Several months ago, Promo Products Industry veteran Bill Petrie and I decided to pick a fight.  Seriously.  We decided to take on some of our industry’s more controversial topics in a debate column.  The idea was to have some serious (and sometimes semi-serious) conversations without name calling and dagger throwing.  (Thanks to PromoKitchen for hosting this conversation)!  Maybe by doing this, we could explore the real reasons somethings in the Promo world are the way they are.

And it’s been fun! 

What I think is key is that Bill and I like each other.  We are able to take the opposite side of a debate and come out on the other side friends, because we can respect each other’s point of view.  Sometimes we live in a culture where if you disagree with me, you must be evil.  That’s a shame.  Because debates like this give us the opportunity to really decide what we believe.

Our most recent debate centers around the term SWAG.  You can check that out here.  We also took on supplier/distributor relationships and an influential organization in our industry doing an infomercial.  

There certainly will be more to come.  I hope these conversations help to elevate the conversation…and ultimately the industry.

Cheers.