Promo Insiders: What ASI’s 2026 Ad Impressions Study Reveals About the International Market
ASI’s Michele Bell and Nate Kucsma take a deep dive into key insights on the international market from the 2026 Ad Impressions Study.
Consumers on both sides of the Atlantic appreciate a quality useful promo item – and that can translate into real impact for advertisers.
That’s one of the key takeaways from the third segment of ASI’s 2026 Ad Impressions Study, which surveyed thousands of consumers across nearly two dozen European countries and Mexico to build clear data on the power of promotional products in the international market.
In this week’s episode of Promo Insiders, ASI’s Senior Executive Director of Research Nate Kucsma joins Michele Bell, ASI’s senior vice president of content and global alliances, to break down the key findings for the international promo market – including country-by-country product preferences, the impact of sustainability and local manufacturing, and promo’s overall ability to influence consumer buying decisions.
“This is the content that people crave the most in the industry,” Bell says, “because it really allows them to show their clients how valuable promo is.”
Key Takeaways
• ASI’s Michele Bell and Nate Kucsma break down the European findings from ASI’s 2026 Ad Impressions Study, the third and final installment in a research series that examined promotional products across Europe, as well as the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The third installment focuses specifically on Europe and Mexico.
• Promotional products earned the highest consumer approval ratings of any advertising medium studied, outperforming internet, TV, social media and mobile.
• The most desired promotional products varied somewhat by region, but T-shirts remained the top choice overall. Mobile power banks, notebooks and food gifts also ranked among Europe’s most sought-after items, while drinkware appeared in the top five in only four of 21 countries. This type of country-by-country data can help distributors tailor recommendations for international campaigns.
• One of the study’s strongest findings was promo’s influence on purchasing behavior, which was particularly strong in Europe. Across Europe, 92% of recipients said they would be more likely to do business with an advertiser whose logo appeared on a promotional product, compared to 87% in Canada and 76% in the United States.
• Quality and usefulness emerged as the most important product attributes across Europe, with sustainability also remaining a major factor in consumer perception. The study found that 90% of European consumers would have a more favorable opinion of an advertiser if the promotional product they received was environmentally friendly.
• The research also underscored the value of local manufacturing. Roughly 85% to 90% of respondents across Europe said products made in their own country positively influenced their opinion of an advertiser, with Portugal leading the way at 97%.