So in a way it makes sense that Vincent Arena, one of this industry’s most revered practitioners, was born and raised in the Big Easy. The man is lagniappe personified. Arena, The Counselor’s 2000 Promotional Products Person of the Year, was providing value-added service and support to colleagues, clients and even competitors long before the term “value-added” was ever coined. In a sales career that has spanned 75 of his 88 years, he has distinguished himself by going the extra mile, both in business and in his personal life – not because he had to, but because he felt it was the right thing to do. That’s where the line between human and humanitarian is drawn, and that’s where Vincent Arena lives.

He’s a character, yet he possesses true force of character. He’s a wild storyteller, as well as a man of discretion and honor. He’s spent 60 years as a successful businessman, but has never once forgotten from whence he came. And he’s a dyed-in-the-wool “Nawlins” boy, as well as one of the last true Southern Gentlemen on the planet.

Integrity And Dignity

Naturally, someone with this kind of humility isn’t going to dazzle you with tales of his largesse and accomplishments. Vincent may be a master salesperson, but self-promotion just isn’t part of his vocabulary. And while that may be an enviable trait, it doesn’t make an article like this very easy to write – so we’ll let those who know him best supply the superlatives, thus revealing something about the character of the man himself:

“Vincent’s counsel has been sought by and freely given to so many suppliers and distributors, many of whom owe their very existence to his assistance,” says Dave Engel, president of Greystone International Products Corp. “His involvement within the New Orleans community is legendary. There is hardly a charity – especially if it involves children or the less fortunate – that is not in Vincent’s debt one way or another. His style is to quietly and with integrity and dignity service his customers, respect his suppliers and bring credit to his industry.”

“As a young distributor myself in 1979, I might have succumbed to the numerous obstacles had it not been for the encouragement and guidance of Vincent,” recalls Denise Landry, president of DSL Inc. “Rather than seeing my company as a threat in New Orleans, the city we both called home, he taught me the business, convinced suppliers to give me credit, placed orders for me and sourced hundreds of products at a time when the Thomas Register at the library was the only research tool available.”

“In this industry, some [people] are out for themselves and what they can take,” says Tammy Sligar, president of Skyline Advertising. “Vincent understands the theories of ‘giving away to grow’ and ‘reaping what you sow.’ He has truly been a cornerstone of our industry, and we need him as a role model. Those of us following behind will be encouraged to follow his example.”

“It is difficult for me to put into words the essence of Vince Arena,” notes Gill Studios president Mark Gilman. “He is a warm and friendly man. He can be serious, but he has a good sense of humor. He laughs a lot. He is generous with his time, as well as with his material possessions. He cares deeply about his country, his church, his community, his family and his profession. He has a zest for living. He’s got a good perspective on life, and he sets a good example of what trying to be a truly good man really means.”

From Bakery To Bonelli’s

A bit of background: Vincent Arena was born on July 12, 1912, above the bakery his father operated at the corner of Royal and St. Philip Streets in the French Quarter. “I started selling when I was 12 years old,” he says. “On Saturday mornings my brother and I would sell doughnuts through the neighborhood.” Later, Arena worked his way through high school selling radios and refrigerators in the evenings for Godchaux’s Kelvinator Department in New Orleans. He also attended evening classes at Loyola University for five years, playing sports and earning a spot on the debating team while getting his degree in business administration.

The first public recognition of Arena’s marketing expertise came in 1935, when a photo of the smiling 22-year-old was featured in the local newspaper next to the headline, “Service and Enthusiasm Sell 108 Kelvinators in 60 Days.” As sales manager for the domestic refrigeration department of J.E. and A.E. Bonelli in Vicksburg, MS, Vincent and one other salesperson had together accomplished this remarkable feat in a town of just 18,000 – at a time when refrigerators were still considered something of a luxury.

“I went up to Vicksburg to work at Bonelli. That was in 1935,” he recalls. “I arrived in one of the worst snowstorms they ever had – to sell refrigerators. We had to scrape the ice off the steps to deliver them.”

