Distributors have eternally wrestled with issues like how to keep clients loyal, or how to increase their spend. In response, especially in recent years, promo firms have diversified their services to become a “one-stop shop.”

Vanguard is a marketing agency based in New York City that offers print, digital and other services – including promotional products through Vanguard Promotions (asi/350665). The robust suite of offerings allows Joe Favre, promotional division sales manager, to leverage the power of print, promo and marketing collaborations to achieve tremendous success.

“We ask the ‘why’ whenever we engage. We don't want to just send you a piece of drinkware or a string bag or a backpack,” says Favre, a three-decade veteran of the promo industry. “What's the why? What messaging can we include with it? Packaging is such low-hanging fruit and such an incredible canvas. You can tell the whole story just with the packaging, let alone things like romance cards or digital assets. It's a conversation with every engagement we have. What else can we do to augment your message? Because it's one thing to get a product, but it's another thing to get the intention behind it.”

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Favre explains the power of these collabs and why they’re so effective. He also dives into the concepts of storytelling and transparency, suggests the questions you should ask to understand a client’s brand, and shares his thoughts on what distributors should consider when looking to add these services themselves.