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“Expo East is poised to
become the most important live
trade show and learning event on
the East Coast,” says PPAI
President and CEO Paul
Bellantone, CAE. “It delivers all of
the traditional benefits of an
industry trade show, and the co-
location with the Imprinted
Sportswear Shows and support of
four strong regional associations
brings a dynamic element not
seen in any other industry event.
The top-notch educational pro-
gram—highlighted by a Keynote
and Cocktails presentation by
Seth Godin—helped draw the
most creative and innovative
minds in business looking to drive
business in a transforming mar-
ketplace. I have heard from both
suppliers and distributors that
Expo East continues to improve
and evolve, and there is a grow-
ing support for our strategy to
build an Expo-like experience on
the East Coast.”
Expo East began on March
16 with Education Day, giving
attendees their choice of more
than 50 education sessions in
seven tracks—Strategies &
Solutions, Corporate
Responsibility, Industry
Essentials, Marketing &
Advertising, Decorate, Sales &
Service and Technology.
Headlining the Expo East educa-
tion lineup were two top-rated
keynote speakers: master mar-
keter Seth Godin, and Keynote
Effect founder and sales manage-
ment coach Diane Ciotta. Godin
drew standing-room-only crowds
at The PPAI Expo 2016, and he
brought that same excitement to
Expo East. A best-selling author,
blogger and agent of change,
Godin spoke at the annual
Keynote and Cocktails on March
17, stressing to his audience that
in today’s interconnected world,
the only resource that matters is
who trusts you, who’s listening to
you and who’s connected to you.
Ciotta delivered her message
of accountability and motivation
at a keynote luncheon on Expo
East’s Education Day. Telling her
audience that “It’s all about the
imprint,” she showed them that
they had the power to make a
mark or impression on their cus-
tomers through their motivation,
passion, integrity and ability to
relate. “It’s not about making a
sale, it’s about making a differ-
ence,” she said. “That’s the
impression we leave on people.”
“The buzz during professional
development day was great,” says
Tom Goos, MAS, PPAI board chair
and president of Image Source,
Inc. “I sat in on some valuable
sessions and took away some
great nuggets of information.”
Al Donius, vice president of
sales at Buffalo, New York, distrib-
utor KW Textile, Inc., joined an
education session about staying
on the right side of regulations
when decorating apparel. “As you
know, this is an extremely boring
and confusing topic,” he says.
“That being said, it was very well
prepared and did an excellent job
of explaining what our responsibil-
ities are as distributors and the sit-
uations where we are viewed as
manufacturers. It clearly identified
what we should adopt as best
practices and I left that seminar
actually feeling confident that I
have everything I need to be
compliant with the CPSIA require-
ments for youth apparel. Every
INSIDE
PPAI
72 •
PPB
• MAY 2016
CONNECT
EXPO EAST DELIVERED A BUSTLING
, energetic show experi-
ence at the Atlantic City Convention Center in March,
marking the show’s fourth year in the city and its second
in conjunction with the Imprinted Sportswear Show.
Attendees found the same high-level of exhibits, educa-
tion and networking events on the East Coast that
they’ve experienced at the promotional products indus-
try’s leading trade show, The PPAI Expo.
EXPO EAST 2016 SETS THE STANDARD FOR
THE EAST COAST
By James Khattak
DEFYING
CONVENTIONS