Born into a print family, Lindsey Reid, owner of Eliot, ME-based distributor emblm (asi/181062), knows how to bring print, packaging and promotional products together for maximum impact. It all started when she saw the possibilities in the family business.

Lindsey Reid, owner of emblm (asi/181062), joined her family’s print shop in 2015 to help grow the promo side of the business.

“Print’s definitely in my heritage; it’s in my bones,” Reid says. “My parents started the business in 1993 as just a print shop. I came on in 2015 with the goal of building up the promo side of things.”

While the company still does plenty of commercial printing for legacy clients, Reid sees its future in promotional products. With its print foundation and promo expertise, emblm can create brand experiences across mediums.

Why Expanding Into Promo Made Sense

Like many business growth stories, emblm’s expansion into promotional products started with client demand.

“When you’re just doing someone’s print, they say, ‘Oh, do you know anywhere where I can get pens?’ That starts it,” Reid explains. “Also, for me, I came from a completely different industry. I worked in sales for education, and I was a rep that visited college fairs, so I was on the line, slinging merch, and saw the potential there.”

Custom packaging pairs with branded products to create a coordinated campaign experience. (photo courtesy of emblm)

One of the most effective ways print and promo intersect right now is through the unboxing experience, Reid says, adding that it’s all about creating a curated, customized box filled with products, inserts and branding that feels intentional and immersive.

Think influencer kits where presentation boxes, mailers, molded inserts, note cards and instructions that double as marketing pieces work alongside thoughtfully selected promotional products.

“I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice as a distributor if you aren’t also doing print,” Reid says.

Offering both print and promo, she says the conversation is no longer just about the products the client needs, but about the goal of the campaign or event. Ask clients what experience they want to evoke, she adds, and then bring solutions that not only answer that question creatively but employ different media to do so. That can include how recipients receive, open, share and reuse the product or packaging, extending the experience and impressions over time.

That’s the tactic emblm uses, which has led to the company being invited into larger projects.

“We get pulled into conversations or integrated into campaigns earlier,” Reid says, with print and promo becoming a part of the initial conversation rather than an afterthought. “We’re seen more as experts. We get pulled into more fun, bigger projects.”

Leaning on Partners

Distributors may not produce every component of a project themselves, but their reputation depends on the printer and supplier partners who do.

When choosing a vendor, whether for packaging or promotional products, Reid wants to know that a vendor’s quality control meets emblm’s standards “because if we’re the middleman and we’re not seeing it before it hits the client, that’s a reflection of us when it lands.”

Print and promotional products work together to carry a consistent brand across multiple touchpoints. (photo courtesy of emblm)

A good partner should help you succeed from the beginning, providing education on their capabilities and what’s possible. It’s important to know how packaging and print work before trying to sell them.

“Truly understand it before you pitch it to your clients,” Reid says.

She encourages distributors to make a short list of partners they want to work with and set up meetings to see if they’re the right fit. For emblm, it’s not about finding the cheapest option but finding the best partner. A project that runs smoothly without quality-control issues can be worth more than the money a client might save by ordering online themselves, Reid says.

Print & Promo Marketing is your source for news, commentary and strategy for the promotional products, commercial print and product decoration industries.