#2018REGGIES Awards Categories Announcements + Bonus Content

Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys are all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants or lectures or selling. We are not doing this for our employers, but rather for our industry. Since February 2013, The 2 Regular Guys have been the first and the most listened to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will make your business better, and our industry better. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!

News

• Graphics One, Insta, OKI Gala at SGIA – Aaron had an opportunity to attend this event where they all shared the alliance and roadmaps for the future. For example, at SGIA OKI Data announced the Pro 9541WT. This is a 5 Station (CMYK + White) toner transfer system that is 13 x 19 in size. All these partners together made a very strong presence with Graphics One providing the distribution of all of the parts, a great heat press in the Insta Product and event a new software piece in Cadlink joining the group to provide a RIP for the OKI systems. Graphics One | CADLink | INSTA Graphics System | OKI DATA 

• Graphics of Americas Now Under SGIA Ownership – The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) has purchased the printing trade show Graphics of the Americas (GOA) from the Florida Graphics Alliance (FGA) (formerly the Printing Association of Florida). Following a transition period, GOA will relaunch in February 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. SGIA acquired the show in August 2018. “GOA has a long history of bringing together an audience of exhibitors and attendees from North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. These markets, though distinctly different in many aspects, are vital players in the larger printing community, and are of critical interest to the supplier members of SGIA,” said Ford Bowers, President & CEO, SGIA. Over the next 18 months, SGIA and FGA will transition GOA to its new ownership and redefine it as an integral part of the calendar of events in the printing industry with high value for attendees and exhibitors.

• What Happened at SGIA by Ted Stahl – We also had an opportunity to be invited guests at a press conference being held by Group Stahls. We will be hosting Josh or Zack Ellsworth on the show early in 2019 for more details on their exciting announcements. Here is a word from Ted Stahl on his blog:

  “Heat printing was a common theme and the show was a harbinger of things to come in the apparel industry. For example, I noticed more Direct to Garment Printers than we’ve ever seen before. It was also well attended by international apparel decorators, as well as larger domestic customers looking for ways to keep up with requests for on-demand garment decoration. People need alternatives to situations where screen printing or embroidery won’t work, such as on lightweight performance fabrics. They want easier ways to create special effects such as foil and reflective logos.”

2018 - 6th Annual REGGIE Awards.

We love these awards as it allows us to provide a form for worthy folks in our industry to be recognized and everything is done completely by you the listeners. There is no panel of judges, we don’t select our favorites, it is all by you. Starting today nominations are going to be accepted and the 5 top nominees from each category will then be on the voting starting in November. Then the nominees will be voted on by you the listeners and winners will be announced in December. We have a couple of new categories this year so let’s announce all the categories and also discuss last years winners, shall we?

1) Best New Product This category is for products that have made an impact on our industry in 2018 that are relatively new to the marketplace. It may have been around for a few years already, but really affected our industry in 2018.

2) Best Sales or Customer Service Representative This category is to recognize a specific person who has stood out as someone who has supported our industry, helped people be successful in their businesses and provided outstanding customer service or support.

3) The company that Provides the Best Customer Service This category is for a specific company that exemplifies what it means to be customer service oriented. These companies have specific policies in place that are customer service oriented and put their customer first in our industry.

4) Best Online Educational Content This category is to recognize the online forum, group, blog, video, technical support or other online platform that provides the best information and help in our industry This online platform provides the correct information and an easy to understand way of learning and growing. The nominees can be from any of the stand alone industry forums, LinkedIn Groups, Facebook Groups or other online communities. Or the nominees can also come from a Video platform, website or blog that is kept up to date with the latest and most accurate information available.

5) Best Industry Educator This category is to recognize the best educator in our industry during 2018. This is someone who writes for the industry magazines, presents seminars or webinars or otherwise educates people to improve our industry.

6) Best Industry Trade Show This category is to recognize the industry trade show that did the most for our industry. The show should exemplify a show that provides a good meeting place for exhibitors and attendees and brings cutting edge technology and events to the people involved.

7) Best Decorated Item This category is for showcasing the most visually appealing decorated products out there. The image must be of a finished product and can include screen printing, heat transfer, embroidery, DTG, rhinestones, sublimation, foil or some combination of any or all of them.

8) Most Influential Young Star This category is to recognize the under 40 crowd in our industry. This nominee should exemplify all the positives aspects of garment and product decoration.

9) Best Guest on the 2 Regular Guys Podcast This category is to recognize the guest on the 2 Regular Guys Podcast that provided the most information that helped your business and was entertaining.

10) Best Ambassador for the Industry This category is to recognize someone who represents our industry, within and without and exemplifies all the positives aspects of garment and product decoration.

Listener Category Nomination

If you have any category suggestions we are missing, tell us why we should add this award and who you would like to nominate for it.

Nomination Form

Facebook vs Google Ads

Tomorrow on my weekly Small Business Saturdays Facebook Live session I’m going to dig into Facebook and Google Advertising. We thought we would give you all a sneak peek at that information and then if you want more you can join me tomorrow morning.

Terry: So why specifically Facebook and Google Advertising?

Well, when it comes to Digital Marketing Google and Facebook pretty much dominate their respective fields. Googling has become a verb and Facebook has well over 2 Billion (with a B) Monthly Active users. On top of that, we live in a digital world. When was the last time you open a Yellow Pages books to find something? Also, I’m not sure if you have been to a traditional Mall lately, but most look like a scene out of the Zombie Apocalypse shows Terry watches.

Terry: Do you need to pick one or the other?

I think we have all looked at Google and Facebook as these two major companies that square off against each other and you have to choose sides. Like the PC v Mac or Adobe V Corel battles. With our marketing, this is just not the case and a good strategy is to use a mix of both. I look at Google as a way for new customers to find you and Facebook as a way for you to find new customers.

Terry: So how much do I need to plan to spend?

My thought is that we should at least mark 50% of our advertising budget to these 2 platforms. I would not say that you should take the 50% and make it 50/50 split though, but instead lets your goals and current marketing situation be your guide. So do you have a good based of customer and a good handle on your ideal customer, if so I would focus more effort on Facebook? But if you are newer and starting out and need to build your database then I would focus more on Google. The dollar amounts can be small and still be effective, you just have to really refine your keywords and target audience.

Terry: So what else are you going to be discussing tomorrow?

The plan is to go a lot deeper on the things we just talked about plus I want to get into so actual nuts and bolts of developing your strategy around these two platforms. Things like refining your keywords, developing look a like audiences and EXCLUDE lists. Typically the SBSVideos are about 30 minutes, but my guess is we will go long tomorrow. Grab an extra cup of coffee!