👋 Welcome back to the Brand Sauce Newsletter, where we stir up the week’s spiciest insights in promotional merchandise, workplace trends, and more. This week’s menu is loaded: an AI tool that reveals how ChatGPT views your brand, the new hire playbook video unveiled, more free giveaways, and even a shower thought about TSA rules.

Let’s dig in!

NEWS & NUGGETS: A DASH OF INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

🧠 AI Knows Your Brand?: HubSpot just launched a free AI Engine Optimization (AEO) Grader that reveals how AI like ChatGPT and Google Gemini perceive your company. It analyzes your brand’s visibility and sentiment in AI-generated answers, then offers tips to boost your AI search presence. You can get your free analysis here.

🚀 Promote from Within (It Works): Wondering how to keep your rising stars? Give them room to grow. According to Workday’s new Global Workforce Report, 35% of companies that offer strong internal mobility see higher engagement and retention. When employees can snag new roles and promotions internally, they stick around longer and stay more invested. Source.

📉 US Job Market Recount: Plot twist in the labor economy, the U.S. government’s latest revision estimates 911,000 fewer jobs were created from mid-2024 to mid-2025 than initially reported. That means monthly job growth was only ~71k instead of ~147k. In plain English: hiring has been slowing down more than we thought. We may not be as immune to recession risks as it seemed. Stay tuned, the Fed sure is. Source.

🚿 Shower Thought: We all know the TSA rule: liquids over 3.4 ounces can’t pass security. But here’s a thought for ya… what if you get caught in a rainstorm on the way to the airport and your clothes absorb more than 3.4 oz of water? Are you technically wearing contraband liquid?

 🎉 Giveaway Winner Alert: Shout-out to the winners from last week who scored the NFL swag bundle: Madeline Des Jardins, Jamie Stevens, and Emily Schorer. We’ve got another giveaway below!

BEHIND THE SCENES

The New Hire Onboarding Playbook is LIVE

Every company says people are their greatest asset, but too often, onboarding feels like paperwork. The truth? New hires make up their mind about staying within the first 6 months, and the onboarding experience sets the tone.

That’s why we built the New Hire Onboarding Playbook, a proven framework (plus a ready-to-go video you can share with your team today) to transform onboarding into a cultural launchpad. Imagine your newest team members walking away not just with a laptop and a badge, but with a sense of pride, belonging, and excitement for what’s ahead.

Smart companies know this isn’t fluff, it’s strategy. Organizations with strong onboarding see 82% higher retention and 70% more productivity. Why not make your investment in people actually pay off?

👉 Ready to give your new hires the welcome they deserve? Let’s talk about setting up the onboarding play for your organization today.

WEEKLY POLL + GIVEAWAY

♻️ Giveaway Alert: Cotopaxi Chiquilla 30L Backpack

This week’s prize is one of our favorite eco-friendly pieces of gear: the Cotopaxi Maritime Backpack. Built from 100% recycled polyester oxford, this pack is equal parts adventure-ready and everyday practical. With a roomy 30L main compartment, padded laptop sleeve, breathable mesh back, and dual water bottle pockets, it’s designed for commuting, traveling, or hitting the trails.

Details:

• Winner gets the backpack (color of your choice), branded with your company logo.

• Winner announced in next week’s newsletter.

👉 To enter, just answer this week’s poll below.

📊 Poll of the Week

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

🤝 Meet FinThrive

Ever wonder who makes the complex world of hospital billing and insurance less painful? That’s FinThrive.

FinThrive, Inc. is a leading healthcare revenue management SaaS provider on a mission to advance the healthcare economy. They help 3,200+ hospitals and health systems increase revenue, reduce costs, and capture more payments while staying 100% compliant. From patient check-in to final bill payment, FinThrive’s tech platform streamlines each step so providers can focus on care, not paperwork. In short, they’re the finance and tech wizards making sure your local hospital keeps its lights on and that you aren’t getting double-billed for that last check-up.

📣 Our Collaboration

FinThrive is rolling out a Breast Cancer Awareness collection via their store to rally employees and clients around an important cause. Because our platform handles on-demand production, FinThrive can launch campaigns like that on the fly, only producing what’s needed (and nothing more). The result: FinThrive’s logo and values shine on awesome merch year-round, employees feel more connected (and proud to rep the brand), and HR doesn’t have to play middleman managing cumbersome swag orders. Win-win-win.

🤝 Connect With FinThrive

Shoot me a note at [email protected] to get connected with the team.

WEEKEND UPDATE

Around the Water Cooler With Ross AKA The P.O.D. Guy

A Special Lesson in Interviews (and in Life)

At the end of this month, my son’s 5th-grade class will be heading to BizTown, where the kids get to run a simulated town for the day. To help them prepare, the teacher invited parents to come in and talk about the job interview process.

When I volunteered, I thought I’d be speaking to my son’s class of 20 or so. Instead, I found myself standing in front of 100 fifth graders in the school auditorium. And right there in the crowd was my son, watching me share something I’ve spent my whole career teaching, how to show up for your first interview.

It was one of those rare moments where two worlds collide: the professional side of me and the dad side of me.

The kids’ questions were thoughtful, funny, and surprisingly deep:

• What should we wear?

• What if we freeze up?

• What questions should we ask?

As I answered, I couldn’t help but think back to my Scholarship for Athletes days, when I guided thousands of young athletes through their first big “interview” in the college recruiting process. But this time, it felt different. This time, my son got to see me in action, passing down lessons I hope will stick with him, too.

What struck me most was how much interviewing is really about life:

• Showing up prepared.

• Asking good questions.

• Following up with gratitude.

• Remembering that people notice not just what you do on stage, but how you act when you think no one is watching.

I left that auditorium proud, not just of the kids, but of the chance to share a piece of my journey with my son. I hope one day, when he’s preparing for his own interviews, he remembers that afternoon and the lessons we talked about.

THAT’S A WRAP

We covered a lot of ground in this edition. Thank you for joining us.

📬 Feedback time: What was your favorite nugget this week? Hit reply and let us know (we actually read ’em!).

Until next time, stay saucy!

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