Someone Saved My Life Tonight

In that I have so few good ideas, I might as well share this one with you as it was already a work in progress.  It was supposed to be part of an end-user presentation this month but, as John Lennon so eloquently put it, life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. If you’d like, feel free to pretend this is the actual educational session I was presenting. Hear it in my voice. In fact, hear it in several voices…just as I do, daily, in my own head.

The presentation was going to be about how promotional products actually can make a difference in people’s lives…how they’re not just about giving someone another logoed pen that’s going to end up in a drawer.  

And there’s an irony about that, at least from my vantage point. For years, I would comment that so many people get all worked up about their order being late, or wrong…or just make a federal case about the slightest things. Please don’t think that that’s geared exclusively towards distributors or end-users…not at all. I have witnessed suppliers going mad about communication issues down an order’s line, or issues with overseas vendors…so on and so forth. The short fuses and shorter tempers are not exclusive to any subgroup.

But what I would often comment, or question, is whether whatever infraction or crime against humanity was actually worth getting so worked up about. We are not saving lives…we’re selling imprinted stuff.

Yes…I edited that last word for the presentation. For an audience I don’t know, I tend to work PG. For you readers, feel free to substitute the noun of your choice.

Note to self…next time I’m at a loss for a column, find an old one and turn it into Mad-Libs. Brilliant.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m the first one to preach about the power of promotional products. Last year, I was queuing up for a flight from what was then passing itself off as my “home” airport. I qualify it as such because, when I was flying regularly out of Newark on my way to an industry event, I would often see people I knew heading to the same function.  

Last year was a different story, so such opportunities were rare, and I didn’t know that many of the local faces at the time of this incident. What I did know was names and logos. I’ll take this moment to point out that I have remarkably keen observational skills…very few minute details get past me, and I tend to see things that a lot of people might otherwise miss (aside, quite often, from the obvious). I call this a “beneficial trait”. The Trophy Wife just says I’m nosy.

So I’m queuing up for this flight, (not) minding my own business, and I look down at the suitcase that’s being rolled in front of me on the jetway. Maybe because I’m in the promotional industry, but I’m always looking at/for our items in practical use and, there it was, a logoed luggage tag attached to the bag.

And I look closer at this tag, and I recognize the logo and the name of the company. The person in front of me was one of my association members. I’d never met him before, so I introduced myself and complimented him on a great use of a promotional product. I told him on the spot that this was going to turn into a great valuable history for one or both of us. I’ve done my part…I can’t speak for him.

This turned into a great example of how our items can be an asset in the day-to-day, but don’t they have more meaning as well? Can’t they actually make a difference? Not if you believe what I’d written earlier.

Think about this for a moment: how often have you participated in a run/walk/event benefiting “Save the Texas Prairie Chicken” or some such charity? You make a donation and get a commemorative t-shirt, cap, water bottle, whatever…  It’s just a nice reminder that you donated your time and dollars and helped support a cause.

Case in point: a good friend’s wife was taken suddenly and seriously ill some time back. I’m pleased to report that she’s recovered quite nicely. He’s even more glad…to the point where he helped sponsor a team for a charitable walk which benefited her specific issue. I gladly donated x-amount of money to that cause and, sometime later, I received a t-shirt from the event. I am happy to wear that shirt, as it reminds me of the effort my friend made, and what his wife went through. I’m pleased to have supported them.

Now here’s what I was going to close my end-user presentation with…this is the “ah-ha” moment they were expecting when they registered. I realize they might also have just been coming for the complimentary breakfast, but I’ll flatter myself enough to believe they were actually interested in my speech.

This is a story that made the national news about a year ago…probably international if I had to guess…and it’s a great example of how promotional products can make a difference and yes…even save a life.

I’m sure you saw this story. It was all over mainstream media and, more importantly, it went viral on social media. It was a story about a man from the New York area who was spotted all over…in Disney World, Yankee Stadium, wherever possible…wearing an imprinted t-shirt stating that he was in need of a kidney. The shirt showed his phone number, blood type, and featured “the ask”. ‘I need a kidney, please call me’.

And it worked. A stranger heard about this via the shirt’s viral reach, and the two men were indeed a match. A transplant took place, and yes….an imprinted item actually did save a life.

Here’s a further “ah-ha” that I was going to spring on the audience. The original gentleman…the one in need of the kidney…is actually an old (okay…not so old) friend of mine from high school. I’m thrilled to say the transplant has been a success. In my head, I can hear the audience gasp at this revelation.  

In truth, they might just have been relieved, recognizing my session was over and they could now walk the trade show. I prefer my version instead.