What is PromoStandards?
PromoStandards is a non-profit organization that publishes open source specifications and standards for how to share data in the promotional products and branded merchandise industry.
At its core, it’s a standardized format for data that makes it easier to share information and process orders between suppliers, distributors, and service providers.
Today, PromoStandards is the industry-preferred format for data and for good reason. Key benefits include:
- Increasing the speed and accuracy of product updates
- Ensuring consistent product information across systems
- Improving communication between suppliers and distributors
Instead of providing data in unique formates to third-parties, PromoStandards provides an industry-standard guideline for how suppliers can provide:
- Product Data
- Media Content
- Inventory
- Product Pricing & Configuration
- Order Statuses
- Order Shipment Notifications
- Purchase Orders
- Invoices
OMG helps suppliers become PromoStandards-compliant with OneSource, a data management platform for suppliers to manage and share their standardized data with the entire industry from a centralized place.
With OMG, supplier PromoStandards data is delivered to distributors and third-party service providers through the OneSource API, a fast, reliable data service that provides instant access to validated supplier data from one place.
Why Suppliers Need to Be PromoStandards Compliant
Suppliers who provide PromoStandards-compliant data have more opportunities to sell through distributors, decorators, and dealers. Today, many partners expect PromoStandards endpoints as a baseline requirement for working together at scale.
Broad industry adoption — and where OMG fits in
PromoStandards is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s the industry-preferred way to share product data, and adoption continues to grow.
- 500+ suppliers in the promotional products industry currently have at least one PromoStandards endpoint available.
- Of those, more than 450 suppliers rely on OneSource to create, host, manage, and distribute their PromoStandards data to hundreds of major distributors and technology providers via OMG’s OneSource API.
- Only 58 suppliers are fully self-hosted, meaning OneSource accounts for the vast majority of active PromoStandards endpoints in the industry.
This matters because it shows how suppliers are choosing to support PromoStandards: not by building and maintaining endpoints on their own, but by using a centralized platform designed specifically for the promo industry.
Thousands of distributors, decorators, dealers, and technology providers actively consume PromoStandards data every day to power search, pricing, inventory checks, quoting, ordering, and fulfillment.
Who’s using it
Many of the largest and most influential companies in the industry rely on and consume PromoStandards data, including distributors, decorators, dealers, and service providers such as HALO Branded Solutions, BAMKO, AIM Smarter, commonsku, MPower Promo, PromoHunt, PromoCorner.com, ArtworkServices USA, and Imprint Engine.
These organizations use PromoStandards to automatically pull accurate product data at scale into their own internal systems — and they increasingly expect their supplier partners to support it.
Real‑world proof from OMG suppliers
“That’s where I see the biggest value in OMG — utilizing those PromoStandards endpoints to connect with larger distributors. Companies can automatically pull our data with the OneSource API, which is awesome. There’s a dashboard showing me who’s pulling our product data like HALO, Geiger, and some other distributors we work with.”
— Account Supervisor at High-End Speciality Supplier in Promotional Products“It helps to work with OMG, especially because PromoStandards is hooked up with so many different buying groups and selling platforms that, if there’s an issue with one of them, it’s nice to know that I can just go straight to OMG or to our Client Success Manager and ask for help. That saves quite a bit of time. Instead of fishing through each different platform for errors, I can just go to one place.”
— Nathan Blaine, Director of Marketing at The Magnet Group
What compliance does for you
Being PromoStandards-compliant isn’t just about checking a box. It directly affects how easily partners can do business with you.
- Your products are easier to find, evaluate, and sell
- Your pricing, inventory, and configuration data stays consistent across platforms
- Your team spends less time troubleshooting data issues and building and maintaining custom feeds
- You’re positioned to work with larger distributors and more technology partners without adding ongoing technical work
And with OneSource by OMG hosting and managing your endpoints, you can meet those expectations without taking on the burden of building, maintaining, or updating PromoStandards services yourself.
PromoStandards Endpoints
OMG supports the full set of PromoStandards endpoints so suppliers can share every piece of essential data with the industry through the OneSource API.
Here’s what you can distribute:
Endpoint |
What It Delivers |
| Product Data | Detailed product descriptions, attributes, specifications |
| Media Content | Images, logos, and other digital media assets |
| Inventory | Real-time stock levels and availability |
| Product Pricing & Configuration | Base or tiered pricing, configurable options, variations |
| Purchase Orders | Incoming orders from distributors, decorators, and dealers |
| Order Status | Updates on processing, fulfillment, and shipping status |
| Order Shipment Notification | Alerts when orders ship/completed |
| Invoices | Billing and invoice data for orders |
Each endpoint ensures partners get the information they need — in the format they expect — with minimal work on your end.
Common Misconceptions About PromoStandards
Because PromoStandards sounds technical, many suppliers assume it’s only practical for large companies. But that’s often not true. Here are some common misconceptions — and why they don’t hold up when you work with OMG.
“I’m too small or new to the industry”
Even small or newer suppliers see value in clean, standardized data. It helps you look professional and makes it easier for distributors, decorators, and dealers to work with you — which can open doors you didn’t expect.
“It’s too time-consuming or costly”
Instead of building your own infrastructure (which could take months and be expensive), you can use OMG’s services to get compliant in days — with no developer work required. Plus, it’s part of your monthly subscription. That’s a big time and cost saver.
