Panini America Behind the Scenes: Inside The “Kobe” Conference Room
Every Monday morning, I join Scott Prusha, my product-promoting partner, for a weekly marketing meeting with Jason Howarth, Panini America's Vice President of Marketing and, more importantly, our boss. With so much exciting, marketable stuff going on around us all the time, no two meetings are ever quite the same. Well, aside from two key facts: The weekly marketing meetings always start the same…
Coming Soon to a Panini America Hockey Product: Sweaters Fit for Kings
I couldn't help but notice Panini America's Alex Carbajal living like a king (make that "King") early last week, nattily festooned in the most majestic, special-edition Los Angeles Kings sweater I'd ever seen. It was the purple-reigning "vintage throwback" gem the Kings' Drew Doughty wore on Oct. 9, 2010, in the game at Vancouver that celebrated the Canucks' 40th anniversary. It's one of three sweaters from that game Panini America acquired directly from the Kings -- in…
Panini Peek: 2010 National Treasures Football Pen Pals Autographs
Say this about the 2010 National Treasures Football Pen Pals Autographs: They are on-card and they are spectacular. (And if you're patient, you'll be able to see for yourself soon enough.) To be sure, the cards -- signed in May at the 2010 NFL Players Rookie Premiere by some of the most collectible rookies in the league -- will be…
On the Routing Table: Contenders Football, Crown Royale Hockey, Century Collection
I went snooping near the back of the building late Wednesday afternoon to see what I could find that could tide us over during the Thanksgiving holiday. Well, I found a most bountiful harbinger harvest at the trusty routing table, a veritable cornucopia of product-previewing goodness. On this particular afternoon, I was treated to pre-production paperwork for premier Panini America…
Quality Controlling 2010-11 Donruss Hockey
Hey, remember earlier this week when I brought you that early look at 2010-11 Donruss Hockey? Turns out those were retail quality control cases yielding those sneak peeks. On Wednesday, Panini America Hockey Brand Manager Al Muir and Assistant Brand Manager Clint Hall had the pleasure of quality controlling two hobby cases of the highly anticipated product that releases next…
Panini America NFL Thanksgiving Contest
From all of us at Panini America, Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a time to give thanks, spend time with our families, eat some good food and watch some football! I want to give special thanks to all our troops that are away from home today defending our country! (more…)
Welcome to Panini America . . . Please Feel Free to Have a Look Around
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a16FyXbyVJQ&fs=1&hl=en_US] With most of the office heading out early for the Thanksgiving holiday, Wednesday afternoon provided a perfect opportunity for a little behind-the-scenes film making. This time around, get a firsthand look at the card- and memorabilia-filled reception area inside Panini America headquarters.
‘Whose Autographs Arrived Today?’ Contest Answers Revealed, Winner Announced
OK, so last week we unveiled a "Whose Autographs Arrived Today?" contest and asked visitors to identify 12 unidentified autographs from that day's list of arrivals. Well, judging by the overwhelming response (thank you very much), this appears to be a contest worth revisiting sooner rather than later. While we included quite a few "gimmes" on our list of 12,…
Panini NFL Rookie of the Week
Week 11 Sam Bradford, STL – 27 for 42 for 233 yards and two touchdowns Other Rookie Highlights & Top Performances (more…)
Promotions Add Pop to Panini’s Official NFL, NHL Sticker & Album Collections
It's one thing to have the launch of Panini America's official NFL Sticker & Album Collection announced in the middle of Times Square for everyone to see. It's something else altogether grass-rootsy and different -- yet perhaps every bit as effective -- to have almost 600,000 albums and more than 1.5 million sheets of stickers (covering both the NFL and NHL collections) distributed absolutely free inside market-leading newspapers…