
For Second Story Promotions in Cedar Rapids, telling a client’s story through branded promotional products is the cornerstone of their business.
“It’s a marketing partnership that we have with our customers,” said Carol Meier, national large accounts sales representative for Second Story. “We are actually working with them when they have events, as well as fulfilling and putting ideas into their marketing plan to help meet their objectives.”
Marketing manager Abby Mitchell said Second Story was founded in 2004 on the second floor (hence the name) of a home near the Cherry Building in Cedar Rapids, selling promotional products to local and national customers.
“Pretty much any type of market you have, we can partake in,” Ms. Mitchell said.
The company was started by Raining Rose, a full-service manufacturer of natural and organic body products.
After the 2008 flood, Second Story was displaced from its location near New Bohemia and moved into the Raining Rose facility at 100 30th St. Dr. SE, where three Second Story employees continue to work.
Second Story was originally focused heavily on the dental market, manufacturing and distributing branded lip balms and other products to dentists across the area and nationwide.
However, Second Story has since broadened its offerings to include all types of promotional marketing products and “swag,” from water bottles and tote bags to apparel, lanyards, note pads, technology items and more.
Second Story has been independently owned and operated for several years.
The company still works with a number of local dentists and other local firms, Ms. Meier said, but newer ventures with national sales and e-commerce opportunities have dramatically expanded Second Story’s opportunities.
“We’ve noticed that the e-commerce side is opening up a larger national market,” Ms. Meier said, “so now we’re working to support those customers as well.”
Ms. Mitchell said Second Story’s current market is largely split in thirds, with dental products, e-commerce and local/national sales each comprising about a third of the company’s total business portfolio.
But it’s the e-commerce portion of the business, launched in 2016, that has seen dramatic growth, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Meier said. It’s became part of a marketing partnership that includes more than promotional products to be distributed at meetings and events.
“There are customers that prefer to go out online and find their products, and we want to support them,” Ms. Meier said, “but we also have the ability to support customers that are saying ‘here’s my marketing initiatives. How can you guys help that?’ We’re actually providing ideas for them that fit their budget, fit their plan, keeping them on trend of what’s new and current in the marketing world, and making sure that we’re able to support all their marketing needs. So we can certainly do their events, but we can also turn around and do their apparel. We can support online stores. We can become like a fulfillment center for them as well.”
In terms of demand, Ms. Meier said pens remain popular for Second Story’s clients, because of their frequency of usage.
“We are looking for the product that’s going to get as much branding exposure as possible, that are more than just a one-time use,” Ms. Meier said. “We’re hoping our products stay in front of users, whether on desks or in homes. We’re looking for avenues to stay relevant for at least six months for the customer.”
Ms. Meier also mentioned several other products that are gaining popularity with Second Story’s clients.
“Drinkware is clearly trending,” Ms. Meier said. “Also sustainability products. We’re starting to have a lot of customers that really want to talk about their story, their branding, and to be able to stand behind the products that they’re purchasing. So made in the USA, sustainable, eco-friendly products – there’s a lot of customers driving that way.

“Then you also have apparel,” she added. “Hats are up and coming, and they’re not going away, nor is apparel, so that’s a market where you’re getting a lot of exposure. Apparel is kind of taking a different turn. It’s about what’s comfortable, but also it’s great workwear, where you can do both, rather than just the normal giveaway t-shirt.”
In addition to events marketing, where companies are trying to connect with existing and potential customers, employee recruiting and appreciation is a growing segment for Second Story, Ms. Meier said.
“Companies are really focused on giving employees appreciation, and gifting is a way to show appreciation, to set their companies apart, with either employee retention or recruiting,” Ms. Meier said. “That even started with COVID – when you had remote employees, how do you make them feel part of the group? And a lot of that came with gifting, just trying to make them feel connected. There’s also new product releases, where companies want to get that information out about their products and reach those potential customers.”
“It’s kind of shifted from just ‘here you have a product’ to that overall recipient experience,” Ms. Mitchell added. “When you receive something, you want to know how the whole experience makes you feel. We can help with all those areas.”
Most of Second Story’s 13 total employees work remotely, but within an hour or so of Cedar Rapids, Ms. Mitchell said. Many employees have 30 years or more of experience in the promotional products industry.
Product manufacturing is outsourced, but Second Story picks its vendors carefully to ensure quality, Ms. Meier said.
“We know that there’s a lot of opportunity to get different products, but with that product comes different qualities and different customer service,” she said. “So we work closely with the manufacturers and vendors, and we want to partner with the ones that are going to best service our customers.”
Second Story is in a competitive market, with large national players as well as local firms, so Ms. Meier said Second Story seeks to differentiate itself with the quality of its customer relationships.
“We’re looking to continue to grow with the customers and provide them great price points as well as service,” she said. “We’re on the fulfillment side, moving more into inventory management. What can we do to help support the national customer all the way down to the smaller local customer? We want to support all of it.”
For the future, Second Story hopes to expand its online presence, as well as stressing personal customer service.
“We are here for our local customers, but even for our national accounts, when you call in, you get a real person to help you with your issues,” Ms. Mitchell said. “You speak to your sales rep every time you call in. Instead of just calling in and getting a hotline, like a lot of the major players, we drive ourselves with those marketing ideas that we offer, the proactive approach, as well as that customized service. If your logo is not 100% ready, for example, our graphics team takes it and makes sure it meets your needs, as opposed to just slapping your logo on something and sending it off.”
“It’s all about the shopping experience,” Ms. Meier added, “and with multiple products, you continue to have to evolve to meet the needs of the customer. As we grow into new markets, we’re finding a lot of the larger companies have multiple locations and multiple people ordering for them, so developing a platform to allow that specific marketing arm within that firm to approve other people’s orders before they come through to us, making their shopping experience easier, is where I see us going.”
Second Story Promotions
- Address: 100 30th St. Dr. SE Ste. B, Cedar Rapids
- Phone: (866) 519-8400
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: secondstorypromotions.com