Woodinville, Wash.

Elise Hacking Carr is senior production editor for Print & Promo Marketing magazine, and managing editor for PRINTING United Journal.

Sean Norris is editor-in-chief for Promo Marketing. Reach him at snorris@napco.com.

After a year fraught with industry shake-ups, government red tape and global strife, many are turning to 2014 for hope. For distributors, hope translates to stability and profits—both of which can be found in the label and tag market. Just ask Sandy Brown, plant manager for New Dimension Labels – a Graphic Dimensions Company, Austell, Ga.

Jay Deutsch and Eric Bensussen have a good thing going. As co-owners of BDA Inc., a Promo Marketing Top 50 Distributor with annual sales totaling $286.4 million, Deutsch and Bensussen continue to cement the relationships between people and brands. And to think, an interest in sports marketing made it all possible.

Branding: It's Business 101, but for many businesses, it's hard to do it right. The simple explanation? Some marketers just aren't listening to their clients.

The first time I noticed a QR code, I was in a restaurant. The place had a self-serve soda fountain, and the code was on the side of one of the paper beverage cups.

The Chicago-based Quality Certification Alliance (QCA) has formed a distributor advocacy group that formalizes the relationship the organization has with distributors who understand the value compliance programs have in building stronger relationships with suppliers, creating competitive advantage in the marketplace and building loyalty with their end-buyer clients.

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