The Complete Guide to Team Building: ROI, Stages, and Strategy
In one year alone, disengaged employees cost the global economy $438 billion in lost productivity, according to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace. That’s more than the annual GDP of Norway. This expense happens because teams aren’t working well together. If you’ve ever run a team-building program that [...]
Custom Tech Gadgets vs. Branded Pens and Totes: Your Guide to Cost-Effective Promotional Items
Did you know that a branded pen generates 2,436 impressions over its lifetime, while a power bank generates just 870? On paper, the pen looks like the stronger marketing investment — and for some small businesses, it is. But here’s the catch: 40% of consumers say receiving a custom power bank makes them more likely to do [...]
Holiday Giveaway Ideas for Small Business: Branded Gift Baskets Customers Actually Keep
Twelve months from now, one of your customers will still be using a gift you gave them this holiday season. The others will be forgotten by February. According to ASI’s 2026 Ad Impressions Study, 78% of consumers hold onto a branded item for a single reason: it’s useful. That insight should shape your entire holiday [...]
The School Spirit Gap Survey: Is Your School Paying the Turnout Tax?
School spirit doesn’t happen by accident — and neither does the gap between schools that have it and schools that don’t. Our School Spirit Gap Survey — a 2026 survey of 447 PTA coordinators, booster club leads, athletic directors, teachers, and school administrators across the country — puts a number on what we call the [...]
Wearable Marketing for Small Businesses: How to Design Custom Hats & Apparel
A branded hat delivers high-impact advertising. It’s worn for an average of 10 months and generates about 3,400 impressions over its lifetime, at a cost-per-impression of just 3/10 of a cent, according to ASI’s Ad Impressions research. That ROI is unbeatable for small business owners who need every marketing dollar to count. [...]
Don’t Be the Invisible Booth: Pop-Up Shop & Trade Show Marketing for Small Business
There is a moment every first-time trade show exhibitor knows: you spend months planning, order everything on time, set up the booth, and then realize the exhibit next to yours has a floor-to-ceiling backlit display, matching staff polos, and a prize wheel drawing a crowd. Your folding table with a paper sign and a pile of business cards [...]
The Business Owner’s Guide to Marketing Collateral: Stickers, Signs & Flyers
Most marketing advice for small businesses recommend blog posts, white papers, and social media ads. Ask any industry source to define “marketing collateral” and you will get a list that reads like a corporate B2B playbook: brochures, case studies, sell sheets. What gets left out is everything that actually gets small [...]
10+ Best Promotional Products to Grow Your Small Business
Promo products are one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise your business. T-shirts are the industry’s top-selling category, generating $4.2 billion in annual sales according to the ASI 2026 Ad Impressions Study. From bags and drinkware to headwear and stationery, branded merchandise is a $27.7 billion industry because it [...]