Political Promotional Products for 2016

Promotional item sales realized an annual growth of 1.09 percent in 2015, the smallest since 2010 however; it signified the fifth straight year of positive growth for the industry, according to Promotional Products Association International. Given that 2016 is an election year, promotional product suppliers have good reason to expect that this trend will continue, and at a much higher growth rate than the previous year. According to Margit Fawbush, communications manager for BIC Graphic, the 2016 presidential election will likely be a crediting factor of increased profits for promotional product vendors given that candidates seem to be buying more promotional products this year compared to past, and also due to a longer election cycle.

Candidates are increasingly branding themselves as commodities versus merely faceless names on signs and banners. As a result, political marketing strategies are drawing an increasingly parallel reliance on promotional products to propagate their platforms, slogans, and ideals. This trend is gaining momentum as evidenced by Donald Trump's campaign which spent $825,000 on promotional items in the third quarter of 2015 alone, according to C.J. Mittica, executive editor for Counselor Magazine; and a recent episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert featured a segment titled, "Race To The Merch House," reporting on the growing popularity of the various promotional props offered by candidates' online stores.

Aside from common promotional items for supporters, such as t-shirts, pins and hats, some of the more popular items include Hillary Clinton's "Chillary Drink Koozie," Bernie Sanders "Feel the Bern" coffee mug, and Jeb Bush's "Guaca Bowle." Candidates are using the sales of these items from their online stores to help fund their campaigns and increase their brand recognition among voters. Political advertising is forecast to increase by nearly 20 percent according to research firm Borrell Associates. In the 2012 election year, ASI estimated total election­-related promotional products spending at $870 million, which means if forecasters are correct, spending on political promotional products could top the $1 billion mark in 2016.

To show your party or candidate support, visit us at www.fullypromoted.com to locate your local Fully Promoted Resource Center and to view our selection of political campaign products and work with our design experts to create buzz-worthy messaging for your grass-roots campaign website, online store, debate party or rally.