PPB February 2018

January Events Raise Funds For PPEF Promotional Products Education Foundation continued to gain funding and new supporters at The PPAI Expo in January with opportunities to generate donations to fund college scholarships for industry students. At its January meeting, the PPEF board of trustees approved funding $200,000 in scholarships for 2018. The PPEF Glen Holt Scholarship Golf Invitational, held prior to the show opening, welcomed 31 teams of golfers and raised net proceeds of more than $50,000. The following contributors generously donated products and sponsored services and holes: SAGE; HALO Branded Solutions; The Legacy Group; CPS/Keystone Line; Laura Holt, MAS; iPROMOTEu; Pioneer Balloon; Spector & Co.; Wincraft-LarLu; David Woods, MAS; alphabroder; BIC Graphic; CG Incentives; Hit Promotional Products; JAM; Perry Ellis; Prime Resources; SanMar; and Srixon. PPEF also brought back its Branch Out & Give Tree and live auction. The auction raised $3,400 from bids on four packages—a golf package, a two-piece TUMI package, a grill package and two University of Notre Dame football tickets. The auction items were donated by PAR ONE, TUMI Inc., Weber-Stephen Products, Omaha Steaks, BIC Graphic and industry members Dolly Duffy and Dan Fangman. The Branch Out & Give Tree, which was available for on-site and online donations during Expo, collected more than $5,000. PPAI Reaches 15,000 Member Companies PPAI’s membership reached a new milestone on January 3 with confirmation of its 15,000th member company—an all-time high for the Association. It’s a fitting accomplishment for the industry’s trade Association, which marks its 115th anniversary this year. “PPAI is now 15,000 corporate members strong,” says Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI president and CEO, who attributes the growth to several factors. “Our members understand the compelling benefits of Association membership and the proven value it brings their businesses; they also know that as member-owners they have a key role in guiding the success of the promotional products industry.” Ox and Pine, a supplier of handmade leather goods in McKinney, Texas, has been welcomed as the 15,000th member. The three- year-old company is new to the promotional products industry. Its president, Stephanie Brown, who exhibited for the first time at The PPAI Expo in January, learned about the promotional products industry through the friend of a friend who is a distributor. “I decided it would be a great way to grow my business, so I called PPAI,” she says. Exhibiting at Expo was an eye-opening experience for Brown, who was amazed not only by the size of the show itself but the magnitude of the industry, the quality of distributors she met at the show and the huge potential that exists to build business within the industry. Bellantone says this latest milestone reflects the collaborative efforts of the Association’s staff, board and engaged volunteers to serve the industry and its members. “In growing our membership, PPAI has expanded its capacity to serve the promotional products industry—from representing our members’ needs in Washington, D.C., and product responsibility to creating awareness and influencing buyers on promotional products as a smart and proven advertising medium.” Strategic Foresight Playbook AvailableThis Spring During last month’s PPAI Expo, PPAI announced that it had published a draft of its Strategic Foresight Playbook, a step-by-step guide to implementing strategic foresight and operational excellence for promotional products industry businesses. Copies of the draft were distributed for review and comment to PPAI member volunteers who attended the Volunteer Luncheon preceding the show opening. The final version of the guide will be published within the next few months—and it will be available to PPAI members in print, print-on-demand and online. “The playbook is an integral part of how promotional products businesses can use engagement strategies, competitive intelligence and measurement when making decisions today while supporting and shaping our industry’s future for tomorrow,” says Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI president and CEO. “We expect this book to be an essential resource for promotional products companies in achieving their strategic goals. It includes not only an introductory overview of strategic foresight but also discusses many complex business issues and provides practical ‘plays’ for future success.” The playbook includes a collection of activities to help companies spot emerging trends, prepare for disruption and plan for change and innovation to succeed in the future. It includes an overview of strategic foresight, a four-step process for company positioning and finding a market niche, as well as the plays—a group of useful tools and how-to approaches for planning, execution and investment measurement. The publication represents the culmination of PPAI’s work with focus groups, and interviews with hundreds of promotional products distributors and suppliers, volunteer leaders—including the PPAI Board of Directors—and PPAI staff. It is designed to give promotional products industry business leaders information and tools on developing and implementing strategic foresight. | FEBRUARY 2018 | 79 CONNECT