Here are just a few of the over 1,000 new items that JDS Industries is introducing for 2010.

Here are just a few of the over 1,000 new items that JDS Industries is introducing for 2010.

The calendar shows that March has come around once again, and with it, every supplier and manufacturer excitedly prepares to introduce new awards to the market.

In anticipation of this mass introduction, we spoke with a few of the industry’s suppliers and asked them all a few questions about the trends, styles, colors and materials they foresee for this year. Take a look at what they had to say.

AWARDS TRENDS
Each year, there are certain design and style elements that take hold throughout the industry to create a trend.

This year, Philippe Marier, Sales Manager for CMA Distribution in Champlain, New York, says the North American market is looking for large trophies and awards. “We like to have large trophies and resins. I think the trend will be to go big while simultaneously looking for a good price.”

“As for CMA, this year we are introducing a new cup with a design embedded and punched directly into it. We are going to begin with the one model we have, and if it works out, we’ll be able to customize for different sports. The first one has an American flag embedded into the cup. We think that will be a big seller this year. Everyone who has seen it so far has fallen in love with the product,” says Marier.

That would complement the observations of Jim Seidel, president of Best Buy Awards in Sarasota, Florida, who says, “Overall, cups and bowls seem to be coming back into prominence.”

Pertaining to Best Buy Awards, he adds, “Our products have different colors and a different overall style than many products in the industry. While most products are coming from China, ours come from Brazil. Due to their South American origin, these products have their own flair, and they look unlike any other line in the industry. They are very colorful.”

Though we will later discuss the trendy colors for 2010, color itself seems to be a trend this year. Cathy Garcia, director of marketing and new product development for PDU in South El Monte, California, says, “Color, color and more color! Sublimation and other types of color application are the focus for the near future.”

Mike May, internal operations manager for JDS Industries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, explains that trophy recipients have come to expect colorful and detailed graphics in their awards. “Products with the most colorful, bold and sharp graphics will be the most popular styles.”

May adds, “JDS introduced spinning figures with soft sports balls in 2009 that were very well received. These soft ball awards will be very popular again in 2010.”

Playful awards with dazzling colors will delight the eyes of buyers at this year’s shows, but how many of those new colors will actually stick with shop owners?

Steven Kite, president of Victory, a division of Planter, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois, suggests that shop owners take their time when checking out the new products. “At this point, I think we need time to absorb what has already been thrown at us. The number of choices for dealers right now is overwhelming.

They know one of the pitfalls for sales is to overwhelm the customer with too many choices. They get easily confused. Sometimes, it’s better to narrow a product line to items you know will be successful with your customers. With all that has gone on the last couple of years, the desire to streamline and simplify may be a trend to watch.”

Among the new products being offered by CMA Distribution is a new resin product, pictured in the center, made in the shape and color of the pink breast-cancer ribbon.

MATERIALS
Several years ago, a new material for trophies—resin—was introduced, and it kicked off quite a trend. Resin trophies have been around for the better part of this decade, but what about the next ten years?

“I was convinced seven years ago that resin would be the material of choice for a short, ‘pet rock,’ period of time, a max of three years. Well, I was dead wrong. Resin continues to be strong as a key material in awards, and price is becoming extremely elastic,” says Garcia.

Others are not as optimistic about the future of resin. “One trend that is slowing down is resin pieces. They have been very prominent, but I have been to a number of stores this last year that were disappointed with their sales for resins,” says Seidel.

Many feel that resins have saturated the market and have reached their peak. “Does that mean it’s going to start going down? I don’t know. But, I know everybody has resins. There are so many other choices,” says Kite.

The future of resin awards may be uncertain, but for 2010, it is still an important material manufacturers are using to create new awards. Marier notes that CMA has a new resin product. “It’s a resin made in the shape and color of the pink breast-cancer ribbon to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. We’re going to work with the Breast Cancer Foundation and donate a portion of the profits to the foundation.”

Last year, there were several ceramic pieces available, and Marier thinks that trend will continue. “We started with a few trophies last year that were ceramic, and they were a very high quality of ceramic that we obtained for a great price. We’ve actually got a few designs now, for football, basketball, soccer and baseball. Those are brand new designs for 2010. One of the classiest looks for these products is the ceramic white and gold. With the economy still recovering, we think those products are going to perform well with our customers,” says Marier.

Looking at other materials, Kite thinks that crystal will remain important, “but I don’t know if it’s still considered a growth part of our industry,” he says.

Interestingly, Garcia sees acrylic losing ground rapidly, with glass now the replacement. “I believe price and valued appearance is the reason,” says Garcia.

