Podcasts about brand fuel

Danny's talk walked us through the sometimes rocky and now incredible journey the branded merch industry has been through, from an advertising add-along to today's intimate merch experience that is embraced by brands and adorned by fans.

Join us for our pilot podcast episode, featuring special guest Eric Granata, CTO of Brand Fuel. On this show, we discuss e-commerce, web-to-print, no-code/low-code, distribution, the Amazon effect, and much more!

As a youngster, Danny Rosin received the dubious distinction of having the most demerits in the history of his school. Some might think that would have led to a somewhat bumpy life, but instead it laid the groundwork for Danny's lifelong commitment to giving back to community.  Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride is not only a drink at one of Danny's favorite local bars, but it also describes his philosophy in life.  Whether diving into a mosh pit or out of an airplane, Danny is the type of person who lives life to the fullest.  This does not mean it has all been smooth sailing for him; listen in as Danny describes his perfectly imperfect journey and how sometimes a little mischief can lead to a lot of happiness.   Bio: Danny Rosin is co-owner of Brand Fuel, a branded merchandising agency that is a certified B Corp. He is also the co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated $12 million to the nonprofit community through live music experiences. He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, a “pay what you can” café and is advisor to Gabi's Pals, a nonprofit that empowers people with special abilities through fulfillment programming. He is also the proud co-founder of social impact orgs like PromoKitchen, PromoCares, Reciprocity Road and Operation Smile International's Student Programs. Rosin is a tireless community builder who likes to start organizations that do work that matters. He is married with two teenage daughters and has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history. www.linkedin.com/in/dannyrosin https://twitter.com/DannyRosin

Steve Woodburn sits down with Rob Fiveash of Brand Fuel

“Making business a force for good,” that's the purpose behind B Corp. And when our good friends Danny Rosin and Robert Fiveash, through their company Brand Fuel became B Corp certified, it's as if they opened a door for our industry in a way that wasn't quite possible.

Danny Rosin is the president of Brand Fuel a brand merchandising agency that delivers brand experiences, ecommerce, inspiration and results while having fun along the way. And that right there seems to be the key to everything important in Danny's life...doing big things while having a blast doing it. I think that is the big take away here. At least it was for me. The conversation with him really helped me look at everything important in my life through another lease and I hope it will for you too. He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, Raleigh's only “pay what you can” café which is one of the most talked about businesses on this Podcast in Raleigh. I must be surrounded by some really awesome people with many of them sharing a common love of this place so if you've not been there...get there asap. He is on the executive team for The Harvard 100. He is the active co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated $12 million to 108 local nonprofits through live concert experiences. Like the title says, he's a Big Time Do Gooder and having a fun time doing it all. Rosin is a tireless community builder who likes starting organizations doing things that matter which is another reason why I connect to him. He is a pathological optimist, hopelessly falling in love with most everyone he meets. His core competencies are in philanthropy, music, sales and marketing and “familying.”  He is married with two daughters who are 14 and 17 and has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history. Truth right there. And today on the Pod we get to talk about all of this and more. You don't want to miss this one. While listening, go ahead and connect with him online at: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/dannyrosin⁠  ⁠https://twitter.com/DannyRosin⁠  ⁠https://www.brandfuel.com/⁠ ⁠https://bandtogethernc.org/⁠ And after the episode, run by some of his favorite people and places around town and see Danny's version of Raleigh. 321 Coffee Gabi's Grounds Carroll's Kitchen Dix Park Pour House Kings Local 506 Innovate Raleigh Creative Mornings Fuck Up Nights Lincoln Theater Duke Gardens NCSU UNC Umstead Park Citrix Cyle --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chuck-belden/support

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #12 is Responsible Consumption and Production. In this episode we share some tips for how to be a more responsible consumer, and share how one certified B Corp is working to make the promotional products industry more sustainable. You'll hear from Mel Hubner at Brand Fuel, Cullen Schwarz the CEO and Founder of DoneGood, and we're going to leave you with a quote from Ben Kneppers, co-founder of Bureo.Additional Learning Resources & Brand Mentions A Whopping 91 Percent of Plastic Isn't Recycled - National GeographicB Corp DirectoryConsumer Manifesto - complete pop up on website for free downloadEvrnu - a certified B Corp working towards a circular economyLomi in home composter - from certified b corp PelaScrapp App - a free app to help you know what to recycle UNH B impact ClinicHelpful Links from the United NationsUN SDG 12 Sustainable Cities and Communities TargetsUN SDG 12 OverviewWhat is the Triple Planetary Crisis? - from the UN Climate Change Links to the Businesses Highlighted in this EpisodeBrand FuelIs a certified B Corp brand merchandising agency with a focus on creating meaningful connections and sustainability. BureoTakes post consumer fishnets and is spinning up new innovative ways to upcycle by creating high quality goods for Patagonia and the rest of their brand partners. To hear our full conversation with co-founder Ben Kneppers, take a listen to episode 16.DoneGoodIs the Amazon of social good. They are an online market place where you can purchase everything from bed sheets, to barbecue sauce. They vet every vendor thoroughly to ensure they are doing right by people and planet.  To hear our full conversation with Cullen Schwarz, check out episode 55.Dirigo Collective Website

Danny RosinBrand Fuel for profitBand Together nonprofitDanny Rosin, is co-owner of Brand Fuel, a brand merchandising agency, that is a B Corp. He is also the co-founder of the nonprofits PromoKitchen, PromoCares, Reciprocity Road and Operation Smile's International Student Groups. He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, Raleigh's mighty “pay what you can” café. Rosin is the active co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated over $12 million to 31 nonprofits in the Triangle through live concert experiences. Danny is a tireless community builder who likes starting organizations doing things that matter. He is happiest when there is a mix of philanthropy, music, marketing and “familying.”He is married to Niccole, and they have two teenage daughters. He has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history.https://www.brandfuel.com/big-change-were-proud-to-be-a-b-corporation/www.brandfuel.comwww.bandtogethernc.org https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/www.linkedin.com/in/dannyrosinwww.marlanasemenza.comAudio : Ariza Music Productions

