BACK FROM THE DANCE and my feet hurt! While I repair from walking January's huge Promotional Products Showcase, let me reflect upon what I witnessed: Two full floors of exhibitors crammed into every corner of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas for three full days to accommodate tens of thousand in attendance. Suppliers and Distributors took notes, wrote down what is new and promised to get together as soon as the dust settles. It is the dance we do each year, along with Regional Shows, Tabletop Shows and the personal visits the Suppliers provide in order for we Distributors to be knowledgeable about their products, applications and services.

What this should equate to for you is that your Distributor and Suppliers partners are teaming up once again to bring you the latest, greatest promotional items for helping you get where you are trying to go in your marketing scheme for the new year. A Distributor friend of ours has, for many years, hosted an event with his top clients right after this type of show for the purpose of bringing the show and the new ideas to them. They set up a huge room and samples are laid out along with descriptions and information so that it is almost as though the clients/end users attended the show, too. It is a marvelous way to get that new info out to the masses quickly and it has become a greatly anticipated event.

Would you like to know how many new products were introduced this year? One prominent Supplier introduced over 600 new items just in their line, alone. Not all of them were unique to the industry, but enough were to make things interesting for us and valuable for you to know.

Your Distributor and Supplier Partners should be a part of your team, early. They know what is new. They know what things cost, how the imprint can be handled, what the packaging options are, how things can be bundled, and what kind of lead times you really need to understand.

It is their job to know this stuff so you can concentrate on what you do best.

The really savvy marketing folks are setting their meetings with Distributors early, like right now, to help in planning out the year. Their Supplier partners are geared up and ready to provide expert advice on how to get the very most from every marketing dollar you intend to spend. Wait and make your final decisions after you have taken the time to talk to your Distributor and announce your plans, even if you have to change them later. Give them time to do the research, speak with their Supplier Partners and introduce the best way to get it done.

Is this another way of ensuring that you provide that important Personal touch going into '07 with your target audience? It sure is.

It's ALL Personal.

Dave Ribble, President of The Company Image, Inc./Geiger
Published in Brilliant Results,
February 2007
Reprinted with permission