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PPB
• AUGUST 2016
INNOVATE
in 2014. “The objective was to make the
magazine a more important resource for
industry professionals.”
To assist with the transformation, he
appointed the first Editorial Advisory
Council to provide direction and ongoing
support. “This was pretty significant because
it showed the members we wanted the maga-
zine to be what they wanted it to be—we
weren’t producing it in a vacuum. It brought
in a nice cross section of members,” he adds.
One element Roberts says he pushed for in
the redesign was a Letter to the Editor section.
He believed it would be one of the most-read
parts of the magazine—although some people
thought publishing letters would be too con-
troversial. “The magazine was a real good
barometer of where the Association was
going,” he says. In 1990, SSAI had just built its
new headquarters in Irving, Texas, and change
was in the air. “Having a new magazine with a
fresh look showed members the Association
was positioning itself to be a major player in
the advertising mix,” he says.
When SAAI became Promotional
Products Association International in 1993,
the magazine followed suit, debuting as
Promotional Products Business
. Over the years,
with the penchant toward acronyms, the full
name of the magazine was used less and less
frequently. Today, PPAI’s monthly print pub-
lication is called simply
PPB
.
Tina Berres Filipski is the editor of PPB.
The First 40 Years
1976 WAS A MILESTONE YEAR
for the USA as it celebrated its 200th birthday with parades,
speeches and thousands of red, white and blue promotional products. It was also a big
year for the promotional products industry’s trade association, which took giant steps for-
ward with the debut of the first all-hall trade show at the Dallas Convention Center with
367 exhibitors, 610 booths and 4,123 total attendees. That same year the first issue of
what is now
PPB
magazine was published. Here’s a look at a few of the Association events
that shaped the news and topics
PPB
has covered over the past 40 years.
1977
The first
SAAI Hall of Fame
inductees are honored. They are: Horace Adkins;
Harold A. Lufkin; Richard H. McCleery; Carl E. Rosenfeld, MAS; Joseph M. Segal;
William F. Vernon, Sr.; and Charles A. Ward.
1977
The Supreme Court rules that current advertising prohibitions on medical societies
and bar associations that prohibited their members from advertising violated First
Amendment rights. Soon there were t-shirts, pens and other items promoting med-
ical, dental, accounting and legal practices.
1978
SAAI celebrates its silver anniversary with its summer show,
ConExpo
, in Chicago.
President
Bob Rollings
retires at year end.
1979
H. Ted Olson
is named SAAI president and the Association headquarters moves
from Chicago to Irving, Texas.
1989
Industry sales reach
$2 billion
.
1989
The first
PPEF scholarship
recipients are awarded. SAAI membership reaches
4,000 firms.
1990
SAAI completes construction on its current headquarters in Irving, Texas.
1992
The board votes to change the Association’s name to
Promotional Products
Association International
.
1995
Hot promotional products include pre-paid phone cards, chocolate molded into
custom shapes and single-use cameras with pre-printed messages on the film.
1996
Steve Slagle, CAE
, joins PPAI as president and CEO following Ted Olson’s retire-
ment.
1998
The e-newsletter,
PPB Newslink
, is first delivered to email inboxes.
1999
The Association introduces the free
Universal Promotional Identification Code
(UPIC).
2003
The
PPAI Expo
moves from Dallas to Las Vegas. PPAI celebrates its 100th anniver-
sary with a year-long series of events, programs, products and exhibits.
2008
The
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
is enacted and PPAI dedicates
key resources to educating members.
2009
The first
Legislative Education And Action Day
is organized in Washington, D.C.
2011
Paul Bellantone, CAE
, is named PPAI president and CEO following Steve Slagle’s
retirement. PPAI and
SAGE
announce their strategic
Power of Two
partnership.
2013
The first
Expo East
is held in Atlantic City, replacing Promotions East. Promotional
Products Work Week makes its debut.
2014
Industry sales reach
$20 billion
after backsliding during the Great Recession.
2016
PPAI introduces its five-year, multi-million-dollar
#GetInTouch
industry branding
campaign
.