The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED – DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT When PJ Thelen talks about the company's software and hardware, he focuses almost entirely on the experiences they enable and deliver, as opposed to the features and specs of the technology. It's refreshing, because a lot of the conversation and marketing around outdoor displays for directories, wayfinding and advertising has been - at least in recent years - about how they were more than just screens, but smart city devices that did a variety of things, including WiFi connectivity and IoT sensors. Thelen went so far as rebranding the company he now runs from smartLINK to RoveIQ - getting away from the heavily-used smart moniker and emphasizing how Rove speaks to enabling people to navigate a space with intelligent - the IQ bit - guidance. The company has a CMS, sophisticated mapping, an ad server and analytics capabilities all designed to help people find their way around big places. The early adopters have been commercial properties - like mixed-use lifestyle developments. In many to most cases, those are wayfinding directories with mapping, supported by advertising. But Thelen sees a lot of possibilities working with large-footprint healthcare, helping people find their way around sprawling medical campuses. There would be physical screens providing guidance, but in his vision, RoveIQ guides people from the time they park in a hospital garage all the way to a specific building, floor and waiting room. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS TRANSCRIPT Peter, thank you for joining me. Can you tell me what RoveIQ is all about?  Peter (PJ) Thelen: RoveIQ really emphasizes smart kiosks and wayfinding software solutions.  We just rebranded our organization from smartLINK to RoveIQ and Dave, a big reason for that was we wanted to make sure our new name is better aligned with the solutions that we bring to market and the value that we provide for both our customers and partners. Now the word Rove, it's the whole idea of wandering, discovering, et cetera but the IQ element is to do it in an intelligent fashion. So you have a very efficient and enjoyable experience. So if somebody listening to this is trying to visualize what you do, the visual that would immediately spring to mind would be a display totem outside in a public plaza or something like that with directory or mapping, correct?  Peter Thelen: Yeah, without a doubt. So I always use the analogy, Dave, to pretend that you're going to a place for the first time. You're not quite sure where you are or what is around you so you leverage the hardware and our software to understand what is available and then ultimately leveraging either the kiosk experience or the mobile experience allows you to essentially get to where you want to go leveraging a Blue Dot scenario, which obviously is our wayfinding software. Blue Dot scenario, what do you mean by that, or is that just the name of the software itself?  Peter Thelen: No, that's just the analogy I use Dave, where if you think about where you are and let's just say, hypothetically, you want to go to a restaurant, the dots correlate to the path that you need to take to go from where you are to where you ultimately want to go. The old name, smartLINK, connoted the whole idea of smart cities and that there were all kinds of companies coming up with smart city kiosks in the last decade or so, and I don't necessarily see a lot of traction for those sorts of things. Is that kind of driving this as well? What if you better focus on the whole idea of guiding people, as opposed to saying this is this station that will do all these other things to help cities become smarter?  Peter Thelen: Yeah, we took a step back. RoveIQ is a software company. It just so happens that it needs a hardware platform to promote the value that we drive on a day in and day out basis. In our minds, smart was widely used. It didn't necessarily correlate to exactly what we do today and where we're going tomorrow. From a search engine optimization perspective, it was tough just because there's so many smart this and smart that. As RoveIQ continues to grow, we're growing more and more into other verticals beyond just the smart city. So the bottom line is that we wanted a name that more appropriately aligned with who we are and what we're doing on a day in and day out basis, and it just made sense.  It was a great exercise. It was about a six month long exercise with a phenomenal local company here called Brand Fuel, and we're very happy with the results. There seem to be two kinds of threads of these kinds of outdoor street furniture displays. There are those shopping malls and community business districts, that sort of thing put in to help people find their way around intelligently, and then there are those that are there primarily as advertising. “Oh, by the way, there's also a directory” or “there's also some sort of a lookup thing” but it exists for advertising. Do you go down one path or the other, or do you serve both?  Peter Thelen: Yeah, that's a great question, and we definitely serve both, but there is no doubt that the emphasis of our software is around creating experiences. Experiences that a visitor or a resident is wanting to have, or is not expecting, and ultimately has, which generates this great feeling.  Our software, which we consider a platform. It is a content management solution. It has the ability to be an ad server, which allows you to download and upload ads as well as schedule ads, then it has this third element around data analytics and reporting. So we feel like we have some of the best software out there. But there is no doubt at the end of the day, we're trying to promote more experiences as compared to just ads.  But a big part of the ROI from a customer perspective is that digital out-of-home ad opportunity, and post COVID that's growing significantly, which is creating great opportunities.  And ultimately, regardless of the venue and the scenario, something's gotta pay for the thing, right, so that's why advertising tends to come into play?  Peter Thelen: Yeah. We always say there's hard and soft ROI in terms of your investment in RoveIQ. The soft is the experiences that both the customer, the resident, the visitor, incurs on a per visit basis, and how do you measure that? Secondly, it is the digital out-of-home ads based on whatever DMA that property or the city resides in that correlates to how big of an opportunity that is, and then the third element, which in my mind is still fairly immature, but it's becoming more relevant and more mature each and every day is this whole idea of how do you leverage the data?  Whether it's the touch analytics, whether it's the video analytics and then the ability to potentially incorporate both WiFi and mobile, and then what do you use to do with that data to do something of value with it.  You mentioned experience, how do you define and characterize experience?  The experience can be what you see on the screen, what it looks like and everything else, or the experience can be, “that was easy. I found what I was looking for quickly, and that was a great experience” because now I can go in and experience whatever public plaza or mall or attraction that I'm at?  Peter Thelen: At the end of the day, people want to be informed, they want to be educated, they want to gain access to information in a very quick and inefficient manner, and ultimately, they want to.  We're designing our software where when you approach a kiosk and you start to interact, you can get off of it in less than 40 seconds and feel really happy about the experience and you're on your way, and you feel like you're on your way in an intelligent way. I always use the analogy, Dave, if you come to a property or a city for the first time, you're gonna be inclined to use our software. We at, RoveIQ wanna make sure every time you visit that city or that particular property, regardless if you know where you are and what is around you, because of your previous experience, you want to, once again, interact with our software, it causes you to want to come back, and if you're coming back, that means we're doing our job and adding great value to the customer, the property, etc.  So if you're doing your job, this is where repeat visitors tend to migrate to like Moss to a light. They just know, “I'll start here to help me find what I'm looking for”? Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct, and our new brand promise is this whole idea of enriching lives through intelligent software designed to move humans, then we elaborate saying both physically and emotionally, and that emotional element is probably the most important.  So where does your company start and where does it stop in terms of services and technology that you provide? Peter Thelen: So knowing that we're a software company that ultimately needs a digital display to add value and differentiate, we're providing a fully integrated solution to a customer, which obviously includes the hardware, the related installation, the software, and then the ongoing maintenance. To do all of those things, you need to wrap it in a bow from a project management perspective, and then ultimately you're bringing this data element and this advertising element as part of the overall solution as well so the customer looks at you as a one stop shop.  So we have that ability today. Now, obviously, we leverage partners where that is their core business to add the ultimate value and aspects of the overall solution. But hopefully that's transparent to the customer.  Yeah, I'm guessing that you guys would be happy as clams if you could just be a software company and not have to worry, or really even think about hardware and just provide the specs that it needs to run on this sort of thing, but as you say, people want one stop shopping, they want turnkey.  Peter Thelen: Yep, but that does bring up a good point. Before I got here in May of 2021, we were predominantly dependent on hardware. Of course, in the last 14 months we've made phenomenal strides in promoting mobile-only solutions. So if you think about something as simple as a smart city or a mixed use real estate, yes, you're walking up to a kiosk, but as you exit that kiosk, you can scan or text to phone, to basically take that exact same experience from the kiosk with you on your mobile device, you don't have to download anything, it is considered a web app and off you go. We're also offering mobile-only solutions which are cool. As we penetrate colleges and universities and healthcare, we're not dependent on that hardware. You can get the benefits of our software, just leveraging your mobile device which has been pretty exciting to see and we look at that as a high growth vertical.  So in theory, let's say on a university campus, you could walk up to a support column in a building and there'd be a QR code on there with a message that says. “Having trouble finding your way? Scan this!” and it'll launch your app and off you go?  Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct.  How do you make money off of that then?  Peter Thelen: Well, that's all our software. If you think about it, the theme you're probably hearing from me is, we're a software company, and every time we're providing value around our software, there is a fee for that subscription base , it's monthly and it's based on the opportunity.  So in a conventional setup where you are providing display hardware, you would have a play out license for that display, but with the university campus or something like that, if you're not using physical displays, you would just have some sort of a site license for the campus? Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct. Okay. That makes sense then. I'm curious about wayfinding. Mapping for big public displays has been around, I'd say at least a decade, maybe 15 years, and like everything it's evolved, and I saw on your website, one of the things you talk about is three-dimensional wayfinding.  Over the years, what has your company found in terms of what resonates with end users? Do they care about certain things like it being three-dimensional or do they just want something that's very intuitive and quick?  Peter Thelen: I've concluded it's all the above. I think users today are smarter than ever. They have a very high expectation in terms of the experience that they're aspiring to have. So they want everything. There's a lot of wayfinding solutions out there. So we always think to ourselves, what makes ours better than the next, and knowing that we emphasize experiences, how do we really promote a better experience as it pertains to that whole wayfinding experience?  So not everybody does 3D, most only do 2D. The whole idea of interactive is a big deal, and we obviously wanna promote that fairly aggressively, but the one thing that we're really emphasizing, Dave, is this idea of hyperlocal. Do we capture all elements of a property? So when an individual starts their journey, leveraging our software, it's a great experience. They very clearly know where they're going, they can visualize the surrounding environment and as they're going, there's no fear and uncertainty or doubt about where they're ultimately going to get to, because there's a high degree of confidence in that. The hyperlocal is a very important element to our solution. It could be as simple as a bench, it could be a tree, it could be the look and feel of the building. Our UI/UX team does a phenomenal job of configuring the property on a per deal basis to make sure it looks and feels just like that property actually is. So some of the areas you're in like Port Orlando in Orlando, or Miami Design District and so on, if a shopping or mixed use outdoor district like that approaches you guys and says we want to do this. What is involved? You were talking about the UX design and everything. Do they go on site or how do they put this together?  