PPAI Magazine October 2024

From PPAI Dawn Olds, MAS Interim President & CEO 10.24 Your 2025 Advantage HELLO FROM PPAI HEADQUARTERS! On behalf of the entire team, I’d like to thank all our members for their support and for their unwavering belief in PPAI. There have been a lot of changes this year, from staffing to systems and even the membership structure of the Association, and you have stuck with us through it all. As the team at PPAI starts its 2025 planning process, it’s exciting to consider how this year’s changes will facilitate the acceleration of several strategic plan initiatives set by your PPAI Board of Directors: • Key leadership we added in important positions in 2023 are fully hitting their stride and working closely with the entire team. Our Director of Digital Transformation CW Karstens and Director of Sustainability and Responsibility Elizabeth Wimbush will be pivotal in elevating the industry for the future. • The new, simplified membership structure and improved internal systems that come with it will allow us to better tailor and enhance each member’s experience. • New tools and capabilities for the research team will provide even greater voice-of-the-industry insights in 2025, including greater visibility into international trends. • Stronger investment strategies and prudent financial management are driving economic stability for the long-term health of the organization, creating further resources to pour back into an always-improving PPAI. As you work on your own 2025 plan, I encourage you to consider how the data PPAI Media publishes through its Premium Research (PPAI.org/premium-research) could help guide your decisions. This month’s edition of PPAI Magazine offers a taste: In a poll of Democratic and Republican campaign operatives, we found some useful insights that can guide your approach to end users in this important category for our industry. The political market is certainly larger in most years that feature a presidential election, but it never truly goes away. Also in this month’s data-packed issue, you’ll find a benchmarking report on how promotional products firms of all sizes are driving efficiency and improving customer experience through digital transformation, with data often at the heart of these advancements. Even if you have a small business or are an individual contributor, moving with intention towards improved efficiency and enhanced customer experience is critical for success, and I encourage you to take a stat-backed approach, using the best information available to you. PPAI is sharing so much of it. Since joining the Association this summer, I’ve been impressed by all the many ways PPAI is working on our members’ behalf – things we often aren’t even aware of when our focus is on the day-to-day operations of our own businesses. Truly, though, these resources exist to serve the members. As you plan for 2025, be sure to take advantage of as many as you can. I’d like to publicly thank the staff at PPAI for their support since I joined as interim president and CEO this summer. I wish all of you could see firsthand, as I have these past months, the care and dedication they have for both their members and for their peers. It’s been a pleasure serving with them, for all of you. As you work on your own 2025 plan, I encourage you to consider how the data PPAI Media publishes through its Premium Research could help guide your decisions. This month’s edition of PPAI Magazine offers a taste. 4 • OCTOBER 2024 • PPAI

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