Car accident leads to promo thoughts
So I was the top cookie in a 3-car Oreo-cookie accident this morning. Hold your flowers, I’m doing just fine. The guy in the middle got the worst of it and I believe they only took him in the ambulance as a precaution. Even the damage to my car was minor (still to be evaluated by a mechanic/body shop at time of writing).
While I was waiting on the police report number, I was thinking about all the different parties the police and EMS folk were responsible for serving. Priority of course was to the injured party. After that, safety of those involved, recording the facts and getting the area cleared for rush-hour traffic to proceed. Fortunately, there was no violence or potential confrontation in this situation. (BTW, let me say MNPS were very nice in this incident).
That led me to thinking about the responsibilities I have as a promotional products distributor (yes, I’m drawing a parallel!) My primary responsibility is to my client – getting them a good deal, representing their brand well and ensuring a timely delivery of their product. But I also have responsibilities to advocate for green products, responsibilities to A-Z Office Resource, to advocate for products that promote a social good and to recommend products that will not wind up in a landfill.
These responsibilities come from being a good global citizen and being a good member of the promotional products industry. Both are important – the one will hopefully help keep a planet safe for life to continue, the other will keep an industry of people gainfully employed.
In conclusion, when promo is going to be part of your marketing, please work with a professional (preferably local) distributor to work for all parties.
PS: I do hope that the guy in the middle of the cookie will be OK – and that it’s not a sign of a concussion that my thoughts turned to promo so quickly after splashing chai all over my windshield.