In early March, Liquid Screen Design (LSD, asi/254663) was having its biggest year to date. “We added to our staff and we had over half a million dollars in orders in hand,” says owner Bryan Goltzman. You know what happened next. “All those orders immediately disappeared,” Goltzman says. “We had zero revenues coming in.”

“Our verticals are education, recreation and nonprofits. With school closed and camps and events canceled, that pretty much stopped all our business.”

This year will certainly be one for the history books. And for distributors and suppliers not to become history, they needed to quickly find ways to stay afloat, since “business as usual” was no longer an option. This is not a “wait and see” economy, says Terry McGuire, senior VP of vendor relations and communications at HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000). “If you’re waiting for the promo market to return to ‘normal,’ and not adapting your products and services,” he says, “you won’t be left standing.”

“You can’t sit back and do what you always did, you need to be able to pivot,” says Geiger (asi/202900) Senior Account Executive Paula Gossett. “Change the way you sell and change the products you sell.”

Each of the suppliers and distributors we spoke with did just that – they responded quickly, switched direction and changed their usual way of doing things, and in turn, managed to find silver linings and business opportunities in the pandemic. And while many softened the economic blow by incorporating PPE, certain companies have also managed to thrive in 2020 by selling traditional promo. Here we shine a spotlight on their successes and victories.

Next-Level Kitting
As our nation adapts to remote work and a virtual economy, traditional promo can be a critical connector. “The trend is driven by direct mail – items that can either be mailed directly or assembled in creative kits and shipped directly to the recipient’s home office,” says McGuire.

After LSD’s promo sales dried up in March, Goltzman and his partner “hemmed and hawed” for a week before launching a “Save Small Business” online store that was so well received they launched a second, and started picking up new customers and receiving add-on orders for more T-shirts.

However, Goltzman says what really saved the company was its pivot into custom swag boxes, including their fulfillment. In the past, the company had done a few custom boxes, but it wasn’t a primary business focus. That changed in May when a client converted its primary fundraising event into a Zoom event. Typically LSD would provide T-shirts for the fundraiser, but when the format changed to Zoom, Goltzman suggested an “event in a box.”

The client, a Jewish organization, ordered 300 Shabbat-themed boxes at $50 each, for a $15,000 order total. The boxes included a T-shirt, kippah (religious head covering), drinkware, snack, candles and a themed puzzle. The boxes got additional mileage and social media exposure when recipients posted photos unboxing the gift with the hashtag “#unboxing,” Goltzman notes.

LSD was able to work with many of its existing customers on these boxes, “increasing what they would normally be spending with us. This also cemented our relationships with them as not just product pushers, but an extension of their marketing team,” Goltzman says. These boxes for current customers led to many referrals and new customers looking for similar offerings, he adds. At the beginning of Q3, sales for the company were up 50% for the year. “July was our busiest month ever in business – the boxes have made a big difference,” says Goltzman. “Not only did custom kits save our business – they enhanced it.”

“You can’t sit back and do what you always did, you need to be able to pivot. Change the way you sell and change the products you sell.” – Paula Gossett, Geiger

Others have tapped into the kitting craze. “Geiger’s biggest boon now is logistics – our ability to kit and fulfill has always been strong, but during COVID, our distribution center is jam-packed,” Gossett says, adding that orders are coming from new clients who wouldn’t normally do a kit. “We’re taking a headache away from them,” she says.

Gossett adds that “increasingly, we’re also relying on our supplier friends to do the kitting – it saves on inbound shipping costs.” She partnered with Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) on a PPE kit for a pharmaceutical client’s outside sales force. Other kits Gossett has facilitated include “we care” packages, “work at home warriors” and “welcome back to work” kits. Many of these kits include some PPE, but traditional promo is an important component. Gossett provided one client with a kit that included a custom insulated lunch bag. “Communal lunch areas are being shut down, so employees need to pack their own lunches,” she explains.

Grossman Marketing (asi/215205) has also experienced an increase in its mailing/fulfillment business, according to E-Commerce Account Manager Andrew Haslam. “As events are now being held virtually with all attendees in their respective homes,” he says, “we’ve been helping companies send out gift/appreciation boxes to all who would have been attending.”

The company has provided these boxes to political organizations for their donors and organizers, says Haslam. Typically, the boxes include apparel; T-shirts, embroidered hats and knit-in socks have been popular, as well as button packs and stickers. “Our biggest challenge lately is that our political clients want USA-made goods, and U.S. production has been unpredictable since the beginning of the pandemic,” he notes.

Engaging Workers
Grossman Marketing has also increased demand for new-hire gift boxes, particularly among tech/software companies and healthcare groups. “Companies want to make their newest employees feel at home in their job even though they can’t begin in the office. We put together welcoming packages so when new hires are made, we send them a package on behalf of their company,” Haslam explains. These boxes include some apparel, but the focus is on work-related items like pens, notebooks, water bottles and stress balls, to help the employee acclimate to a new job and be organized and successful, Haslam adds.

It’s a part of a huge work-driven trend to make employees feel included while working from home. “There’s a new business title category in corporate America during COVID called culture, such as ‘VP of Culture,’” says Greg Marks, principal of IdentiBrands Powered by Proforma (asi/300094). “It’s usually tied to HR or the CEO. Companies are trying to figure out corporate culture when we’re all home, and how to leverage it to make their employees happy.”

