October 2011
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Jennabee Art Gallery
Upcoming events in downtown Fond du Lac
Riverwalk Art Center
Amy Goeden, owner of Promotions and Pizzazz at 74 S. Main St., is shown near a store sign in the building that once housed the well-known Woolworth store. Her business handles promotional products that carry the names and logos of businesses or events. (Patrick Flood/The Reporter)
Pizz a zz
Promotions with helps promote businesses, events Dorothy Bliskey | Special to The Reporter Amy Goeden recalls her younger days when Goeden’s employees aren’t the only ones she used to stroll into the old Woolworth helping to make her business operate with store on Main Street for a malted milk. pizzazz. Her husband, Rick Goeden, and their two sons, Alec, 17, and Gavin, 9, also Now the historic building formerly occupied lend a hand when needed. by Woolworth is home to Goeden’s business — Promotions with Pizzazz. Recently, her son Alec spent an evening unscrewing 132 plates from a plaque so Goeden started the business out of her home Goeden could have them decorated locally in 2004 and moved it to the current location for a build-a-plaque program. at 74 S. Main St. two years ago. “Then we reassembled it,” she said. “He Promotions with Pizzazz sells promotional also built my window displays and office products — handy items that carry the shelving.” name and logo of a business or event. “My son Gavin is a fantastic sample tester, Items that can be inscribed on are endless with a specialty in the kids market,” Goeden — pens, water bottles, clothing, tote said. “On the organizational chart, you bags, magnets, cups, calendars, crystal could say Rick is defined as vice president paperweights, briefcases and executive of maintenance. My husband is a fantastic gifts galore. The promotional items are supporter and has burned the midnight sold in larger quantities rather than by the oil with me, putting batteries into 1,000 individual piece. packaged flashlights for a client. We also packaged 5,000 bulk mugs into 2,500 Name and logo custom boxes.” “We cover everything from a 13-cent pencil to a $300 pen or a $485 leather jacket,” Even her parents and siblings get involved. Goeden said. “We are not a manufacturer. We sell promotional products. Our “They are all local and can probably share a responsibility is to find an item that fits your story of a time they pitched in on a strange needs. Then we coordinate your artwork challenge. There is never a dull moment,” and monitor shipping. We sell just about said Goeden, who got started in the anything you can imagine with a name and promotional products industry in 1996. logo.” Prior to getting into the business, Goeden, Two employees help out. Angie Swain is who has a degree in hotel and restaurant the customer care specialist, and Mary management from UW-Stout, was a senior sales manager at the Heidel House Resort Weishapple is an account executive. in Green Lake. The showroom spotlights hundreds of items for customers to browse through. Mission A conference room, two offices and a “Our mission at Promotions with Pizzazz workroom complete the layout. is to be an extension of your marketing department,” Goeden said. “We can help
you promote and expand your business through the use of promotional items.” “My favorite scenario is when a client tells us the type of event they have coming up, the number of people involved and approximately what they have budgeted to spend — and they leave the challenge of finding the perfect gift to us,” Goeden said. The search process, she said, includes considerable time at industry shows, checking trade journals for new items, sorting through sales fliers and meeting with factory representatives. “The corporate market is our largest segment. However, we also work with schools, churches, non-profits and various social events,” Goeden said. Promotions with Pizzazz has clients in many states, including as far away as New York, North Carolina and Florida. “I love that business is so much about relationships,” Goeden said. “And as my clients have moved around the country, we have maintained those relationships while acquiring new accounts.” A variety of promotional products is visible in adjoining photos. (Patrick Flood/The Reporter)
MORE INFORMATION For more information, contact Promotions with Pizzazz at (920) 921-3419, email amy@promotinswithpizzazz.com or go online at www.promotionswithpizzazz.com. Downtown store hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you would like to be a part of, or receive information on advertising rates for this monthly section, please call Liz Engh at 920-907-7904 or email her at, lengh@gannett.com.