During the week of May 13-17, Promotional Products Work! Week brought together businesses, professionals and organizations in the $24.7 billion promotional products industry to raise awareness among marketers, advertisers and legislators about the value and effectiveness of promotional products. Throughout the week, activities and events were held across the industry to encourage clients, customers and prospects to advance promotional products as an essential component of a comprehensive marketing plan.

Throughout the week, PPAI played host to local Association members at its Irving, Texas, headquarters. Complete with a red carpet, guests joined PPAI for lunch and to learn more about the Association and its resources available to them and the industry. Several also joined PPAI in a series of videos for Facebook, sharing their experiences in the industry and their perspectives on the power of promotional products.

Several of the industry’s regional associations also took PPW!Week’s message to their members. Among them, the Promotional Products Association Southwest sponsored an end-user golf tournament in Carrollton, Texas, that drew industry professionals from across the region as players and sponsors. During the tournament’s lunch break, PPAI Vice President of Business Development Alan Peterson delivered remarks on PPW!W and the strength of the industry in Texas. Among his comments, Peterson said, “This strength is a testament to the fact that promotional products work. They help marketers and advertisers get in touch with their employees, their clients and their customers like no other advertising medium. Promotional products help build brands, raise awareness, increase loyalty, support causes and even help save lives.”

 
Above photographs: Companies everywhere found fun ways to celebrate Promotional Products Work! Week, such as imprinted
sunglasses at HALO Branded Solutions and t-shirts highlighting the industry's capabilities at Quality Logo Products.

The Gold Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA) teamed up with Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, to engage with college-level marketing students to introduce them to the industry, so they are aware and knowledgeable of promotional products before entering the marketplace. Tanesha Anderson, the GCPPA board secretary and membership chair, presented to MBA marketing students in the Integrated Marketing Communications class and to undergraduate marketing students in the Marketing Research class. She says, “During both presentations the students were engaging and had a lot of questions about the industry and projects that were being worked on. There were a few students who had entrepreneurial ambitions and wanted advice on finding the right partners to work with and wanted to find out about working with domestic vendors versus buying direct overseas.”


Above photographs: PPAI welcomed guests to its Irving, Texas, headquarters with a red carpet and applauding staff members.
Industry members' visits included lunch and presentations on the Association and its activities.

Industry companies are also stepping up for PPW!Week. Supplier Vantage Apparel produced a line-up of PPW!Week content for its social media channels this week, highlighting the power of promotional products. The staff of distributor Quality Logo Products sported custom t-shirts celebrating promotional products and sharing some of their favorite promo items. Supplier Raining Rose produced a special video highlighting the company and its promotional products to share on its social media channels.

Elsewhere, distributor HALO Branded Solutions employees donned custom sunglasses for the event to draw attention to its message and share it with their clients. Distributor AIA treated its staff to branded cookies at the start of the week, along with games of Promo Bingo. Geiger’s David Hawes, MAS+, advocated for the industry at Rockford Middle School’s annual Career Day in Rockford, Minnesota. He answered questions from 150 middle school graduates who are already considering their career paths. Hawes says, “The students obviously love promotional products. They were all wearing imprinted shirts that came with a story. By telling their shirt saga they were able to understand the power of promotions based on their personal experience.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

James Khattak is news editor of PPB.