Gratsy

We had an amazing time at this year's PPAI - Promotional Products Association International trade show as we discovered new items and learned about trends in our ever changing industry! Some trends we noticed? ➡️ Lots of textured materials like corduroy, velvet, and leather ➡️Leather stamping, debossing, and foil stamping for personalization ➡️ Travel items having a resurgence ➡️ Western styles and products like boots, hats, etc. ➡️ Soccer items in preparation for World Cup 2026 If you attended PPAI, what were some of your favorite items from the show?

Let's talk brand ambassador uniforms👇 Just like event signage and staging, branded uniforms are crucial to achieving a cohesive aesthetic! Here are some key factors that our team considers when deciding what brand ambassadors will wear during an event: 🧵 Quality: Slopping stitching, cheap fasteners and peeling graphics are guaranteed to damage brand perception. Our sourcing team thoroughly vets suppliers and evaluates a variety of physical samples before using them for an activation. 👟 Comfort: If a brand ambassador feels good, they are empowered to show up confidently and focus on the consumer experience. When evaluating options, we keep in mind that they could be spending hours on their feet, dealing with weather fluctuations, and will need fits that move with them as they bend, lift, and interact with visitors! 👕 Style: From luxury spas to tailgates, the style is part of the storytelling! Uniforms should mirror the aesthetic and branding of the event, making sure that ambassadors seamlessly (no pun intended) fit into the experience while also being easily identifiable.

They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that was definitely the case for this event partnership with our friends at Hasbro and Amazon! Consumers in Dallas got the chance to experience their family game night favorites in a whole new way at Game Zone, a free event presented by Hasbro Games and Amazon in November! This immersive event offered life-size versions of classics like Connect4 Frenzy and Battleship, table-top games, special celebrity appearances, and other interactive family fun just in time for families to begin building their holiday wish lists.

Impactful brand activations meet consumers where they already are (not just online, but IRL too)! Our fleet of vehicles and mobile assets continues to grow. From Airstream trailers to sprinter vans, food trucks to icicle tricycles - we love figuring how to turn any location into a brand moment. What are some of the most innovative vehicles you've seen used in marketing campaigns?

When your job is to dream up surprises for people all year long, you start to feel a bit like Santa Clause 🎁 We're wrapping up the season with one final thank you to the entire Gratsy team, friends, family, clients, and community. We're so lucky to deliver joy well beyond the holidays, and couldn't do it without each of you!

Leadership isn't a personality trait. It's a skill that is built through feedback, training, and a willingness to grow. 🪴 We were lucky enough to spend time with Jon Harrison last week, who did a deep dive with our leaders on ways that they can raise the bar in more tangible and meaningful ways! Some of our favorite takeaways: ➡️ "We're not in the chicken business, we're in the people business" (a quote from founder S. Truett Cathy of Chick-fil-A). People are always more important than revenue, and it's free to be kind to people (a core value of Gratsy)! ➡️ Don't accept mediocre. Have honest conversations that actually help your team do better in their professional and personal lives. ➡️ The skills required for successful leadership are often described as "soft skills," and mastering them demands continuous humility, emotional intelligence, and a genuine investment in people.

When we saw that Event Marketer's Experiential Marketing Trend of the Week was dog-first events, we couldn't help but smile! Not only do we love crafting experiences for pet brands, we also make sure that any branded event that is able to include furry visitors in the experience does as well. What better way to make a lasting impression on consumers than to show their four-legged family members some surprise and delight, too?

We spend all year creating meaningful experiences for others, so it only felt right to create one for ourselves! Our annual holiday party was full of games, gifts, and lots of gratitude for the teams who show up and put in the hard work that has gotten us to where we are today. Here's to building even bigger moments in 2026.✨

As a founder, I'm often asked about the very beginning of the Gratsy journey. I love to talk about our roots, but there's another chapter of entrepreneurship that we probably don't talk about enough: the plot twists that happen after the five-year mark. It was an honor to speak on a panel alongside Myra Dallas & Kathryn Carlisle about this very topic at the Women's Business Conference presented by Walmart this week! The growth of a company brings about a whole new set of challenges, particularly for founders who have been attached to every minute detail for years. The mindset shift that it takes to let go of those tasks and focus on scaling the business isn't easy, but can be eased through making the right hires and cultivating a company culture built for evolution. Through each phase of entrepreneurship, I've appreciated the incredible support of the Northwest Arkansas business community. I'm excited to continue sharing my journey authentically (the good, the bad, and the ugly), whether it's mentorship, collaboration, or giving back to the ecosystem of fellow founders at sessions like these 🙏