A robot isn’t necessarily going to take your job, but a person who knows how to collaborate effectively with artificial intelligence just might.

That was one of the poignant messages that Anat Baron shared in her keynote speech – “The Next Great Transformation” – that kicked off Conference Day at the PPAI Expo Monday, Jan. 15, in Las Vegas.

Don’t get Baron wrong, though. The noted futurist, technology start-up founder and Hollywood/hospitality corporate executive wasn’t trying to scare anybody.

Anat Baron, futurist

Rather, she was emphasizing the importance of individuals and businesses evolving along with the rapidly developing reality of what she calls the fourth industrial revolution.

There was the age of steam, then electric, then computing, and now there’s AI. The people who will thrive in this dawning era are the ones who embrace it, Baron said. And for promotional products professionals and others, that includes becoming comfortable with artificial intelligence tools and leveraging them to one’s advantage.

“AI can augment our lives,” Baron told attendees. “It’s really important to know what’s coming and to see how you can integrate that into promo.”

Baron encouraged branded merch pros to start experimenting with generative AI tools like Bard, Bing’s Copilot, ChatGPT, Pi, Claude.ai and Perplexity. Don’t be intimidated; have fun with it. “Play around with them as if you got a new toy,” Baron said.

As an experiment, Baron asked different AI platforms what the biggest trends in promotional products will be for 2024. Answers varied and should be taken with a grain of salt, but as an example Claude.ai certainly hit on at least one point that many industry leaders believe is true: Demand for sustainable/eco-friendly products will accelerate this year.

Claude.ai predicted these would be some of the big trends in promo in 2024 based on a prompt given by Anat Baron.

Even as AI starts to interweave into many more aspects of business and personal lives, Baron said that it will ultimately be human expertise – and soul, if the word can be used – that will decide what to do with AI’s capabilities.

“The future is about ways humans can work with machines so we have more time to think,” Baron said.

Education Sessions & The Pitch

Other highlights from Conference Day included:

Cliff Quicksell Jr., president and CEO of Cliff Quicksell & Associates (asi/825111), gave a tutorial on how to become a sales superstar. The longtime distributor and well-known industry sales trainer emphasized that winning big in promo sales isn’t about the topline number per se; it’s about achieving high profitability margins on the business you generate. “Sales feed egos,” Quicksell said. “Profits feed families.”

To become that high-profit producer, Quicksell recommended a host of best practices, all rooted in conscientiously forming the right habits.

They include taking time to learn who your top clients and ideal prospects are and rigorously focusing your attention on them. Quicksell said it’s imperative to have written, measurable, attainable goals and to relentlessly pursue them through a strategic plan.

Be enthusiastic – energetically engaged in all client interactions, but use your ears more than your mouth. That’s to say: Ask intelligent, open-ended questions that will help you understand a client’s needs and pain points, then creatively provide solutions. Develop a strong personal brand, said Quicksell, and be self-accountable, always looking to evolve and improve.

In another session, Charity Gibson told distributors pros how they can crush 2024.

It all starts with defining what success means to you, said the chief marketing officer for Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094). Set big goals and then break the objectives down into increments, celebrating milestones you achieve along the way.

Gibson advised using savvy self-promotion to build your personal brand and reach. This includes digital efforts like social media and, of course, promotional products. But don’t send just any old product: Provide a gift that represents your brand – something an end-buyer would want to receive and really use. Keep the branding low-key and the message impactful, said Gibson.

Meanwhile, the topic of sustainability came up more than a few times during the day.

One afternoon session sought to provide helpful tips for industry distributors just getting started on their sustainability journey. Advice from speakers Brianna Mazze of St Regis Group (asi/84592) and Reba Joy of Top 40 distributor Genumark (asi/204588) included: Make a conscientious effort to learn about sustainable product offerings in the industry and educate your clients about the items and how they can benefit the customers’ brands.

Also, talk to suppliers not just about products, but also about efforts they’re making to operate more sustainably – like carbon footprint reduction initiatives. It’s knowledge you can use in getting clients interested in more eco-friendly items.

Conference Day concluded with “The Pitch,” a lively competition that saw representatives from seven suppliers present their products to a panel of four judges.

Audience members also got to vote on their favorite products via real-time QR-driven polling. In the end, Missouri-based Sweeter Cards (asi/90354) won the judges’ and the audience’s vote.

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Sweeter Cards provides customizable, cost-effective, artfully rendered greeting cards with Fair Trade-certified gourmet chocolate to create a gift that’s both personalized, heartfelt and delicious. A woman-owned business, the products are made in the USA, with materials sourced from providers local to company founder Stacy Stahl. Judges and audience members alike loved that Stahl employs adults with disabilities, and that card packaging is recyclable. 

Other products featured in The Pitch included the Ezri Executive backpack from Ezri (asi/53523), designed for business travelers with its sturdy construction, internal pockets for laptops and tablets, and trolley sleeve that allows it to securely fit onto luggage handles for simple transport.

There was also The Airplane clip from FLYGA (asi/54872), which allows air travelers to easily secure their beverages when on flights, while also doubling as a phone stand. The Brumate Era 40-oz. straw tumbler from Hirsch (asi/61005) earned praise too for its leakproof lid, strong construction, cup-holder shape that helps prevent tipping/spillage, and metal straw that minimizes the amount of plastic sitting in one’s water.