Fast Company published an article that thundered across the promotional product industry titled, “It’s time to stop spending billions on cheap conference swag," written by Elizabeth Segran. The opinion was met with much approval by many on social and it evoked frustration, some anger, and even agreement, among those in the promotional products business.
We wrote a response titled, “Here’s the thing about the piece on swag by Elizabeth Segran in Fast Company: she’s right,” and our article was mentioned by Elizabeth on Twitter who said, it was a “genuinely thoughtful response to my swag story.”
In today's episode, Bobby Lehew, the chief content officer at commonsku, Mark Graham, commonsku’s co-founder and chief platform officer, and Winston Lo, president of Creative Boulevard, explore this article and the potential ramifications but moreover, the opportunity this moment presents for many in the business. In this episode we explore:
- How to let the excellence of your work be your protest
- The success of The New Yorker tote bag story
- The culpability of clients and the responsibility of distributors when selecting swag
- How to ask the right questions that lead toward anti-landfill swag and successful campaigns
- How to use this type of article and attitude to consult clients on selecting the right kind of swag
Tune in to hear more about the
Fast Company article and our rebuttal, but mostly, tune in to learn with us as we explore the lessons this type of attitude can teach.