Peter Thelen: Yeah, it's a lot of different elements, which makes it fun and exciting, but ultimately it starts with a site survey, where we walk the property with the respective owners. We identify those high traffic areas. We understand the goals from the owner in terms of what they really want from this hardware and software. You have to define the advertising opportunity as part of the whole digital out-of-home. Sometimes it's a great opportunity, sometimes it's just an average opportunity and in some instances, based on the location of the property, it might not exist at all. Then the last element is this whole idea of data.  Data is becoming more valuable like I referenced earlier. Each owner wants different types of data sets that's important to them. So as part of the onboarding, we define those data elements. But as we leave that site survey, you're taking all these pieces to the puzzle and assembling them into this picture that correlates to ultimately what they want which is a combination of hardware and software that are strategically placed throughout the property. We've built out the software in terms of the configuration so the experience as you approach the digital display looks and feels just like the property.  I always use the analogy, picture your iPhone. When you open up your iPhone, you have the various apps on the first page. That's no different than what we do for a customer as part of the configuration process, and then we build out the maps. Take into consideration that hyperlocal, 3D concepts  It is the core goal and aspiration simply to ensure that people who visit a venue like Port Orlando or whatever, to just not be lost and frustrated, or is it a little more sophisticated and evolved in the case of trying to influence where they might go? Peter Thelen: I'm chuckling a little bit because it's both. If you think about the whole idea of moving people physically and emotionally, the physical aspect is the wayfinding, and that is the emphasis of our software, but we're one of the first in industries to roll out augmented reality selfie. I was at the Avalon property outside Atlanta, Georgia last week, and I sat on the property for three hours, Dave and I watched people interact with our software, and 70% of the people were leveraging the selfie and having an absolute blast with it in terms of what filter to use, how many people to incorporate into the selfie picture. I watched them scan or text to phone and I watched them walk away giggling, because they were so happy with the experience.  Okay. So this is walking in front of a totem, there's a camera, it's capturing your image in front of the camera and then you're overlaying it like mouse ears or whatever? Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct. I would say think of Snapchat filters, that's the exact experience that we're promoting, leveraging our software.  Is that all just about the experience? Like I did this at this location and it's going to brand it and say I was at Avalon, and I did this fun thing and it's cascading out to that person's followers and therefore it's helping the Avalon brand?  Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct, and then the other side of that, and I'll just use an example of coupons. Think about the whole dynamic of a property wanting to potentially push more and more of the visitors to select locations or select stores, think about the whole idea of, I'm at Avalon for the first time, where is Lululemon? I used the software to understand where Lululemon is from a wayfinding perspective, Lululemon then offers me hypothetically a 10% coupon for today's spend, I scan that QR code, I work my way to Lululemon, I obviously make my purchase, I go to the POS as part of my payment process and I get 10% off my total order. Lululemon's ecstatic that our technology drove people to their store, but the visitors were ecstatic because they got 10% off that they weren't expecting, everybody's happy. Those are the ideal scenarios. So the next time that family comes to Avalon, they're gonna be very inclined to leverage our software to understand what other coupons are out there. That's got traceability too, right?  Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct.  Yeah, and is that happening very often, people using it? Peter Thelen: The answer is yes, and it's happening more and more every day. RoveIQ has only been around since 2016, it was started by two individuals that also had another company. So you could make an argument, it really was a hobby. I came here in May of last year. We had very talented people, it just needed more direction and more leaders, and we're adding new features every single day to our software to once again, heighten the whole idea of creating more and more experiences. . Did you know much about this space when you came into it?  Peter Thelen: Yeah, I did a little, I do adapt to be dangerous, but I ran an IT solutions company for 19 years. I spent my last two years at an organization called Kroger, a rather large grocery store where I ran a division called Sunrise Technology, and that was all about leveraging technology that Kroger developed in house and realized that it worked, and the ask from me was to take that technology and sell it to the global retail world.  The emphasis of that technology was digital shelves inside a grocery store. So I took that same experience, in that case, it was a digital shelf. In our RoveIQ world, it's a digital display, but the elements of the solution were very similar: data, advertising and experiences.  I noticed in the press release announcing the name change that you also made a reference to healthcare software that was coming and I thought that's interesting, so what was that all about and is it now live?  Peter Thelen: I've had so much fun with the team and healthcare customers working on this new concept and it's going great. The premise is fairly simple. If you think about the average experience today, where you have to go to a healthcare facility tomorrow, and these healthcare facilities continue to get bigger and bigger, which from a patient perspective, creates a lot of apprehension and anxiety around, where do I park, what entrance do I go in, and how do I ultimately get to the department that I'm needing to go to?  So leveraging our legacy software, we have made tweaks where we are now integrating into their Epic and/or Cerner, where essentially a patient gets a text the day of their visit and that text takes them from their current location to the correct parking garage via car, then transfers to foot from the parking garage to the correct entrance, and then continues from the front entrance to the actual department. All leveraging a mobile device and obviously our software on that mobile device, and needless to say, it's addressing a rather large problem in healthcare that we believe with confidence we can solve and we're pretty excited about it.  Now, where does it stand? We're in pilots as we sit here today, which means we're learning every single day with a set of customers, and needless to say, our goal is to go live with many customers as we enter 2023.  That's an interesting one because an awful lot of big healthcare complexes started off as one building and ended up being eighteen buildings and they're all joined together and it's confusing as hell to find your way around, and I can certainly respect the idea of something that can say: go out this door, go down this hallway, go up three levels, then turn right and left, and eventually you're gonna find your way there because without it, you might have to leave super early because you know you're gonna get lost.  Peter Thelen: Completely agree, and if you think about the idea of hyperlocal and our legacy software with these enhancements, we can promote this unbelievable experience where you always feel like you know where you're going and where you need to go to ultimately reach your destination. And from a customer experience perspective, these healthcare entities that we're working with today, that's one of their big issues.  People need to feel good about where they need to go and how to go about getting there.  Do you address language as well? Peter Thelen: The answer is yes. Now our current pilots, they have not asked for that, Dave, but the bottom line is, our software has that capability.  Yeah. I asked because years ago I had a meeting with a hospital in Toronto and it was in a very multicultural area of Toronto, and they had a roster of staff and volunteers who just handled all the different languages that came to the reception desk, asking where the Pediatric Clinic was or whatever, and they would have to call people and say, we need somebody who speaks Lithuanian or Tagalog or whatever it may be, and it was this monumental challenge.  I suggested at the time that you might wanna look at some sort of interactive directory that you select your language first, and then it takes you where you need to go that way, and they said that's interesting, but they wanted to just do the wow factor, I can't do stuff in their public areas instead, and they're like, oh, okay, that's not gonna solve any problems, but fill your boots.  Peter Thelen: Yeah, the bottom line is you wanna make sure you have software that can cover the population. The healthcare entities we're working with are defining that population. Needless to say, we're making sure our software can perform, and since it's our own proprietary software, the sky's the limit in terms of the capability and potential.  Yeah, I could certainly see what you're describing is working well on university campuses as well, particularly for night courses and part-time students who aren't familiar with where they're going and really the same thing in airports. Peter Thelen: The airports for us, Dave, have been a tough market. It's so competitive, there's a fair amount of rather large players. Don't get me wrong, we focus on airports, but that's not necessarily where we have generated the most success today. Airports are also pretty conditioned to media companies coming in and saying, we'll put this in for free.  Peter Thelen: That's a hundred percent correct. I can play that game all day, every day. I can play, it's just a matter of, can I compete?  Yeah, you're not gonna win too often when the other guy's saying, we'll put it in free for you. Peter Thelen: You know that's the dynamic we deal with every day on a per deal basis. Based on the perceived digital out-of-home advertising opportunity, that can create a free experience or that unfortunately you have to pay for, it has to generate the corresponding value. So those are the discussions we have.  I'm guessing the majority of the opportunities that you run into and close are in some way bolstered by advertising, and there aren't that many that are purely just an informational display? Peter Thelen: It's interesting, we've had a phenomenal 2022 and the characteristics of each deal really are so different, especially as it pertains to advertising, and there is no doubt when advertising can generate that ROI on its own, it makes it a very easy decision for a customer. But when that's not the case, then it correlates to what are the other value elements and is that important to our property? And we're seeing that increase more and more, which has been exciting, because obviously that's creating great opportunities for us.  But there's no doubt, advertising is a big play here and at the end of the day, we're trying to do everything within our means to bring the best solution forward around advertising to optimize that ROI from a customer perspective. You mentioned programmatic in your press release. So are you working with the many programmatic companies out there? I don't even wanna rattle 'em all off, cuz there's so many and I'm so confused by it.  Peter Thelen: Yeah. So our software, because it's this platform and has this ad server capability, it integrates into programmatic partners, and we're constantly looking at the appropriate programmatic partners and then obviously incorporating those into our solution.  So yeah, that's a big opportunity. This whole idea of unused inventory, how can it be sold in an automated fashion? These programmatic partners make it very easy to fill a high volume, usually obviously lower revenue elements, but still important from a customer perspective.  The company itself, is it private or are you publicly traded?  Peter Thelen: No, it's private. It resides here in Northern Kentucky, right outside Cincinnati, Ohio. The emphasis today is within the United States, although we're always looking at growth outside of the US, but it's a fairly small company, but it's doing some really exciting and fun things. How many folks do you have working there?  Peter Thelen: So we have 12 people today. I'm trying to grow that by an incremental three between now and year end. We have about 25-30 unique customers across five verticals: smart cities, mixed use real estate or lifestyle centers, we call it entertainment, but the emphasis really there is sports arenas, and then college universities, like we talked about earlier and healthcare. We're heavily focused on five verticals.  All right. So if people wanna know more about RoveIQ, where do they find you?  Peter Thelen: Our new website is RoveIQ.com, which in the last three weeks has gotten a lot of attention, which is pretty exciting. But they can also email me, which is pretty simple: pj@RoveIQ.com, and you have my commitment that I'll respond and give it the appropriate attention.  All right this was great. Congratulations on growing the company the way you have. Peter Thelen:. Dave, I really appreciate your time. I appreciate your support. You do great work and thanks for giving RoveIQ an opportunity to talk about what we do on a day in day out basis.