What’s most revealing about the article is how Arena’s penchant for sharing the credit and deflecting the spotlight away from himself is already evident: “The greatest part of my job was already done when I assumed my duties here,” he said at the time. “Fourteen years of sound, reliable service had won for Mr. J.E. Bonelli the implicit confidence of the people in Vicksburg and for miles around. I had but to mention his name and it served as a password to get me into almost any home.”

The Path To Specialties

From selling refrigerators, it was then on to New Orleans-based Higgins Industries, where Arena started off, as he says, “counting nuts and bolts” for the PT Boat-maker during the early days of World War II. “I went from there to purchasing, and then to PR,” Vincent says. “Later I was named chairman of the War Bond drive.”

One day right after he started at Higgins – Arena had bad knees, so he was using a cane at the time – a older man walked into where he was working. The encounter would prove prophetic. “I said, ‘You’re not allowed in here.’ But he didn’t answer me,” Vincent recalls. “So I tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘You’ll have to leave, Sir, because no one’s allowed in here.’ Remember, this was during the War, and we were making PT boats for the Navy. Well, he just kept walking around. So I picked up the phone and called Security.

“And here the head of security is coming from one direction with two of his people, and from the other direction is coming Ed Higgins, the son of the owner, and he also had two people with him, and we all meet at my gate. And Ed Higgins says, ‘Hello Poppa.’ And I said ‘Oh, ____. I guess it isn’t a very good day to ask for a raise, is it?’ And Mr. Higgins says, ‘You never had a better day. If everyone did what you did, I’d have less trouble at the plant. The only thing I was concerned about was you hitting me in the head with that cane!’

“Then he asks me, ‘What the hell are you doing working in a stock room? You should be doing something more useful.’ I told him what I’d like to do is get into purchasing, because I’ve been selling all of my life. So he says, ‘Come with me.’ I said, ‘Mr. Higgins, I can’t just leave the stock room.’ So he says, ‘Ed, take care of the stock room.’ We went up to purchasing and he tells Alec Alsworth, ‘Put Vincent on the staff.’ Alec says, ‘What experience have you had?’ Mr. Higgins interrupts him and says, ‘Alec, you’ve got 60 guys out there who never bought more than a bottle of whiskey in their whole life. Don’t worry about it.’ And that’s how I ended up in purchasing.”

Shortly thereafter, Arena combined his past sales experience with his current PR prowess, putting together the record-breaking Seventh War Loan drive, which raised over $4 million among all Higgins plants and beat the previous drive’s total by nearly 300% – one of the more successful campaigns of the war effort. Arena first encountered promotional products while in the purchasing department at Higgins: “We bought a lot of these items,” he says. “I bought the first PT boat replicas that were given to the boys who were on the PT boats during the War – we bought about 1,000 of them, and we mailed them all over the country.” The War Loan Drives also utilized specialties to get the word out to factory workers.

The Early Days

In 1948, Arena joined Sutherlin Sales Co. in New Orleans, learning the ins and outs of the ad specialty industry and building a client base while earning the Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Salesperson award two years in a row. He later struck out on his own, founding Arena Advertising in 1959.

“My first show was at the Palmer House in Chicago around 1960,” he says. “To me it was awesome, because the only information we’d ever get was from ASI and the trade association. I went to the Palmer House and walked those floors – the people I met there were extremely knowledgeable, and I tried to pass some of that knowledge along whenever I could, knowing how valuable that was to me.”

There’s ample proof that Arena took this pledge to heart: “I first had the pleasure of meeting Vince many years ago in Chicago at the Palmer House,” recalls Clay Conover, VP of sales for At-A-Glance. “This was my first show, [I was] in my mid twenties and very intimidated. Vince, with his normal wit, charm and graciousness, put me at ease immediately and a long-time friendship evolved.”

Tammy Sligar relates a similar story: “Many years ago I ventured out to attend the PPAI Show in Dallas. I was lost in the size of the show and the number of people. Although I’m not a shy or bashful person, [nothing had] prepared me for the Dallas experience. My self-confidence was overwhelmed by the size of the show and the quality of people I met on that first trip.

