Marketing is ever-changing, and those who ignore it will quickly see their companies fall behind. Leaders at two Top 40 promo companies share their insights on the marketing trends and strategies that will matter most in the coming year.

SUPPLIER VIEW

Shelley Williams
• VP of Marketing, Sanmar (asi/84863)

DISTRIBUTOR VIEW

Lisa Hubbard
• VP of Sales & Marketing, The Vernon Company (asi/351700)

Q: What will be the most notable evolution in marketing in 2024?

SW: The biggest is AI. We need to embrace it and learn how to utilize it to make our work better and more efficient. Meanwhile, purpose-driven marketing continues to be a focus; customers want to buy from brands who have shared values. While not new, expect more tech to help power personalized marketing at scale.

LH: We’ll see advancements around marketing automation and personalization. Marketers can increase efficiency and be more dynamic by using different types of AI tools to help with content creation, graphics and videos. You’ll be able to work smarter, while creating a completely personalized experience for your audience.

Q: How can promo leverage these marketing advancements?

SW: With AI, the key is to not avoid it for fear that it will replace you. Tackle something small – a webinar, an online course, a YouTube video. Learn how it can help you do your job and scale your marketing efforts. Also, it’s pivotal to know your purpose – “why” you exist is more important than what you sell.

LH: Good data is key to leveraging any tech stack or personalization. Having structured/clean data, layering in data enrichment tools, AI, your ERP and your CRM – these will help create the best personal experiences for your audience.

What's in store for the #promotionalproducts market in 2024? Industry pros from companies large, small and in between offer insights into what lies ahead.

10 Predictions for Promo in 2024 https://t.co/7JA9zVUrWm

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) December 15, 2023

Q: Which marketing tactics are on the wane?

SW: While they still get some love, full-line print catalogs are “going the way of the dinosaur.” However, don’t dismiss printed materials altogether: Direct mail can be effective. Elsewhere, tactics like sponsored blog posts or buying email lists, and generic ads that speak to a broad audience, are in decline.

LH: The years of “spray and pray” – sending the same message to everyone – will be a thing of the past. Your audience won’t stand for it anymore, and regulations will help eliminate and blacklist what may be considered annoying emails.

Q: Which marketing mediums will be most effective for promo suppliers and distributors?

SW: There’s no one perfect recipe. It’s largely dependent on your size, budget and business goals. Experiment and refine your approach. For example, if you want to attract new customers, focus on search marketing or paid social media advertising. However, if you’re looking to grow with your existing customers, direct mail or email marketing might be better. Keep in mind: We all shift from our phones to our desktops and often have multiple screens open. It’s important to push out your messages across different touchpoints so that customers see them more than once and in different formats.

LH: Suppliers will do best to market through their data feeds. By ensuring that pricing is updated, discontinued items are removed, on-sale items are highlighted, inventory is current, etc., suppliers will empower distributors to use that data to market to end-buyers. Sending individual emails to distributor sales teams compels them to remember what’s in the email, but sending the information through data allows it to be collected and displayed at the sales team’s fingertips to fulfill customer needs. It’ll also help the distributor create personalized, integrated marketing solutions for end-buyers.

Q: Promo’s share of overall marketing investment – up or down in 2024?

SW: We’re likely to see smaller end-buyer budgets and shifts in buying behaviors based on widespread layoffs and other economic factors. Still, as a marketer, it’s always good to aim for growing share of the overall investment.

LH: Promo will comprise a bigger share in two ways. By being able to integrate with a client’s system, it’ll become easier to use promo in onboarding, rewarding, celebrating, and thanking employees and clients. This, on top of the normal ordering for events, will grow. Also, with customer demand for higher quality and more socially responsible products, we’ll see increased order values.