Bruce Fox Blog

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As the industry propels forward, we have seen countless changes. 15, 50, and 80+ year anniversaries, companies growing and closing, and mergers and acquisitions are plentiful.

Yet, despite the changes that are now, this industry will only continue to keep moving. So, it is our duty to look beyond the questions of tariffs and the latest trends. Like all businesses and industries, you must take the time to look to the future – where is this industry going?

ASI has released a few articles with some promo leaders’ predictions which we will discuss first. Then we’ll throw our two cents into the hat. You can keep the change.

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As a promotional products distributor, you are familiar with trophies, awards, and other forms of recognition.

You know that there are plenty of options, so it comes down to picking your supplier partner  - who you trust to deliver on product and service.

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At Bruce Fox, we have a wide variety of services that we provide, but one such service that has increasingly become more popular and utilized is our Fulfillment service.

A Summary of Our Fulfillment Services

Need the product to be 100% made in the USA? We can do it – right here in our New Albany, Indiana facility.

Need something shipped from overseas and stored here? We can do that, too.

Our Capabilities Include:

• On-site, dedicated warehousing facilities which allows us to manage and maintain your inventory.
• Utilize a stock and release method to take advantage of quantity pricing for custom products.
• Most release requests, or “callouts,” are typically shipped within five business days; many in 48 hours or less.

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Did you know that Years of Service is the number one type of recognition organizations have in place?

Yet, employees are no longer staying at companies for 30 plus years. Gone are the days of our forefathers when employees would get one job and stay there for their entire careers.

Now, employees regularly change jobs due to poor management, better benefits, more pay, flexible hours, and other personal or career opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average person holds 12 to 15 jobs in their lifetime and that number is only projected to grow.

And with the demand for qualified employees thriving, who can blame them?

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I stumbled upon this article recently – How to Identify When an Employee Is Becoming Uninterested – and it struck a chord with me.

What they discussed was all correct. An employee might become uninterested due to things like getting a new team member, dealing with a new manager, adjusting to new procedures, an employee leaving the company, or even a disagreement in the workplace.

However, there was an obvious missing piece that echoed in the silence.

Where was recognition in this?

Employees want to be recognized, but rarely are.

Especially since only 14% of organizations provide managers with the necessary tools for rewards and recognition.

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I’ve noticed an uptick in Promotional Products Professionals saying they want to start investing in their marketing. They want to start promoting themselves.

Which makes sense, right?

But outside of handing out a lot of promotional product samples, what else can you do to promote yourself?

There are plenty of elements to that the equation, but an ever-growing answer is digital marketing; which is where my expertise comes in. So, here are some tools I’ve picked up throughout the years and, as an extra bonus, most of these marketing tools are free or mostly free.

I should note that we made a marketing tools list a while ago, which people having been asking for more tools since then, so here’s my version of the requested follow-up.

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Dave’s been in this business for a while. Anytime someone can claim 27+ years of knowledge, and that was a few years ago, then they’ve been in the promotional products industry for a while.

He’s seen the pop sockets, fidget spinners, and the fanny pack revival trends. Each popular with their target audiences and each were emerging trends at some point.

Combined with his years of experience, he, like many in the industry, has become apt in predicting certain trends.

In this case, he’s noticed three in our segment of the promotional products industry – custom awards and displayable products.

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It all started with an artist -a commercially trained artist whose early career was in advertising in New York as well as a sculptor and self-described “bon vivant.”

Throughout his travels, Fox had learned the traditional ways of metalworking and he was eager to bring his knowledge to the post-Depression American market. In 1938, he founded the company which still bears his name as the outlet for his artistic energies – Bruce Fox, Inc.

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Marble, gold, and silver are common for awards and plaques, but few people realize that they can (are typically are) too expensive for the budget. That’s especially so when the client wants something “more along their branding and company’s personality." That sounds more like a custom piece.

However, if custom is not possible, distributors have to find alternatives to the heavy marble awards to stand on desks or the shiny silver plaque that hangs up on the wall. However, there are ways to get that look without having to deal with the hefty weight, as well as avoid having to spend large amounts of money.

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Bruce Fox is unique in the industry, because besides creating custom and wow-worthy pieces, we also offer services few other suppliers (much less manufacturers) offer in the promotional products industry.

We are a design-build firm who offers a wide variety of services.