What If? Small Question, Big Possibilities


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What If? Small Question, Big Possibilities
By: Steve Slagle, CAE
Issue: 2010feb

As we’ve turned the corner to a new year and a new decade, it’s interesting to think about what we might have done differently last year if we had the chance for a “do over”— a mulligan.

The year 2009 was one of the toughest many of us have seen in our business and personal lives. Some of us are old enough to have experienced earlier recessions, but few, if any, readers lived through the Great Depression and its aftermath. I’m sure there are a few do overs we’d like to have, given what we know now. We can’t rewind the clock but we can plan and act differently for the months ahead.

What if we could change the perspectives or perceptions about promotional products by some elected officials, media, end buyers and other advertising organizations. That’s not to suggest that everyone holds negative impressions about our industry but I’m simply acknowledging that some of the publics we want to influence really don’t understand the difference between a piece of blank merchandise and that same merchandise magically transformed into a powerful advertising medium once a logo or message is added.

They don’t understand or don’t care that our industry is about communicating, persuading, influencing, evoking, eliciting, nurturing and encouraging the recipients of promotional products. They don’t get it that our industry represents one of the top advertising spends for businesses in terms of annual sales. They have a myopic view of our medium as being insignificant or trivial. That’s why PhRMA, some legislators and even some of our own advertising colleagues think nothing about restricting or banning our medium or dumping promotional products into a bucket called “Other” when reporting annual sales. We know differently, and our research and case studies back up our claims about effectiveness, impact and results. What’s it going to take to get the attention, the full attention, of those we need to influence for positive change in legislation, regulation or recognition?

So, if I had a do over I’d want our medium acknowledged for all that it can accomplish as a principal or complementary component of a business’ marketing mix. I would want elected officials to at least recognize the economic value the thousands of small businesses in our industry bring to the table. I would want those same elected officials to understand the difference between a bribe and a decorated promotional product used to remind, communicate and inform a healthcare professional, a purchaser of an insurance policy or an individual opening an investment account.

I would want organizations such as PhRMA to at least think about our industry before crafting guidelines for their members that effectively ban 90 percent of our products from being used as a communications tool to educate healthcare professionals. I would want consumer advocacy groups to realize that promotional products used as business gifts are given to say “thank you for your business,” and not to unduly influence one’s behavior.

I would want the marketing and advertising trade media to consider regularly reporting on our industry’s sales, our products’ use in marketing campaigns, and our industry’s research. And, I would want our members to embrace and use the research, case studies and marketing tools available to them to demonstrate the value of our medium to their clients.

Is this too much to ask? I don’t think so. Is it too much to include in a single do over? Well, yeah. Changes in attitudes and perceptions won’t happen easily. That’s why PPAI has as one of its five strategic goals for 2009-2011 a goal about advocating on behalf of our medium and our professional practitioners to expand and protect the industry. We’ve done a lot of advocating this past year to federal and state elected officials and regulatory agencies, and there’s more ahead. We’re also doing more to advocate about our industry to the media, educators and end buyers.

What if our collective efforts can make a difference in 2010? What if, slowly but surely, promotional products become a preferred advertising medium by the ones we most want to influence—end buyers? And, what if we can change the negative thinking and misconceptions that lead to harmful legislation and regulation? Those would be good things worth a do over.

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