PPB D2U

PPAI hosted its annual Association Update in a live format as part of PPAI Expo Direct-2-You, which featured a virtual, infor- mative conversation among PPAI leaders on updates and changes made to the Asso- ciation and its services over the past year; trends and issues affecting the state of the promotional products industry today, and growth opportunities for PPAI’s member companies and the industry as a whole. The chat, led by (now former) PPAI Pres- ident and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, fea- tured Ira Neaman, MAS, outgoing chair of PPAI’s Board of Directors, and founder and president of supplier Vantage Apparel; and Todd Pottebaum, MAS+, incoming PPAI board chair and president of distributor Quality Resource Group (QRG). The con- versation also included a virtual “passing of the gavel” from Neaman to Pottebaum, and covered the heavy, yet unavoidable, topics of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on business, the move to make The PPAI Expo virtual this year and their projec- tions for the industry’s future. The Association Update opened with a look at some logistics between Day 1 and Day 2 of PPAI’s first-ever, fully virtual trade show. Bellantone shared that in the first two days of the show, some 10,000 distributors participated by interacting with exhibitors, joining in professional develop- ment sessions and networking with their fellow distributors. During this time, there were approximately 20,000 booth vis- its—something that wouldn’t be possible if the trade show took place at its usual location inside the Mandalay Bay Con- vention Center in Las Vegas, Bellantone said—215,000 product views and 20,000 total professional development visits, which include education, and 6,400 lounge visits. On Day 2, more than 2,000 of the partici- pating distributors, one-fifth of participating distributors who attended during the first two show days, logged in for the first time, which suggested that attendance was likely to continue rising for the duration of the show. “We’ve been saying this week that we’re not where we want to be,” Bellan- tone said. “We want to be giving hugs, and we want to interact with suppliers and distributors in their booths, and we’re not where we want to be—but we’re where we should be; engaging with each other and engaging with our members.” One of the benefits of this year’s virtual format highlighted in the discussion is the availability of more anecdotal data. “The ability to get metrics on the show is going to almost be like hitting a trampoline and bouncing that much further,” Neaman said. Also discussed were the challenges expe- rienced during Day 1 of the show, which PPAI and SAGE, PPAI’s technology part- ner, worked quickly to resolve. By the end of Day 1, Bellantone said the show was operating “at almost 100 percent again,” and by Day 2, was fully operational. Bellantone also shared how the planning of PPAI Expo Direct-2-You has been an unprecedented and unique experience in itself, but it’s one that was approached by sticking to the core of the industry’s mission. “When you start with the ‘why,’ it made it a lot easier for us to run this event, plan for it and execute it,” Bellantone said. “We started with, ‘Why are we doing this?’ ‘Why is it important for us to actually be having this event?’ And then we built it from a zero base, recreating what The PPAI Expo could be using—that ‘why.’” Using feedback and data collected from PPAI Expo Direct-2-You, Bellantone said the Association will be considering what worked and what didn’t, and the strategies, services and experiences that will be recre- ated at The PPAI Expo 2022. Ira Neaman , MAS Todd Pottebaum , MAS+ Paul Bellantone , CAE PPAI’s Annual Association Update Highlights The Effect Of COVID-19 On Business PPAI Expo D2U Education Highlights 10 ENCORE: Your Bonus Guide To The Best Of PPAI Expo Direct-2-You