• Promo, Friday, January 7, 2011 10:30 AM

In 2009, companies spent $16 billion on branded promotional merchandise like pens, T-shirts, mugs and the like. Staples, the biggest promotional products distributor in North America, has 40% of Fortune 1000 customers, is bullish on merchandise designed to remind consumers about brands, according to Barbara Wells, SVP for Staples promotional products.

"Mid-to-large customers are becoming brand partners. It's not just about selling product anymore. Our role is to show customers how to use promotional products as marketing tools," she said.

Staples is also seeing more interest from large companies. "Within all companies there is tremendous pressure to continue to improve the bottom line. Large companies are looking to consolidate from as many as 10 to 12 promotional products companies to one or two and getting the best price for that consolidated spend," she said.

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