With the final day of The PPAI Expo in Las Vegas wrapping up, many industry experts are taking what they’ve seen and heard here and are thinking about what’s to come for 2011. In order to get an idea of where the industry is heading, Promo Marketing asked suppliers and distributors what economic, product and industry trends they expected to see in the coming year.
The most often heard word among all those interviewed was “optimistic.” Vendors and marketers alike expressed a great deal of confidence in a rebounding economy this year. “It’s already proven that these first few weeks in January are solid,” said Lea Robinson, vice president of sales and marketing for Staton Corporate & Casual, Dallas. “We think that even though the economy is still somewhat unstable, people are starting to not be so scared of purchasing and are getting back into selling and being creative and reaching out. I think it’s showing in our sales, so I’m very optimistic and very happy.”
Distributors were equally excited about the new year’s prospects. “2011 is going to be a banner year for my company,” said Scott Meade, owner of Princeton, New Jersey-based Meade & Associates. “My vendors are getting a lot smarter, they’re getting a lot faster, they’re getting a lot more technically savvy and social media efforts are over the topÑthey’re going to bring us all into the 25th century.”
Of course, the promotional products industry is nothing without the products, and Damian Want, COO for 99CentPromos.com, Tustin, Calif., had some predictions for the coming year. “I think there’s going to be continued strength in the under $3 marketplace,” he said. “I think there’s still going to be an emphasis on utility, with drinkware, bags and things that you use in your everyday life.”
“But I do think there’s also going to be some return to luxury,” he continued. “Companies such as Logomark will start to thrive as people move up the price chain, as more budgets come online and as companies like Logomark which are QCA-certified get a bigger share of the spend due to the hard work they’ve done creating a clean supply chain.”
Meade agreed that price won’t be the only factor in the coming months.”I know that when we ask our clients, they say customer service comes before price, but we all know it’s really the opposite of that and it’s always about price,” he said. “But I think from our distributor-supplier relationships, it’s really turning into customer service. This industry has over 3,500 vendors and I’m only going to be using 30 because I don’t need the pricing, I need the customer service. I really think the ones that help me more are going to be the ones that are going to be successful, no matter what the pricing.”
So, what will be the hot new item for 2011? “Obviously anything with the iPhone and iPadÑif it’s got an ‘i’ in front of it, it’s probably going to succeed,” said Michael Levine, owner of Brand Marketing Works. “And of course, there’s also a focus on green.”
“When they first came out, carabiners were good for a while, then USB drives were great, and then they combined them: there was a USB drive carabiner,” he said. “So now there’s going to be a green iPad holder. With a carabiner on it.”
Stayed tuned to PromoMarketing.com and to the Promo Marketing blogs for continued coverage and daily updates from the show floor.