Damn straight it's time for episode 59 of the Promo UPFront Podcast with Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie! This week the Sergeants of Surcharges discuss (in varying detail) the new PPAI board slate, the issues of the supply chain and how the looming shipping surcharges are exacerbating the situation, the bold office move by Brand Fuel, the SUPER cool Puma & Kool-Aid mashup, the encouraging Q2 2021 numbers for distributors, a retro “back to school” themed Party in the Back, and so much more! A HUGE thanks to our friends at PromoPulse for sponsoring this electric podcast!

Danny Rosin is an all-around playful human, who just happens to be a marketing addict and music fanatic. He is also a pathological optimist and prolific philanthropist. He is president and co-founder of Brand Fuel, and co-founder of Band Together, a 501c3 volunteer-driven non-profit whose mission is to use live music as a platform for social change, having donated over $11 million to local causes. Band Together puts on the Southeast's largest music event for charity . Find Danny at: https://www.brandfuel.com/ and learn more or contribute to Band Together at: https://www.bandtogethernc.org/ In this episode, you'll hear:Joke of the WeekHow our guest plays for a living and helps others do the sameHow to have the most fun in your life and workIf our guest can win the Wheel of Weird in a faceoff with MikeThe show is brought to you by Playful Humans. If you need a little more fun, flow, and fulfillment in your life, join our club where we transform the burned out and bored quantity-seekers into energized and engaged playful humans focused on their quality of life.Take the free playfulness quiz or join the club at https://www.playfulhumans.com.Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or YouTube, and leave us a 5-star review!Theme Music: Chasing the Sunshine by Pink Zebra - Licenced at Envato ElementsSupport the show (https://paypal.me/mikedmontague)Support the show (https://paypal.me/mikedmontague)

