During a fast-paced roundup of ASI Chicago’s Education Day, a series of flash polls indicated that sales were up for 60% of attendees in 2023 and that retail brand-name products were by far the most popular trend in the promo industry this year.

At the packed event, speakers had a chance to recap the highlights of the sessions they’d hosted throughout the day, but interspersed between those recaps, ASI conducted real-time polls to get a pulse of the industry. The first was about how sales in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2022, and 29% of attendees said sales were up a lot. Another 31% said their sales had “increased a bit.”

In the second flash poll, nearly half of respondents said supplier order errors have stayed about the same this year, when compared to last year. Nearly a third of those polled said errors are less prevalent in 2023 than they were last year.

The third poll was all about customer trends. Brand names and retail lines were by far the most popular trend, with 54% of those polled choosing that option. The next highest trend was the desire to sell products that have charitable giveback components, with 17% choosing that option.

The final poll was about artificial intelligence, asking attendees whether they’ve used tools like ChatGPT in their business yet. An even split said they’re either using AI or intend to implement it into their business soon. Only 15% of those polled were adamantly against the hot technology.

In fact, AI was the topic of speaker Marki Lemons Ryhal’s recap. She implored promo pros to “strategically reach out to eight people by 8 a.m.” each morning in the communication style they’re most comfortable with, using AI tools like Humantic.ai and ChatGPT to streamline the process. By having AI tweak the tone and style of your message, “Everyone feels like you’re speaking directly to them,” but you don’t have to go through the arduous process of individually crafting each message.

Joan Miracle, executive director of corporate accounts at ASI, shared “Promo 101” tips, chief among them the time-honored tradition of giving out self-promo items to prospects and clients. Be sure, she added, that they’re high-quality products and “not discontinued closeouts that you can’t order if your client likes them.”

Jenna Sackett of Stahls’ (asi/88984) discussed the latest trends in the industry and how heat-printing technology allows distributors and decorators “to really break boundaries.” Print-on-demand, in particular, is hot right now, she said. “On-site printing and activations are really breaking the mold of what print-on-demand is,” she added.

Bill Petrie of brandivate presented his tips for changing the dynamic with clients, by thinking like a marketer and becoming an expert on your clients’ brands so you can come up with solutions before they ask. He also shared insights on how to overcome adversity and persevere. Being transparent and vulnerable when things go wrong can actually help cement client relationships because it shows them you’re a real person, he added.

Michelle Sheldon, president of Eco Promotional Products (asi/185797) and a member of the Promo for the Planet advisory board, talked about the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, and how everyone in the industry, no matter how small, has the opportunity to reduce packaging and choose more sustainable products. Look for products with purpose, she said: “Is this going to be memorable? Is it going to last? Is it a short-term hit but not really a good return on investment for your client?”

Jamie Watson, partner at Certified Marketing Consultants (asi/44526), discussed some of the “fake news” surrounding business valuation. Of particular note is the importance of creating a succession plan. “You can always change the plan, but you have to start somewhere,” she said.

Jay Busselle, managing partner of FLEXpoint Social Selling, talked about building intention rather than attention. “Did you really wake up this morning to sell plastic stuff to people?” he asked. He implored promo pros to draw three circles and write down their personal traits, business values and the problems they solve. Then, discuss those differentiators everywhere. “That alone will attract so much business you will be blown away,” Busselle said.