PPB July 2018

of life for citizens and play a critical role in our community; and Promotional Products Work! Week will stimulate economic growth locally for promotional products businesses and promotional products professionals. Promotional products companies and professionals are vital to our future as an entrepreneurial and productive nation and city.” Throughout PPW! Week, industry companies and organizations held facility tours and events, reached out to their communities and highlighted promotional products’ effectiveness as an advertising channel. Supplier Raining Rose in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was one of several companies to put together a full schedule of events for PPW! Week, including hosting an educational webinar for those new to the industry, producing several videos in support of the event, and sending Mason Linn, its central region account executive, to take part in the PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) in Washington, D.C. Raining Rose National Sales Rep Lindsey Davis, MAS, says, “For Raining Rose, participating in Promotional Products Work! Week was important because it was a chance to join the promotional products community to support a simple idea that we believe in strongly. This year we also used it as an opportunity to let our customers and industry peers get to know us a little better, which I think was something that we had a lot of fun with.” Another example of industry participation in PPW! Week comes from distributor Quality Logo Products in Aurora, Illinois, which also produced a video highlighting the many merits of promotional products and shared more in-depth details of their effectiveness online. Kelsey Brown, a communications specialist at Quality Logo Products, says, “It was important for Quality Logo Products to take part in Promotional Products Work! Week because we truly believe in the power of promotional products. Not only are they an affordable way to advertise your business, but they’re a lot of fun. Our goal was to put a face behind the industry while having a good time, and I think we accomplished that.” The industry’s regional associations have always played an outsized role in PPW! Week. The Specialty Advertising Association of California (SAAC) took PPW! Week’s message to the younger generation, with SAAC President Angela Taylor and Executive Director Donte Shannon speaking to students at Los Angeles High School on the industry and its role in advertising. Promotional Products Association of the Midwest (PPAMS) joined with Lenexa, Kansas-based distributor Grapevine Designs for a promotional product drive, collecting discontinued and overstocked merchandise for donation in support of Kansas City’s Operation Breakthrough and Amethyst Place. The regional association also partnered with New Century, Kansas- based supplier Stouse on a factory tour, and four staff members represented the regional association at L.E.A.D. Irving, Texas, Mayor Pro Tem Allan Meagher is joined by PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, and the PPAI staff to kick off Promotional Products Work! Week in May. Arizona Promotional Products Association Executive Director Betsy Andrade and Marc Hawkins, HP2 Promo, help with the regional association’s donation to UMOM New Day Centers, a local service agency. Specialty Advertising Association of California President Angela Taylor (front row, second from right) and Executive Director Donte Shannon (front row, third from right) speak to a group of students at Los Angeles High School about the promotional products industry and its role in advertising. | JULY 2018 | 79 CONNECT