OnFulfillment Blog | Event Marketing Materials (2)

Over the past decade or two, it has become increasingly common for marketing organizations to outsource the bulk of their writing, design, and fulfillment services to outside vendors.

From a business perspective, it makes a lot of sense. It’s typically more cost-effective to bring in outside help only when needed rather than hire—and pay for—full-time staff. It’s largely a transactional relationship that lasts only as long as the project in question, and it works well for both sides.

Managing those relationships so that they continue to benefit both sides, however, requires some work. It’s natural to grow comfortable with the vendors you’ve carefully groomed over the years, steeping them in your corporate culture. They know you; you trust them. It’s comfortable. It’s…easy.

That’s when it’s time to take a close and critical look at the relationship.

Event season is heating up. That means companies will be looking for shippers to help them get their materials to venues around the country.

There are many vendors to choose from. It’s a highly competitive field, and shippers will be negotiating aggressively and making lots of promises to get the business. That is the time to be highly skeptical and to do the necessary research before signing a contract or even making a handshake agreement.

Everyone knows that if an offer seems to be too good to be true, it usually is. Making an ill-advised decision has significant consequences, and making a bad decision about a shipper when your event is on the line could be disastrous.

Spring has sprung. Warmer weather is on the way. People are shifting their social activities outdoors. And that means one thing: it’s time to start thinking about your spring and summer promotional campaigns.

Seasonal gifts and giveaways are available in all sorts of price ranges, from under $5 to more than $100. No matter what your budget, there are plenty of warm-weather items to choose from that will make your brand stand out.

Here are some of our favorite spring and summer giveaways, organized by price point, to help you rise above the competition.

The post-COVID resurgence of in-person events has had a spillover effect on the branded promotional merchandise industry. Companies need giveaways to spread the brand, leading to increasing orders for branded promotional items ranging from apparel and office supplies to drinkware, electronics, and scores of other tools.

Unfortunately, the recent implementation of tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico and China—the primary suppliers of many promotional products—are expected to have a profound impact on the promotional merchandise industry. There have been hints that higher tariffs may be coming for select goods from Europe as well. Although there is a certain amount of gamesmanship and negotiating going on, causing delays in the implementation, it’s a virtual certainty that changes are afoot.

We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t sweat the small stuff.” That’s great advice—at least, for most situations.

But when it comes to event management and fulfillment, it’s almost all “small stuff.” The big stuff—like booth construction, signage, product displays—is right there in front of you, easy to see, track, and fix if needed. Instead, it’s the dozens of often overlooked administrative and organizational tasks that pose the real challenge. Collectively these jobs make an oversized contribution to the ultimate success of every trade show, conference, and seminar—and it’s not uncommon for many of them to slip through the cracks.

In fact, the small stuff is so important to effective event management that it brings to mind another popular phrase: “The devil is in the details.”