|
|
The Best-Selling Products And Programs Of 2008
By: Saritha Kuruvilla, PPAI Manager of Research
Issue: 2009jun
Wearables, writing instruments and calendars take top products spots; brand awareness is most popular program.
Every year PPAI takes on the task of compiling product and program category sales information. This year more than ever before, it was critical to know which product categories were selling well and which were not. With the burgeoning number of products in our industry it is extremely difficult to segment the market into a manageable number of meaningful product categories.
Starting with four categories in 1960, PPAI now monitors 21 different product categories, which were last revised in 2005. However, in January 2007, the Marketing Information and Research Committee eliminated the Business Gift product category because it seemed to be a catchall for those who did not know in what category their products fell. Also, the committee reasoned that all the other program categories in a way still represented business gifts.
Methodology And Response Rate
PPAI mailed a product and program category survey to a sampling of 4,073 PPAI member distributor companies. The response rate from distributors was 8.89 percent (n=362 respondents), marginally lower than last year's 8.99 percent for the product category survey. The response rate for the program category survey was 8.07 percent (n=329 respondents). The margin of error on the product category survey is +/- 4.92 percent at the 95 percent confidence interval and +/-5.18 percent for the program category survey.
The survey response rates this year are very similar to last year's. Response rates to these two surveys have remained static at between 9-12 percent over the past several years. Getting a higher response rate for these surveys remains a challenge as many distributors do not keep track of their sales by these 21 different categories. While some argue that it is easier for small companies to track sales by product categories, others believe it is easier for larger companies to track sales using the existing product categories. Nevertheless, the sample consists of a nice mix of both large and small companies. As is customary, weekly e-mail reminders were sent to respondents to complete the survey. Respondents were asked to:
•Give their total sales volume from promotional products
•Assign percentages of sales to each of the product and program categories
The data captured were then divided into two sub-samples: One consists of companies with sales below $2.5 million and another of companies with sales of $2.5 million or more. The product and program categories were first calculated separately for both groups and then a weighted average method was used. The weighted average method takes into consideration the market share of large companies and small companies when computing the product and program category information.
The data are weighted for two reasons: The companies in the sample differ vastly by sales volume and the product mix of larger companies is significantly different from that of small companies.
This methodology, which was developed and refined by PPAI's Marketing Information and Research Committee, has been used in estimating sales by product and program category since 1994. In 2000, the committee further refined the method to introduce the weighted average method to estimate sales by product and program category. Short of conducting a census of nearly 22,500 companies in the industry and having them assign percentages to each product and program category, this method provides the best estimate of sales by product and program category.
Top Categories
Although the industry dropped as a whole, the top two product categories retained their rankings in 2008. Wearables and writing instruments remained the top two slots in 2008. Calendars gained significantly and moved up to grab 7.89 percent of the market share in 2008.
View 2008 sales by product category.
In spite of a significant drop in sales, wearables remain the largest segment of the promotional products market, accounting for almost a third of sales. Sales in this category dropped to below 2006 levels.
The Wearables Market (In Billions) |
| 2004 | $5.19 | | 2005 | $5.25 | | 2006 | $5.78 | | 2007 | $5.97 | | 2008 | $5.55 |
The writing instruments category dropped from 10.35 percent of the market to 9.05 percent, although it remains in second place.
The Writing Instrument Market (In Billions) |
| 2004 | $1.84 | | 2005 | $1.87 | | 2006 | $1.87 | | 2007 | $2.02 | | 2008 | $1.64 |
Calendars picked up steam this year with 7.89 percent of the market share, compared to 5.51 percent last year.
The Calendar Market (In Billions) |
| 2004 | $1.29 | | 2005 | $1.30 | | 2006 | $1.22 | | 2007 | $1.07 | | 2008 | $1.43 |
Bags and drinkware dropped marginally this year.
The Bag Market (In Billions) |
| 2004 | $0.95 | | 2005 | $1.08 | | 2006 | $1.09 | | 2007 | $1.37 | | 2008 | $1.25 |
Drinkware—a new, separate category since 2004—slipped to fifth position this year from fourth in 2004 with a share of $1.23 billion in the promotional products market.
