Businesses need to keep their names in front of customers, says Frank Sclavenitis, CFC, president of American Graphics Network Inc., a 27-year-old distributorship in Glenview, Ill. A company's existing clients drive its cash flow, and competitors try to take these accounts away.
Sclavenitis isn't surprised that businesses spent approximately $15.6 billion on promotional products last year, according to Promotional Products Association International. Firms use promotional products to stimulate new business, ensure customer loyalty and reward employees for achievements. Promotional wearables make up the largest portion of distributors' promotional product sales. Last year, apparel grossed approximately $4.6 billion--approximately 30 percent of distributors' sales.
Promotional products manufacturer R.S. Owens, Chicago, produced newly designed statuettes for the 38th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, held May 21 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas. Riordon Design Group, which designed the statuette, selected R.S. Owens to manufacture the award. "We wanted to preserve the signature cowboy hat of our original trophy," said Gayle Holcomb, vice chairman of the Academy of Country Music's board of directors. "We wanted to give the statuette a sleek, updated look." R.S. Owens also produces the Oscar®, the Emmy, the MTV Video Music Award, the Clio (award for excellence in advertising), the NFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award and the Miss America Award.
Popular apparel items include imprinted baseball jerseys, Polo shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, gloves, boxer shorts, ties, rain ponchos, bomber jackets, winter hats, nylon windshirts, Hawaiian shirts, sweaters, scarves, aprons, vests and fleece pullovers. Ideal prospects for such items include banks, schools, trade associations, real estate companies, hospitals, hotels, insurance firms, churches and athletic associations.
Recently, when the marketing department in a consumer products safety-testing laboratory wanted to present a unified image, it turned to American Graphics Network. The distributorship provided the department with 64 reversible, zippered jackets. The jacket's black nylon shell was embroidered in five colors with the department's logo on the left chest. Its gray fleece interior was embroidered in black with the company's logo on the left chest.
The department was thrilled with the jackets. "It gave them two items for the price of one," says Kirk Guthrie, an American Graphics Network sales representative. Soon, another department at the client ordered similar jackets from the distributorship.
"Promotional products are easy add-ons to sell to existing print clients," Sclavenitis says. "And I've been selling printing for a long time, so it's fun to offer something where you have to come up with different, creative ideas."
—Kara S. Carpenter
