The PPAI Expo brought the promotional products community together last month in Las Vegas. The industry’s largest and longest-running trade show delivered tremendous value to attendees and exhibitors alike, but not everyone in the community was able join them this year.

This month, on Feb. 22-23, that value is coming to promo professionals’ offices and homes through PPAI Expo Direct-2-You, a virtual experience that brings the Expo to those who could not join the show last month, or who want to follow up further with the exhibitors they met in Las Vegas.

“Expo D2U is a great follow-up to The PPAI Expo,” says Ben Roberts, senior vice president of Marketing at Bentonville, Arkansas, supplier Outdoor Cap. “It gives us a chance to not only reach people that may not have attended, but it also allows us to showcase all the resources we offer customers to help them sell more headwear. Distributors often consider caps only when a customer is asking for them but we offer plenty of ways to help you get familiar with our products and come across as headwear experts to clients.

“This virtual format actually helps us educate customers and reach more people than we do at the Las Vegas show.”

Lindsey Davis, MAS, director of promotional sales at Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based supplier Raining Rose Promos, says, “The PPAI Expo was an amazing event for us! Something I didn’t expect was the increased engagement we saw on social media from the people who were not there. It was clear that people were following along with hashtags and event news. With that, we are using D2U to engage those people that weren’t able to see us in person and felt like they missed out! This is an opportunity to connect with a whole new audience, while also seeing some customers again.”

PPAI debuted Expo D2U last year to a strong, positive response from the industry, and the Association has further enhanced the event for 2022. Expo D2U lets exhibitors interact with attendees through highly engaging, video chat conversations.

This year, PPAI has expanded its virtual Expo capabilities by giving exhibitors the ability to live stream from their Expo D2U booth, letting attendees see live product demos whenever they stop by the booth.

“It is great opportunity for suppliers to add another point of contact with distributors,” says Esmeralda Anaya, marketing manager at San Diego-based supplier Terry Town. “ Having a digital booth contributes something that an in-person show doesn’t—the possibility to put sales materials right in distributors hands at the moment they ask. We can immediately take action on requests making a virtual show an immediate success. Another advantage is that it allows us to follow up with distributors in a more face-to-face format, which I consider to be more successful than just an email.”

Brittany Frase, MAS, national sales manager at Houston, Texas, supplier Hirsch Gift, says, "Our decision to exhibit at Expo D2U serves two purposes. One, to connect with those unable to attend Expo 2022 in Las Vegas. Two, to connect and maintain relevance with attendees of both events. The follow up format allows attendees with scheduling conflicts to revisit our booth, our marketing collateral, and most importantly our conversations to align with their current projects and win their business."

Expo D2U attendees can also look forward to a stellar virtual experience. They can browse any booth on our virtual show floor to look at videos, see featured products, request samples, attend educational workshops and seminars and more. And The PPAI Expo’s popular Product Pavilions are only a click away. Attendees can examine the most sought-after and trending products in the show’s New Products, Green Products, Made In The USA Products and Healthpitality Products pavilions.

The virtual show also delivers value through professional education and development. Expo D2U’s diverse education schedule, taught by industry thought leaders and subject matter experts, features original content produced for Expo D2U and some of the best sessions from The PPAI Expo 2022, Women’s Leadership Summit and Product Responsibility Summit. Additionally, industry practitioners can meet and connect with each other, through video chat and lounge features .

Exhibitors interested in participating in Expo D2U can contact their account manager and secure their booth today. Distributors, to learn more about the event, check out the educational line up and register, click here.