The promotional marketing industry has always been rooted in fun and creativity, but innovation and invention have become critical components of success for promotional marketing companies today. Icon Marketing, a top tier promotional products distributor located in Northeast Wisconsin for more than 20 years, has evolved with the changing business landscape to continue to provide value and innovative services to its clients across the United States. Today, Icon Marketing heavily utilizes e-commerce and warehousing technologies with its clients to provide cost-effective solutions to managing brand merchandise. In addition, Icon Marketing leverages its unique leadership position within the industry to offer premium brands and products not offered elsewhere and help its clients stand out in the marketplace.
E-commerce solutions
Just a few short years ago, many corporate marketers managed their promotional product and corporate apparel inventory internally. Branded merchandise was kept in a closet or spare office. Corporate apparel was ordered in bulk and distributed to staff as needed for events with the hopes that it fit or would be appreciated beyond the event date. In some cases, individual departments within the same company ordered their own branded merchandise with little regard for corporate brand standards. This led to inefficient purchasing, branded items that did not align with corporate brand standards and items that languished well beyond their useful life only to be thrown away unused.
Icon Marketing was among the first promotional distributors to recognize the power of e-commerce solutions within our industry. From corporate storefronts to gift redemption storefronts to pop-up shops, Icon Marketing helps clients better manage their branded merchandise through targeted e-commerce solutions.
Corporate retail storefronts, designed exclusively for large corporate clients, allow for the sale of branded goods internally to employees or externally to the general public. The Icon team works closely with each client on everything from product selection to marketing strategy to store design. These storefronts offer a great deal of customization to truly make the shopping experience unique, while also ensuring all elements are brand compliant. These corporate retail storefronts offer many benefits, including streamlined ordering, better inventory management and less waste, even while expanding the product offering.
Gift redemption storefronts offer clients a superior way to gift employees, prospects or customers. Gift recipients enter codes to choose their gifts instead of having to make payments. Gift redemption storefronts can offer tiered categories of gifts to truly customize the experience for a large audience. These redemption storefronts offer an elevated way to reward employees for a job well done or to commemorate employee anniversaries or life milestones such as weddings or the birth/adoption of a child.
Pop-up shops are the perfect solution for clients who want to offer their employees a high-impact storefront filled with a limited selection of branded merchandise at a nominal cost. Pop-up shops are perfect for those clients that are not ready for a full company store but want to offer the option to purchase branded merchandise on a short-term basis.
Warehouse technology & fulfillment
Icon Marketing offers a full range of warehousing and fulfillment services to include packing/kitting and bulk shipping, ongoing subscription fulfillment and e-commerce management. This breadth of services is available in part thanks to our state-of-the-art warehouse facility and dedicated warehouse team. We carefully manage inventory and fulfill orders using the latest technology, and we are extremely proud that our order accuracy and fulfillment times often exceed industry standards. Every project, big or small, receives the same careful attention and is double checked for accuracy.
Kits are among our favorite projects to complete and really allow our team to showcase innovative products and packaging. From new hire welcome kits to celebratory gifts, to trade show or event-based gifts, our team works with each client to identify the specific objective for the kit and then makes product and packaging recommendations accordingly to ensure the individual needs of the client are met.
Eco-friendly/retail brands
If there is one thing that is constant within the promotional products industry, it is change — especially product changes. Items such as keychains, can koozies, pens and t-shirts still remain a vibrant part of the promotional products industry today. While these products are classics and will undoubtedly stand the test of time, there has been a recent movement toward putting an emphasis on quality over price and focusing on sustainability and socially conscious items. Product innovation within the promotional marketing industry looks different today than it did just a few short years ago.
Brands that traditionally were only sold at retail have been entering the promotional products industry in large numbers the past few years. This could be because brand recall can be a challenge for advertisers, while promotional products average an 88% recall rate with consumers. These high recall rates are for “average” promotional products like t-shirts, totes or pens. Imagine how much higher that recall rate is for a branded premium retail item. Furthermore, consider the life cycle of a promotional product. If customers keep a can koozie for an average of eight months, imagine how much longer they would hold onto a branded Sony speaker, HydroFlask bottle or Brooks Brothers apparel? Clients are recognizing that they can create very positive brand associations by paying attention to the items on which they promote their brand.
Another innovation within the promotional products industry is a renewed focus on sustainable products and products sourced from socially responsible companies. Last year, sales of sustainable products surged 20% from 2021 figures, and the 2023 projection for sustainable product sales growth is just as robust. Clients continue to demand products that have a minimal effect on the environment. Similarly, 58% of clients today indicate that they are more likely to purchase from (or support) brands that align with their values. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) primarily centers around environmental, ethical/human rights, philanthropic and economic responsibility, and an increasing number of promotional product companies are expanding their product offerings to include items that resonate with this demand.
The promotional products industry has evolved over the past few years as clients continue to demand brand-focused solutions to drive business forward. Icon Marketing has been leading the way with innovative responses to these changing market needs. Every day, Icon Marketing helps customers identify the appropriate branded product portfolio to include retail brands and sustainable products and creates online solutions to better promote and manage our clients’ branded merchandise through a variety of e-commerce solutions. Icon Marketing is building industry icons.
Company: Icon Marketing
Innovation: Managing brand merchandise utilizing e-commerce and warehousing technologies
Website: iconmarketinginc.com
