(Editor’s Note: PromoWire by PPAI Media is a running digest of news releases and updates submitted from organizations around the promotional products industry. PPAI Media edits these only slightly, including for length, and will consider newsworthy entries from any member organization.)

March 13, 2023

Web Services Pros, alphabroder Announce Partnership

Web Services Pros|PromoLink (PPAI 799562) has announced that PromoLink is officially integrating with alphabroder Prime Line (PPAI 156993, S16) for seamless order management and purchasing.

  • The integration will streamline customers’ business operations with alphabroder. Among the advantages, customers can view and access catalogs, products, pricing data, and live inventory levels from the alphabroder and automatically transfer purchase orders to them. In addition, customers can get real-time order status, tracking information and more.
  • Click here for more information.

iPROMOTEu Announces DunkFest 2023

iPROMOTEu (PPAI 218870, D12) once again is hosting its annual NCAA men’s college basketball DunkFest tournament.

  • iPROMOTEu started DunkFest in 2008 to foster enthusiasm, relationship-building and friendly competition among those working in the promotional products industry. DunkFest 2023 is open to everyone in the promotional products industry working as or for a distributor, supplier or service provider. This includes distributor salespeople, supplier salespeople and multi-line reps.
  • Participants with the highest scores at the end of the tournament challenge will receive awards, special recognition and bragging rights.
  • The deadline to enter is Thursday, March 16 at noon Eastern Time. To participate, or for more information, click here.

March 10, 2023

YETI Recalls 1.9 Million Soft Coolers And Gear Cases

YETI has recalled 1.9 million soft coolers and gear cases due to a magnet ingestion hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • The recall involves the YETI Hopper M30 Soft Cooler 1.0 and 2.0, Hopper M20 Soft Backpack Cooler and SideKick Dry Gear Case.
  • The CPSC states, “The magnet-lined closures can fail and result in detached magnets, posing a risk of serious injury or death if ingested. When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death.”

 

BPMA Appoints Vice Chair, Announces New Board Members

The British Promotional Merchandise Association has announced Board Director Clive Allcott of Direct Textiles + Bags Europe has been appointed Vice Chair to support Chair Haydn Willetts. In line with Board plans, the BPMA has also co-opted Jules Adam of WCM+A and Richard Sullivan of Navillus to join the Board with immediate effect.

  • Willetts said, “Clive has a great track record with the Board, already responsible for our Charter programme on the Board bringing about significant change for Charter members. His appointment as Vice Chair represents the next steps in development for the BPMA.”
  • Trevill explained the co-opting would be made official at the AGM this November. “It’s important to bring skills into a board at optimum times and with key planning for the next two years. This was the perfect timing to bring Jules and Richard on board with their wealth of experience, and with Clive taking up Vice Chair supporting Haydn, we’re all set for progress.”
  • The BPMA also recently added to the executive team with appointments earlier in February, welcoming Sarah Connor as events & training manager and Sarah Irwin as membership executive, supporting Tom Robey as membership director.

BPMA Statement On Alcohol Advertising Consultation In Scotland Today

The BPMA has issued its response to the Alcohol Advertising Consultation in Scotland and together with advertising bodies and other media organizations have issued a joint statement.

“Advertising bodies and media organisations have reacted strongly against the Scottish Government’s proposals to ban alcohol advertising and marketing in their responses to the Government’s consultation, which ends today.

The Advertising Association, ISBA and the IPA, which represent their members in Scotland, have taken the unprecedented step of issuing a joint public statement, alongside the Marketing Society Scotland, the British Promotional Merchandise Association, the Cinema Advertising Association and the UK Cinema Association, the Scottish Newspaper Society, and Outsmart, saying as follows:

We stand together and publicly reject the Scottish Government’s proposals to introduce alcohol advertising and marketing bans. Whilst we understand the Government’s desire to reduce alcohol consumption harms in Scotland, there is no evidence that advertising bans will achieve that aim. The proposals set out by the Scottish Government will fail to address the problem. Such measures will be harmful to the Scottish economy – including local communities – to Scotland’s advertising and creative industries, and to the Scottish media including publishers, broadcasters and cinemas, as well as the outdoor advertising sector. At the end of the day, we are talking about an impact on Scottish businesses, Scottish jobs and Scottish communities for no discernible benefit.

We call for a fundamental re-think of the proposals with a focus on targeted and practical policies that will facilitate behaviour change without damaging the Scottish economy and the advertising and creative industries that are important to the entrepreneurial Scotland that the Scottish Government wants to see.”

March 9, 2023

Facilisgroup Community Experiences Largest Event To Date In Dallas

Over 1,100 distributor partners and preferred suppliers attended the Facilisgroup (PPAI 493664)2023 Supplier Showcase held Dallas last week.

  • The event centered around a two-day tradeshow exclusively showcasing the 60+ suppliers that comprise the Facilisgroup Preferred Supplier network.
  • Additionally, members of the Facilisgroup community were celebrated as part of the 14th Annual TASA Awards, recognizing top performing distributors, suppliers and sales reps.
  • Winners include:
    Partner of the Year: Brandito
    Supplier of the Year: Gemline
    The Facilis Cares Award: (Distributor – McCabe Promotional) (Supplier – PCNA)
    Finance Person of the Year: Christine Cardinal with Gorilla Marketing
    CSR of the Year: Malinda McKinnon with HF Custom Solutions
    The Randy Shippam Award: Kevin Mullaney with Brandito
    The Inspire Award: Amy McCray with Eskimo Joe’s Promotional Product Group

SAGE Adds New Web-Based Supplier Center Portal

The new SAGE (PPAI 100001) Supplier Center web-based platform has all the same functionality as the current Windows-based Supplier Center with a few exciting additions.

  • Through an easy-to-use interface and access to more statistics than ever before, this new portal makes it easier for supplier Advantage Members, including Mac users, to access and update their product data from any device that connects to the internet. Additionally, suppliers can view live product and advertising-related statistics right from their dashboard, from distributor and end-buyer product views, and profile views, to progress tracking of their monthly advertising budgets.
  • In the Performance & Stats area, suppliers can see a detailed breakdown of their product stats, including their most popular products, product engagement, their product category rankings, and profile engagement stats such as website and email clicks through SAGE Total Access. For suppliers participating in digital advertisements, the My Advertisements tab in the Performance & Stats area provides a detailed analysis of each ad’s performance.   
  • Suppliers can also now perform distributor searches through the new Supplier Center portal, providing a quick and easy way for suppliers to verify contact information all in one place. The SAGE Supplier Center web portal is available now to all supplier Advantage Members at no additional cost. Visit sagesuppliercenter.com to log in.