| |
Promotional Industry Online
Paul J. Gibler
The promotional (specialty item) industry is rapidly going
online with new vendors offering buyers the advantages
of quick database searches, online ordering and order
tracking. Among
the search criteria that these vendors are offering
buyers are the following:
- Close-outs
- Cost
(range of prices)
- Event
type (party, convention, sales meeting, milestone,
etc.)
- Industry
examples (health care, insurance, pharmaceutical
etc.)
- Product
type (office item, clothing, dishes etc.)
- Quantity
available or minimum order size
- Timeline
or speed of delivery
Other advantages they claim to offer are online proofs and
order tracking. Some
neat tools that are showing up online are simulated
products using stored logos of major corporations,
planning calendars to trigger date-based promotions and
customized promotions.
Here are some of the sites worth visiting:
http://www.allpromotionalproducts.com
http://www.branders.com - “the see before you buy
promotional store”.
http://www.corporategear.com -setting up a
business-to-business exchange with a May launch
http://www.ecompanystore.com - sets up corporate
stores
http://www.madetoorder.com - “the experts in logo
merchandise”
http://www.promomart.com
- sends your order to local vendors http://www.promoxchange.com
- “connecting buyers with suppliers”
http://www.promocity.com - “the online promotional
merchandise store”
http://www.pix.com -
turn your pictures into promotional items
http://www.starbelly.com - whatever you wish or
whatever you want
The business models that are being pursued include setting up
company stores for corporations, helping businesses
create logo merchandise for re-sale online, direct
purchases online and re-directing business to
traditional offline specialty item merchants.
Reprinted from MadAdFed Newsletter, April 2000
|
