PPAI, Industry Celebrate Fourth Annual Promotional Products Work! Week
May 23-27 is Promotional Products Work! Week, an international grassroots event led by the Promotional Products Association International (
ppai.org) and the promotional products industry to raise awareness about the benefits of promotional products among advertisers, marketers, and media buyers. PPAI will join together with industry distributors, suppliers and stakeholders to launch the campaign with open houses, factory tours, student, business and community group presentations, volunteer support and promotional product donations to local nonprofits, legislative outreach and hospitality events.
“Our goal is to increase our share in the media buy by enabling a deeper understanding of promotional products as an advertising medium among buyers, as well as sharing the benefits of working with certified promotional products professionals,” said Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI president and CEO.
The Product Persona Campaign
This year, the PPW! Week campaign gives the promotional product a voice through creative storytelling. The campaign’s storytellers—The Life Saver, The Team Builder, The Ambassador, and The Motivator—put into perspective the experiential power the promotional product has over its environment and the engagement of those in it. The campaign’s implementation features a multifaceted digital, social, traditional, and promotional products media outreach and content series utilizing PPAI research and infographics. The business-to-business campaign targets advertisers and media buyers and is designed to raise awareness, increase traffic to industry websites and drive business to promotional products distributors.
PPAI L.E.A.D., Virtual Fly-In
As an important part of PPW! Week, PPAI leadership and industry professionals from across the U.S. will convene May 25-26 in Washington, D.C. to participate in the seventh annual PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.). More than 70 advocates from 30 states will conduct 200-plus meetings with senators, representatives and their legislative staffs on Capitol Hill to discuss pending legislation and issues relevant to the promotional products industry. Thousands more will advocate for the issues by writing letters, emails and social media posts throughout the week during the PPAI L.E.A.D. Virtual Fly-In.
PPAI Legislative Agenda
Key areas of focus for the promotional products industry in 2016 include:
• Ensuring the promotional products industry remains vibrant and dynamic
• Protecting and preserving the interests of small businesses and encouraging policies that drive innovation and entrepreneurship
• Creating a tax climate that rewards small businesses
• Adapting the global supply chain to ensure ease of international operations
How to support Promotional Products Work! Week
Download the PPW! Week guides and toolkits.
Use the banners, infographics, video and ads to post to websites and social media pages, and embed in emails. Personalize them by adding your logo.
Add the Promotional Products Work! Twibbon to social profile pic.
Round up self-promos and samples and donate them to a nonprofit in the community.
Advocate for the industry by participating in the PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day Virtual Fly-In.
Reach out and thank customers.
Take lots of photos and share them using the hashtag #PPWWeek.
Two Red Dot Awards for Victorinox Swiss Army
Another two Victorinox products – the Nail Clip Multi- functional Tool and the Spectra Medium Expandable travel case – were awarded with the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2016 for their excellent design and functionality.
The Red Dot represents one of the greatest acknowledgements in the world of design. Products that clearly set themselves apart from the competition in terms of innovation, form and function, as well as ecological compatibility, and hence set new standards, have been recognized through this award in Essen, Germany for over 60 years. Today, the Red Dot award organized by the Design Centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the largest competitions of its kind worldwide and the red dot itself is a coveted, internationally renowned seal of outstanding design.
In 2016, a panel of 41 independent experts assessed a record number 5,214 products from 57 countries in accordance to the strict Red Dot guidelines, with only those participants that are able to demonstrate excellent design skills being awarded. They are among the best-in-industry of the respective year, and may therefore carry the coveted winners’ seal with pride.