PPB July 2015

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N MAY, PPAI AND THE INDUSTRY came together for Promotional
Products Work! Week (PPW!W), five days dedicated to raising awareness
of the benefits of promotional products in advertising and marketing.
Running May 18-22, the third annual PPW!W delivered the message
that promotional products work to advertisers, marketers and media buyers,
and brought opportunities for the entire industry—large and small companies,
regional associations, distributors and suppliers, multi-line representatives and
business services providers—to work hand-in-hand to spread the news.
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PPW!W focused this year on the media buyer.
In support of this goal, PPAI launched the
Product Persona co-op campaign. The business-
to-business campaign targeted media buyers at ad
agencies and executives at corporate advertisers
with more than 600 promotional kits highlighting
the medium’s effectiveness, and sought to raise
awareness of and increase traffic to PPAI’s buyer-
facing website, .
The Product Persona co-op campaign was a
featured part of this year’s PPW!W, and PPAI
made it easy for companies to reach out to media
buyers and create local marketing tools using the
Product Persona campaign toolkit, which includ-
ed ideas, copy, photos and how-to information for
social media, print ads and websites.
While Product Persona was part of the push
toward media buyers, industry professionals and
businesses put that focus into interactions and
meetings with their customers and communities
during PPW!W. Open houses, factory tours,
community presentations and other events creat-
ed opportunities to speak directly with market-
ing and advertising buyers and decision makers
on promotional products and their effectiveness.
On their own or in collaboration with
regional associations, industry companies across
the country created numerous opportunities dur-
ing PPW!W to build connections with advertis-
ers and customers. Regional associations includ-
ing the Upper Midwest Association of
Promotional Professionals (UMAPP), the
Houston Promotional Products Association
(HPPA), the Specialty Advertising Association
of California (SAAC) and the Specialty
Advertising Association of Greater New York
(SAAGNY), among others, played a significant
role in helping PPW!W realize its success,
bringing members and their clients together for
supplier open houses, tours and other events.
PPW!W’s message also traveled to
Washington, D.C. The sixth annual PPAI
Legislation Education and Action Day
(L.E.A.D.), held concurrently on May 20-21,
brought 78 industry professionals from 30 states
to Capitol Hill to meet with senators, congres-
sional representatives and legislative staff, and
educate them on the industry. Back home in
their respective districts, legislators and their
staffs attended open houses and factory tours.
PPW!W 2015 used social media, online
videos, research-driven content, direct market-
ing, traditional and digital advertising and
events to get out the industry’s message. PPAI
worked with industry sponsors and its partners
to create an ongoing stream of content aimed at
promotional products and advertising media
buyers, but ultimately PPW!W benefited
distributors and suppliers by shining a megawatt
spotlight on the promotions industry. Read on
for a few examples of how industry organiza-
tions got involved this year.
BE A WINNER!
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