The Drinkware Market (In Billions) |
| 2004 | $1.08 | | 2005 | $1.12 | | 2006 | $1.06 | | 2007 | $1.23 | | 2008 | $1.10 |
Another segment of note this year is the buttons/badges and ribbons segment, which grew from 1.8 percent in 2007 to 2.53 percent of the promotional products pie in 2008.
PPAI research also examines how promotional products are used in the marketplace. The results indicate that in 2008, promotional products sales for use in brand awareness programs made up the largest slice of the pie. Employee relations and events were the second largest use of promotional products but show a slight reduction from 13.80 percent in 2007 to 11.87 percent in 2008. Tradeshows retained their spot by ranking third for the second consecutive year. That portion of the pie rose from 10.68 percent to 11.86 percent in 2008. Public relations came in fourth and grew from 7.05 percent in 2007 to a whopping 10.56 percent in 2008.
Other areas experiencing growth this year are those related to dealers/distributors, new product/service generation, employee service awards, safety education and incentives and marketing research.
View 2008 sales by program category.
PPAI Annual Estimate Of Distributor Sales And Historical Data From 1974 To 2008 |
| Year | Sales Volume | Percent Growth | Year | Sales Volume | Percent Growth | | 1974 | $841,090,990 | n/a | 1992 | $5,220,251,205 | 1.8% | | 1975 | $921,835,730 | 9.6% | 1993 | $6,222,347,119 | 19.2% | | 1976 | $1,085,922,500 | 17.8% | 1994 | $7,008,438,092 | 12.6% | | 1977 | $1,269,443,500 | 16.9% | 1995 | $8,037,054,605 | 14.7% | | 1978 | $1,525,871,200 | 20.0% | 1996 | $9,490,373,011 | 18.1% | | 1979 | $1,787,863,300 | 17.2% | 1997 | $11,874,907,786 | 25.1% | | 1980 | $1,991,679,800 | 11.4% | 1998 | $13,178,944,927 | 11.0% | | 1981 | $2,294,415,200 | 15.2% | 1999 | $14,937,546,446 | 13.3% | | 1982 | $2,411,430,400 | 5.1% | 2000 | $17,854,482,234 | 19.5% | | 1983 | $2,806,904,700 | 16.4% | 2001 | $16,552,291,971 | -7.29% | | 1984 | $2,947,249,972 | 5.0% | 2002 | $15,626,739,093 | -5.59% | | 1985 | $3,075,031,425 | 4.3% | 2003 | $16,341,132,020 | 5.57% | | 1986 | $3,818,000,000 | 24.2% | 2004 | $17,311,730,376 | 5.94% | | 1987 | $3,959,000,000 | 3.7% | 2005 | $18,013,763,753 | 4.06% | | 1988 | $4,161,000,000 | 5.1% | 2006 | $18,779,654,661 | 4.25% | | 1989 | $4,480,354,632 | 7.7% | 2007 | $19,440,837,547 | 3.50% | | 1990 | $5,012,299,487 | 11.9% | 2008 | $18,101,298,808 | -6.89% | | 1991 | $5,129,843,059 | 2.4% | | | |
PPAI 2008 Sales Volume Estimate Survey Drawing Prize Winners
First Prize: Two round-trip tickets anywhere in the continental United States, or hotel and round-trip airfare to The PPAI Expo 2010.
1. Phillip Anoff of Sesco Inc, Charlotte, North Carolina
Second Prize: $100 American Express Gift Card
1. Lawrence Brady of Brady Promotions, Clinton Township, Michigan
2. Paul Buchanan of B West Marketing Group, Cameron Park, California
3. Don Dooley Jr. of Valley Press of Las Vegas Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada
Third Prize: $50 American Express Gift Card
1. Charlotte Fox of Fox Promotional Products Inc, Dallas, Texas
2. Kathy O'Brien of O'Brien Associates LLC, Lakewood, Colorado
3. Michael Lifemann of Promotional Advantage, Burlingame, California
4. Mark Thompson of Southtrac, Suwanee, Georgia
5. Sean Murphy of MJM Incentives Inc., Rochester, New York
6. Robert Estka of Philips Consumer Lifestyle/Special Markets, Indianapolis, Indiana
7. Julie Ross of Zouire Marketing Group, Merriam, Kansas
PPAI 2008 Product And Program Category Survey Winner
Prize: $200 American Express Gift Card
1. Harold Hastings of Hastings Unlimited, Farmington, Missouri
|
|
|
|