Seidel comments on another material, “One product we think will do well is FlexiBrass for engraving material. The material is versatile and easy to use. It’s a little more expensive, but it provides much more flexibility.”

Marier adds, “We have seen black marble bases replace black plastic bases throughout the industry. They are a higher-quality material, and they are well priced.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
As mentioned earlier, awards with color are a trend themselves. Why? “The more color trophy components have, the better they will sell,” says May. True enough; however, there are trends among colors as well.

“One color we are seeing a lot of interest in is silver. It’s a classic look, the color of many of the best known trophies, such as the Stanley Cup and the Lombardi Trophy. Most golf and tennis cups are also silver. We are also going to black marble bases. Those did very well for us last year. Silver cups with black marble bases,” says Marier.

Marier adds, “For our resin products, we have a product called Copper Reflects. Resins used to all have a very uniform, grayish color. Now, we have brought different colors to different pieces of clothing on all of the players. It’s a shiny new look.”

Seidel concurs with Marier’s views on silver. “I think for the industry as a whole, there is a trend toward silver. People are looking for something a little different, and silver is one of the ways to do it,” says Seidel. “For the trophies themselves, we think the market will look for vibrant blues, reds and greens.”

With color becoming so prominent, many manufacturers are offering customers the opportunity to choose their own. Soon, custom colors may become an industry trend.

Best Buy Awards is introducing a beautiful new crown riser in 4” to 6” sizes. It has a crown effect at the top of it and can be used as a trophy itself or as part of a bigger trophy.

OTHER PATTERNS
Though styles, designs, materials and colors would seem to cover most aspects of trends, there are still other patterns that emerge. The most prominent among them is the push to make awards easier to assemble. Garcia notes that assembled awards, snap technology (different operating system for assembling an award) and kinetics (lots more spinning, moving, rocking, rolling) are all gaining momentum in the design of awards.

Seidel notes, “In our case, the more complicated components are pre-assembled, so our customers do not have to spend hours assembling. A lot of our trophies are now pre-assembled. All they need is a plate and a figure. It makes sense for orders with sudden deadlines. It is also a way to go for shops that are diversified and find it more profitable to use their employees’ time operating equipment or making sales rather than assembling product.”

Kite says, “Dealers are going to increase their capabilities with equipment, more printers and sublimation. Products need to cater to that. I think they are also going to find that trying to do everything in-house is going to be more difficult because of the availability of material and partially finished products that they can then take to the next level.”

Kite continues, “Suppliers are becoming more and more product intense. A supplier can provide a product that allows the dealer to use the newer technologies to provide awards that were not available ten years ago.”

Further, says Kite, “I think suppliers and manufacturers are recognizing that they need to make the dealer’s life easier with products—where the dealer can open the box, deal with the product, close the box and be done.”

NEW & EXCITING FOR 2010!
While most sources for this article discussed trends in awards for the industry as a whole, there were also a few specific new awards they were excited to mention specifically.

CMA Distribution is excited about their new Italian style cups. “They are high-end products with designs that haven’t been seen in North America before, so we’re excited to bring those to market,” says Marier.

PDU has built a few lines around spinning technology. “We are most excited about that. Snap technology is a close second followed by full color/metallic accent columns,” says Garcia.

May is excited to relay that, “JDS Industries is introducing over 1,000 new items for 2010, including an affordable spinning trophy figure with a 3-star design, an expanded line of the popular Trophy Dudes™ and Column Risers that spin and include motion graphics. New resin figure trophies include a Graphic Sport design and a Sport Star design. These are only a few of the huge selection of new items JDS is introducing.”

Best Buy Awards is introducing a beautiful new crown riser. “There are 4” to 6” sizes. It has a crown effect at the top of it and can be used as a trophy itself or as part of a bigger trophy. We are also introducing a couple of new black and gold classic trophies with some new cups,” says Seidel.

Victory will continue to build on the excitement of a new product they brought to market a while ago. “We have a line of products that was introduced last year. The product is a solution to a problem that dealers face with perpetual plaques. The plates are held on with magnets in a trough area, and customers can pop them in or out themselves, with no screws or tools required. We are going to spend a lot of time highlighting the potential for this product,” says Kite.

WHAT’S NEW?
There are many different things customers look for when shopping, but customers who are familiar with their shop and its product lines look for something more specific. That search can be summed up with one question, “What’s new?”

“One of the most important things is for customers who have been coming to the store for a few years to see new products. They want to know what’s new,” says Seidel.

There is certainly no reason to replace your whole line from one year to the next, but it is a good idea to have at least a few new products on hand for repeat customers. Keep those customers in mind while purchasing at this year’s shows, and you will have something to sell when they next come in and ask, “What’s new?”