2011 Year in Review: Politics

This week, Promo Marketing is looking at the stories that helped define 2011. From Monday through Thursday we will recap the year's major news in four different areas: industry news, politics, product safety and world events. Check PromoMarketing.com each day, and vote in our Friday poll for the most important story of the year.

2011 Year in Review: Politics
With an uncertain economy and unhappy population, it's unsurprising that jobs were the topic most frequently discussed by politicians in 2011. The year is straddled by financial woes, with an unemployment rate at almost 10 percent in the beginning, and the Occupy Wall Street protests at the end. Many of the moves from the government were aimed at addressing these issues, such as repeals of onerous business laws and Federal Reserve moves to increase liquidity.

In the promotional products industry, the government's actions were remarkable for different reasons. Statewide bans on state promotional products, cities banning plastic bags, and questionable buying the campaign trail all made headlines in 2011. Putting a point on the topic, the president dropped a bombshell on the promotional marketing industry at the end of the year, bring about a bigger question among suppliers and distributors, and in the media at large, about the place of promotional products in today's market.

California Governor Bans State Promotional Products
Two time California Governor Jerry Brown fired the first shot across the bow at the industry when he banned the state government from purchasing any promotional products in February. "Not a cent of taxpayer money should be spent on flashlights, ashtrays or other unnecessary items, most of which likely end up in landfills," the governor said at the time. In a PromoMarketing.com poll, 66 percent of respondents said they felt the ban would have negative repercussions for the industry. One month later, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie would veto $45,700 budgeted for state promotional products, calling the expenses "unnecessary."