PPB July 2019

The Gold Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA) teamed up with Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, to engage with college-level marketing students to introduce them to the industry, so they are aware and knowledgeable of promotional products before entering the marketplace. Tanesha Anderson, the GCPPA board secretary and membership chair, presented to MBA marketing students in the Integrated Marketing Communications class and to undergraduate marketing students in the Marketing Research class. She says, “During both presentations the students were engaging and had a lot of questions about the industry and projects that were being worked on. There were a few students who had entrepreneurial ambitions and wanted advice on finding the right partners to work with and wanted to find out about working with domestic vendors versus buying direct overseas.” Industry companies are also stepping up for PPW!Week. Supplier Vantage Apparel produced a line-up of PPW!Week content for its social media channels this week, highlighting the power of promotional products. The staff of distributor Quality Logo Products sported custom t-shirts celebrating promotional products and sharing some of their favorite promo items. Supplier Raining Rose produced a special video highlighting the company and its promotional products to share on its social media channels. Elsewhere, distributor HALO Branded Solutions employees donned custom sunglasses for the event to draw attention to its message and share it with their clients. Distributor AIA treated its staff to branded cookies at the start of the week, along with games of Promo Bingo. Geiger’s David Hawes, MAS+, advocated for the industry at Rockford Middle School’s annual Career Day in Rockford, Minnesota. He answered questions from 150 middle school graduates who are already considering their career paths. Hawes says, “The students obviously love promotional products. They were all wearing imprinted shirts that came with a story. By telling their shirt saga they were able to understand the power of promotions based on their personal experience.” Department Spotlight: Regional Relations This is the third installment in a year-long series of department profiles to help readers learn more about the PPAI staff members who serve them. The PPAI Regional Relations team is dedicated to supporting the regional association community and works with the volunteer leaders and staff of the 27 individual regional associations that comprise it. The team works to provide tools and templates, technology solutions and individual support as requested. Regional Relations and extended Association staff also offer strategic planning facilitation and education sessions on a variety of industry hot topics. Lastly, the Regional Relations staff works with the Regional Association Council (RAC) to produce the annual Leadership Development Workshop (LDW), a conference that provides regional association leaders with comprehensive training, networking opportunities and peer-to-peer interaction. Valerie Schenewerk Regional Relations Assistant “I like to work crossword puzzles, play Quiddler and Scrabble and am good at unscrambling word jumbles, but can’t work a jigsaw puzzle to save my life.” Dana Geiger Regional Relations Manager “As the child of a career army officer, I lived in five places before the age of five, including Germany and England. Upon return to the States to start first grade, I spoke with a British accent that I wish had survived the move.” 96 | JULY 2019 | CONNECT