Schoolhouse Rock: Education Market Ranks No. 1

New ASI study says education accounts for $2.16 billion of total ad specialty revenues

TREVOSE, PA – August 22, 2011 – A new study from the Advertising Specialty Institute says the education/schools/universities market rose to No. 1 in the industry for the first time, accounting for over 12% of total ad specialty revenues.

In addition, the ad specialty industry posted gains in six straight quarters, according to ASI sales surveys, with 2011 second–quarter sales approximately $4.6 billion. Sales of all promotional products – aka logoed giveaways handed out to promote companies, schools and events – rose 9.4% in 2010 to $17.4 billion.

In ASI’s State of the Industry 2011 Distributors Report, distributors were asked what percentage of sales volume was done in various markets during 2010. The education market has steadily grown, up nearly two percentage points from 2009, and up for the fourth consecutive year.

Other highlights of the report, which was published in a special annual issue of Counselor magazine, include:

Nearly 50 million students are heading off to approximately 99,000 public elementary and secondary schools for the fall term, according to the U.S. Department of Education. “In the face of slashed school budgets, schools, sports teams and clubs often sell ad specialties to raise money for activities and boost school pride, selling logoed cups, shirts, bags and even models of the school itself,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “Considering there are about 6.9 million high school athletes alone, it’s no wonder the education market is so robust.”

Andrews said another education trend concerns an uptick in corporate sponsorship of schools, clubs and teams, with most guidelines allowing for sponsorship as long as the product itself is educational in nature. USA Today reports about half a dozen states already allow school bus advertising as a way to counter severe education budget cuts, including Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas.

ASI’s research studies are the most influential in the industry’s history, continuously cited throughout the B-to-B industry and across the advertising and marketing spectrum.