PPB June 2016

PPAI PRESIDENT AND

CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE; PPAI Board Chair

Tom Goos, MAS, and PPAI Director of Public Affairs Anne Stone trav-

eled to Hong Kong in April to attend and speak at the 2016 Hong

Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, produced by the Hong Kong Trade

Development Council (HKTDC) at the Hong Kong Convention and

Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). During the trip, they also met with buyer

groups and visited factories in the area.

The Gifts & Premium Fair and the concurrent Hong Kong

International Printing & Packaging Fair bring more than 4,700

exhibitors from 36 countries and regions, and buying missions com-

prised of 13,200 buyers from 75 countries and regions. Goos joined

the Gifts & Premium Fair as part of its speaker lineup. His presentation,

“Leading Product Responsibility Challenges in Mature Markets,”

focused on the value of the promotional products channel and the

importance of responsible sourcing of products that are not only safe

and compliant with all U.S. regulations, but also produced in a socially

and environmentally responsible manner.

Bellantone and Goos also participated in meetings of the

International Partnership for Premiums & Gifts

(IPPAG), World Advertising Gift Exchange (WAGE)

and IGC Global Promotions to speak with their glob-

al memberships on the U.S. market and trends in the

promotional products industry, including the chal-

lenges that arise from dealing with an increasingly

global economy.

“The discussions with WAGE and IPPAG brought

them up to speed on what we’ve seen driving the

U.S. market,” says Bellantone. “We shared how PPAI

is working to position our members to deal with fac-

tors that affect our businesses, like globalization and

technology.”

INSIDE

PPAI

80 •

PPB

• JUNE 2016

CONNECT

PPAI LEADERSHIP JOINS HONG KONG GIFTS & PREMIUM

FAIR, MEETS WITH INDUSTRY GROUPS

Cultural

Exchange

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP

Ann Leung

, technical director at third-party consumer products testing company AI Anseco, leads PPAI Board Chair

Tom Goos, MAS

, and Geiger CEO

Gene Geiger, MAS+

(right) on a tour of the company’s testing facility. • Goos and PPAI Director of Public

Affairs

Anne Stone

traveled to Shenzen while in China to tour factories supporting the industry. • (From left) Goos and PPAI President and CEO

Paul Bellantone, CAE

, with

Jeffrey Lederer

, president of supplier Prime Line, at the IPPAG member meeting in Hong Kong presenting on the

U.S. marketplace and growing business in a dynamic marketplace. Prime is a member of the Switzerland-based IPPAG.