Distributor sales of promotional products hit a new peak in 2007, growing 3.5% to $19.4 billion for the year compared to sales of $18.8 billion last year.
That was the overall result from an annual study conducted for the Promotional Products Association International by Glenrich Business Studies and Relevant Insights.
The increase of approximately $670 million in year-to-year sales of promotional products continued to outperform expenditures in event marketing at $19.1 billion, cable TV advertising at $17.8 billion, Yellow pages ads at $14.6 billion and outdoor ads at $7.3 billion.
“Promotional products continue to grow in popularity because, simply put, they work,” said Steve Slagle, PPAI president and CEO, in a statement.
The PPAI survey also sought projections from promotional consultants on anticipated sales this year. The majority of participating companies forecasted an up tick—with 59% of small distributors (less than $2.5 million in annual sales) and 65% of large distributors concurring. Less than 15% of companies surveyed predicted a drop in sales from their 2007 levels.
Promotional products are defined by the PPAI as useful or decorative merchandise usually bearing a company name, logo or message.
The organization drew a 13.5% response rate from the 16,000 firms that received the survey, for a total of 2,199 usable survey responses.
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