what's cookin' in the promokitchen?
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8/3/2019 What's cookin' in the PromoKitchen?
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iIN 1998, I STARTED in the promotional products industry as an inexperienced,
yet enthusiastic, distributor entrepreneur. I was 23 years old.
It took me two years to figure out there was an industry association where sup-
pliers and distributors met to do business. It took me another eight
years to feel truly connected because I had trouble finding my foot-
ing in the industry. This all changed when I had had enough of sit-
ting on the sidelines and volunteered to lead a class on social media
at The PPAI Expo in January 2009.
My favorite education sessions at The Expo were always led by industry practi-
tioners, so I was enthused by the prospect of giving back by sharing my experiences.
By Mark Graham
What’s Cookin’ In The PromoKitchen
THE NEW MOVEMENT IN PEER EDUCATION AND MENTORING
I was expecting 20 people in my first session—200
people showed up. At that moment, my view of
the industry changed forever.
Throughout the past few years, a group of
young leaders met through Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn. We shared a common interest: helping
each other to improve our businesses and the
industry at large. We also shared a passion forchange and what the future held for our respective
businesses. A few of us were bored and frustrated
with our businesses after years of economic tur-
moil. Some even felt lost in the industry because
they hadn’t connected with like-minded people.
The time, we believed, was right to formalize our
discussions, debates and socializing into some-
thing that could help the industry.
Enter PromoKitchen.
PromoKitchen started as an idea in January
2011 and, by year end, blossomed into a full-
fledged community with a passion toward sharing
best practices and mentoring others. As social media was a common thread
throughout the group, we came up with the idea
of starting an industry blog. Our vision was to cre-
ate a Mashable for the industry, staffed exclusively
by volunteer leaders (chefs) who were passionate
about sharing their experiences with others.
The PromoKitchen community represents a
cross-section of professionals (suppliers, distribu-
tors and service providers) raising the standard of
working together by collaborating in an open,
accessible environment. Its founding chefs include
Bobby Lehew, CAS, (Robyn); Jonathan Irvin(EasyPromo3D); Mark Graham (RIGHTSLEEVE
Marketing and commonsku); Tonia Allen Gould
(TAG! The Creative Source); Lisa Horn, CAS,
(Content Matters); Tee Hamilton (Aye Creative);
Charity Gibson (Green Banana
Promotions); Danny Rosin (Brand
Fuel Promotions); Robert Fiveash
(Brand Fuel Promotions); Kim
Newell (World Wide Lines); Brad White
(Boundless Network); David Verchere
(PostHelpers); CJ Schmidt (Hit Promotional
COMMUNITY
M A R C H 2 0 1 2 P P B 35
Guest Viewpoint
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Products); Roger Burnett (Workflow One); Matt Kaspari, CAS,
(Kaspo); Devin Piscitelli (Aakron Rule Corporation); Mark Godsey
(Gold Bond); and Michael Legel (Continental Plastic Card Co.).
PromoKitchen has twin missions: best-practice sharing and
mentoring. Here’s how we deliver on each: We publish content
three times a week on www.promokitchen.com. Articles are
classified into one of six categories: creativity, marketing, opera-
tions, productivity, sales and technology. We have established
editorial guidelines, and everyone is invited to submit ideas for
articles. Co-editors Bobby Lehew, CAS; Lisa Horn, CAS; and
Tonia Allen Gould apply their strong editorial skills to this task.
We’re looking to address the white elephants in the industry,
encourage discussion around thought-provoking content andinterview the leading minds in the industry (see our interviews
with Paul Bellantone, CAE, and Craig Morantz as good examples
of this).
We also introduced a mentor program (www.promokitchen.com/
mentor-program-overview) where mentees and mentors are paired
together based on common interests. To date, we have attracted 20
applications, and the program formally launched in February. Mentee
and mentor applications can be completed online. All matches are
made by our mentorship chair, Kim Newell. We’ve been energized by many of the stories people have
shared with us, including this one from a distributor who applied
to the mentor program:
“I am looking for practical steps and guidance to turn our little
family business into a profitable one. I need to steer this ship in a
new and profitable direction. Thank you for those of you who
dreamed up PromoKitchen and are willing to pay it forward.”
At The PPAI Expo in January, we hosted a launch party at the
House of Blues for anyone interested in making the industry a bet-
ter place. We attracted a capacity crowd of 360 people. It was
exactly what we envisioned: bringing together a group of young
and young-at-heart industry leaders looking to have fun, sharebest practices and connect. Long after the party ended, the con-
versations continued online.
In two short months, PromoKitchen has gone from an
unknown and unproven concept to an industry-wide going con-
cern. We are excited about the future of this community, and we
are committed to providing rich content and a helpful hand in
order to maintain a strong level of professionalism and success
amongst our peers.
Mark Graham is the founder of RIGHTSLEEVE, one of the industry’s lead-
ing web-based distributors. He is also the CEO of commonsku, an enter-
prise social software platform for the promotional products industry. He is
the national winner of the Dell Small Business Excellence Award. In 2011,
Graham was recognized as one of PPB’s Rising Stars, honored as
Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year by Counselor magazine and named to
ASI’s Hot List.
Graham has been featured in several major media publications on his
approach to technology and social media, including PPB, Counselor ,
Wearables, Stitches and Advantages. He has given multiple presentations
on web marketing, branding and social media best practices to promo-
tional industry professionals across North America at events such as The
PPAI Expo, PPAI North American Leadership Conference, PPPC National
Convention, MAPPA Convention, SPPA Showcase, PPA Chicago, NPI Show,
PROMOTIONS EAST, Partnering Group, ASI Power Summit and at ASI
shows across the country.
ppb
36 P P B M A R C H 2 0 1 2
Guest Viewpoint
“Chefs” and guests celebrate at PromoKitchen’s launch party at The PPAI
Expo 2012.
Want to get involved? Here are somehelpful links:
See what’s cooking in the Kitchen:
http://promokitchen.com
Write for PromoKitchen:
http://promokitchen.com/write-for-promokitchen
Get involved in the mentor program:
http://promokitchen.com/mentor-program-overview
Like the PromoKitchen Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/promokitchen
Follow PromoKitchen on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/promokitchen
Scan these QR codes with your smart phone to watch
PromoKitchen interviews with Paul Bellantone, CAE,
president and
CEO of PPAI,and Craig
Morantz, for-
mer executive
at supplier
Polyconcept.