PPB January 2017

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PPAI Partners With APPA
On Get In Touch! Campaign
PPAI and the Australasian Promotional
Products Association (APPA) announced an
agreement in November to use core elements
of PPAI’s Promotional Products Work! and
Get In Touch! campaigns across Australia
and New Zealand. APPA plans to launch the
campaigns in those countries in early 2017.
The Get In Touch! campaign is designed
to increase awareness and enhance the
perception of the promotional products
industry, as well as communicate the benefits
of working with promotional consultants.
The overall goal of the campaign is to
direct a larger share of advertising dollars
to the industry. It will feature member kits
available for download and customization,
including elements that members will be
able to immediately incorporate into their
own marketing efforts. The expectation is
that APPA members become an integral
part of the Get In Touch! campaign.
“APPA’s goal is simple: promotional
products marketing should be recognized
by marketers and business people as an
essential part of the brand and marketing
communications toolkit,” says Steve Granland,
APPA chief executive officer. “Our members
are recognized as leaders in their creative
field, and promotional products marketing
rivals other specialized marketing fields
for share of wallet, curriculum coverage,
career, commentary and perceived value.”
PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone,
CAE, adds, “Get In Touch! is important to
the promotional products industry because,
for too long, it has been an afterthought for
many in the marketing chain. The industry
knows, understands and communicates
the power of promotional products, but it’s
time the rest of the world recognized the
power of promotional products and their
place in successful marketing campaigns.”
In August, APPA launched
and
. Targeted at
promotional products buyers, these websites
provide information and data about the
power of promotional products and the
importance of working with promotional
consultants. The websites will continue
to evolve and be an important element
of the Get In Touch! campaign.
“The APPA Board is saying it wants
this to be a primary focus and a key
element of APPA’s strategic plan,” says
Granland. “The board recognizes that
now is the time to be proactive. However,
APPA will not be successful if it pursues
this initiative alone. It’s going to require
APPA members’ assistance to succeed.
“With the assistance of PPAI, APPA has
a plan to reach marketing buyers through
the campaign at the national level and will
create the tools our members need to get
involved and engaged with their customers
and prospects,” Granland adds. “Get InTouch!
is a significant and positive step forward in
raising the positive profile of the promotional
products industry in Australia and New
Zealand; however, we must engage our
members for this initiative to be successful.”
APPA will form a profile-raising advisory
group to be chaired by an APPA board
member and made up of a small number of
industry professionals. This advisory group
will be charged with providing advice and
support to the APPA national office in both
adapting the materials made available by
PPAI for the Australian and New Zealand
markets and how best to engage with the
APPA member base to ensure success.
More details will be provided to APPA
members as the advisory group is formed
and meets to map out key time frames
and deliverables for this project.
PPAI Board
Approves New
Strategic Plan At
Fall Meeting
The PPAI Board of Directors held its fall
meeting in October to kick off PPAI’s Leadership
Development Week in Grapevine, Texas, with PPAI
Chair Tom Goos, MAS, presiding. Among the reports
and actions taken at the meeting were these:
• President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE,
reviewed the Association’s new strategic plan,
and board members voted to approve it as
presented. The plan includes a new mission
statement which is less transactional and
focuses on more relational connections to
members. (See page 4 for more information on
PPAI’s strategic plan.)
• PPAI Director of Marketing Keith Vincent and
Vice President of Business Development Alan
Peterson reviewed the Get In Touch! campaign.
The focus for the next six months will be to reach
out to the top five designated market areas,
along with increased member engagement
Vincent also reviewed the status of PPAI’s
collaboration with ITR Economics and its role to
provide quarterly sales data, create reliable and
actionable data, build forecasting capabilities
and potentially to provide data for PPAI’s annual
sales volume study.
• The board also heard an update on the redesign
of the PPAI website set for a soft launch this
month and a full launch in February.
• Director of Public Affairs Anne Stone provided
a report on the Product Responsibility Summit
held in September. Based on survey results, 99
percent of attendees said they would consider
attending the conference in 2017. She also
announced that Legislative Education and
Action Day would be held April 26-27, 2017,
in Washington, D.C. with three L.E.A.D. Local
2017 events planned for Florida, Oregon
and Washington.
• Director of Expositions Darel Cook updated the
board about the PPAI Expo 2017, reporting
that registration numbers are running ahead
of 2016’s show. He also discussed plans for
moving Expo East 2017 from its previous
March time frame to June 14-16, 2017.
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