Optimism is on the minds of distributors based in this region. And with good reason: The East’s 2.3% growth in promotional products revenue for 2017 is an improvement over the 1% it saw in 2016.

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“Things are going better for businesses, and that has resulted in increased sales for us and increased opportunities where people are not afraid right now,” says Peter Palermo, co-owner of Camden, ME-based Elm Street Marketing Essentials. “Our larger customers that tend to always spend money, they’re spending more, and our smaller customers are delving into things that maybe they wouldn’t do if the economy required them to be a little tighter. I’m talking to smaller customers more about direct mail because they’re starting to be more proactive on things like that.”

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Peter and his partner Kim Palermo use dimensional mailings with follow-up to secure appointments and build their client base, then keep in touch with email marketing. While service industries have traditionally been their bread and butter, Palermo sees a trend developing. “We’re doing more with industrial and manufacturing than we used to. That’s partially because there aren’t a lot of industrial manufacturers where we are, and I’m spending more time reaching out to them in other parts of the state.”

>>East Case Study: Distributor Scores Big With Direct-Mail Sock Promotion

In Lewiston, ME, Top 40 distributor Geiger (asi/202900) also finds business on the upswing, but with a high-tech twist thanks to millennials and increasing tech savvy of buyers. “In order to maintain relevance, we’ve invested heavily in a robust and dynamic website that entices this type of buyer,” says Fred Snyder, regional vice president of Geiger East. “Our Geiger.com site gives this buyer a simple, quick ordering system and helps direct them into a value purchase, rather than a price purchase.” Snyder adds that by incorporating safety compliance and identity security, “the site communicates what has previously been a sales partner’s job to do, allowing the sales partner to better respond to the enhanced needs of the corporate buyer.”

Snyder says that Geiger is increasingly turning to pop-up stores and drop-ship programs in order to streamline processes and save on costs for customers. He lists purchasing software integration, paperless invoicing, direct billing for employee purchases and quick response times as being “as important as or even more so than current product trends.”

There’s still room for some time-honored approaches, says Bruce Korn, owner of Malvern, PA-based Zakback Inc. (asi/365556). “We have a few online stores, but we promote ourselves as solution-oriented marketing professionals, and we work a lot on a project basis,” he says. “The goal of any promotional item is to solve the client’s needs. Sometimes a basic pen or adhesive notepad will be appropriate. We always look out for exciting new items for our clients, but sometimes a staple item is the perfect solution.”

Whether a promotional product is a tried-and-true staple or a trendy flash in the pan, what really matters is a shift toward promotions built around meaningful interaction, says Seth Weiner. “We’ve seen in our business a large influx of new buyers, and with new buyers come more meaning, particularly from a younger demographic,” says the president of Sonic Promos (asi/329865), based in Gaithersburg, MD.

Weiner says the distributor has done a lot of work with new-hire onboarding and employee engagement, and looks for ways to create a connection between the person and company. “I think when you hire somebody and they receive a swag bag with a whole bunch of logoed merchandise before they’ve even gotten there, they get excited to work at the company,” he says. “Or, if you send something to someone pre-event, they look forward to going. By attaching meaning to the item, you’re getting much more value out of it than just being a shirt or a bag.”

By attaching a stronger association to the products used, “We’re finding that people are coming to us because they want a distributor to do more than just throw them stuff,” Weiner says. He notes an uptick in event marketing, employee recognition programs and internal health and wellness campaigns. “Anything that’s geared toward relationships and maintaining employees,” he says. “Programs that keep employees are popular because it costs a lot more to replace them than to keep the right people.”

A common next step? Monetizing brands, which Sonic Promos facilitates through licensing and merchandise agreements as well as company stores. Says Weiner: “We have companies that have swag stores to have a place for employees to go who want to buy a hoodie or bag.”