Orangeburg, NY-based distributor Zagwear (asi/365552) has pharmaceutical clients who have increased their spend during COVID, using their HR budget for events to send items to employees’ homes, says Jamie Cohen, director of sales. Some examples of gifts were work-from-home kits, PPE kits, fitness kits, cooking gifts and most recently, a memorial service wine kit to honor a recently deceased employee, she says. Promo items in the gifts included phone/watch chargers, PPE supplies, fitness equipment like bands, jump ropes and foam rollers, or aprons and wine glasses.

Gossett notes a shift in buying patterns – particularly who’s doing the spending at companies. “It’s coming from different departments,” she says. “Marketing isn’t doing the spending. Rather, it’s HR and operations because it’s a necessity – they HAVE to buy these products.”

She proactively reached out to HR departments to find out what their plans were, and what their timeline is for going back to work, and as a result has landed some back-to-work kits. One of her financial clients has their kits assembled and ready to go as soon as employees can return to the office. Approximately 1,000 employees will receive the packages, valued at about $20 each, which contain custom lunch bags, computer lens covers and “clean keys.” She has also sold masks and hand sanitizer to this client.

“We’ve seen a substantial migration toward employee-centric promotional products,” says HALO’s McGuire. “Companies want to reinforce that they care for their employees and value their safety. Promotional products are still the most personal form of communication between a company, brand and recipient.”

HALO recently created a three-part multi-product employee appreciation campaign for a medical supply sales organization. “It was a ‘mullet’ campaign – all business in the front and party in the back,” says McGuire. The first mailing included two pieces of high-end apparel for video calls with clients (mainly physicians and physician assistants) along with journal books, pens and a phone charger.

The second mailing was sent a week later and introduced a virtual happy hour for sales regions with a Moscow Mule bronze cup and a martini glass, pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The final mailing was sent after the virtual event was complete and included blue light glasses, a stress reliever, picture frame and a small plush toy to reinforce the “comforts of home (office).” McGuire says the project was “a great collaboration and a memorable collection for their team.”

Finding Hidden Opportunities
Traditionally reliable markets like hospitality and retail have struggled, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to find success within them. Peerless Umbrella (asi/76730) has experienced “a very large uptick” in demand for its outdoor patio and market umbrellas, according to Dan Edge, national sales manager. “As states have been reopening, restaurants are moving more dining outside due to COVID-related ordinances,” he says. “With this, there’s increased demand for outdoor market umbrellas to provide shade for their patrons.” The surge started in early June and continued throughout the summer, and for cold-weather climates will likely pick up again in the spring.

Other outdoor items are sought after as well. Demand is strong for Peerless’ A-frame menu boards, particularly for restaurants and retail stores that offer curbside pickup. The supplier lowered its minimums to give customers a better opportunity to buy these products. “It was our way of giving back during a difficult period,” says Edge.

Certain distributors are banking sales by targeting businesses thriving during the pandemic. Sales from a carwash chain client are “way up” for IdentiBrands Powered by Proforma. The chain is busier than ever thanks to COVID, as people want their cars steam cleaned and disinfected, Marks explains.

Marks and his team had been working with the chain for about a year, providing print and direct mail, before discovering that uniforms were a pain point for the client. “They used to do their uniforms in-house, but it was very unorganized and had poor distribution,” he notes.

“Not only did custom kits save our business – they enhanced it.” – Bryan Goltzman, Liquid
Screen Design

He adds: “We told them we could build them a site that would centralize and organize inventory and distribution.” Discussions began pre-COVID and IdentiBrands built the site during the pandemic. “Using a distributor makes sense for companies during COVID, for both convenience as well as safety,” says Marks. “They don’t want their employees packing products – they prefer to use a third party.” The car wash client was generating six figures in revenue for IdentiBrands, and Marks predicts the customer will be a good long-term account.

A referral from another customer helped Marks land a telemedicine client that he sees as “a great opportunity for us.” The client developed software and webware to offer telemedicine services, then decided to open clinics and surgical centers so they could keep the patients in house rather than send patients to third parties, Marks explains. “We did an initial order of merchandise for employee meetings that included journals and gel pens, and now the client is sampling scrubs for their new centers,” he says.

In the early days of COVID, doctors just wore what they wanted on their video calls. “Now they want logoed apparel and pop-up banners behind the doctor when they’re hosting calls with patients,” Marks explains. He’s in the process of researching what the client needs, but ultimately hopes to build online ordering systems for all three of the client’s brands.

In addition to the clients they work with, distributors need to recalibrate the products they think of to entice buyers. “Home is the new domain – create products and services around that,” says Danny Rosin, co-president of Brand Fuel (asi/145025).

Terry Town (asi/90913) has seen increased interest and sales in its blankets and home accessories during the pandemic, despite canceled events and the fact that this category line is seasonal, says strategic national account manager, Michael Del Bucchia. “Beach towels remain our strongest category for summer months, but seeing blanket awareness increase during the off season can be attributed to the pandemic,” he says. “We wouldn’t normally be advertising warm blankets in the middle of summer, but after shifting our entire marketing plan to the theme of staying at home, we had to present our products in a new light.”

Del Bucchia notes a shift. End-buyers that previously sent gifts for people’s cars, cubicles and offices are now looking to use those same budget dollars for items that will be functional and impactful in the home setting. Says Del Bucchia: “Distributors tell us ‘Home and Family’ is the new widening demographic.”

Jean Erickson is a contributing writer for Counselor.