Every week there are articles published that are of interest to promotional products industry professionals across the land. To save you time, I have culled the internet for the ones you should read and the ones you should skip.

The Number 1 Secret to Building Your Perfect Personal Brand – “Must Read” Article of the Week

This is easily my favorite article this week. The term “personal brand” has been emphasized for the past few years – and with good reason. In the digital age, your personal brand is possibly the most important career tool you possess. Even so, many struggle with developing their own brand. This article shares a big secret: building the perfect personal brand is that you don’t really build a great personal brand, you extract it. This is a fantastic five minute read.

Bartender, There’s a Logo in My Drink

This is a great article about many of the creative branding and promotional marketing uses seen in top bars across America. From a logo floating in an ice cube to a bar in Seattle that brands their logo into citrus peels, there are some incredibly out of the ordinary approaches to branding. In fact, it might give distributors some inventive ideas to use when they approach a local watering hole to get some business.

Why Are There Errors in the White House Logo, and How Did They Get There?

While this falls short of a conspiracy theory (sorry followers of the illuminati), the article does raise some interesting questions about the evolution of the White House logo and some of the errors that remain today. More than anything, it’s fascinating that an American institution like the White House has a brand identity that full of errors. Maybe one of the creative readers of this weekly column can land some logo redesign business (supported by new promotional products, of course!) when the new Commander in Chief takes over in 2017!

How Iron Maiden Made the Boeing 747 Badass Again

Celebrity endorsements are not exactly newsworthy items. That is, unless, a British heavy-metal band is touting things like cargo hold capacity and cruising range. Iron Maiden, in the midst of a 35 city tour, chartered a 747 from Boeing to leverage the unique range and cargo capacity because it allows them to carry their entire show – lights, sound, instruments, and personnel – into a single jet. It also doesn’t hurt that Iron Maiden’s lead singer, Bruce Dickenson, holds a commercial pilots license enabling him to fly the plane.

What You Can Learn from the Top 5 Promotional Products for Millennials – “Don’t Waste Your Time Reading” Article of the Week

Honestly, I’m not sure you learn a heck of a lot from this article about either millennials or promotional products. According to the author, the top 5 promotional products for millennials are: tumblers, pocket t-shirts, sunglasses, power banks, and portable Bluetooth speakers. While the point of the article is a bit off target given the title, the story is good for end users as it gives them supporting evidence as to what people want when it comes to promotional products.