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Philadelphia’s influence on printing is as rich and deep as America’s very own history. In the 18th century, it was the leading center for printing in the colonies, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that Philadelphia produced top-of-the-line printers who have since changed the promotional products industry.
In 1963, Bernie Homer started The Homer Group (asi/226343), originally a photo finishing lab. By 1980, it had expanded into graphic design, photography, and video production. By 2008, The Homer Group expanded further into marketing and consulting. By 2016, they took the promo world by storm as an official ASI® distributor, combining their generational printing skills with smart marketing and networking. We sat down with Kevin Homer, partner at The Homer Group and grandson to Bernie Homer, to see how they’ve managed to pivot and expand in our ever-changing industry.
“As far as I know, we were the first printers in the Philadelphia area to use computers for design.”
“If they keep asking us, it’s time to offer.”
With 62 years in the B2C industry, Bernie Homer always had a finger on the pulse, instilling upon his family the importance of staying ahead. So, when consumers kept asking about where they could get quality products for The Homer Group to print on, Bernie knew there was an opening to take The Homer Group to new levels.
For the past 20 years, The Homer Group has been offering promotional products, bridging a gap in their clientele’s needs. In 2016, The Homer Group joined ASI to help elevate their one-stop shop for all things promo, sourcing top-of-the-line products while also offering their design and printing expertise. When asked about their promo and printing journey, Kevin mentioned a recurring scenario where they are often printing signage for varying events and a natural segue into their distribution business presents itself:
“We’re doing trade show banners when [customers] ask, ‘Can you also do promotional products?’ and it’s great to be able to say yes.”
Despite The Homer Group’s long-standing and established client base, they were still looking for new ways to cut costs and consolidate. With print products being their largest selling point, Kevin Homer was hoping to make fulfillment a bigger part of their business strategy. His idea and hope was that as they worked on fulfillment orders, they could also potentially slip in, “By the way, we can also do any printing/branding you need.” To Kevin’s credit, this strategy has paid off due to the limited fulfillment competition, compared to printing, in the promo industry.
“ASI was the piece we needed to cut out that middleman, but also to be able to become a distributor.”
The Homer Group didn’t just become a success overnight. As a family business, they have elevated, expanded, and taken on every opportunity. By making smart marketing and business decisions, they were able to continuously expand into new verticals, while staying true to their printing roots. With Philadelphia’s cultural influence on printing, The Homer Group’s grit, determination, and innovation is quite literally in their bones. Whether it’s distributing or printing, Kevin Homer and his family are ready to continue taking on the promo products industry and reach new heights.
“So that helps, and from a marketing perspective, it’s good for SEO that our primary site links to that [ESP Website] and that site links back to our primary site.”
“We did offer promotional products before we became ASI distributors, but becoming a distributor has allowed us to now increase our profit margins and decrease our prices, and that is a tough formula.”
Kevin was quick to cite their ESP Website as a major benefit for his team and business strategy. Not only does it allow customers to purchase directly from the site, but it also helps boost their brand authority and engagement with every click.
ESP Websites™ seamlessly integrates product info, pricing, and important details from the industry’s #1 sourcing platform, ESP®. It also allows customers to directly check out from the site, cutting down time. The Homer Group uses their ESP Website to help customers see all the products they offer in an organized, centralized, digitized environment.
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