“In a chance meeting over a hot dog at a pause in the show’s action, Vincent recognized my newness. At the same time, I realized that he held more knowledge of the industry in his little finger than I could ever have. Although this was his last day at the show, he offered to take me [through] the hall to meet a few key individuals in our industry – the ‘right’ people. He helped me establish several franchised line relationships with vendors that have been so valuable through the years.”

“When I walk the aisles with him at the Dallas show, I’m amazed by the number of suppliers who not only know him, but also have stories to tell of how he helped them,” adds Denise Landry.

These comments are typical of what you hear whenever you mention Arena’s name. Never too busy to share what he’s learned, asking nothing in return, trusting that “the law of averages” will somehow provide the payback, either directly or indirectly. Some call it karma, to others it’s summed up in phrases like, “What goes around comes around,” or, “You reap what you sow.” You get the idea. The thing is, most of us find it hard to remember these maxims in the daily pursuit of clients and sales. Not Vince Arena. He lives this stuff every day, in everything he does. “Honesty and truthfulness,” he says simply, when asked to describe his business philosophy. And you know by the way he says it that he’s not just talking about business.

“Vincent never varies from a path of honesty, fairness and trustworthiness,” says David Smith, president of Jack Petty Marketing & Promotions. “He’s always kind in success and courteous in defeat. I only hope that if I have the opportunity to guide someone in this business, I’m as helpful as he’s been with me. If I can live up to his model, I’ll be proud of myself and my accomplishments.”

‘A Natural Success’

Having found his niche, Arena grew his business and his reputation within the industry over the next decade, moving his firm from a former garage at 117 North Hennessey St. to more spacious quarters on Canal St. in 1973.

“That building at 4305 Canal St. had about 1,200 square feet of space, and we maintained the building at 117 North Hennessey as a warehouse,” he says. “Then in 1978 we incorporated as Arena Advertising Inc. and bought our present building at 4323 Canal St., which has over 2,000 square feet.”

It was around this same time that Vincent became more involved with PPAI (then known as SAA), having also served as board member, vice president and president of his regional association, the Specialty Advertising Association Southwest (SAAS).

“I’ve known Vince since 1975,” says Mark Gilman. “That year I joined Vince, Don Edwards and Margaret Custer Ford as new members of the SAA board of directors. Vince made outstanding contributions in several areas. He was instrumental in establishing a formal relationship between SAA and the growing number of regional associations. He was very effective in his work on public relations programs – his creative mind and winning sales abilities made him a natural success in this field. He also served on the task force that developed the Hall of Fame and made a major contribution in designing the Hall of Fame symbol.”

“He even had a New Orleans artist sketch the flame,” adds Don Edwards. “He was a tireless worker. During my tenure as chairman, Vince coordinated and provided leadership for the Traveling Specialty Advertising Exhibit commemorating the association’s 75th anniversary. His contributions ... are legendary.”

A Cut Above

Another Arena legend is his development of the Pineapple Knife, a Pyramid Award-winning promotional product that’s one of the great creative tales in the industry: In the mid-1970s, Dole, one of Arena Advertising’s clients, was looking for a way to boost sales. A few years earlier, Vincent had helped the firm put together its “Dole has gone bananas” campaign when it took on Chiquita, garnering rave reviews.

“They were having trouble selling fresh pineapple,” Arena recalls, “because most people weren’t getting enough fruit after removing the outside with a standard knife. Solution: He sat down with the people from Imperial Knife Co. in Providence, RI, and developed a unique product to make the arduous task easier.

“The knife took nearly a year to perfect,” he says. “Working with Imperial Knife entailed several trips to Providence. We developed the proper curvature [of the blade] and then discovered that we had to have both sides sharpened in order not to bruise the pineapple by cutting back and forth. We went to great lengths to get the handle right, too, because the juice sometimes made the knife slippery. We actually had 1,000 housewives squeeze a piece of clay in their hand to get an impression – both the left and right hand – so we could develop a handle that was suitable to grip either left- or right-handed.”

