Key Takeaways

• The convergence between print and promo is driven by client convenience, with the industries overlapping because clients increasingly want a “one-stop shop” experience. For example, a wide-format printer producing trade show graphics can also supply the promotional giveaways – and vice versa for promo distributors who can offer signage and booth materials. The goal is to make it easy for clients to get everything from one trusted partner.

• Wide-format printers can enter promo easily through partnerships. Printers don’t need new equipment or big investments to branch into promo. By partnering with ASI suppliers, they can leverage existing relationships and outsource decoration and production.

• Sustainability is crucial to changing promo’s “trinkets and trash” image. Hegel touted ASI’s “Promo for the Planet” educational resource page, which shares the latest trends and key terms related to sustainability in promo. Sustainability starts with educating clients – encouraging them to choose quality, useful, long-lasting items that reflect their brand positively, rather than cheap giveaways that end up as “brandfill.”

• Consultative selling elevates both sustainability and impact. Instead of being commodity sellers, she urges promo professionals to take a consultative approach – helping clients select thoughtful products that create emotional connections and real brand impressions. She shares a story about a State Farm-branded jar opener that became genuinely meaningful to its owner, illustrating how small useful items can drive lasting brand loyalty.

• Personalization and print-on-demand (POD) technology are reshaping promo trends. POD is a major force enabling personalization and small-batch production. This allows for customized, e-commerce-driven promo that’s both scalable and profitable. She connects this to the rise of “cool” branded merchandise, such as Dunkin’s limited-edition apparel drops, showing how promo can have real retail appeal.

• The future of print and promo is integration. Looking ahead, she predicts that the lines between print, promo, apparel and wide-format will blur entirely – eventually becoming one unified industry. With collaborations like ASI’s pavilion at PRINTING United Expo 2026, she envisions a future where print and promo professionals work together in “one big happy (if slightly dysfunctional) family.”