Welcome to this crisp Sunday edition of Print-on-Demand, Episode #55

We’re covering a lot of ground today: holiday gifting insights, premium swag worth showing off, HR brainfood, event marketing, and a Lululemon-esque giveaway that feels suspiciously like shopping at Lululemon.

But…before we dive in, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you all.

Wether it’s your first time reading or you’ve been tuning in every week for over a year. Thank you, to all 15,000+ members who read our newsletter weekly, or follow us on LinkedIn. That’s over half of Madison Square Garden who tune in to learn about company swag, promotional merchandise, and building a better culture.

That’s wild…

Sometimes It gives me the chills just thinking about how far we’ve come but none of this could happen without you and the community showing up every week.

Let’s dive in…

P.S. We tucked 5 giveaways into this episode. Let’s see how many you can find 👀

NEWS & NUGGETS: A DASH OF INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

🕵️ Eye SpyGiveaway: Find the hidden message on the newsletter. Screenshot it. Reply to this email. First one to solve it gets featured next week, gets the Lululemon-level athleisure shopping spree, and earns eternal bragging rights as the first-ever Brand Sauce Eye Spy champion.

🧠 Swag sticks: Nine out of ten people remember the brand that gave them a promotional item, and eight out of ten remember the message. Digital ads wish they had that kind of staying power.

📊 Engagement = 51% Less Turnover: Companies with highly engaged employees see 51% lower turnover. In other words, getting your team feeling inspired at work directly saves you from quiet quitting and hiring scrambles. Investing in engagement isn’t just warm and fuzzy; it’s smart business. Source.

📰 Job Market Shows Cracks: The U.S. labor market may finally be cooling. Private data for October shows the economy shed ~9,100 jobs. Meanwhile, planned layoffs surged 183% last month to the highest October level in 22 years. The upside? A looser labor market could ease hiring for employers – but it’s a tough trend for workers riding out the uncertainty. Source.

🎤 Spark Series HR Masterclass (Nov 13): achieve Engagement’s Spark Series webcast on Nov. 13 features Adam Ross, bestselling novelist/editor, exploring how storytelling can build stronger workplace connections. Register here.

🇺🇸🇨🇳 The US-China Trade Sage Continues: U.S. and China just struck a one-year trade truce. China will pause its rare-earth export curbs and buy more American soybeans, while the U.S. agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese imports by 10%, down to an average of 47%. The deal also halts new tech export bans for now. The saga continues, and i fear it may end up having more episodes than The Simpsons. Source.

🛀 Shower Thought: Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed potatoes.

🎉 Giveaway Winner Alert: Shout out to the winners from last week: Trey Hiller and Jamie Stevens, MHA, SHRM-SCP, who won the next-level swag from Vantage Apparel by participating in our weekly poll. Check out the poll results from last week below. We’ve got another weekly poll & giveaway below!

INDUSTRY RESEARCH

🔎 Employee Gifting Research

Curious how your company’s holiday gifting strategy stacks up against others? We’re running a nationwide study to uncover how organizations are approaching gifting this holiday season. By participating, you’ll get exclusive first access to our 2025 Gifting Trends Report. As a bonus, you will also get free piece of the most comfortable athleisure we’ve ever tested (yes, even softer than Lululemon or Vuori) when you join Ross for a quick 15-minute chat.

👉 Connect with Ross here

WEEKLY POLL + GIVEAWAY

🎁 Giveaway Alert: Lululemon Vantage Apparel

Why pay retail for Lululemon when Vantage Apparel delivers the same sleek styles at a fraction of the price? From soft-shell jackets to stylish layers, their pieces are built to impress & arguably more comfortable than Lululemon.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re big Lululemon fans, but Vantage Apparel is serving that same premium look and feel, minus the premium price tag.

Details:

• Winners will get to pick their favorite style, size, and color straight from the Vantage Apparel site. 🧥✨

• The 3 winners will be announced in next week’s newsletter

👉 To enter the giveaway, just answer the poll at the end of the newsletter. If you’re playing to win (we see you), read closely, we tucked a few hints in this newsletter.

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

🤝 Meet BENEN

BENEN (formerly Bennett Engineering Services) provides enduring and award-winning civil engineering services to cities, counties, special districts, universities, private companies, and other professionals. The firm takes pride in finding innovative and cost-effective engineering solutions to transportation, traffic engineering, water, wastewater, hydraulics and hydrology, site development, parks and recreation, and other important infrastructure projects.

Their secret sauce? A team that stays, delivers, and builds trust as reliably as the infrastructure they design.

