Capitalize On Promotional Products Work! Week In May

Promotional Products Work! Week (PPW!Week) was an unparalleled success in 2018, with unprecedented buy-in by not only the professionals, companies and organizations working in the industry, but by the communities in which they live and operate. In 2019, PPW!Week will again spotlight the importance of working with promotional products professionals and creating awareness of the industry.

Last year, Shelbyville Mayor Wallace Cartwright and the state of Tennessee issued proclamations recognizing May 14-18, 2018 as Promotional Products Work! Week. The city of Shelbyville, also known as The Pencil City and home to supplier Shepenco, declared itself The Promotional Products City to acknowledge that promotional products companies and professionals are a vital component of an entrepreneurial and productive economy. That same week, Irving, Texas, Mayor Pro Tem Allan Meagher, on behalf of Mayor Rick Stopfer, visited PPAI® headquarters to declare Promotional Products Work! Week for the city. Irving has been the home of PPAI for 40 years.


Quality Logo Products staff members show off the #PowerOfPromo shirts the Aurora, Illinois distributor created to highlight the effectiveness of promotional products during the 2018 PPW!W.

Promotional products businesses also stepped up in 2018, taking extensive and creative steps to showcase the power of promotional products. For example, supplier Raining Rose in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, put together a full line-up of events for the week, including a company tour, online content and education sessions, and distributor Quality Logo Products in Aurora, Illinois, produced a video highlighting the many merits of promotional products and shared more in-depth details of their effectiveness online.

Now in its seventh year, the industry-wide celebration of promotional products and the value they create returns May 13-17, 2019 to encourage clients, customers and prospects to advance promotional products as an essential component of a comprehensive marketing plan.


Allan Meagher (center right), mayor pro tem of Irving, Texas, meets with PPAI staff at the kick off of Promotional Products Work! Week 2018.

PPW!Week is built on five pillars which exemplify ways to speak up for the promotional products industry. They are:

  • Day One: host an open house, meet-and-greet or company tour
  • Day Two: advocate for the industry by speaking to colleges, clubs or business groups about promotional products industry careers or the power of promotional products
  • Day Three: designate a day of service to support a local charity or cause
  • Day Four: share the industry’s impact on the economy with legislators, politicians and government officials—this day coincides with PPAI’s Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
  • Day Five: partner with industry suppliers and regional associations and host a customer appreciation day

PPW!Week is an integral part of PPAI’s ongoing Get In Touch! campaign. The campaign was created to increase awareness and enhance the perception of the promotional products industry, as well as communicate the benefits of working with promotional consultants. The overall goal of the campaign is to direct a larger share of advertising dollars to the industry.


A highlight of last year's campaign was when Shelbyville, Tennessee, Mayor Wallace Cartwright (right) delivered the Promotional Products Work! Week proclamation to PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE (center), and Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South Executive Director Mark Farrar.

The integrated approach and creative assets of Get In Touch! leverage paid, earned, shared and owned strategies that include digital and traditional print ads, social media, research, infographics and video toolkits. These and additional tools are available for download at PPAI.org/GetInTouch. A buyer-friendly web portal, GetInTouchAdvertising.com, features a distributor search tool.

Promotional Products Work! Week and the Get In Touch! campaign are designed to increase awareness and drive traffic to regional and industry participant websites, educate buyers and drive business referrals to promotional products consultants. More information and planning tools are available at www.ppai.org/advocacy/promotional-products-work week.

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PPAI Board Approves Funds To Explore Association Health Plan

The PPAI Board of Directors held its winter meeting on January 12 preceding The PPAI Expo® 2019 in Las Vegas with PPAI chair Dale Denham, MAS+, presiding. The full agenda included these highlights:

PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, outlined the Association’s progress against the current strategic plan, focusing on a 2018 year-in-review and identifying key successes and challenges throughout the year.


PPAI Board Chair Dale Denham, MAS+, presents ongoing PPAI Board Immediate Past Chair Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS+, with an award recognizing her long and extensive history of volunteerism with the Association. 

Executive Vice President Bob McLean, CPA, CAE, provided an update on The PPAI Expo 2019, including robust advance registration numbers attributed to successful attendee acquisition efforts and strong marketing.

McLean also introduced a potential member benefit, an Association Health Plan. After discussion, the board voted to approve funds to support exploring the viability of such a plan for members.

Marketing Director Keith Vincent reviewed the work of the Research Work Group and the PPAI Research Market Outlook Report including 2018 enhancements and goals for 2019. 

The board heard two presentations related to board development: PPAI’s legal counsel Cory Halliburton spoke on social media best practices. Stephanie Glanzer, vice president of sales for Mandalay Bay, provided the board with a “state of MGM” presentation—including upcoming priorities and goals for MGM properties.


At the PPAI board meeting in January, Denham celebrated the volunteer accomplishments of Norm Hullinger, CAS, and D'Anna Zimmer, CAS, as their terms on the board, as a board member and Regional Association Council Delegate, respectively, came to an end at the conclusion of Expo 2019.

Jonathan Strauss and Heidi Reimer-Epp, representing the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada, shared an update on PPPC activities and opportunities to collaborate in 2019.

Wayne Greenberg, MAS, chair of the Promotional Products Education Foundation, outlined PPEF’s successes in 2018 and thanked PPAI for its ongoing support.

The meeting concluded with the assumption of office for new board directors and recognition of outgoing members. Denham welcomed Bill Mahre, CAS, and Renée Jones, MAS+, class of 2023, along with the new RAC Delegate Amy Rabideau, MAS. He also recognized outgoing board member Norm Hullinger, CAS, and RAC Delegate D’Anna Zimmer, CAS, and Immediate Past President Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS+, who was also conferred lifetime membership in PPAI. Denham then passed the gavel to 2019 Board Chair Brittany David, MAS, who officially took office following the close of Expo.

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James Khattak is news editor of PPB.