Last month, Sam Hart – also known as TikTok user @thesam_show – posted a video about the best pen she’d ever used. Hart had used the BIC Intensity Clic Gel Pen (ICLGEL), which Koozie Group is the exclusive supplier of, to sign the lease on her new apartment and subsequently convinced her employer to buy them in bulk when she discovered it was only for sale as a promotional product.
The post garnered over 10 million views on the social app, causing a viral sensation for Koozie Group’s exclusive pen – Hart refers to herself as a pen enthusiast.
- Koozie Group was named the No. 9 supplier in the 2024 PPAI 100, earning a high mark in Online Presence.
Not one to miss a full-circle opportunity, the supplier invited Hart to be a guest at its headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. Meeting with Koozie Group’s marketing, product and manufacturing teams, Hart also received a tour of the facility. Leah CarrowSherman, the company’s category manager for writing instruments gave Hart the specifics behind what goes into ink systems, considerations and “the anatomy of a pen.”
- CarrowSherman says that the company has adjusted its inventory in order to account for increased demand as a result of Hart’s viral post.
The supplier created a special moment as something of a thank you to Hart, whose followers have deemed her a “pen-fluencer.” On the factory floor, Hart saw the creation, at every stage, of a unique white version of the ICLGEL imprinted with the slogan, “Thanks For Helping Us Write Our Love Story.” Along with custom can coolers, the pens will be souvenirs at Hart’s upcoming wedding.
“We saw Sam’s visit as an educational opportunity to spread the word about how we make and imprint writing instruments,” says Rachel Rosario, Koozie Group’s director of marketing and communications. “Having Sam highlight the impact that quality promo products can make on brand awareness was a good chance for us to explain the industry to a broader audience.”
