New Study: Businesses in South Spend Most on Promo Products

A new study reports businesses and organizations in the South led the nation in money spent on logoed promotional products like pens, caps and T-shirts, for a total of $5.9 billion worth in 2010 – an average $52.31 per person.

Advantages magazine, published by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), reports companies spent an average $56.13 on each person in the U.S., for a total of $17.4 billion worth of logoed business giveaways.

A regional breakdown shows distributors of promotional products based in the Midwest sold $4.3 billion worth of imprinted items, an average $64.08 per person. Distributors in Western states sold $4 billion, an average $56.68 per person, followed by Northeast distributors, who sold $3.1 billion, an average $57.49 per person.

"What's remarkable about this study is how robust the promo products industry really is, whether companies are in high-tech California or metro-heavy Northeast," said Advantages Editor Kathy Huston. "According to our surveys, the industry as a whole defied the recession and grew by 9.1% in 2010."

With the eighth-largest economy in the world, California is home to four of 2010's top five promotional product suppliers: American Apparel, Tri-Mountain/Mountain Gear, Sweda and Sunscope. With tech heavyweights like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Facebook based in California and Washington, many promo product companies in the West focus on this sector.

Tech-related promo products like iPad cases, screen wipes, Flip cameras and USB-powered portable chargers are most popular.

Northeast suppliers and distributors reap the benefit of proximity to the country's largest metropolitan region, and industries like health care, insurance, banking and education report total industry sales of over $3 billion, according to Advantages. Of that total, New York contributes most, with $1.1 billion; Pennsylvania $714 million and N.J. $494 million.

Promotional products include pens, T-shirts, caps, coffee mugs and high-tech electronics imprinted with a logo or slogan to promote everything from a new store opening or hot new product to a Super Bowl win.

Using Personalised Memory Sticks For Promotional Purposes

When you’re looking for promotional merchandise for your business, you want to find products that will both present information and make a lasting impression. A product that is noticed at first and then discarded later that day won’t do your business much good. USB memory sticks are a great promotional product because they will be used by a consumer regularly, possibly for years to come.

Put your company logo, name, or even a quote or motto onto the USB. Whenever people use their personalized memory sticks, they will see your company information. If you put a Web site URL on the stick, you’re even more likely to get people to come back for more information. It’s handy because it’s right near their computer, and many people use their computers every day, or even all day long for work or pleasure.

At Tarsus Group Limited, we aim to help you find the best promotional merchandise available at the best prices. Some of the many different companies you can find listed on our site that offer these products and more include: Sunray USB, Baby USB Ltd, Aardvark Promotions, Myriad UK, and Cedar Promotions.

Use our “Quick Quotes” feature to find quotes from multiple suppliers on the product you have in mind, or browse through our Supplier Directory to choose one that’s right for you. There’s no registration required to find full contact details, and you can easily browse by product range.

Once you know what you want to put on your USB memory sticks, it’s simply a matter of choosing one of the many suppliers we have listed.

Laptop users still prefer USB modems

Mobile data users still overwhelmingly prefer USB modems for keeping PCs and other devices connected on the go, but they may turn more to built-in cellular radios and portable Wi-Fi hotspots over the next five years, according to ABI Research.

Despite the growing market for connected tablets and the availability of laptops and netbooks with high-speed cellular modules built in, worldwide shipments of USB modems still surpass embedded 3G and 4G modules by three to one, ABI said in a report Monday. But by 2016, that ratio may change to near parity, said ABI analyst Jeff Orr.

Mobile operators including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Clearwire give shoppers the option of buying a laptop or netbook with an integrated cellular module. Those computers let subscribers go online almost anywhere without using up a USB port or carrying around a separate piece of hardware that sticks out of the side of the system.

Built-in modems lock buyers into one carrier or network technology for the life of the device, which most consumers and enterprises don't want, Orr said. They buy USB modems because they can be easily discarded when a better network comes along, he said. Prices are low and often there is no early termination fee for getting out of the carrier data contract.

"That device becomes almost disposable," he said.

One problem with built-in modems is that wireless technology changes faster than most users want to change computers. For example, the past three years -- a typical PC lifetime -- have seen the construction of both a WiMax and an LTE network in many cities around the U.S., offering 10 times or more the speed of 3G networks.

The market for embedded modems is still fairly small, according to ABI. In 2010, only about 5 percent of laptops worldwide shipped with built-in cellular modems, Orr said. Among netbooks, 17 percent came with modems, but overall shipments were much smaller for netbooks than for laptops. Meanwhile, 40 percent of tablets came with such modems, but the overall tablet market was smaller still.

But embedded modems could start to gain popularity as tablet sales grow and as the incremental cost of the modems shrinks, Orr said. One thing that could cut that price is shifting some of the cost to an activation fee paid only if the customer decides to sign up for service, he said. There are already laptops available from U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy with WiMax built in, with no requirement for the buyer to sign up for Clearwire service.

Meanwhile, portable Wi-Fi hotspots that use cellular data networks may dwarf both embedded and USB modems by 2016, Orr said. These allow users to connect several devices to the 3G or 4G network simultaneously and pay only for one data plan. All that's needed on each device is Wi-Fi.