Sports & recreation: When every season is promo season

Let’s be honest: The branded products space is a crowded one, and the choices are pretty much the same at every distributor. But not every product will work for every client, and knowing what works for yours is what will make the difference.

Branded sports and outdoor equipment are a perfect example. Americans love the great outdoors, whether they’re playing their favorite sport, enjoying an afternoon in the park, or tailgating before the big game. Tying your recommendations to a specific sports season or the most popular times for various recreational activities makes it easier to find what works. So does knowing whether your clients only want gifts for their customers or also to recognize and reward their employees — an increasingly popular choice that can give your company a steady stream of new projects.

Take pickleball, for example. Distributors who stay on top of trends know this paddle sport has become extremely popular due to its accessibility to people of almost every age and physical condition. According to USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body, 4,000 new locations were added in 2024, bringing the total to 15,910 places to play. Pickleball.com reports that by 2024, about 19.8 million Americans were actively playing, making it the fastest-growing sport in the country.

We’re seeing a skyrocketing demand for jobs involving pickleball gear for employee retention gifts and team activities. We recently created branded equipment for a builder putting pickleball courts in residential communities and giving the items to new homeowners as gifts. Custom pickleball sets have become highly sought-after corporate gifts; companies are opting for branded paddles, balls, and accessories, often packaged as memorable, personalized gift sets that employees can use well beyond a single event.

As with anything else, seasonality affects what people purchase in the recreation category. Early spring brings a spike in demand for golf-related swag because so many businesses sponsor or organize charity and community tournaments. We are seeing an uptick in branded coolers used as giveaways; the recipients will use these for camping trips, vacations, or parties. Cooler bags, camp chairs, hammocks, and hydration gear are hugely popular here in Idaho. Hiking, camping, fishing, and climbing are integral to our culture and a significant reason people come to Idaho.

Other states have their own unique recreation communities, some of them surprising: According to Snowsports Industries America, Florida has the second-highest number of skiers, and they don’t mean water skiers. More winter skiers live in the Sunshine State than in California, Texas, and Colorado, outnumbered only by New York.

For branded apparel, the different buying generations – Gen Z, millennials, and boomers – play a critical role in the clothing to which you add your client’s brand. It’s crucial to be well-versed in all of those trends, because they greatly dictate the buying decisions.

Creating solutions

There’s more to identifying needs than knowing the season and what clients’ customers are interested in. Your client’s values matter, too. We use a discovery sheet that helps us learn their core values and what makes them tick, ultimately enabling us to figure out a solution to their unique situation.

• Practicality: This should be near the top of your list when selecting the items you distribute. For a client’s work-from-anywhere employee, you need to consider their work environment and how to make them feel like they are part of the team even when they’re not physically with the team. It becomes a challenge to build that camaraderie when the individual is a remote worker.
• Durability & uniqueness: These are always popular. We found a vendor who could print the texture of a golf ball, basketball, soccer ball, or similar equipment on the outside of their drinking bottles, which had the features of a YETI. For certain businesses, that stand-out quality will be what pushes them to purchase once they realize the value of an item like that.
• Environmental concerns: Sustainability is a key value for many companies, but don’t assume it’s a priority for everyone. It entirely depends on the company’s core values. If they think it’s essential
  that their products be eco-friendly and sustainable, those values will play a role. If not, they won’t seek out those features.

All about value

As distributors, we need to sell value, not product, and make the client feel like we are an extension of their marketing team.

Take the time to understand what makes them, them. Make it easy for them to do business with you because they don’t have to come up with the ideas; you’re the expert here.

Distributors who invest in their client relationships will have no issues growing. If they don’t, they won’t last — they are no different than any other large distributor or an online vendor.

If we just push product, we are missing the point. Clients will choose to buy from the distributor offering creative solutions unique to them and provided by a real person, not a website.