Kermit the frog, a dollar bill and my first kitchen once married. You will never find a common denominator to this unless you recently read about the color of the year for 2022. What is even more interesting is that those who, without any supreme or Divine authority, determine what the colors of the year will be. Our paint companies make that call. In a rare, if not first-time occurrence, Behr, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and PPG have all declared tints of green as the 2022 color. This news and the indication that other businesses are also calling the green hue trending was a news flash in Parade. For those under 50, Parade is an insert in newspapers nationally. Newspapers can be seen in museums and on the history channel.
There is an axiom long standing in our industry that we follow retail trends by a year. However, adept promotional marketers right this very minute should be preparing their style issue of their newsletter with this factoid as their central theme. By marketers, I include suppliers and, of course, distributors. Suppliers market through you and you are their eyes and ears to what buyers want, need and wish for.
Suppliers should focus attention towards personal and household products in this color range that seems to run from sand and cream to olive and seaweed green.
Distributors should focus attention on this trend, convince clients they are up to date on trends and have a creative flare for style. Any external communication should include a quick compilation of apparel in this color group. It is not difficult to right click on the image in your favorite apparel brands and add the illustrations. In column after column l implore distributors to get flip book/zoom catalog software to be able to make spontaneous catalogs in minutes. If doing this yourself frightens you, try www.issuu.com.
As true consultants, creative gurus and branding experts, we need to follow the news, influencers and changing times. Besides ingesting this information, it is good marketing practice and personal/business brand building to play it forward. While I won’t call it a trend, one of the most significant changes in our workplace is working from home. A huge change on the horizon is AI - artificial intelligence. A growing initiative is in food and the movement away from animal to things that are grown. People are dreaming of a trip on SpaceX. They are interested in robotics more than ever. People are once again cocooning. These are just some of the changes and trends that should be considered in what we as consultants sell and develop. In the midst of political unrest and pandemic worries, personal/family safety is of concern. There are many ways to comfort people without providing guns and many promotions to build. Planetary stress for the inhabitants of America and the world is at a zenith. That brings on the opportunity for indulgences such as a box of chocolate or soothing massage in a relaxing aroma bath. Oh boy, has buying changed and it continues to do so precipitated by supply chain issues and now inflation. We can’t make promises and JIT is dead for now. Hence, adjustments must be made in buying (order early, be flexible and have a few backup choices) and selling.
Trends give us opportunities and uncover new, reasonably untapped markets. I have promoted the wellness market for 15 years. The 2022 budgets from government to private enterprise is beyond huge. Listen to my webinar in the PPAI library. That is where you can mine for gold in the year ahead. Covid has stimulated the wellness market to react. It is way beyond masks. Think outside the box, do your research, your external communication and do not lament business and customers lost over the chaotic past few years.
Joel D. Schaffer, MAS is CEO and Founder of Soundline, LLC, the pioneering supplier to the promotional products industry of audio products. Joel has 48 years of promotional product industry experience and proudly heralds “I was a distributor.” He has been on the advisory panel of the business and marketing department of St. John’s University in New York and is a frequent speaker at Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is an industry Advocate and has appeared before the American Bankers Association, American Marketing Association, National Premium Sales Executives, American Booksellers Association and several other major groups. He has been a management consultant to organizations such as The College Board and helped many suppliers enter this industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPB and Counselor magazines. He has facilitated over 200 classes sharing his industry knowledge nationwide. He is known for his cutting humor and enthusiasm in presenting provocative and motivating programs. He is the only person to have received both the Marvin Spike Industry Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) and PPAI’s Distinguished Service Award (2011). He is a past director of PPAI and has chaired several PPAI committees and task forces. He is a past Chair of the SAAGNY Foundation, Past President of SAAGNY and a SAAGNY Hall of Fame member. He was cited by ASI as one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.