What if I told you that the secret to growth isn't sending more emails, but sending fewer?
That the path to memorable marketing isn't doing everything, but doing one thing incredibly well?
Dean Caravelis discovered this truth through years of observation and experience.
As a marketing director, he watched distributors drag the bottom of the sea with their nets, sending catalog after catalog, making call after call. No intention. No personalization. Just hoping something would stick.
Today, Dean runs Blezoo differently. He's a spear fisher in a sea of shrimp boat captains.
His new book, "The Experience in a Box Playbook," isn't just another marketing manual. It's 17 years of insights condensed into one burning question: What emotion do you want someone to have when they receive this?
Dean's favorite analogy explains everything wrong with most promotional product outreach.
Shrimp boat captains drag massive nets across the ocean floor, destroying everything in their path while hoping to catch something valuable. It's brutal, wasteful, and remarkably similar to mass email campaigns.
Spear fishers study their target, understand the environment, and strike with deadly precision. They know exactly what they're after and how to get it.
Most distributors operate like shrimp boats. Dean built Blezoo to be spear fishers. The difference shows in every client interaction, every campaign, and every result.
Campaign complexity kills memorability. Dean's discovered this through years of watching clients try to squeeze everything into a single promotion.
Start with emotion. How should someone feel when they open your package? That drives everything else.
Pick one message. Not three key points. Not five benefits. One clear, memorable message that sticks.
Define the action. What exactly should they do next?
Everything beyond that creates noise. Dean calls these "me too moments" where recipients immediately forget what they received. Your budget should create opportunities, not check boxes.
Here's something interesting: Dean owns 2,000 vinyl records.
Vinyl should be dead. Streaming services offer unlimited music instantly. But vinyl sales keep climbing because physical experiences satisfy something digital can't touch.
The same principle applies to promotional products. As AI makes us question what's real online, tangible items become more valuable, not less. Face-to-face interactions feel genuine in ways digital never will.
Promotional products aren't fighting technology—they're benefiting from it. The more digital we become, the more we crave authentic physical experiences.
Economic turbulence makes everyone want to try new tactics. Dean takes the opposite approach: go back to fundamentals.
Review your processes. Reconnect with existing clients. Focus on what you can control instead of worrying about external factors.
Even Tiger Woods worked with swing coaches. When performance suffers, the solution usually involves returning to core principles, not adding complexity.
We're halfway through the year. Holiday season approaches faster than anyone expects. Begin with the end in mind.
Dean's partnership with commonsku proves his philosophy in action. Before commonsku, his team ran on a system he created himself. It worked, but scaling meant chaos.
commonsku changed everything. Not because it replaced relationships—because it eliminated friction.
When you input information correctly, the next order becomes easier. And the order after that. Kitting becomes organized. Pricing gets bundled. Shops create seamless experiences.
The technology doesn't replace the personal touch. It amplifies it.
Dean's observation reveals something crucial: when remarkable people build tools, those tools enable remarkable experiences. The culture becomes the product.
Dean's transformation from marketing director to agency founder to published author illustrates something bigger happening in promotional products.
The promotional products industry is splitting. One group embraces change, uses technology strategically, and creates memorable experiences. The other group clings to old methods and hopes volume compensates for lack of strategy.
The companies that understand this paradox will dominate an increasingly AI-driven marketplace. Physical experiences become premium when digital authenticity becomes questionable.
Spear fishers target with purpose. Shrimp boats drag nets and hope. The choice determines everything that follows.
Dean chose precision. The nets are still available if you prefer them.
But the spear is sharper.
[01:48] Pat Williams' advice: don't write unless it's burning inside you
[05:52] Shrimp boat captain vs. spear fisher analogy
[07:49] The one message rule for memorable campaigns
[10:05] How commonsku amplifies personal touch
[12:10] Writing the book changed Dean's decision-making
[14:14] The vinyl record theory: why physical matters
[19:26] Silicon Valley launch advice: ship before you're embarrassed
[20:54] Seth Godin's influence and the 2016 workshop
[22:06] Back to basics during uncertain times