The COVID-19 crisis presents marketers with a unique environment to market their organizations. The unique challenges require creative solutions. Promotional products can play a significant role in several ways. By studying and understanding current trends, marketers have the chance to be creative enough to increase their organization’s presence…
Read MoreEditorial Type: Trends/Analysis
Apparel Orders Tick Back Up (and Other Promotional Products Sales Trends)
Apparel has been battered since the start of the pandemic, with various sources reporting that overall apparel shipments have fallen dramatically compared to 2019. But there are some signs of life. Apparel was the third best performing promotional products category for the June-July period…
Read More2020 Top Distributors List: Stats, Trends and Analysis
Our Top 50 Distributors totaled $6.18 billion in 2019 promotional products sales. That’s up from last year’s Top 50, which totaled $5.96 billion in 2018 sales. Overall, 44 of this year’s Top 50 distributors (88 percent) grew sales over the prior year. Elsewhere on the list, some other significant jumps took place…
Read MoreNew Opportunities for Selling Disposable Drinkware as the Economy Reopens
Businesses from coffee shops to bars to high-end restaurants may need to adjust their operating models as the country begins to reopen. With sanitary concerns and an increased demand for to-go orders, there is a critical role distributors can play as food and drink companies navigate the new normal…
Read MoreHow Promotional Products Can Create a Powerful Brand Experience for Customers (and Why It Matters)
The promotional products space plays an important role in creating a powerful brand experience. For distributors and suppliers, it’s offering products that carry perceived value to be used by companies for corporate gifting or rewards programs, or at special events. Here are the four main building blocks of creating an exceptional brand experience…
Read MoreNavigating the Amazon Effect: Using Technology to Support Your People
Not even a high-touch and highly creative industry like promotional products is immune to the “Amazon Effect.” That may have many distributors rushing towards an e-commerce model to meet buyer expectations—but before you completely throw out the traditional relationship-based model, let’s discuss…
Read MoreThe Best of PPAI Expo 2020: Day Two
The PPAI Expo show floor is so big that you can’t really see it all in one day. At least, you wouldn’t be able to give everything its due attention. So, for the second day of the show, we explored some corners of the show floor we couldn’t venture to yesterday..
Read MoreThe Best of PPAI Expo 2020: Day One
The exhibit hall at PPAI Expo 2020 opened this morning, and there was a lot to see and do. We’re going to try our best to cover as many of the new products, trends and stories from PPAI Expo 2020 as we can. Here’s the cool stuff we found on day one of exhibits…
Read MorePromotional Jackets: Style Trends and Sales Advice From Outerwear Experts
Remember the Orolay jacket—the coat that went viral earlier this year and netted so many Amazon reviews it became known as the “Amazon Coat”? We asked our very own experts what to expect in promotional jackets for the coming months, so that you can help your customers find their very own versions of Amazon’s must-have outerwear phenomenon…
Read MoreProduct Showcase: 8 Promotional Mats, Banners and Flags to Help Customers Stand Out
Floor mats are the first wave of defense between shoes and your clean floor. Flags and banners are the heralds that beckon potential customers to a store. No other products can do what these do, and that’s why we wanted to show them a little love in this product showcase…
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