Does AI Have a Place in the Custom Promotional Products Industry?

AI is everywhere, with a third of businesses already using generative AI in at least one function, according to a recent survey from McKinsey. At Fossa, we can’t help but wonder, Does AI—a technology that’s so theoretical—have a place in the very tangible promotional products industry?  

The answer is a resounding yes! AI can help strengthen the custom promotional products industry in a variety of ways, from streamlining sales and marketing efforts, to boosting creativity, to delivering more personalized experiences to end users. Let’s take a closer look at each area.  

AI in design and product development 

While it’s unlikely that AI will replace human creativity anytime soon, the technology can be used to augment designers’ work. AI-powered platforms can take sketches, mood boards, and design details like fabric type, color scheme, and logo and use this information to create a variety of high-fidelity designs. From there, designers—the human ones—have dozens of looks and styles to select from based on what they know their customers will love.  

Beyond apparel, AI may be used to create endless iterations of a logo based on specific input criteria. Artificial intelligence can tackle this task much faster than a designer can, freeing the designer up to focus on creative direction and strategy work.  

The promotional products industry may also see AI used to augment personalization and customization efforts. In the future, AI will likely generate product designs completely tailored to an individual customer’s size and design preferences, resulting in apparel items that end users are more likely to wear.  

AI in marketing and content creation  

Generative AIs, like the increasingly popular ChatGPT, are already helping promotional products manufacturers generate marketing content ideas and copy for blog posts, ads, emails, social posts, and SEO metadata. Promotional products research and marketing platform SAGE is also testing the AI waters, having unveiled new artificial intelligence-powered search and content creation features earlier this year.   

In the future, AI may also be used to personalize online consumer journeys, special offers, web pages, and product descriptions based on individual consumer preferences. Product demos tailored to individual customers are also within reach.  

AI for sales teams 

One of the biggest advantages of AI-powered technology is its ability to analyze large data sets. Moving forward, machine learning may be used to analyze sales data and make predictions around trends and customer preferences. From there, predictive analysis can be used to develop personas, product descriptions, and lead generation assets—think landing pages, emails, ads, and other sales communications—that are customized to each recipient.

AI in customer service  

Conversational chatbots are already being used in a customer service capacity—and this is just the beginning. The more information conversational AIs are fed, the more they learn about a brand and the better equipped they are to deliver a valuable customer service experience.

AI to boost sustainability efforts 

With AI’s ability to predict trends and demand for specific products, it can be used to help produce promotional products in quantities that accurately reflect a business’s needs. Artificial intelligence may even be used to aid on-demand production. The result—less waste, less impact on our environment, and potential cost savings for customers.  

AI is exciting, but humans are here to stay 

One of the biggest concerns around AI is that it will replace jobs, but we’re nowhere near ready to let chatbots take over our work. 

“Whatever the future holds, Fossa will always take a human-first approach,” says President Michelle Chen. “We embrace new technologies but always evaluate the pros and cons. We make every decision based on whether there is potential to positively impact our customers.”  

While AI-powered platforms are assisting creative teams with brainstorming new ideas, helping copywriters do more in less time, and taking over tedious tasks like notetaking, AI is still in its infancy. Artificial intelligence requires major advances in computing power before we see widespread industry adoption. The bottom line—the promotional products industry is in the right place—curious and hungry for what’s next—but just like AIs themselves, we’ve still got a lot to learn.