What an honor to have Plastics News editor Don Loepp invite Next Step founder Greg Hannoosh to share his thoughts on four decades in the plastics industry. Here’s some of what Greg shared with the industry’s leading news source.
Read: From PR pitches to Fenway seats: Greg Hannoosh takes Next Step into retirement
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Creating Next Step
I started Next Step in June 1996, but had been thinking about going out on my own for about a year before that. The reason(s) why were varied, but the main reason was I was unhappy with my job at the time. I had been in the plastics industry since 1986; I was the Marketing Communications Manager for KONA Corporation, KONA was a hot runner system and injection machine nozzles manufacturer based in Gloucester, Mass. KONA was purchased by Dynisco, Inc. in the early 90’s and after that I was managing Marketing Communications (Global Team Leader) for all of the Dynisco Companies, but by 1995 I knew I was ready for a change.
I thought that I might be able to be successful if I offered my marketing knowledge and services to other companies in the plastics industry. People I met with to discuss my plan would say things like ‘it will take a few years to know if you’re going to make it’. I would tell them ‘I don’t have a few years, if I don’t make it in a few months I’ll have to get another job’. Luckily it worked out.
Next Step’s success
Next Step has been successful because we brought not only a strong knowledge of marketing and communications to our clients, but also a strong knowledge of the plastics industry. If you “speak the language” of the industry, no matter what industry you’re working in, it’s a great advantage. I feel great that the agency will continue after I’m retired with Mark Malloy and Geoff Giordano, both of them are seasoned plastics industry professionals.
How marketing has evolved
Since I started the business in the mid-’90s, everything about marketing and communications has changed – and at the same time, nothing at all has changed. When you look at how/where you get your information today, you’re looking at your e-mail, scrolling through social media, texting with friends and colleagues, and clicking on story links on your laptop or phone to read more. You could do exactly none of those things in 1996 – everything has changed.
But, when I say that nothing has changed, I mean that companies still want and need to get the word out about what they’re doing. The need for communication has not changed and never will; it’s the ways that we help companies communicate their message, the methods that we use, that has changed.
Weathering economic downturns
I’ve seen at least two recessions and one global pandemic over the past 29 years and when times are tough, companies almost always cut back on their marketing budgets. I understand why, but I also know that it’s important that they stay active from a marketing perspective. If you have less money to spend, there are still plenty of ways to effectively market your company on a smaller budget, and the savviest companies do just that. PR is a big part of that, and today, we see a lot of creative methods involving social media, email marketing campaigns, blogs, video etc. that can be extremely effective on a smaller budget.
When times are tough, stay steady with your marketing and messaging. It will pay off for you when the economy, and business picks up again.
Trends that changed plastics
The advent of all-electric molding machines was a big development for bringing quieter, faster, and cleaner injection molding to the industry. More recently, the increased demand for using recycled and/or bioplastic materials has been a huge development, and I think that will continue to grow.
The biggest issue that I’ve seen, and it’s not going away anytime soon, is the plastic pollution problem that’s happening globally. The plastics industry I know is filled with smart, talented people who have worked hard to create better products for practically every market and industry there is (automotive, medical, packaging, housewares, etc.) and their innovation and problem-solving has helped many large OEM’s achieve tremendous profits and success. But, the same effort that has gone into making better products has not gone into creating products that are truly recyclable, and now the industry is paying the price with negative publicity. The industry needs to step up to meet this challenge, and I know they’re working on it, but there’s a long way to go.
What he’ll miss most
Things I will miss about the plastics industry: I will miss the people, for sure – I’ve made many friends over the years in this industry and will miss my interactions with them. Also, I’ve been to every NPE show since 1988 and every K show since 1992, with the exception of 2016. These events have always been highlights of my career, from both a personal and professional perspective.