📣 Our Collaboration

The BENEN Company Store is stocked with gear that’s field-tested, boardroom-ready, and unmistakably on-brand. Whether it’s a sleek jacket worn on-site or team swag that shows off their SBE/DBE pride, every piece reinforces their legacy of quality and connection.

Because when your projects shape communities, your brand should show up with just as much impact.

P.S. Big shout-out to Karman Cates for spearheading, and Mark Thomas for the intro!

🤝 Connect With BENEN

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

The Mountain and the Moon

This Wednesday evening, after Maxine’s soccer practice, we were driving home, tired, a little hungry, just ready to be done with the day. Traffic slowed us down at a light, and as I looked to my left, I saw it: the moon sitting perfectly on top of a mountain.

For a moment, it didn’t feel like I was in traffic at all. It stopped me. I pointed and said, “Look, Max! The moon’s on top of the mountain!”

A few seconds later, as we drove through the intersection and turned left, the moon slipped away from that perfect spot. The moment was gone, but it stuck with me, that quick reminder of how beautiful it can be when things align, even just for a second.

It made me think back to my high school tennis coach, John Wheaton. His brother, David, was a professional tennis player, but John was the one who gave me lessons that stuck far beyond the court. He loved to share quotes that made you think, and one of them has followed me ever since:

At Brand Sauce, that’s exactly what it feels like, a long climb. Some days we’re charging up the trail full of energy, other days it feels like we’re slipping backward in the mud. There are moments when the summit feels impossibly far away. But then something happens, a client’s excitement, a breakthrough idea, a kind word from someone on the team, and suddenly, it’s like catching that glimpse of the moon on the mountain again. A moment of quiet awe. A reminder that we’re on the right path.

I won’t pretend every day is easy. There have been times I’ve wanted to quit, to find an easier mountain to climb. But every time I stop and look back, I see how far we’ve come, and I can’t help but feel proud, grateful, and deeply connected to this climb.

Because this isn’t just my mountain, it’s ours. Every person who believes in what we’re building, every customer who’s joined the journey, every teammate who shows up with heart and hustle, you’re all part of it.

So as we keep putting one foot in front of the other, I want to thank you for being part of this climb with me. For believing in Brand Sauce. For giving us the strength to keep moving upward.

Here’s to the next step, the next view, and those fleeting, magical moments when the moon sits right on top of the mountain.

📊 Poll of the Week

What’s your company’s holiday gifting strategy this year?

• (A) Strategic, thoughtful, and personalized

• (B) Last-minute Amazon sprint

• (C) Outsourced to Brand Sauce (big 🧠 move)

• (D) 6-7

Reply to this email with A, B, C, or D for a chance to win a shopping spree at Vantage Apparel.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

 👥 Connect on LinkedIN

Not following Ross & Brand Sauce on socials yet? Let’s change that. Click the links below to stay connected for fresh ideas, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive updates 👇

• Ross’s LinkedIn

• BrandSauce LinkedIn

• BrandSauce YouTube Channel

If you missed our last few editions, you can find them here:

• In Print on Demand | EP#54, we served up something for everyone: the biggest promo event of the year, a must-watch HR conference you can stream in sweats, a wild PR stunt inspired by breakups, and a leftover turkey invention you didn’t know you needed.

• In Print on Demand | EP#53, we mixed business with brownies (literally). You’ll find bite-sized HR tips, fresh market updates, and a behind-the-scenes look at our next Brand Sauce webinar—all wrapped in a deliciously fun read.

• In Print on Demand | EP#52, we cover Merch by GS’s big gifting expansion, record-high employee retention, a wild “front-row swag vs. ad” stunt, plus spooky trivia and cosmic facts for fun.

• For Print on Demand | EP#51, we mixed up a fun blend of swag inspo and HR smarts. That week’s lineup featured spooky-cool merch trends & must-see events.

THAT’S A WRAP

That’s it for this week’s blend of swag, strategy, and surprisingly useful HR brain fuel.
Thanks for riding the wave with us.

If you’re still here…you’re part of the inner circle.

The people who care. The ones building better organizations. The ones recognized for building the company’s swagger and style.

Until next time, stay curious, & stay saucy. 👋

– Ross & the Brand Sauce Teamg1v3@w@y !! Reply to this email ‘ Saucecode’ for VIP access to our exclusive online community event in December + 3 additional raffle tickets to the grand prize. It will be strategic, thoughtful, and personalized.

© 2025 On Demand Global, LLC, DBA Brand Sauce