Europe’s largest promo show was all online this year. PSI Digital, held from May 19-21, brought together roughly 3,500 advertising professionals from nearly 70 countries to tune into 20 hours of live videos and check out products from around 120 exhibiting companies, according to Reed Exhibitions, the show organizer. 

PSI Digital broadcast 20 hours of live videos to roughly 3,500 advertising professionals, according to Reed Exhibitions.

“For all of us, it was a new experience to digitally represent the products and industry topics of the promotional products industry,” said Petra Lassahn, director of PSI. “Even though no digital event can replace the on-site trade show, we have managed to offer the industry an event with added value. I’m very proud of that.”

The digital event included a number of keynotes, panel discussions and workshops. In his address, Olaf Hartmann, managing director of the Multisense Institute for Sensory Marketing, emphasized the importance of haptic advertising in promo and predicted the return of live events after the coronavirus because “we have a kind of pent-up hunger for touch.”

In her PSI Digital workshop, Caroline Zöller, managing director of Forteam Kommunikation, discussed the importance of storytelling. “People want to be entertained these days,” she said. “They want to learn something new. The stories that are told must have added value. If you succeed in doing that, they also support sales. That’s why it’s so important not only to tell stories well, but also to tell them in a way that’s appropriate for the channel.”

PSI Digital also showed off an array of interesting promotional products, many of which had an environmentally friendly bent. During the virtual show, attendees made more than 20,000 search queries in PSI’s Product Finder and clicked on company profiles more than 10,000 times, according to Reed Exhibitions.

A planter from Blooms Out of the Box.

The Netherlands-based company Blooms Out of the Box showed off a unique planter. Three air-purifying plants are shipped in a logoed wooden box which is converted into a planter with a water reservoir once it arrives. Recipients just lift up the plants and fill the box with water. The plants only need water every three to five weeks.

DINA CoinLamp from PowerCubes.

The DINA CoinLamp from PowerCubes, also based in the Netherlands, is a table lamp crossed with a piggy bank, designed to make users “consciously aware of the value of light.” In order to switch the light on, users must first insert a coin. The company calls it “very educational and an excellent way to cut your energy bill.”

Flipster, a 2-in-1 smartphone holder from tobra.

German supplier tobra offered the flipster, a 2-in-1 smartphone holder, which won a silver medal in the 2021 PSI Sustainability Awards. Made of wood from responsibly managed forests, the flipster acts either as a phone stand or holder while the phone charges on the wall.

The carrying case of this mini-umbrella from PS Concepts converts into a reusable shopping bag.

Another Sustainability Award winner, this umbrella/shopping bag combo from German company PS Concepts is made from recycled materials for the fabric and all the main plastic parts of the umbrella, including the handle, tips, runner, notch and cap. The mini umbrella comes inside a special zippered case that can be converted into a reusable shopping bag.

The two-day virtual show was a kickoff event, and PSI has more digital events scheduled for the second Friday of each month for the rest of 2021. The Digital Friday on June 11 will cover the topic of design and product safety.

In 2022, PSI Düsseldorf will be in-person once again and is scheduled to be held from Jan. 11-13.

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