Danny Rosin is the co-founder of Band Together NC and Brand Fuel, both based in Raleigh, NC. After starting the nonprofit Band Together in 2021 as a community response to help the families impacted by 9/11, they've been growing and expanding their impact for the last 20 years. They're partnering with United Way of the Triangle this year for their Comeback Fest, hoping to raise the bar even more for how many nonprofits they can support. Visit them online and purchase your tickets today: https://www.bandtogethernc.org/ ►Join the email newsletter and get 15% Off your first merch order: http://www.anghstudio.com  ►AFFILIATE LINKS Get 10% OFF your Blackology Coffee Company order using my link: https://www.blackologycoffeecompany.com/angela Create your own Linq + Get 15% OFF your smart product order: https://bit.ly/3p3UwVa  ►Let's Connect FB/TW/LinkedIn: @honeyandhustle YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/angelahollowell As a Blackology Coffee Co. & Linq Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the podcast! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this Social Angle podcast, Vinnie Driscoll and Melissa Newman talk to Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel about how he uses social media to help get the word out about fundraising for nonprofits.

Last year we did a podcast called Newbies and Vets. Mark Graham and Johanna Gottlieb went back to last year's newbies to talk to them about what it has been like to do your first year in promo DURING A PANDEMIC! It was such a fun conversation with three amazing women. Melanie Dwyer-Joyce has been an account coordinator for Rightsleeve Marketing since April 2019. She has a background in fashion and digital marketing and a passion for sustainability and supporting social-enterprises. Krista Franchuk with the Promo Addict has a wide range of experience. She has spent time working in the oil and gas, waste, construction, not-for-profit, and business consulting industries. Krista has been assisting customers with their promotional product needs since February of 2019. When not at the office, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cheering on her kids at their various activities, and gardening in the spring and summer (and dreaming of gardening in the fall & winter). Laura Gibson of Brand Fuel, Inc. is a self-proclaimed Jill-of-all-trades with a background in project management and administration, giving her keen eye for detail. She is a proud Navy brat that has been to 49 states (One day Alaska, one day…) and has logged 4.5 cross-country road trips over the years. When Laura is not helping add Fuel to your Brand, you can find her on the kickball and wiffleball fields, dodgeball courts, and other various social sports activities.

A lot of revenue streams have dried up due to the COVID-19 situation. Many businesses have been forced to pivot into a new direction.Today we are going to discover how one company has found success with new opportunities. We will be talking about this with Danny Rosin and Robert Fiveash with Brand Fuel. They are the leaders of a free-spirited brand merchandising agency that delivers experiences, eCommerce, inspiration, and results - all while having fun along the way.So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and let’s dig into how they are having success in these turbulent times.

Lisa Terry and SanMar’s social media writer Josh Storey continue with their interviews from the show floor at PPAI in Las Vegas! Their guests are Brittany David and Danny Rosin: Brittany is the vice president of sales with SnugZ USA and the chair of the board for PPAI; Danny is the president of Brand Fuel, a merchandising agency based in North Carolina.   In this episode, Brittany discusses the importance of not just equality but inclusion in the promotional merchandise industry, and Danny delves into what companies can do to be equitable and give back.   THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS EPISODE   Brittany discusses SnugZ’s role as the “lanyard king” of the industry and how the company is a “creative leader.” Why is an alpaca attending the SnugZ booth? Brittany explains PPAI recent, important political victory and what it means for the promotional products industry. What has she been most proud of in her time on the board? Which women in Brittany’s life have inspired her? How did Danny foster his entrepreneurial spirit growing up? Danny relates how he discovered the value of philanthropy as a troublemaking teenager. What criteria make for a purpose-driven company, and who in this industry are giving back?   QUOTES “Oh, that’s the SnugZ booth. Of COURSE there’s an alpaca.” “There’s plenty of opportunities for women in this business, just like there’s plenty of opportunities for great men too!” “Keep creating products that are connected to purpose.” “Work, wealth and wisdom: what are you gonna bring?” “I’m one of those guys who, in college, needed to figure out a way to make some ancillary capital to do the things my parents didn’t want me to do.”   LINKS   SanMar U homepage: http://www.education.sanmar.com/ SanMar’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanmarcorp/ SanMar’s Twitter: @sanmar_corp SanMar’s Instagram: @sanmar_corp

Today we are joined by Danny Rosin with Brand Fuel who brings us 3 great mini Promo Horror Stories. Hosted by Stephen McFadden with Perfect Promotions & more and Taylor Borst with American Solutions for Business.

