Leaders in the promotional products industry must be nimble and innovative to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s a modern printing technique, a brand new fabric, or a cutting-edge way to laser etch hard goods, this industry is built on technology. Making sure you have the most innovative decoration and manufacturing tech is vital to your success in the industry, but the digital tools you use to market and sell your products are just as important. In fact, we recently launched a whole video interview series exploring how leading suppliers blaze their trails into the future.

These companies are moving the promotional products industry forward with the digital tools they use to engage with customers and empower distributors to sell more products. Let’s look at the tech behind their tools, why we love it, and how you can follow their lead.

(If you’re looking for our recent article about using tech as promo, you can check it out here.)

PCNA’s Modern Website Redesign

PCNA recently updated their website, and now you can easily add products to your project lists as you browse their site. Once you’re done searching, you can quickly send a product list to ZOOMstudio and create a presentation, lookbook, or sell sheet.

Why we love it: PCNA is changing the way users search and collect products to use in their presentations. The ability to quickly add products to a list and then immediately access and use that list of products in ZOOMstudio is a game-changer.

PCNA’s site layout also merges ZOOMstudio and ZOOMcustom in an innovative way. On their custom flyers page where users can download or customize pre-designed flyers, they include a “blank flyer” option at the top. This looks just like all of their other ZOOMcustom catalogs and flyers, but it takes the user to ZOOMstudio where they can assemble their own materials from scratch with products and images of their choice.

It’s an elegant way of giving their users a range of options that feel familiar and work together seamlessly. 

SanMar’s Design Studio With Virtual Samples 

SanMar’s Design Studio is like an entire suite of design tools built inside their website. With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, Design Studio gives SanMar’s distributors the power to create, customize, and share marketing materials with their customers. Users can also store their creations inside the studio so they can revisit old designs and update them as needed. 

Why we love it: The new Virtual Samples option in SanMar’s Design Studio is one of the most powerful tools we have seen all year. Distributors can drop logos and text onto products and wrap them around the sleeves and torsos of the garment. The images and text can go under hoods and strings, take on a realistic embroidery effect, and much more. 

Want to change the color of your logo? Quickly view it on several color variations? See multiple products with the same logo? The Virtual Sample tool does all of that! What used to take hours of work in Photoshop can now be done in minutes. It’s like magic!

The Magnet Group’s Instant Search Functionality

We already wrote an entire article on this awesome new feature, but it was so cool we wanted to mention it again. The Magnet Group’s InstaSearch makes it easy for customers to find the specific product they’re looking for whenever they open one of The Magnet Group’s ZOOMcatalogs. 

Why we love it: We love working with our customers to solve their problems. Read a full rundown of how InstaSearch came to be and learn what it’s like to work with our development team here.

alphabroder’s Digital Lounge

When alphabroder revitalized their website, they gathered together all of the digital tools their users might need in one central location. Their Digital Lounge contains over 500 pieces of digital content like videos, grab-and-go social media content, a photo library, and of course the tools you need to customize alphabroder’s digital catalogs and flyers.

Why we love it: If there’s a digital lounge with comfortable couches, we want to hang out there and chill by a digital window listening to some sweet tunes. In all seriousness, the thing we love most about the Digital Lounge is how easy it is to find what you’re looking for and the amount of valuable content. Plus, the entire lounge is searchable!

Gemline’s Flyer Builder Instructions

Sometimes the tech itself isn’t new, but the way it’s presented stands out. If you navigate your way to Gemline’s custom flyer builder, what you’ll find is a solid walkthrough and clear instructions that empower you with knowledge, making it quick and easy for anyone to create powerful digital marketing materials.

Why we love it: Just look at the care they’ve put into this how-to video. This type of instruction ensures your users will get the most out of your digital tools.

Batch & Bodega’s Storytelling Videos

There’s that old adage about always leaving them hungry for more, and Batch & Bodega’s videos will do just that. In addition to sleek digital catalogs, Batch & Bodega’s videos use compelling storytelling to entertain and engage viewers around artisan producers and their small-batch goods. 

Why we love it: What’s not to love about cookies and ice cream? These videos have very high production value, and they’re all downloadable and embeddable, so distributors can easily use them in their own campaigns.

How you can follow their leads:

Whether it’s the thoughtful layout of your website’s navigation bar, custom functionality, or helpful how-to videos to teach customers how to use your tools – we can help! Our team is well versed in thinking around digital roadblocks and creating solutions to your digital marketing problems. Contact us at hello@zoomcatalog.com and let’s explore the cutting edge of tech together.