PPB February 2018

Digital + Promo | FEATURE I t’s a digital-first world, but it’s not a digital-only world. Consumers desire relationships with brands, not just transactions, and the strongest brand relationships are built with both online and offline interaction. “In our experience, and based on what our customers are asking for, we are seeing a massive trend in spend around digital,” says Danny Rosin, CAS, co-founder and co-owner of distributor Brand Fuel in Morrisville, North Carolina. “Marketers are trying to replace the human-to-human experience with digital— it’s more cost-effective,” he says. “But I think people are starting to crave time away from their devices. Businesses are looking to focus more on an experience around their brand. I think the next big trend will be a focus on human-to-human interaction.” This, says Rosin, is where promotional products can shine. Promotional products reach an audience that has migrated away from analog connections toward digital outlets but still seeks some form of personalized engagement. Combining tangible reminders of a brand or experience with a digital footprint can boost recognition and revenue far beyond a single-channel strategy. A 2016 article in Harvard Business Review revealed what many of us already know: emotional connections are more important than customer satisfaction. Over a lifetime, emotionally connected customers prove to be more valuable than customers who express satisfaction. The question of how to build engagement and increase demand for promotional products as a marketing tool has two possible answers, Rosin posits. “Do we either steal digital market share by making a convincing argument, or do we work in concert with digital so that there’s a combined strategy?” Rosin believes consumers’ active avoidance of invasive digital ads helps elevate the appeal of promotional products. “People are avoiding digital ads, so marketers need to get more creative with their ads—that’s where the conversation starts. But if you’re a really good advertiser or marketer, and you reach out in a meaningful way, where consumers will want to see digital ads, that’s where promotional products enter the conversation,” he says. With the determination that digital advertising isn’t going anywhere, promotional products professionals need to create a symbiotic relationship with clients. He suggests researching a client’s digital marketing activities and “approaching them in a way that helps them amplify those activities with promotional products.” The Harvard Business Review article revealed that while a single transaction that goes as expected results in satisfaction, an emotional connection lasts beyond the transaction and spurs the consumer to | FEBRUARY 2018 | 23