Between 2 Brands Podcast

Friday mornings mean one thing and one thing only: time for a brand new, oven-fresh episode of the Promo UPFront #podcast! For Ep. 214, hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the surprising acquisition of alphabroder by S&S Activewear and what it may mean for the industry, Elon Musk wages war (and files lawsuits) on potential advertisers, the myth of “made in China” meaning inferior merch, p...

You know it’s time for ep. 213 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the perfect marriage of Sweeter Cards and Maple Ridge Farms, the branding implications of Southwest Airlines moving away from open seating, the backlash for Google’s “Gemini” commercial, the short and long-term efficacy of marketing clickbait, the “Marketing Genius of the Week,”...

Of COURSE it’s time for ep. 212 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie review Bill’s experience at the ASI Show and the Counselor Awards, more silliness in the Promotional Products Professionals Facebook page, whether educational webinars are impactful, the overreach of the International Olympic Committee when it comes to enforcing fake merch, the “Marketing...

You know it’s Friday when Ep. 211 of the Promo UPFront #podcast with Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie drops! This week the dynamic duo talk about the big news of Dale Denham departing PPAI, Sticker Mule mixes business with politics and has predictable results, Greece considers a six-day work week to grow the economy, the intended and unintended impact of Amazon’s Prime Day, Bill asks Kirby for advic...

If it’s Friday (and it is), then you know it’s time for Ep. 210 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss how the dichotomy of the current economic perception and whether you should discuss it with your clients, the efficacy of Netflix turning vacant department stores into entertainment centers, share strategies for selling through a sales slump caused b...

Even though it’s a holiday weekend, it’s time for Ep. 209 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the new PPAI website and a missed opportunity, lessons from communication failures, Bill shares a little about his first vacation in a decade, HIT Promotional Products makes a HUGE hire, advice for getting back into work-mode after a vacation, and so mu...

You darn well know it’s time for Ep. 208 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about industry media and the difference of reporting news and creating conversations, the inherent friction of updating phone apps, wonder if we are in a “promotion recession,” discuss a MASSIVE sports retirement, bring back rapid fire, and so much more! A BIG thanks to our f...

You know it’s time for Ep. 207 of the PromoUPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie celebrate officially eclipsing the amount of episodes of unScripted by listening to congratulatory messages from some VERY important Americans, talk about obscene room charges from hotels and how one clever supplier avoided them, discuss “telephoneaphobia” for people under the age of 40, deb...

Oh yes, it’s time for Ep. 206 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss how suppliers can better support the marketing efforts of multi-line reps, Apple’s ingeniously simple way to reduce burnout, talk about the lessons learned from Bill’s recent health scare and diagnosis, how entrepreneurs can plan a vacation where they can fully unplug, play a vacatio...

It’s Fri-yay and time for Ep. 205 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the efficacy of instituting “Friday Hours” over the summer, the difference of making purchases on a small vs. big screen, dive into Dr Pepper eclipsing Pepsi as the number two soft drink by way of a case study in branding, opine on why so many big music acts are canceling tour...

Buckle up, buttercup, because it’s time for Ep. 204 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie tackle the GQ opinion piece on what they call, “the end of merch,” discuss international perspectives on the U.S. promotional products industry, ponder the future with S&S Activewear deploying robots in distribution centers, opine on the Indy 500 banning political brand...

It’s time for Ep. 203 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie take a deep dive into PPAI 100 lists, take a critical look at the recruiting practices in the industry, ponder how to create a world record in promo, shed some light on micro advertising campaigns, and so much more! A HUGE thanks to our pals over at BEL Promo for sponsoring this fine broadcast. When...

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 202 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the importance of PPAI L.E.A.D and what it’s like to advocate for the promotional products industry, discuss how Gemline has rebranded as a “public benefit corporation,” chat about how the NFL is going deeper into the world of streamed content, ponder whether a legendary metal...

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 201 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie talk about the ASI and PRINTING United Alliance merger, discuss the importance of understanding that you’re not for everyone, take a deep dive into the rebranding of Boy Scouts of America which leads into a thoughtful conversation about how focusing on inclusion can result in a win for ev...

Kirby and Bill celebrate a milestone by interviewing each other and ask questions they’ve never posed before! A big thanks to our sponsor in Seven Sourcing. When you're ready to help turn a great idea into something truly iconic for your client's brand, email Russ Mogell and his team at sales@sevensourcing.com.

It’s the last Friday of April and time for Ep. 199 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie take a deep dive into the PPAI “Cool Stuff List,” discuss a bizarre movie promotion with an NBA player, applaud the FTC ban on noncompete agreements, delve into language and the lost art of reading people, have a little musical rapid fire during the party in the back, an...

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 198 of the Promo UPFront #podcast. This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie – who is recording from the Caribbean – discuss LinkedIn’s foray into influencer marketing, chat about the impact of events on the promotional products industry, Nike goes all in on Olympic advertising, Fanatics focus on creating a Comic-Con style event for sports, and so much more! HUGE...

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 197 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the HALO data breach and how well it was (or wasn’t) communicated, debate how to make returning to the office work for both employers and employees, skewer the communication from Dunkin’ regarding the fulfillment challenges for the viral “DunKings” merchandise, Kirby advocates for...

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 196 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the harm done to brands pulling April Fools’ Day pranks, debate whether Supplier Star awards impact buying decisions, chat about the major change in realtor compensation, ponder whether campaigning for awards negatively taint the recognition, have a little party in the back, and s...

It’s the last Friday of International Women’s Month so you know Ep. 105 of the Promo UPFront #podcast is going to be revealing the annual list of Powerhouse Women of Promo! That’s right, this week Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie share their sixth annual list of the amazing and creative women that are pushing the promotional products industry forward be they suppliers, distributors, or service provi...

You bet it’s time for Ep. 194 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the value (and the cost) of large distributor national sales meetings, the continued invasion of the subscription model, whether Glassdoor should continue to allow anonymous comments about employers, how a restaurant brand changing soft drink affiliation might impact customer behavio...

Julius Ceasar was told to “beware the Ides of March.” However, when Ep. 193 of the Promo UPFront #podcast drops on the very same day, the only thing to be afraid of are candid opinions! Today hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie take a deep dive into the new PPAI membership structure, discuss how the potential ban of TikTok will change influencer marketing, share some mega trends in marketing – an...

It’s Friday before we lose an hour of sleep which means the time has come to drop Ep. 192 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie carefully and thoughtfully dissect the PPAI #Online18 list, dig into one of the reasons behind so many big names in promo making equally big moves, dive into the default font change from Microsoft, and so much more! A big thanks to...

It’s Friday and time for Ep. 191 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie discuss the impact of Donald Trump’s new merch, the “Florida Man Games” and how we might adapt them for PPAI Expo, a fast-food restaurant testing surge pricing, Wal-Mart purchases television maker Vizio for reasons that might not be obvious, and so much more! A BIG thanks to our friends o...

It’s Triple F Day – the Final Friday of February – which means it’s time for Ep. 190 of the Promo UPFront #podcast! This week hosts Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie applaud ASI for removing the paywall that blocked their amazing editorial content, whether the new “Sun Day Red” brand will perform for Tiger Woods and Taylor Made, debate how to answer when someone asks how your business is going this y...