On August 16-18, SAGE, the Addison, Texas-based promotional products industry business services provider, held its second annual online SAGE Show, one of the industry’s largest online events. The show drew more than 2,500 industry professionals, featured over 150 online booths and offered live and on-demand education sessions, a robust product pavilion, more than 20 networking lounges hosted by regional associations and distributor groups, video calls and live chats with suppliers and more. Engagement was high during this year’s event with the SAGE Show reporting 42,862 booth visits, 23,897 live chats, 116 video calls, 53,618 product views and 1,121 lounge visits over the course of its three days.

Powered by SAGE’s virtual trade-show platform, SAGE Show featured technology developed by SAGE to create an interactive experience tailored for the promotional products industry. The platform enabled distributors from across North America including Canada and Mexico, and internationally as far as New Zealand, to connect with industry suppliers in real time.

“After so much positive feedback from last year’s show, we wanted to bring back our online platform for SAGE Show again this year,” says SAGE President David Natinsky, MAS. “The accessibility that this platform has brought to the industry is really incredible. So many more people can attend and enjoy the benefits of discovering new, trending products, network, learn and more, all from their home or office.”

In addition to the product-viewing and networking opportunities, live and on-demand education sessions were provided by SAGE, PPAI and industry suppliers, receiving a total of 5,552 views throughout the show. During these sessions, attendees learned about cutting edge-technology, how to improve their sales and marketing skills, and more ways to promote their business in an ever-changing world.

Distributors also heard from expert panelists and industry peers on a variety of topics. The show kicked off with a highly anticipated session discussing industry updates and insights presented by Natinsky, as well as Jonathan Strauss, president and CEO of Promotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC), and Bob McLean, PPAI’s executive vice president. Additionally, Cliff Quicksell, MAS+, owner of Cliff Quicksell Associates, spoke about packaging, creative distribution and his Discovery Brief methodology, and FLEXpoint Managing Partners Jay Busselle and Jessica Gibbons-Rauch gave tips to leverage LinkedIn for leads.

Another hot topic discussion on corporate social responsibility was led by Danny Rosin, CAS, president of BrandFuel and Roger Burnett, founder of Social Good Promotions. Given today’s climate, a session on cybersecurity, was led by Eric Natinsky, SAGE CEO; Brian Pritchard, SAGE director of IT; Chris Alfano, AIA senior vice president of business technology, and Neal Maguire, investigations manager for the Verizon Threat Research Advisory Center. The expert panelists discussed ransomware attacks, how they happen and how a small business can protect against them.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the success of our second year of SAGE Show being completely online," adds David Natinsky. "We couldn't do it without all of the distributors, suppliers and our sponsors—so thank you for making this possible. The future looks bright for the industry, and we look forward to seeing what it holds."