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Many companies are doing virtual events right now because of COVID-19, and the problem most of them have is that they are not that engaging. When you attend an event in person, you are engaging with the event; You committed to travel, carved out time out of your schedule to be there, perhaps even scheduled a babysitter. Having that in-person event creates a physical connection, or a memory if you will, such as the people met while networking, some swag they got at the event, or even the venue if held at a resort-style venue. 

What is important to those purchasing promotional products this year? Here are the priorities that are trending in promotional products in 2020:

The big, scary word these past two weeks is tariffs, and while it sounds nasty, it's really not if you start planning for it. If you have not paid attention to the news lately, trade talks with China have gone south, and now there is currently a 25% tariff on certain goods, and another 25% possible to take hold over the summer that will affect almost all products. This means that most items you find in stores, like electronics, tools, clothing, and more, are going to go up in price this summer - just the cold hard facts. The jump is too big for a business to "eat" until the next standard price increase.

The hot buzzword this year is disruption. It is what all the startups and tech companies are trying to create as they fight each other for your attention. They battle over Twitter, Facebook, & niche sites targeting typical users. The marketers pore over data, do A/B testing, and examine their excel sheets like a doctor looking over x-rays. Marketers are also now facing the challenge of “banner blindness.” Banner blindness is where you ignore the advertisement banners on an article or web page.

Today’s marketing world is a battlefield of messaging apps, video ads, email marketing, digital banners, and more, all fighting for your attention on your screens. But what about the marketing off screen? Your brands face to face recognition where people look up from their phones to interact with your brand. Many brands today are forgetting this as they are so focused on the fight for 5 seconds of your time before you press the skip to video button on YouTube, or popping up on your Facebook feed.