The Promo Pro: Kimberly Karp, Owner, KK Promotions, an affiliate of Top 40 distributor AIA Corporation (asi/109480)

Client: A large software company
Job: Create branded products that thank, encourage and incentivize current employees, while also helping to recruit new ones.
Order Value: Mid five-figure range

Step One: Win Referrals Through Partnering
On every order, Kimberly Karp always has the big picture in mind. It’s not just about the one sale. It’s about doing such a good job that the client trusts her and wants to work with her again. This approach led a particular contact to continue to partner with Karp even after the client changed companies multiple times, and it was her trust that led her to refer Karp to a colleague at the software company, setting the stage for this five-figure deal. “You win loyalty by delivering on what you say you’re going to do from start to finish,” says Karp.

Step Two: Know the Client’s Tastes & Objectives
The new client to which Karp was referred was heading up a human resources initiative focused on incentivizing, thanking, encouraging and ultimately retaining employees. The effort also aimed to help recruit excellent new team members. The client wanted attractive, design-rich branded physical products to help fuel the initiative – products that would convey the brand’s modern, cutting-edge tech vibe and also show it cared deeply about the people who make the company a success.

Step Three: Draw on What Works
Fortunately, Karp had a leg up. The loyal contact who referred her also worked at this software company, and Karp had delivered excellent solutions for her in the past. The new client on the HR initiative was impressed with that choice swag and wanted to do certain similar products, just with design and branding twists to make the new collateral specific to the retention/recruitment effort. “The focus became how could we take some things we’d done that she liked,” Karp says, “but make a new version of them that fit into a cohesive brand story specific to this program.”

Step Four: Collaborate on Design
A savvy relationship builder, Karp already had a good rapport with an on-staff designer at the software company. She teamed up with the creative to conceive and deliver a definitive, attractive branded look for the program’s products. Karp’s in-depth knowledge of which decoration methods would look best on certain products proved invaluable and helped guide design concepts. Karp tells how this included finding the best ways to represent the program’s unique logo in a range of ways, such as vertically and horizontally, across a variety of substrates. “We created a compelling, cohesive color story,” says Karp. “It helped these products stand out from the company’s other branded items. It was about using color and design to make a strong statement.”

Step Five: Source From Proven Suppliers
Indeed, Karp saw to it that the color story and collective brand image was maintained over a bevy of products. For the client, the quality of those products was paramount. Karp delivered there too, drawing on her knowledge of the client’s tastes and the lines of trusted suppliers to deliver items she knew would impress aesthetically and hold up practically. There were T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, pens, journals, Type-C USBs, light-up power cords, lanyards and travel tumblers in gloss and matte finishes with color schemes that incorporated greens, whites and black.

Karp worked with suppliers that include Bella+Canvas (asi/39590), IMAGEN Brands (asi/93990/47700), ETS Express (asi/51197), Goldstar (asi/73295) and AP Specialties (asi/30208). “Because I fully understood the client’s brand and what they wanted to do, and because I work closely with my supplier reps to understand their capabilities and strengths,” she says, “we were able to quickly provide exactly what the client wanted.”

Step Six: Earn ROI for the Client
The effort certainly didn’t go unnoticed. The client wrote Karp to say she was thrilled with the products and the efficient execution of the order. “She called our work ‘amazing,’ and when you hear something like that, you leave the project feeling inspired to take on more,” says Karp. Furthermore, says Karp, the campaign was a pleasure to work on, not least of all because the client trusted her creative and sourcing acumen. “The end result is always best when you earn a client’s trust and they have faith in you,” says Karp. “That way, you can really bring your expertise to bear for their benefit.” Karp continues to partner with the company.