Danny Rosin '90 paid his way though college "leveraging my love for Carolina (and hatred for dook). I did this through a small business enterprise on campus, where I was the guy knocking on dorm doors." The business was selling T-shirts, which included the iconic '25 things you need to do before you graduate from UNC.' Today, as the founder of promotional products company Brand Fuel, "we hold CLC licenses to manage the protection of UNC’s sacred marks versus the production of rogue that helped fund my education." Take a nostalgic trip down the Franklin Street of the 1980s as Danny tells his unlikely tale. (See the shirt in question at http://bit.ly/unc-top-25-things, and share your Chapel Hill memories at http://bit.ly/unc-top-25-comments.)

Jacques Panis, the accomplished global brand builder, joins Gregg Garrett in this week’s episode of You, Me, and Your Top Three. Jacques transformed the Shinola brand from a defunct shoe polish brand brand into a globally recognized leader in the fashion and accessories industry. Jacques talks about the ups and downs of becoming an overnight success and specifically about the impact that can have on your closest relationships. Jacques gives insight into his current leadership adventure - leading the lab-grown diamond business New World Diamonds - and shares how he believes the industry is being completely disrupted by technology.  Finally, Jacques shares his “Top Three” and talks about how everyone should look for pattern-disrupting opportunities during their career journeys. About Jacques panis Jacques is an international brand builder and CEO of New World Diamonds. Prior to joining New World Diamonds in 2018, Jacques was the President of Shinola for six years during which time he led the company’s product development and strategic brand direction. Jacques also prides himself on his entrepreneurial spirit which he showcased when he founded Webosaurus.com in 2007. Jacques has also been active in the communities in which he lived, servicing on the boards of the Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit Children’s Fund, and the Empowerment Plan. Show Highlights Segment 1: Overview 1:00        Is the importance of ‘the brand’ going to be diminished moving forward? 4:29        Jacques Background: From small-town Virginia boy to CEO of New World Diamonds.   Segment 2: Brave Leadership & the “Top Three” 6:12        Jacques’ “Top Three”: “The guys who gave me a shot” 7:19        Jacques’ “Top Three”: Robert Fiveash and Danny Rosin – the importance of the human. (Brand Fuel.) 8:07        Focus on the human aspect when interviewing individuals for a job. 9:12        Jacques’ “Top Three”: Steve O’Brien (Reel FX Animation.) 10:34      “It is about the person, not the ‘metrics’ on paper.” 13:38      The importance of scrappiness. 17:53      Jacques’ “Top Three”: Holly Jonnson Panis – being brave and how to ‘be human’. Segment 3: Industry Disruption & Transformation 20:12      “When you’re on an epic adventure, you sometimes lose sight of what is important.” 23:36      Industry disruption via lab-grown diamonds. 27:58      New World Diamonds: A smarter diamond for a smarter consumer in a smarter world. 34:40      “Look for something that is pattern disruptive.”                37:23      The startup atmosphere: enabled to do what we need to do – just in 30 day sprints. Segment 4: Wrapping Up 41:35      Advice #1: Whether a corporate or a startup – force the bootstrap. 44:54      Advice #2: “You’re going to be told no a thousand times over in different ways. And I believe there is always a way to overcome the ‘no’.” 45:40      Advice #3: “Don’t be discouraged by failure.” 45:59      Advice #4: “Care for your people – go with an open heart, open ear, and open eyes and a willingness to trust in your people.” 49:11      “Don’t buy an earth-mind diamond. It’s the craziest damn thing you’ve ever bought.” 50:11      Follow Jacques on LinkedIn and New World Diamonds on social media platforms. Additional Information Contact Jacques Panis: Jacques’ LinkedIn Contact New World Diamonds: Website LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Contact Gregg Garrett: Gregg’s LinkedIn Gregg’s Twitter Gregg’s Bio Contact CGS Advisors: Website LinkedIn Twitter

PK Chefs, @Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel and Josh Storey of Sanmar sit down for a deep dive into social strategies. (Here's a link to the blog article mentioned in the video: https://www.brandfuel.com/ideal-customers/) Join us every Wednesday at 3PM EST for another #PromoChat over on Twitter!

We’ve spent the last three years at the Giving Back Podcast highlighting hometown heroes serving every need imaginable. Our guests for the final episode are true servant leaders in every sense, dedicated to building their community and lending a hand up to those in need. Thank you for tuning in, getting inspired, and taking action. The Giving Back Podcast has been a wonderful journey, a real blessing in my life. I look forward to the next chapter of bringing you stories about good people all around us doing amazing things to help others in need and making our world a better place. Key Takeaways: Maggie Kane is the Founder and Executive Director of A Place at the Table, the first pay-what-you-can cafe in downtown Raleigh. Through her work with people on the streets, she realized the power of community, the importance of dignity, and the beauty in bringing people together over incredible food. A Place at the Table was birthed in February 2015 and in January 2018 opened, providing people with money and people without money a place where they can sit together, share in good conversation, and grow their village together. Where good food meets community, all are welcome at the table. Danny Rosin is the Co-Founder and Co-President of Brand Fuel a free-spirited, full-service merchandising agency that sits at the top 1% of the $23 billion promotional products industry. A tireless connector, community leader and entrepreneur, he is the active Co-Founder of Band Together, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that uses live music as a platform for social change. Band Together is the Southeast’s largest annual charitable music event and has donated over $9 million to a different cause each year since the twin towers came down on 9/11. Rob, Maggie, and Danny recall their recent memories of getting together at Raleigh, NC. How did A Place At The Table build a strong community? Danny shares a beautiful story of a person who was immediately inspired by the activity of A Place At The Table and become a volunteer and start donating. What is the magic works behind A Place At The Table build? How did Band Together get started? Why did Danny start Band Together? What led Danny from Band Together to join Maggie from A Place At The Table? According to Maggie, 99% of people want to help if they are invited and asked for help. Maggie Kane shares how she wants to see the changes in A Place At The Table in the coming years. Danny Rosin shares how he wants to see the changes in Band Together in the coming years. Danny shares his vision to spread the impact of Band together in multiple cities and both Rob and Maggie appreciate him. Just like brand ambassadors for brands, Rob wants to see community ambassadors for communities. Danny thinks most people don’t care about the cause rather they care they are working together. Because working together is fun. Rob talks about reframing of Giving Back Podcast. Remember: Always err on the side of love & kindness Love & Gratitude, Rob Mentioned in This Episode: Giving Back Podcast Band Together NC  A Place At The Table  The Green Chair Project   Angel Oak Creative  

In this episode, Johanna Gottlieb (Axis Promotions) and Mark Graham (commonsku) sit down with industry newbie Laura Gibson with Brand Fuel and industry veteran Lisa Pine with Axis Promotions. At the time of this recording, Laura celebrated her 4 week anniversary in the industry while Lisa has led a distinguished 30-year career. We wanted to see where their experiences were similar and where they differed in this wide-ranging conversation.

