Quad Announces a Move into $26.6B Promotional Products Space

By Ashley Roberts

Sussex, Wisconsin-based Quad announced last week that it is moving into the $26.6 billion promotional products market. The company, which most recently reported total sales of $2.96B on the 2024 Printing Impressions annual ranking of the 300 largest printing companies (on which it was ranked No. 3) as ranked by annual sales, noted in a press release that the expansion, "strengthens Quad’s already robust portfolio of integrated solutions that helps marketers make more direct and meaningful connections with customers and employees."

Quad noted in the release that it aims to relieve marketers of "the burden of managing a complex branded goods program." The company's general manager of managed services Oliver Kimberley said in the release:

Promotional goods are more than just products – they’re extensions of a brand’s story – in the marketplace and in the workplace. The modern marketer is the principal brand steward. With 77% of marketers reporting that they currently face complexity within their marketing ecosystem, they have limited bandwidth for managing an impactful branded solutions program. Quad makes it easier for marketers to include branded merchandise as a consistent and cohesive part of their brand’s marketing mix with the high-quality results and frictionless experience we’re known for.

This expansion comes at a time when other print service providers (PSPs) consider the opportunities that exist in the promotional products space. In an article published on Printing Impressions last summer, senior editor Toni McQuilken noted the opportunity for commercial printers looking to expand. She wrote:

Promotional products are a growing opportunity for many commercial printers. While the dedicated equipment is still very much needed for large batches or long runs, there are a number of digital solutions, particularly on the flatbed printer side, that allow commercial printers to offer a range of personalized products to customers.

The opportunity for promotional products to serve as an additional revenue stream doesn't just stand for the third largest printing company in the U.S. and Canada, it is a viable option for PSPs of any size. ASI's Brendan Menapace held a panel on this topic at PRINTING United Expo in September 2024. He spoke with four PSPs that had moved into selling branded merch, either because customers were demanding it or out of "pure survival."

Because of this growing opportunity, ASI's Theresa Hegel pulled together the top 10 things for commercial PSPs to know before moving into promotional products, earlier this year. She noted that "print, promo, and decoration are increasingly converging," pointing specifically to a recently-launched podcast from ASI that explores this very topic.

It doesn't come as a big surprise that Quad is moving into this thriving space (District Photo also recently told Printing Impressions that it is moving into the promotional space), considering the size and scope of the industry and the potential for PSPs to grow business and improve retention of great customers, as Matt Barnes (executive vice president of ASI and ASI Show) mentioned in our recent Q&A with him. It will be interesting to see how Quad approaches this market and how it might influence other PSPs to follow suit.