PPAI Hosts Member Town Hall For the first time since before the pandemic, PPAI held a virtual town hall for members on August 14, offering updates on the Association’s 2024 accomplishments and a review of its strategic focus for 2025. Participating in the event were members of PPAI leadership, including: • Denise Taschereau, Board Chair • Drew Holmgreen, President & CEO • Ellen Tucker, MAS, CAE, Chief Revenue & Experience Officer • Melissa Ralston, Chief Marketing Officer • Christopher Cheney, Chief Operating Officer The session began with an introduction to PPAI’s new executive team, which was finalized in July with the additions of Ralston and Cheney. The town hall coincided with the release of PPAI’s Annual Report for 2024. Holmgreen and Taschereau highlighted key outcomes from the Association’s 2024 goals, discussing PPAI’s financial performance and transparency, investments in technology – including ERP and LMS upgrades – as well as member engagement milestones. The majority of the session delved into major memberfocused initiatives underway for 2025, including an update on the PPAI Board’s upcoming strategic planning activities. “I’ve had a lot of great conversations with members since I’ve been on board,” Holmgreen said. “As I continue to engage with many of you, let’s continue these conversations about how to improve.” Watch the entire town hall at www.ppai.org/media-hub/ ppai-member-town-hall. Resilient Together: Leaders Emphasize Innovation, Collaboration At SAAC Expo After years of what has amounted to stagnation, the promo industry is eager – and perhaps poised – to get moving again, two of its most influential leaders agree. Taking the stage on August 20 at the beginning of Specialty Advertising Association of California’s SAAC Expo in Anaheim, in a keynote panel moderated by PromoShop President and PPAI Board Member Kate Alavez, the executive heads of PPAI and ASI expressed confidence that innovation, education and a shift in how branded merchandise is positioned can drive a stronger future. Considering that the industry revenue trajectory has lagged behind inflation for the better part of a decade, that would be welcomed change. Just over seven months into his role leading PPAI as president and CEO, Drew Holmgreen has visited the headquarters of more than 30 members and had countless more conversations on the industry outlook. “Cautious optimism,” Holmgreen said to summarize. “The reality here is that the markets are doing exceptionally well, which flies in the face of everything you would read from economists and the marketplace in general.” The industry is fundamentally down from 2019, added ASI President and CEO Timothy Andrews, “and we need to get back to growth.” Despite the uneven recovery, fragmentation in the marketplace creates opportunity for firms pushing to outpace the average. “Nationally, we’re a $26 billion industry,” Andrews said. “That means there’s a lot of room for market share. Just because the industry may be slow-going, that doesn’t mean you and your firm have to be slow-going. It’s how do I be the 10% or 20% grower?” PPAI • OCTOBER 2025 • 93 Inside PPAI | Community
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzU4OQ==