Gregg A. Emmer

The best part about writing the introduction for the state of the industry of the promotional products sector this year? Not having to expend any more ink writing about the recession.

It’s official. On December 1, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the United States has been in a recession since December 2007. In a statement, CNNMoney.com posted a report on the same day in which White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto was quoted as saying: “The most important things we can do for the economy right now are to return the financial and credit markets to normal, and to continue to make progress in housing, and that’s where we’ll continue to focus. Addressing these areas will do the most right now to return the economy to growth and job creation.” Nonetheless, several

Thanks to Gregg A. Emmer, VP, chief marketing officer of Batavia, Ohio-based Kaeser & Blair for the following submission. The complete, original text reprinted here has not been edited by BFL&S. As the number of people who have expanded their businesses by adding promotional products to the mix increase, so too does the confusion about what exactly they “sell” to their clients. There are always circumstances where not having all the facts might just be a blessing. The often repeated statement about bumble bees continuing to fly only because they don’t know it is impossible comes to mind. But for most things and certainly in business,