate self to work?

6. In this same panel, Sarah White co-founder and chief operating officer of Fairware, provided one of the most powerful insights of the day when it comes to culture and team building, “Don’t look for ‘cultural fit’ look for cultural contribution.” Sarah shared that work is not a family, it’s more like a team. Strong teams don’t have merely people who “fit in,” and hiring based on our differences teaches us respect, shapes us, and deepens our team’s talent. Are you hiring based on cultural fit or cultural contribution? “If we want these strong, diverse teams, we have to think differently, but we also have to create environments where different people feel welcome.”

7. Are you sensitive to your colleagues’ or your employees' personal goals and ambitions? Are you even aware of them? Stephen Musgrave, Vice President and General Manager of Rightsleeve, stressed that we are not one-dimensional people, we are so used to looking at our coworkers as workers first, or even workers only, but their lives are richer than that. The pandemic forced our personal lives and our work lives to blend. Understanding our team’s life goals is activating emotionally intelligent leadership to build a more holistic and honest work culture. 

8. Fuel your own creative tank. Many of us are product sourcing agents first and designers last, but Jeremy Picker with Amb3r Creative shared that this is a bygone world and that the best in the business bring design, trends, and creative thinking to their projects as a priority, not an afterthought. How? By constantly filling your own creative fuel tank with mood boards, Pinterest-like tools, and purposeful scrolling that is intentional (not haphazard), we’ll fill our own creative tank and never run out of ideas. He added that “style and trends are not additions to our work, they are our work.”

9. Put design first + fall in love with the tactile again. “Touch and feel the merchandise — most of us don’t even touch the product anymore” is another zinger Jeremy dropped casually during his presentation, reminding us that we’re in a tactile business of surprise and delight. Jeremy also asked:  “How much focus are you putting on creative design and development? Is it an organizational initiative? Do you have a creative director or someone who functions as a creative director?” Creative design is not optional, nor an afterthought, it’s how future leaders think: design first.

10. “Scared as hell and doing it.” Jodie Schllinger, executive vice president of Maple Ridge Farms, dropped that line as a way to kick off her skucon talk, citing that both courage and fear are required to persevere and take on the most daunting task. Jodie joined a chorus of other speakers as she shared one of our now famous skucon stories, “ten-minute tales from the trenches.” Other stories included the inspirational journey of Nenette Gray who became the chief lemonade maker at Lemonade Creative Marketing; Candace Parker, owner of Big Bunny Creative who shared her journey of making both work and life a priority as a single mom; and Kirby Hasseman, owner of Hasseman Marketing who imbued perfection as a storyteller, sharing a few of his biggest career lessons learned.

11. Reengineer your team. The world has changed. There is more team selling today than ever before and with a remote workforce, technology now plays a vital role to connect us all. In our panel chat with three of the largest distributor leaders today (Stephanie Leader, CEO of Leaderpromos; Sandy Gonzalez, CEO of MadeToOrder, and Jill Haspert, CEO of Foxtrot Marketing Group), Jill shared how they eliminated contract sales workforce, changed comp plans, and made tech a priority. And Stephanie Leader shared how the principals from Traction led to their own restructuring. And finally, Sandy Gonzalez talked about individual sales goals and the most important trait every salesperson today must possess: confidence. 

12. “Who is your Edgar?” Davis Smith, founder of Cotopaxi, ended our day with one of the most inspirational stories to ever hit the skucon stage, the story of how a little boy in Peru helped spark the idea to create Cotopaxi. Davis shared the story of Edgar and ended our day by challenging us: “My question to each of you: Who is your Edgar? Who is the person or thing that can inspire you every day to look beyond yourself and look for a way to touch the lives of somebody else? I promise if you do that, you’ll just find so much fulfillment in life.”

skucon 2022 also featured our skummunity award winners which included the Supplier Community Champion Award presented to Alex Symms from Chameleon Like, Inc.; the Distributor Community Connector Award presented to Brenda Speirs at Buzztags; the Supplier Connected Workflow Award, presented to Jon Norris, COO at Starline USA Inc., and the Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year Award, presented to Kelli Henderson and Elise Lindborg of Brand Pride. You can learn more about the award winners here! 

And thanks to our media friends for covering the event, from PPAI, to ASI (special thanks to Sara Lavenduski for live-tweeting the event) and to PromoMarketing for recognizing our amazing award winners.

And if you missed skucon 2022, stay tuned! We have some exciting news about a new event experience dropping soon!