Print Solutions Magazine, November 2003 -- Promotional Products Feature Article

When the printing industry experienced a decline in traditional form sales in the 1990s, distributorships began looking for offerings that would replenish lost income. Many of them added promotional products to their product mixes. Printcom Inc., a distributorship in Seattle, is a prime example.

A networking organization of information technology professionals working for law firms and legal departments holds a 4-day conference every year. The goal of the conference is to increase membership of the organization and to provide networking opportunities to its members, who learn about the latest IT developments affecting the legal industry. In 1997, a volunteer for the conference was looking for a distributorship that could supply bags for attendees. An internet search for companies supplying conference bags produced Printcom's name. The volunteer had worked with Printcom previously and asked it to supply "classy, not cheesy" bags, says Judy Coovert, the distributorship's co-owner.

Printcom found exactly what the organization wanted--a 17 x 13 x 3-inch black bag made of heavy-duty nylon with a brown leather trim. The handles and shoulder straps were beige with brass metal. Printcom screenprinted the conference logo and three sponsors' logos in metallic gold on each bag and supplied 400 of the bags.

Since then, Printcom has provided conference bags every year, as well as a variety of promotional products to make the conference a success, Coovert says. "Every promotional product you sell really is a part of a marketing campaign," she says. "These products are tools and part of the company's marketing program."

In 1999, Printcom undertook a project for the organization to help it increase conference attendance. The distributorship supplied items such as Frisbees®, pocket mirrors and mouse pads to the organization a few months before the event. The organization then mailed the products to attendees and prospective attendees along with information such as the conference's date, location and benefits of attending. The mailings have been worthwhile, Coovert says, and attendance at the conference more than doubled this year.

Complete Solutions Providers

Once clients know a distributorship can deliver cost-effective, high-quality products on time every year, it's natural for the distributorship to become a total provider for the customer. At the networking organization's annual conference held in August in Boca Raton, Fla., Printcom supplied 900 backpacks that convert into duffel bags from Banaka Inc., El Monte, Calif.; napkins, cups and stir sticks from Tranter Graphics Inc., Syracuse, Ind.; etched crystal bowls and vases from Art Crystal, Woodridge, Ill.; and binders from Fey Industries, Edgerton, Minn.

Moving Toward Creative Ideas

Are your customers demanding marketing ideas, reward items or motivational incentives, when you're more comfortable solving document solutions? Or are you a great promotional products salesperson, but could use a jolt of creativity? Here's a simple 3-step plan:

1. Know the client's budget. There's no point thinking about products without knowing how much the client can spend. Knowing this shortens the list of potential products and design features, says David Kolko, president of

2. Find out the project's goal and audience. If it's name recognition, items that have staying power and can't easily be thrown away will work better, says Judy Coovert, co-owner of Seattle-based distributorship Printcom Inc. Also, consider recipients of the promotional products. Men are less likely to carry a tote bag that resembles a purse, and most women don't like white T-shirts, she says.

3. Look for creative ideas. Here are four easy places to start:

* Your own team. Discuss the project with your staff and manufacturers. You may be surprised with what you come up with when brainstorming.

* Retail store windows. Sometimes, it helps to fight a mental block by window-shopping and checking out retail stores. Items on display can spark creative ideas.

* Trade shows. Organizations such as the Advertising Specialty Institute and the Promotional Products Association International organize several shows on the latest promotional products throughout the year.

* Designers. Talk to a designer who can fully devote himself or herself to a project and who can translate concepts into eye-catching images.

After the conference, more than a dozen companies that exhibited or attended became Printcom customers. The distributorship supplied napkins to an exhibitor that sponsored an afternoon ice-cream

break, and it provided plastic glasses, napkins and stir sticks to another exhibitor sponsoring a cocktail event. Coovert says promotional products now account for 11 percent of the company's sales, up 6 percent from 1994, when it began offering the products. "Profit margins are quite high," she adds.

Gulf Atlantic, Naples, Fla., also has seen a steady increase in promotional products sales. Carl McKirgan, the distributorship's owner, has sold promotional products since 1996. He read articles about the advantages of selling the products, and they convinced him to expand Gulf Atlantic's offerings.

McKirgan learned that promotional products can be used as motivational tools, not just for marketing a company's products or increasing an organization's membership.

He helped PrimeCo Personal Communications (which was acquired by Chicago-based wireless telecommunications provider U.S. Cellular Corp.) to successfully implement its marketing campaign aimed at increasing cell phones sales. Of the 15 stores in the area that sold PrimeCo cell phones, six qualified to participate in the campaign based on their sales levels. Representatives in each store earned points for selling cell phones. The more phones the representatives sold, the more points they earned. Each representative could earn a maximum of 1,000 points. PrimeCo permitted representatives to exchange the points for promotional products from Gulf Atlantic. Reward options included high-end flip-up calculators, magnetic clips, bracelets, letter slitters and openers, pens, and more. Although profit from phone sales was the main reason representatives aggressively sold them, the point system motivated them, McKirgan says.

Making Their Mark

David Kolko, president of Proforma® --I.F. Print Services, a distributorship in Rochester, N.Y., says promotional products are becoming a major part of the printing industry. According to the Promotional Products Association International, an international trade association of the promotional products industry, distributorship sales of promotional products have increased from $5.13 billion in 1991 to $15.63 billion in 2002. "Some distributors feel promotional products are a nice add-on and you can't make a living off them," he says. "This isn't true." Promotional product sales have increased from 5 percent of the distributorship's sales to 15 percent in the last five years, and Kolko expects that to rise to 40 percent in the next five years.

Many hospitals in the Rochester area have closed, hurting medical practices that depend on hospitals to refer patients to them. The IDE Group, a medical practice in Rochester that consists of radiologists who receive patient referrals from hospitals, wanted to make doctors aware of its services. The group wanted to leverage the 85th PGA Championship, a major golf event held Aug. 14-17 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, to spread the word among doctors.

The IDE Group invited approximately 200 doctors to attend the championship and asked Proforma--I.F. Print Services to suggest a product that "would entertain the doctors and spread awareness about the practice," Kolko says. The distributorship recommended that each doctor receive a plastic foldout chair printed with the name "IDE"--a highly visible promotional product that would be ideal for an outdoor sports event that had only grass seating, Kolko says. The distributorship worked with AvalineGila Group LLC, Whippany, N.J., to supply 200 36 1/2 x 33 x 21-inch, blue plastic chairs. "It's a high-level gift which worked well with the physicians," Kolko says. "How's the gift going to be perceived? That's a key question with promotional products." The IDE Group has ordered 100 more chairs since then.

Preeti Vasishtha is assistant editor of Print Solutions. Email her your comments at pvasishtha@PSDA.org.

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