This week, Kate Plummer from Clearmount takes a #Promochat Deep Dive with Danny Rosin, co-owner of Brand Fuel and our very own Promokitchen Chef to talk about sales tactics and practicing what you preach. Join us for #promochat on Twitter each Wednesday at 12PM Pacific/3PM Eastern.

January 19, 2019 rang in with the debut of Social Good Promotions. Listen in as the tables are turned as Brand Fuel co-Founder and President Danny Rosin takes the interviewers chair and sits down Social Good Promotions Founder Roger Burnett for a discussion about the purpose behind the new venture, how it's mission aligns with making the world a better place and the ways our collective time devoted to PromoCares has informed this journey

Welcome to the 105th episode of Giving Back Insights! Insights are our solo show to celebrate how our guests and their charities serve others, explore actions each of can take to make a difference in people’s lives and connect. Today we’re talking about The Company We Keep! Enjoy today’s episode and keep your comments and feedback coming. Key Takeaways: Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” Danny Rosin, Brand Fuel https://www.brandfuel.com/?team=danny-rosin-2 Danny’s favourite quote “I hopelessly fall in love with a lot of people I meet. The homeless man playing saxophone tirelessly in 96-degree heat for a few bucks. The checkout lady at Whole Foods who has purple hair, 14 nose rings and smells like 4 days ago who smiles invitingly and asks me to donate $1 to a local cause that seems to really matter to her. The friendly elder-gentleman who has swept the floors of The Berkeley for 29 years and takes the time to tell me about his upbringing. That his grandma, “Mimo,” taught him about true work ethic. And how he thinks today’s parents just leave their kids in front of smartphones. And that he is inspired to do something about that cultural perversion. When I ask him if I can shake his hand, to thank him for sharing his wisdom, he almost instantaneously replies, “Go.” Join me on life’s roller-coaster. Through community. Business. Music. I hope we can connect and help each other out in some way.” Nuci’s Space https://www.nuci.org/ Our mission is to prevent suicide. With a focus on musicians, Nuçi’s Space advocates for and helps to alleviate the suffering for those living with a brain illness and fights to end the stigma of mental illness. To accomplish our mission, Nuçi’s Space maintains a health and resource center for musicians as a safe space to seek support and guidance, provides access to affordable, obstacle-free professional care, actively participates in treatment and educates about awareness, prevention and the risk factors of brain illnesses. Drive-by Truckers https://www.drivebytruckers.com/ The Company We Keep book https://thecompanywekeepbook.com/ Band Together on June 1st at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh https://www.bandtogethernc.org/ Band Together is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that uses live music as a platform for social change.  We have been a force of positive change and impact in the Triangle community for 17 years. Following the tragic events on 9/11, our founders decided to be the change they wanted to see in the world. They co-founded what has become, to date, a philanthropic machine in the Triangle. Maggie Kane, A Place At The Table https://tableraleigh.org/ A Place at the Table provides community and healthy food for all regardless of means. Robert Fiveash, President and co-Founder of Brand Fuel.  This is what I told Danny when I first looked at what the book was about: “Yo, WTH?  Just took a peek at the book website, Robert is a freak.  What a perfect, beautiful expression of love. Fan-fu*cking-tabulous, I cannot wait to read about the band, Homecoming, and the fans. Tell Robert my favorite song is "Late For Church"  Best line: Reverend Bob is preachin' out thunder Mom and Dad follow every last word All this hollerin' makes me wonder Does a whispered prayer get heard? Great company, indeed.  Thank you, Robert, and the whole Drive-by Truckers family! Remember: Always err on the side of love & kindness. Love & Gratitude, Rob Mentioned in This Episode: Giving Back Podcast www.brandfuel.com www.nuci.org www.drivebytruckers.com thecompanywekeepbook.com www.bandtogethernc.org  

Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel & BandTogether NC and Denise Tascereau from Fairware joined me for this insightful interview with 2015 Global B Corp MVP Christina Noel from Arc Benders in Raleigh, NC for a discussion about the ways purpose-driven Organizations are rallying around B Corp Certification and the economics of purpose driven business as a catalyst for social change.

Danny Rosin is the co-owner of Brand Fuel, Inc., a nationally recognized promotional products agency and co-founder of Band Together, a community that leverages live music as a platform for social change. On today’s show, Danny shares how he combines his business with his community, why anybody can pursue a social change project and discusses ways you can completely transform your work environment to a more positive and fun atmosphere.    Key Takeaways: [2:55] What is Danny’s business, Brand Fuel, about?  [6:30] Danny has had zero turnover in his company in the last year. [7:45] During 9/11, Danny and his friends decided to host a benefit concert. He had never hosted one before, but that’s how Band Together NC started.  [9:00] Every year, Danny highlights a different, but special cause to allow people to tell their story.  [9:25] Brand Fuel has become the largest non-profit live music festival in the Southeast, US. [14:15] At work, we’re missing the mark when it comes to the importance of living. [19:15] Danny was very conflicted in combining Brand Fuel’s mission and purpose with Band Together. He didn’t want people to think he was trying to make a profit off of his charity.  [26:00] What’s making you upset in the world right now? What can you do to fix it? Every little bit counts!  [28:50] What are you doing with what you have been given? [37:35] Why not make community service fun? Fun is contagious and it’s what engages people!  [44:55] Customers are expecting people to be authentic and human.  [47:05] What does partnership philanthropy mean?  [50:55] If you want to go far, you have to go together.  [53:45] How can nonprofits make their events more successful? [54:55] Experience is the new luxury good.  [58:15] In many corporate environments, we leave generosity at the door. How can we change that? [1:01:20] Hot off the press! The next Band Together event is June 23rd with American Aquarium and Walk the Moon to support Triangle Family Services.   Mentioned in This Episode: Giving Back Podcast Brandfuel.com Bandtogethernc.org Danny Rosin on LinkedIn

Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel shares his Closet of Shame Stories and their outcomes.

Robert Fiveash and Danny Rosin, founders of Brand Fuel are well-known leaders throughout the industry and highly respected for their success but more importantly, for their open door, generous spirit, and brilliant marketing. In this episode we chat about their Band Fuel Project to explore why they created it and what they learned through the process.

No one in our industry has mastered the art of connecting more than Danny Rosin. Danny is a tireless industry and community leader who, along with his business partner Robert Fiveash, has built one of the most vibrant brands in the business, Brand Fuel. A respected veteran, PPAI board member, founder and chef at promokitchen, and also the active co-founder of Band Together, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that uses live music as a platform for social change that has donated $6.5 million dollars to community efforts, Danny inspires wherever he roams.

