We came, we saw, we...talked

Last weekend was Special Markets Dialogues weekend. A chance to convene a panel of market leaders with the express purpose of trying to figure out where on Earth this crazy business is going.

We will issue a "Manifesto" (our joking term for the summary document we release to the trade press) sometime in the next week or so. But without violating the Cone of Silence that overhangs the entire proceeding, here are some takeaways from the event:

• If you got this far, you're a survivor. Many of your competitors and/or cohorts didn't make it. But just because you're still standing doesn't mean you're home free. Not by a long shot.
  
• There is "cautious optimism" amongst the panelists. Not "rampant optimism", mind you, but the "cautious" kind. The past few months have seen increases in quoting and closing activity, but this is not the Great Recovery we've all been praying for.
• The ground will continue to move. Amazon's re-entry into the Loyalty space is far from over, and there may be more entrants.
  
• Our market continues to be threatened by entities that aren't even aiming at us. Like the pharmaceutical companies, which laid waste to a large chunk of the promotional products business, Congress and other trade groups are making decisions that cause us to be "collateral damage". "Collateral" it may be, but the blood is real, and ours.

And this doesn't even begin to discuss the Horror Show that is the supply chain, or the continued decline of the Chicago Motivation Show (although those who were there found it energizing), or the real pain being felt by our representatives (none of whom is having a very good time of it).

I'll get into that later. For the moment let's just say we left Myrtle Beach with a sense that while still a rough row to hoe, we may be entering a new phase that will be kinder to us. And THAT'S change we can believe in...


Pete