👋 Welcome back to This Week in Print-on-Demand Episode #76, where swag meets culture. If you order swag for your company, or simply want to stay up to date on the latest workplace trends, you’re in the right place.

NEWS & NUGGETS: A DASH OF INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

🚢 Swag Fulfillment Timelines Stretching: Advertising Specialty Institute flagged swag sourcing headaches tied to the Strait of Hormuz disruption, including rerouted lanes, higher freight and insurance costs, and more reliance on pricey air freight. If your program has a “must arrive by” date, build a cushion now. Your future self (and your team) will thank you. Read more here.

🤖 AI is Increasing Workload for Employees: Newly released employee experience research shows a gap: 96% of C-suite leaders expect AI to boost output, but 77% of employees say AI tools increased their workload. Source.

🔍 SEO for AI: The Verge spotlighted how SEO is shifting as AI chat tools rewrite how people discover brands, and how some companies are trying to influence AI answers with curated listicles and “AI visibility” tactics. Source.

🎁 Gifting & Rewards Industry Insight: New research shows cash and tangible rewards drive similar output on measured tasks, but tangible rewards (like swag) significantly outperform on discretionary engagement. Why? Cash creates a transactional mindset, while tangible rewards trigger emotional buy-in. Source.

🎉 Giveaway Winner Alert: Shout-out to the winner from last week, Kelly Hockaday, who scored the Tahoe Weekender Backpack from HPG.  We’ve got another giveaway below!

Brand Sauce is taking over the Philippines

Out of sight should not mean out of mind.

Our Philippines Brand Sauce catalog helps you extend recognition and company culture to offshore employees and contractors with ease.

Same experience, just built for where your team is.

Learn more here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Most companies don’t struggle with swag. They struggle with the logistics behind it.

At Brand Sauce, one thing we hear over and over is how important it is for the AP team to receive a single, clean invoice each month. We organize every order by office, department, or code so your team has full transparency.

Simple for your team to order.

Even simpler for accounting.

WEEKLY POLL + GIVEAWAY

Giveaway Alert: 3 Fold Charger

One desk, three devices, one charger, and suddenly you feel like you have your life together. That’s the vibe.

The 3 Fold Charger from HPG is a fold-flat 3‑in‑1 that charges phone (15W), earbuds (5W), and watch (3W) at the same time.

Details:

• Several lucky readers will score a 3 Fold Charger custom-branded with their company logo.

• Winner announced in next week’s newsletter.

👉 How to enter:

Watch our YouTube video of the week here and drop a comment!

P.S. Last week we only had 1 person enter the giveaway valued at $150+. The odds are in your favor!

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

🤝 Meet GPI

GPI is a multidisciplinary infrastructure firm with a clear mission: “Together, we create the infrastructure people need most.” They put real emphasis on teamwork and empowering employees, and they’re also employee-owned through an ESOP structure that aligns people with the company’s long-term success. That “we’re all stakeholders” energy tends to show up in how teams collaborate, communicate, and celebrate wins.

📣 Our Collaboration

GPI’s company store gets the basics right, then goes a step further. Easy-to-shop categories keep things frictionless, and the “Geospatial” collection adds a layer of internal pride you do not usually see. It is thoughtful, practical, and clearly built with real teams in mind.

🤝 Connect With GPI

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

Every spring in our home carries a kind of quiet magic.

It’s the overlap of Easter and Passover, two different traditions, two different stories, somehow living side by side under one roof.

My kids are being raised Jewish. Madison’s girls are being raised Christian. And as the kids have gotten older, something has shifted.

They’re starting to understand.

Not just what they believe, but what others believe too.

And that’s opened the door to conversations I didn’t fully expect… about respect, about curiosity, about what it means to step into someone else’s traditions with care.

This year, it hit me a little harder.

Because while I’m watching these kids grow up learning to appreciate differences, the world outside still feels so divided.

There are people fighting, killing, drawing lines between each other because of religion, geography, and identity.

And I keep coming back to the same thought

How is it possible that in 2026, we still don’t see each other as humans first?

Because when you strip everything else away, it doesn’t feel that complicated.