Join Mark Graham, co-founder of commonsku and fellow PK chef and long time collaborator, Danny Rosin, co-President of Brand Fuel. In today’s episode, we take a hard look at one of the most prominent yet controversial tools used to source promotional products today: the RFP (commonly known as the Request for Proposal). Like them or hate them, RFPs now define how many end clients source promotional products. At their best, RFPs create a level playing field where the best distributor wins the business. At their worst, they serve as a way for end clients to slice distributor margins to the bone. In my nearly 20 years in the industry, I have not run into a distributor that doesn’t have a strong opinion about the RFP, one way or the other. As RFPs create so much confusion for distributors, we wanted to dedicate this episode to uncovering why RFPs exist and how to manage them effectively. To help us with this, we wanted to talk to someone who has written countless RFPs and counseled end clients on how to negotiate with their vendors. Please let us introduce Tom Beaty. Tom is the founder and CEO of Insight Sourcing Group and SpendHQ. His company works across all industries to provide targeted cost optimization and procurement-related services. Their end deliverables are measurable cost reduction and performance improvement. Tom previously worked for Deloitte Consulting and Procurian (now owned by Accenture). His client roster includes Univision, Johnson Controls, LuLuLemon, LPL Financial to name a few. Needless to say, Tom brings a fabulous perspective for those of us looking to understand how buyers think. To provide some industry context, Steve Pons, National Sales Director at Staples Canada, joins us to talk about how he approaches RFPs from the distributor perspective. Steve is a long time friend of Mark's and a past contributor to the PromoKitchen blog. You are all in for quite a treat today!

What are the latest trends in sports and marketing? Have expectations for drivers changed over time? How has the Drive for Diversity program in NASCAR impacted the sport? In this episode of The Inside Racing Podcast, Christy Gormal, a marketing executive for Matchbook Creative and part of leadership team for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program shares her perspectives on marketing, sports and entertainment and the D4D program. She reveals the pressure on drivers to deliver more than on-track performance to their sponsors. Christy explains why content and communication with your fans  is so important and how consistency is the key in maintaining authenticity. Business expert and motorsports professional John Robbins walks the track with Christy to get perspective on the opportunities, threats and challenges in racing. Christy's path to Rev Racing is fascinating and she reveals some of the ups and downs of managing the D4D program. This episode covers a ton of topics and has a little something for everyone.  Whether you are just getting started or you've been promoting racing for decades, there's something here for you. Want more episodes like this? Visit www.NSTAracing.com/archive for past episodes. Become a VIP Listener and get access to exclusive listener bonuses. Join the conversation on Twitter (@NSTA_Racing),  Facebook (@NSTAracing) or email podcast@NSTAracing.com. Want to talk with Christy and her team? Check out www.brand-fuel.com or call the office (317) 920-1200. You can find Brand Fuel on facebook (@brandfuelIndy). If you are interested in hearing more about NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program visit www.NASCARdiversity.com or www.revracing.net

Hang with Mark Graham, co-founder of commonsku and Danny Rosin, President of Brand Fuel. Today’s guest caught our attention when we came across an Inc Magazine article titled “This $22 Billion Industry Is Dying. Meet the Startup Reviving It.” The article was about a feisty and innovative player called Alyce, an AI powered corporate gifting platform. The article exposed some of the deepest insecurities we have about the promotional products industry: poor quality products, gifts that don’t resonate with their recipients and the difficulty in tracking ROI. Alyce set out to address all of these problems with their beautifully designed and tech forward platform. So, in PromoKitchen fashion, we reached out to the source and asked to dig in a little deeper. And today, we are excited to welcome Greg Segall, founder and CEO of Alyce to the podcast. Our goal is to understand the role that Alyce plays in our industry and to see what the future holds according to Greg. Before we get started, here’s some background on Greg and Alyce. Founded in December 2015, Alyce tells a corporate gifter exactly what to send and the most impactful times to send. According to the company, U.S. corporations spend $120B on corporate gifting and incentives each year and 90% of it is untracked in CRMs, unmeasured for ROI, and/or irrelevant to the recipient. By gifting smarter, Alyce strategically builds stronger connections, decreases churn, retains employees and closes prospects faster. It’s a compelling value proposition and one that appeals to modern day marketers looking for something a little different than what our industry traditionally offers.

Mark speaks to a close friend and long time collaborator, Danny Rosin. Danny is the President of Brand Fuel in Raleigh, North Carolina, the founder of Band Together and a chef with PromoKitchen, to highlight a few of his many responsibilities. Danny is currently a distributor candidate to be on the PPAI Board of Directors. This discussion will reveal what it means to run for the board and the impact that volunteering for the association can have on our industry.

Every February a team of marketing and design geeks descend upon Raleigh for the annual High Five Conference. At this year’s event, no one was geekier than today’s guest. This someone dazzled the High Five audience with stories about how he became a one man graphic design branding machine and how local advertising campaigns were manhandled under the ruse of his newly formed, and gigantically reckless, Draplin Design Co. In today’s episode, PK Chefs Mark Graham of commonsku, Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel, and Tee Hamilton of CreativeAlchemy, speak with the one and only – Aaron James Draplin, who is also the founder of Field Notes. Listen in as they talk about art, graphic design and zigging while others are zagging. *Just a quick note to listeners of this particular episode: If you are sensitive to the use of strong language you should be advised that this podcast was left unbleeped and uncensored to maintain the authenticity and (as our resident Canadian Mark Graham would say…) flavour of the interview.

In today’s episode, Chefs Mark Graham of CommonSku and Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel, are going to explore the new and exciting world of 3D Printing. 3D technology has been getting a lot of play in the media these days, but many of us in the promotional products industry are waiting for 3D tech to make an impact within our professional day to day lives. Presently, 3D printing represents an intriguing, yet very small niche. However, this is poised to change. Suppliers are increasingly using 3D printing to create inexpensive prototypes and marketplaces are being setup to sell 3D printed goods to end customers. Immersed in this vibrant world, we find today’s guest, Kevin Maloney. Kevin Maloney is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of ZVerse, a 3D printing platform devoted to “Making the World’s Content 3D Printable”. Kevin is chiefly responsible for developing relationships with many of Zverse’s key partners and customers. He’s a sales rock star as he has presided over the company’s rapid growth trajectory over the past 2 years. Prior to ZVerse, Kevin was a sales executive with Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer, Boston Scientific. And prior to this role, Kevin was the first sales representative hired at a startup called Fine Line Technologies. Welcome to the PromoKitchen Podcast, Kevin Maloney.