We’re less than three weeks away from PPAI’s Legislative Education and Action Day 2025, when PPAI members and staff will meet with members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill to discuss pending legislation and issues relevant to the promotional products industry.

Making sure policymakers recognize the impact of the promo industry is perhaps the most important aim of the event.

After all, promo products are a booming sector of the U.S. economy.


The industry employs around half a million Americans while also benefitting other fields of business, as a growing number of distributors are working with non-industry suppliers, who made up $4.3 billion (16%) of total U.S. distributor sales in 2024.

Small Businesses Flourish

Promo is a thriving industry for small businesses (classified as those with annual sales under $2.5 million), which are key to the structure of the U.S. economy. Of the nearly 40,000 promo companies in the U.S., some 98% are considered small businesses.

  • Small U.S. distributors accounted for 46% of the industry’s sales volume, generating a combined $12.4 billion in 2024.
  • Every group size of U.S. distributors saw a positive sales volume change in 2024, but companies with sales between $1 million and $2.5 million had the greatest sales growth at 4.03%.
  • The average revenue for small U.S. distributors continued to grow last year, reaching $548,681 compared to $524,722 in 2023, indicating stable performance in this sector.


LEAD 2025

LEAD 2025 takes place April 7-8.

“LEAD offers an important opportunity each year to advocate for our industry through direct conversations with members of Congress and their staffers on Capitol Hill,” says Rachel Zoch, public affairs and research editor for PPAI. “This year, we are especially excited to be working with Thorn Run Partners, our eyes and ears in Washington. With their guidance, we’re hoping it will be an especially impactful event.”

LEAD offers an important opportunity each year to advocate for our industry through direct conversations with members of Congress and their staffers on Capitol Hill.”

Rachel Zoch

Public Affairs & Research Editor, PPAI

As part of our “promotional products work” message to leaders on Capitol Hill, we’ll be sharing several case studies of successful real-world promo projects for federal and state agencies. These stories will help illustrate for lawmakers why promotional products work, as well as show how promo distributors and suppliers drive growth, create jobs and support local economies.

LEAD Case Studies:


Learn more about PPAI Public Affairs here.

For questions or suggestions on regulatory or government affairs issues, please contact Rachel Zoch at RachelZ@ppai.org.