Most people, if you sat them down together, shared a meal, told stories, let their kids play side by side, would probably find more in common than they ever expected.

I saw a glimpse of that this weekend.

On Saturday, at our local Easter egg hunt, there were families from everywhere. Different languages were being spoken. Different cultures, different backgrounds, different skin colors.

And none of that mattered.

The kids were just running, laughing, searching, comparing what they found, opening eggs together like they’d known each other forever.

It was simple. It was pure. It was how things are supposed to feel.

The next day, when I picked my kids up, they were excited about egg hunts and Easter baskets.

And we talked about what that really means.

It’s a privilege to be invited into someone else’s tradition, which is something to respect, not just participate in.

My son Bo told me that sometimes his friends come over after school on Fridays and end up staying for Shabbat dinner.

They sit at our table. They experience something new.

And what struck me most wasn’t just that it happens, but that he understands why it matters.

He gets that sharing these moments, these rituals, these pieces of who we are is what brings people closer.

It’s what makes life feel fuller.

It made me feel proud. And, honestly, hopeful.

Because maybe the answer isn’t as complicated as we make it.

Maybe it starts small.

An invitation.
A seat at the table.
A willingness to learn something that isn’t your own.

We’re incredibly lucky to live in a place where we can do that freely.

And maybe, if more of us chose to open our homes, to share our traditions, to let people get just a little closer.

We’d start to see each other differently.

Not as strangers. Not as “other.”

Just as people.

And maybe that’s where a better world begins.

👥 Connect on Social Media

Not following Ross & Brand Sauce on social media 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

• Brand Sauce LinkedIn

• Brand Sauce YouTube Channel

⏪ Previous Episodes

In Print-on-Demand | EP #75, we cover SpaceX IPO buzz, hiring lessons from 1,000+ interviews, Meta’s latest AI ad update, and what AI’s real economic impact might look like, plus we’re giving away a Tahoe Weekender Backpack. We also highlight how CISO Series is using its Brand Sauce company store to bring their community, content, and brand together in one place. And in Ross’ Water Cooler, he shares a meaningful reminder from the holidays, that sometimes the smallest gesture, like offering a seat at the table, can create a lasting sense of belonging.

In Print-on-Demand | EP #74, we cover AI in the workplace, and where it starts to cross the line, a viral AI playbook marketers can’t stop sharing, upcoming promo events, Admin Day ideas, and key industry updates. Plus, we’re giving away an Infinitunes wireless speaker + charger from HPG. We also highlight how Standard Builders is using their Brand Sauce company store to create consistency across teams and eliminate common swag issues. And in Ross’ Water Cooler, he shares a personal reflection from a trip to the circus, and why the real goal isn’t just success, it’s finding work that genuinely brings you joy.

In Print-on-Demand | EP #73, we cover creative brand activations, interactive merch, and feel-good moments that stick, from Pizza Hut’s Space Jam drop and Disney’s marketing play to a lemonade stand turned Super Bowl surprise and the Timberwolves’ playable snack cup, plus key job market updates. Plus, we’re giving away a Crumbee Desktop Vacuum. We also highlight how club sports teams are using Brand Sauce stores to fundraise, gear up, and build community through merch that actually gets used. And in Ross’ Water Cooler, he shares a personal story on mentorship and how showing up for others can shape someone’s path.

In Print-on-Demand | EP #72, we cover new PPAI data showing consumers expect better swag than ever, an AI-built pixel-art map of NYC, new EU rules ending the “burn the inventory” era for apparel, and workplace AI fatigue. Plus, we’re giving away the Moonyx Utility Backpack. We also highlight Ziegler and their company store, designed to give employees a wide range of apparel they’ll actually want to wear. And in Ross’ Water Cooler, he shares reflections from speaking at the Print on Demand Conference and how the expectations of today’s workforce are shaping the future of branded merchandise.

THAT’S A WRAP

That’s everything worth knowing this week in promo land.

Until next time, stay saucy! 👋

– Ross & the Brand Sauce Team

© 2025 On Demand Global, LLC, DBA Brand Sauce