Kevin Smith

Distributors develop creative solutions to select promotional product suppliers. Uncertain times and a changing industry have forced some traditional forms distributors to diversify their products and services in hopes of surviving these economic times. As a result, one area that they've ventured into is promotional products, in which they are having to face some formidable giants. The biggest obstacle distributors say they faced when beginning to sell ad specialties was tackling the different vehicles for sourcing products. Once companies had a handle on what was available to them, they needed to figure out how to choose manufacturers and release that information to their sales

Nominations are open for big rewards in government printing. If there's a distributor out there who hasn't been negatively impacted by the recent downturn in the economy, raise your hand. The fact is, there aren't too many of you. Perhaps, then, it's time to give that much-maligned market—the government printing market—a second look. Though many distributors will disregard the government market when they're living high on the hog, those same distributors often run back to Uncle Sam to look for extra work when times get tough. Why? Because government printing purchasers buy everything under the sun in large quantities, and

Best of Show Gathering Interest When Dave Lear of Odell Advertising, North Canton, Ohio, was given the assignment of designing a poster for The Hoover Company's WindTunnelTM vacuum, you could say he was handed the job of his dreams. "They don't reign you in too much," said Lear, noting that he has worked on projects for Hoover for many years. "They're a pretty terrific company for giving you a chance to dream." Lear, who has been a graphic designer for approximately 30 years, explained that the company required that he use the vacuum cleaner, text and foil imprint. The rest was up to him.