Branding Together: Using Promo Products To Support Literacy Programs
Christy and Brian Floriani of BUKU Branded talk about committing to donating 100% of net profits to advancing literacy in the U.S.
Christy and Brian Floriani are taking a bold stance when it comes to reading. The husband-and-wife team founded their distributorship BUKU Branded so that they could donate 100% of its net profits toward advancing literacy in America.
In this episode of Branding Together, Cassie Green of Apparelist and PRINTING United Alliance and ASI’s Theresa Hegel talk with the couple about how personal experience and decades in social work led them to build a purpose-driven business model that redirects marketing dollars toward prevention-focused literacy initiatives. They also discuss scaling impact and why promo is such a powerful vehicle for meaningful change.
Mentioned in the episode:
- PRINTING United Alliance’s 2026 Pinnacle Awards Now Open for Submissions
- Joint ASI-PPAI Study Finds Promo Among the Lowest Carbon Impact Advertising Channels
- Brother Industries Announces Plans To Acquire Mutoh
- Promo Insiders: What’s the Latest With Tariffs?
Key Takeaways
• Christy Floriani’s background in social work shaped BUKU Branded’s mission, after years of seeing how low literacy limits opportunity for families in under-resourced communities.
• Brian Floriani founded Bernie’s Book Bank after identifying book ownership as a solvable barrier to reading readiness, noting that 61% of low-income households have no books.
• BUKU Branded was created to redirect already budgeted marketing dollars toward literacy by donating 100% of net profits to prevention-focused literacy organizations.
• The company competes on service, quality and price first, with the literacy giveback positioned as an added benefit rather than a premium upcharge.
• Beneficiaries of its giveback program are selected based on scalability, measurable impact and a focus on early intervention rather than remediation.
• Prospective clients often react with surprise to the 100% giveback model but respond positively when they see it aligns with corporate social responsibility goals.
• The Florianis aim to significantly grow revenue in 2026 and ultimately surpass $1 million in total giveback, tying business growth directly to expanded literacy impact.