Welcome to the 2018 Power 50 list, which ranks the most influential people in the industry.

#22 Jay Deutsch, BDA (asi/137616)

2017 Rank: 25
Title: Co-founder/CEO
Industry Experience: 35 years

Under Deutsch’s leadership, BDA has repeatedly pursued acquisitions in Europe in recent years, most recently purchasing U.K.-based agency Sports Merchandise Global in late 2017. His peer ratings climbed in 2018, likely helped by BDA’s strong 2017 performance, as sales were up 22% reaching $346.5 million. In this Q&A, Deutsch talks about his strategy going forward and gives his take on the industry’s low-cost, low-quality perception among some buyers.

Q: Why has BDA been so aggressive in making acquisitions recently, especially overseas?
A: Acquisitions are an element of our overall strategy. Our focus is to continually strengthen our service offerings and to support our clients where they conduct their business. We’ve found great people that will support our global assignments.

Q: BDA has excelled in winning clients in professional sports. What’s the key to a good sports marketing campaign?
A: There’s a lot that goes into them, but I’d say both planning well and taking the outcome personally so it’s great.

Q: Speaking of sports marketing, what is it about bobbleheads that keeps them so popular as a promo item?
A: They’re fun, relevant, collectible and they memorialize important moments that stir emotions. I love them.

Q: What specifically is BDA doing to innovate and prepare for the future?
A: We’re continuing to invest in our omni-channel platform, making enhancements to our fulfillment and delivery systems, and our product design and development capabilities. As a result, I think we’re pretty well positioned going forward, but of course there’s always work to do.

Q: What’s the biggest opportunity you see in the promo market right now?
A: For our clients, to provide an all-in-one solution that helps customers grow their brands while reducing their costs.

Q: What does leadership mean to you?
A: It means being effective, getting the right things done and empowering my team at all levels to take care of clients and BDA.

Q: What’s one thing you’d change about the industry?
A: It’s the perception relative to advertising. Our medium is a powerful advertising medium. The industry was referred to as advertising specialties for a reason, not swag, trinkets & trash and tchotchkes. There are so many in our industry that unfortunately damage the value we provide.

Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?
A: To buy Amazon stock.

Q: What’s the biggest business mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
A: I didn’t act quickly enough on an opportunity to communicate what I was really thinking and it unfortunately prolonged the inevitable.

Q: Who’s someone you admire in the promo industry, and why?
A: Barry Deutsch. He’s the best, no joke!

Q: What’s the biggest pushback you get from clients, and has that changed from a few years ago?
A: I wouldn’t call it pushback, rather continued pushing that we listen to. Clients want big ideas that solve their myriad challenges. We’re constantly striving to improve ourselves to deliver greater solutions.

Q: What’s your top professional goal over the next 12 months?
A: To stay focused on driving our hyper-growth and customer experience.

Q: What’s your top personal goal over the next 12 months?
A: To balance work life and family life along with my new NHL Seattle responsibilities.

Q: If you’re eventually part of the ownership group of a Seattle hockey franchise, how do we get good seats?
A: Ha. Lace ‘em up, tighten your chin-strap and when you get to Seattle, give me a call.