The Tech Advantage

Tom Goos has been retraining his brain.

Instead of heading first to a browser search bar, staring at his company’s analytics spreadsheet or even opening a notebook for a brain dump, the President and CEO of Counselor 2026 Best Place to Work Image Source (asi/230121) turns to Microsoft Copilot or OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

“I try to make my brain go directly to AI,” he says.

For Goos, these AI tools are all about working smarter and faster, and, in an industry like promo, ultimately unlocking more creativity. His favorite use for generative AI is actually as a thought partner – almost as another colleague to help think through new ideas or identify gaps in a strategic plan. He also uses the app version on his phone so he can talk with it, rather than just type.

Katie Woznak, creative director at Liquid Screen Design (asi/254663), takes a similar approach. Outside of using generative AI for specific work tasks like creating mock-ups or helping with emails, she often turns to Claude to help time block and optimize her workday. She’ll plug in a list of daily tasks, and the AI will turn it into an efficient schedule. If she doesn’t finish everything, it will help prioritize the remaining tasks for the next day.

“I think a lot of people overlook that,” Woznak says. “They’re using it for deliverables right off the bat – write this email or give me this image – but they’re not using it to systemize what they’re doing.”

These less tangible applications are why attending (or hosting) formal AI training can be valuable. It was in a six-week AI prompting course through Gonzaga University that Goos first learned about using generative AI tools as a conversation partner. Liquid Screen Design staff are encouraged to book demos with various AI companies to explore tools that might fit their future workflows, Woznak says.

There are so many tools available, she adds, that it’s crucial to approach them with an open but neutral mindset. Experiment and explore, but don’t expect a miracle one-size-fits-all solution immediately.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t know what you don’t know,” says Scott Baker, COO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Kaeser & Blair (asi/238600), who’s set to run a Google Gemini training for the firm’s leadership later this summer.

It’s been a process to build up an overall AI strategy at a storied family-owned firm with a lot of “muscle memory” around how job functions have typically been completed, Baker says. That’s more than many industry firms can say; AI in the promotional products industry is lagging among distributors. Less than two-thirds of distributors (64%) report using AI – a percentage smaller than not only suppliers (78%) but also small businesses overall (76% according to a Goldman Sachs survey). Baker’s tech background means that he understands the importance of keeping pace with advances like AI. “We can either choose to be Netflix or Blockbuster,” he says. “I look at it like the microchip and the internet – it’s that kind of impact.”

Baker says it’s often helpful for people first being introduced to AI systems to see the flashy stuff. They might not need to ever actually write an email as Hulk Hogan – yes, that’s a real example Baker has used in demonstrations – but it gets the point across that AI can take on a set persona when the user directs it to do so. “People see that – and it’s stupid – but it helps them understand,” he says. “It helps them close that gap as to what AI can be.”

Once that foundation is in place, it’s often easier to understand the specific efficiency opportunities AI can deliver. At Brilliant (asi/146116), for example, Growth Marketing Manager Kylie Kost is focused specifically on getting the right person the right message at the right time.

Without AI, delivering personalized marketing at scale across multiple platforms was more time and resource intensive. But Kost uses AI platforms that both help identify potential clients who have already signaled interest – by liking one of Brilliant’s social media posts or visiting the distributor’s website, for instance – and ensuring that they receive relevant, personalized messaging tailored to their purchasing history, company vertical or even job title.

“An events person is going to get completely different messaging than a sales leader because there are different use cases on how they use branded merch,” Kost says.

It’s worth remembering, though, that this type of personalization didn’t happen overnight. Kost put in significant back-end work to train the system on Brilliant itself, as well as to build out the various personas, scenarios and use cases that run the system. There’s also always a human reviewing the output to ensure prospective customers aren’t receiving irrelevant messaging.

But use of the tool has allowed Kost to cast a far wider net than she otherwise could have while still maintaining a thoughtful, targeted approach. “Anchor AI with your human gut and your own expertise,” she advises. “And then once you feel like it’s trained and smarter – over time – that’s when I’d lean into anything that’s automated.”