Hot List

Hot Trend: Sophistication 

Not all promotions need to go bold. There’s a taste for sophistication in the Eastern marketplace. For example, when Elm Street Marketing’s Peter Palermo procured Under Armour shirts last year for a client, “They wanted the symbol of their logo to stand out and the company name to be in the background. So we debossed the letters of the company name in the same color as the shirt and put the symbol they used in another color front and center. It really stood out on the shirt.”

Hot Product: Drinkware

“Drinkware has been popular, especially the vacuum-sealed models,” says Zakback’s Bruce Korn. Palermo has recently shown a pair of new items from Crown Products (asi/47700) that clients have taken to: a tumbler shaped like a stemless wine glass, and a convertible bottle that can become a larger bottle. “It’s the size of a cup,” he says, “but by the time you put it together, it’s probably more than a liter bottle.”

Hot Strategy: Expanding Beyond Products

Geiger’s Fred Snyder says distributors have increased opportunities to expand beyond just selling product. These include offering value-added services, operating software platforms for online stores and dispensing educational know-how when it comes to program sales. The reason is that today’s buyers are less industrially oriented. “These clients – based on desk workers as opposed to factory workers – seem more focused on process than ever before,” he says, “and look at the science of purchasing, or total cost, rather than price of a mug.” 

Hot Trend: Retail Flair

Clients have high expectations, and the products distributors provide need to match that. “We’re definitely seeing a lot of focus on name-brand merchandise and things that look retail, so we’re engaged in a lot of custom. Buyers are looking to get more than just stuff,” says Sonic’s Seth Weiner. He says they still like staple items like drinkware, journals, pens and more, but either with stand-out quality or a unique twist. “Rather than a Yeti tumbler,” Weiner says, “we’ll show them a stainless-steel growler.” 

Hot Buyers: Millennials

“There’s been a tremendous amount of pressure on margins due to the number of online competitors who work, it seems, to commoditize our industry. The growing number of millennial buyers are attracted to quick, inexpensive purchases,” Snyder says, which has changed the buying habits of “small businesses that historically have been a haven for larger margins and company loyalty.” 

Community Connector

Bruce Korn: Relationship Builder

Zakback Inc. is truly a labor of love. It began when Bruce Korn’s wife, Cheryl, asked a favor of her husband. “My wife was an artist at a major corporation and someone asked her if she could do some imprinted mouse pads,” he says. He found a supplier, got the job and delivered on time. A business was born. “I went   from a small bedroom in 1994, to a larger bedroom, finished basement, shared office space, second floor space and then, finally, to a 4,700-square-foot facility   within the first dozen years of being in business,” Korn says.

Korn built his company (the name came from the initials in his family) via networking. “Joining professional networking groups paid huge dividends,” he says.“ That and getting in touch with clients I worked with in the PC industry, local businesses, family and neighbors. As my clients grew in their professions, I grew along with them. Small business is fairly simple: Do business with your peers, do a good job and grow with them as they grow.”

The Malvern, PA, resident relies on human interaction and a personal touch. Sure, his company utilizes some social media marketing and leans on email and virtual samples, but he also adds “our strength is in our personal attention to detail.”

“I’m old-fashioned – I feel that people are social creatures,” he says. “We crave and need social interaction. This is a relationship-based industry, and we prefer to work with clients and prospects directly rather than virtually.”

Zakback also entrenches itself in the community by both exhibiting at and attending local events. “I personally get involved with several initiatives put on by a local Economic Development Council,” he says. One in particular is Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology, an annual event to educate and encourage girls about career opportunities in STEM-related fields. “I do all the premiums and promotions for the event,” says Korn, who also volunteers his time for the event.

The bottom line for Korn is creating relationships with his clients that are built on responsiveness and service. He explains: “Fast turn times are always important, as we’re frequently the last thing a client thinks of. We never say no; we’re just limited as to what we might be able to do. Every once in a while, an item comes along that’s immensely popular and we’ll show those. But what matters most is that we provide promotional solutions and don’t just sell products.”

Tonia Kimbrough is a contributing writer for Advantages.