Dole publicized the knife – with the company’s logo etched on its blade – in various magazines, newspapers and at point-of-sale. Thousands were requested by food editors, home economists and consumers across the country. The result? Sales of fresh pineapple increased by as much as 60% in some markets. The product also earned Arena Advertising a Gold Pyramid award from PPAI.

“The Dole Pineapple Knife made a contribution to the growth of our fresh pineapple business because it helped resolve consumer concerns about cutting the fruit,” said Paul Yoder, Dole’s director of industry relations. “Vince Arena’s contributions have helped Dole grow over the last 30 years. The hundreds of unique and useful advertising items he secured for us have contributed to the company’s quality image, extended the Dole name to a variety of products and helped promote the sale of these products.”

Talk about selling solutions rather than stuff – and this was 30 years ago, before most people in the industry were touting this tactic. And talk about sticking with your clients: Dole moved from New Orleans to San Francisco in 1971, then to Boca Raton, FL, in 1986, and finally to the Los Angeles area in 1991. Throughout it all, Arena Advertising has been there – a tenacity and loyalty that have become the firm’s hallmarks.

“Vince maintained his business with Dole because he had demonstrated that we could rely on him,” notes Yoder. “Long before the term ECR (efficient customer response) became fashionable, Vince Arena had mastered and was religiously practicing that basic principle of business.”

“It is rare that one can fill a page with nice things to say about a competitor,” says Joe Cummins, president of New Orleans-based Joe A. Cummins Advertising Specialties. “Rare but easy when the competitor is Vince Arena. He is an ethical, hard-working and honorable man. I never regret losing an order to Vince.”

A History Of Giving

In addition to being a devoted family man – Vince’s son Jack is president of Arena Advertising, and his daughter Judy and son James accompanied him to Chicago for this year’s award ceremonies – Arena is deeply involved in local causes and charities, a firm believer in sharing his good fortune by giving something back to the community that nurtured him and his business.

Among the organizations he actively supports are the Times Picayune Doll & Toy Fund, the YMBC of Jefferson, the Krewe of Carrollton Mardis Gras Organization, the Optimist Club of New Orleans and the Knights of Columbus, just to name a few.

“Vincent has been a faithful member of the board of directors of the Doll & Toy Fund for more than 20 years,” says President Linda Dennery. “Over that time, many hundreds of thousands of children have had a meaningful Christmas experience, and hundreds of volunteers who have worked with him have learned about the true meaning of the holiday.”

“Vincent continues to offer more than a formula for success in this industry,” says Denise Landry. “He offers a formula for a successful life: Give of yourself unselfishly. Let the people you love know you love them. Work with passion. Share your knowledge. Think young and act responsibly. This is the Vincent Arena formula. How has he managed for so many years to be such a successful businessman, community leader, loving father and loyal friend? As a student of Vincent J. Arena, I’m still trying to learn the answers to these questions.”

When asked what was the best piece of advice he’d ever received, Arena harkens back to his days selling refrigerators for Kelvinator: “A gentleman named Gerald Teijelo and I went to a sales meeting where Kelvinator was anouncing its Meter Plan, where you put 50 cents a day into a meter to pay for your refrigerator. When they introduced it, they told us, ‘We’re going to have to cut your commission.’ Well, I immediately jumped up and said ‘That’s a lot of _______! You’re going to cut the commission of the people who are giving you all this business?’ And the guy called me a Bolshevik!” laughs Vincent.

“So when we got back to the office, I went to Teijelo to apologize. But he told me, ‘Don’t apologize. You just showed them that we’ve got some guts, that we’re not pushovers, and that we’re in this industry to help ourselves and Kelvinator.’

“The next day the guy from Kelvinator calls me and says, ‘I want to apologize for what I said to you. You were right, and we’re not going to cut your commission.’ When Teijelo heard that he said, ‘I’m going give you some advice: Whenever you think you’re right, say so. Stand up for what you think is right. You might get kicked in the ass a few times, but you’ll come out on top.’

“I’ll never forget that,” Arena says after finishing the story. And you know by the way he’s lived his life that he never has and never will.

Richard Kern is editor-in-chief of The Counselor.