“You need a tech team to manage it”
With PromoStandards, data formats and versions change over time. But OMG handles that for you: our version‑translation service means your endpoints automatically meet the requirements of each partner, so you don’t have to worry about compliance updates.
“Integration with every partner will be a headache”
Because all data flows through OneSource API, distributors, decorators, dealers, and service platforms can pull supplier data from one centralized source. No need to build separate feeds or custom integrations for each partner that wants to access your data.
How OMG Makes PromoStandards Easy
OMG takes care of the heavy lifting, so suppliers can share high-quality product data without adding technical burden. Key parts of the service include:
- Data Transformation: OMG converts your existing product data into PromoStandards format in a matter of days.
- Endpoint Hosting: OMG creates, hosts, and maintains your PromoStandards endpoints. No server setup or maintenance needed.
- Version Translation: Data is automatically translated into whichever version each partner requires — no manual updates or adjustments.
- Automated Validation: OneSource runs a 400‑point quality check on your data to catch missing images, incomplete pricing and configuration (PPC) info, missing attributes, and more before data goes live.
- Partner Access via API: Distributors, decorators, dealers, and service providers can request access and get credentials to pull data easily through the OneSource API.
The result: accurate, reliable data that can be shared with the entire industry without extra work for your team or additional costs.
Supplier Success Stories
High-end, Specialty Supplier
This high-end, specialty supplier was able to get PromoStandards‑ready quickly using OMG. Before OMG, building a compliant feed would’ve required a custom development project — one that was estimated at $60,000 and six months of work. Instead, OMG converted their data to PromoStandards in just days and made their products available for distributors to discover and sell through OMG solutions, and they saw immediate returns:
- Distributors started pulling their data via the OneSource API right away.
- They noticed multiple calls per day from distributors finding their products on OMG’s product search platform.
- The ease of setup and maintenance eliminated a big barrier for a newer supplier entering the market.
As their Account Supervisor put it: “That’s where I see the biggest value in OMG — utilizing those PromoStandards endpoints to connect with larger distributors.”
The Magnet Group
As a long-standing supplier with existing PromoStandards endpoints, The Magnet Group had experienced frustrations when distributing product data across many channels — particularly when data got out of sync or had errors. Their team lacked visibility to the health of their PromoStandards data, which meant they didn’t know about issues until hearing about it from distributors or worse, seeing it reflected in their sales. After adopting OMG’s OneSource:
- They gained full visibility into their PromoStandards data quality through the OneSource dashboard that highlighted missing or incorrect data including images and pricing and configuration details
- They corrected data issues that had been limiting sales, and afterward saw increased sales on previously underperforming products.
- For them, having a single partner to manage data across all distributors, decorators, dealers, and platforms saved major time. As Nathan Blaine said: working with OMG meant “instead of fishing through each different platform for errors, I can just go to one place.”
These stories highlight how PromoStandards — when powered by OneSource — isn’t just “tech for tech’s sake.” It’s a practical, results‑driven way to make sure your data works for you and your customers.
Frequently Asked Questions About PromoStandards
Q: I’m a small supplier — is PromoStandards really worth it?
A: Yes. Even smaller suppliers benefit from standardized data. It simplifies data sharing, reduces manual work, and makes you more attractive to larger distributors, decorators, and dealers who may require PromoStandards compliance to work with you. Plus, OMG’s PromoStandards services are included with your monthly subscription so you don’t have to hire developers or take on an expensive project with another provider.
Q: Do I need a tech team or internal developers?
A: No. OMG handles the setup, data transformation, endpoint hosting, and version translation — you don’t need a developer or technical resources.
Q: How fast can I get started?
A: OMG can transform and publish your product data as a PromoStandards feed in just a few days. Many suppliers onboard quickly and start seeing exposure within the first month.
Q: What happens when PromoStandards versions change?
A: With OMG’s version translation service, your data stays compatible with whatever version each partner requires — automatically. No action needed on your end.
Q: Can I see which distributors, decorators, dealers, and third-party service providers are consuming supplier data through the OneSource API?
A: Yes. You can see all distributors and service providers that have created an account to access supplier data through the OneSource API in your OneSource account. You can also see which distributors and service providers have requested access to your order services.
Q: Can distributors, decorators, and dealers see when they’re pulling my data?
A: Yes. Through OneSource API, you get visibility into who is consuming your data, and a dashboard showing feed activity.
Q: What kind of data can I share?
A: Through OMG’s OneSource API, you can share product data, media assets, inventory, pricing and configuration details, purchase orders, order status, shipment notifications, and invoices — everything your partners need from a single API. You can also apply special pricing for distributors so they see their unique pricing details when they access pricing data through the OneSource API.
Q: What if I already have PromoStandards endpoints?
A: Great! You can connect your existing PromoStandards endpoints to OMG’s OneSource platform to seamlessly share your data with our network of more than 3,500 distributors, decorators, and dealers using OMG solutions, as well as 175+ major distributors and technology providers that access supplier data through our OneSource API. We’ll validate your data with our 400-point quality assurance (QA) check to ensure it’s complete and error-free before it goes live.
Q: How do distributors, decorators, dealers, and service providers access my data?
A: Once your data is available in OneSource, your customers and partners can access it for free through the OneSource API. Share links to the OneSource API page, as well as these pre-written instructions and the OneSource API sign up page.
Ready to Get Started?
Start sharing standardized, high-quality data with major distributors, technology platforms, and service providers.
👉 Learn more about PromoStandards Data
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