We take the world's biggest brands into stadiums, family rooms, doctors' offices and centers of commerce. Via the medium of merchandise, BDA lets consumers see, touch, feel and own our clients' brands in a way to other marketing permits.
BDA's roots can be traced to the early '80s, when childhood friends Eric Bensussen and Jay Deutsch bought, sold, and traded collectibles such as sports trading cards and hydroplane buttons. Where most saw a hobby, Eric and Jay saw something else: incredible untapped potential. It wouldn't be long before an early interest in sports marketing blossomed into an exciting career path and a lasting partnership.
In 1984, as Eric and Jay began to examine other possibilities in sports promotion, they founded Sports Marketing, Inc., with a whole new business concept in mind. Where other companies were simply providing isolated merchandise needs, Eric and Jay worked collaboratively with sports clients to create dynamic integrated programs.
As Sports Marketing, Inc. grew, it diversified, broadening its focus to include other corporate clients with a simple, breakthrough insight—the understanding that merchandise was a natural extension of promotional branding efforts across ALL industries, not just sports.
The corporate world welcomed this client-driven service-and-partnership business model, and Eric and Jay renamed the company Bensussen Deutsch and Associates (BDA) in 1989 to reflect a more diversified client base and their vision of a Merchandise Agency™.
After steady and consistent growth, 1998 saw the grand opening of BDA's current corporate headquarters in Woodinville, Wash. The following year, BDA broke the $100 million sales revenue barrier—a number BDA has exceeded ever since.
In the years since, BDA has had impressive double-digit growth, highlighted by a new office in Shenzhen, China, a state-of-the-art distribution center in Plainfield, Indiana, and a consistent ranking as a top distributor in the ASI industry.
Today, we're 500 associates strong, operating in offices around the globe to bring brands to life through merchandise. With sales revenue continuing to climb, BDA is healthy, energized, and poised to continue redefining the promotional merchandise industry.
The honor we're most proud of is consistently being named one of Washington's Best Companies to Work For. BDA has received the honor seven consecutive years (2005-2011) from Seattle Business magazine and the past three years (2009-2011) from the Puget Sound Business Journal.
BDA is a fixture at the top of the major promotional marketing industry rankings. Advertising Specialty Institute and Counselor magazine have ranked BDA as a top 10 distributor of promotional products the past 12 years (2000-2011). We have been in the top five of Promo Marketing magazine's top distributors list the past six years (2006-2011) and in the top 10 of the PROMO 100 agency rankings the past seven years (2005-2011). In 2008, BDA ranked No. 1 in all three lists.
Designed and programmed entirely in-house, the new website for our POWER A brand received a Stevie Award for Best Consumer Products & Durables Website in the 2011 American Business Awards. PowerA.com was also a Stevie Award finalist for Best Overall Website.
BDA designers won seven awards (two gold, five silver) at the 2007 International Davey Awards, for design excellence across a multitude of mediums, including print and web.
Caterpillar Inc. awarded BDA platinum status in its licensee excellence and recognition program. In our first year of eligibility (2010), BDA achieved a perfect score. Cat licensees are reviewed on customer service, sales growth, advertising spend, training, field coverage, territory coverage, e-commerce, royalties, product development and design and forecast accuracy.
BDA received the THQ Partnership Award for FY11, voted on by the video game publisher's worldwide publishing and sales teams.
