PPB July 2020

W ith all the opinions coming fromwhat I call the “ivory tower” (upper management and owners who sit around the table discussing what they think), I thought it would be interesting to share a few candid thoughts based on my experience of being an owner, partner and multi-million-dollar producer with three different promo companies over a 22-year period. There are many great minds in this industry, and it has been a really fun ride learning from them and mentoring some of them as well. Since I am in the fourth quarter of my career, my passion dictates sharing some candid thoughts based on the realities we face right now. The summer of 2020 will forever be remembered as the time when everything changed in the promotional products industry. 1 Trade shows: Private suite, invitation-only meeting events were already eating away at show attendance before COVID-19, but the lockdown will not be the final nail in the trade-show coffin. However, the after-effects of COVID-19 will forever change the number of trade shows and the number of people attending, and force our industry to adapt to change driven by technology. Online shows via Zoom and Google will become the new normal followed by the private suite events with trade shows lagging way behind. I believe shows like the PPAI Expo will become stronger than ever because they offer everything from education to networking to opportunities to acquire or flip companies. It will be interesting to see the show floor at the PPAI Expo 2021 when the dust settles. My instincts tell me there will be a solid core group of suppliers that will still rent booth space. There will also be an increasing number of switch-hitters and mid-tier suppliers that will use hotel suites and meeting rooms to leverage their opportunities—a trend well underway prior to COVID-19. While I believe the Expo will be safe, my prediction is that about 75 percent of regional shows will disappear in less than three years. 2 Suppliers selling in the promo industry: Over the next two years, COVID-19 will have a dramatic effect on outside sales personnel. There will be a huge increase in the utilization of inside sales personnel, with How I See Our Industry Evolving Post-COVID-19 Predictions in four key areas that will reshape the industry as we know it. by Jim Franklyn epixproductions, Natykach Nataliia / Shutterstock.com 68 | JULY 2020 | THINK