• • • • • • October 29 • 2013
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JAMESK@PPAI.ORG • • • • • •
Top News
Employee Engagement Tops In Workplace Trends Poll
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and its measurement partner Dulye & Co. have released the results of their second annual Workplace Trends Poll.
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Industry News
BIC Group Releases Financial Results For Third Quarter, First Nine Months Of 2013
The BIC Group reports that in 2013’s first nine months, its net sales climbed 2.6 percent on a comparative basis. Financial results released by the company on October 23 show that it generated net sales of €1.4 billion during that period.
Read More BIC
SAGE Announces Supplier Rating Award Winners
Each year SAGE presents industry suppliers with A and A+ rating awards based on distributor ratings collected from SAGE Online and SAGE Mobile.
Read More SAGE
PromoKitchen, SanMar Partner On Revivify Contest
PromoKitchen and SanMar’s (UPIC: SNMR) District brand of apparel have partnered to create Revivify, a t-shirt design competition.
Read More Revivify
Business Marketing Association Forms Alliance With FORUM
The Business Marketing Association (BMA) has announced a strategic alliance with the FORUM: Business Results Through People. The partnership supports the BMA’s mission of delivering relevant content, studies and research to help business-to-business marketers advance their education and improve their skills, and will cultivate new research that will be developed and completed in collaboration with the FORUM and BMA.
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PPAI News
PPB Names 2013 Powerful Partners
This fall, PPB went on a search to find some of the industry’s best examples of real teamwork between suppliers and distributors. In this year’s second annual PPB Powerful Partners search, 21 distributors were nominated by their suppliers for their stellar ability to develop a collaborative partnership through clear communications and a higher level of creative selling.
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PPAI’s Navigator Offers Marketing Opportunity For Suppliers
The Navigator is a digital resource guide that makes it easy for PPAI distributor members to find suppliers. It also features a popular coupon section, and creating a coupon for the section is free for the Association’s supplier members.
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PPAI’s November Webinar Series Explores Brand Building And More
PPAI goes into the holiday season with a diverse lineup of education opportunities for industry practitioners seeking to further their professional development. This November, PPAI’s webinar series looks at branding, copywriting and corporate gifting, among other subjects.
Read More Webinars
PPAI Law
Final Week To Register For The 2014 PPAI L.E.A.D.
Thursday is the last day to get an application in for the 2014 PPAI L.E.A.D. On April 9-10, 2014, the Association's members and staff will meet with senators, congressional representatives and their legislative staffs on Capitol Hill to discuss pending legislation and issues relevant to the promotional products industry. If you are interested in participating, complete an application before the opportunity passes.
Nominate A Member Of Congress For PPAI’s Legislator Of The Year
The PPAI Legislator of the Year Award is an opportunity to recognize those who have worked to protect promotional products industry businesses, expressed an interest in learning about the industry and have fostered an environment in which it can continue to thrive. Nominate the Member of Congress who best supports the industry and its initiatives for the PPAI Legislator of the Year Award. The nomination period has been extended to November 26. The award recipient will be recognized at the 2014 Legislative Education and Awareness Day (L.E.A.D.) in Washington, D.C. Go to awards.ppa.org to submit a nomination. For questions, email awards@ppai.org or call 972-258-3070.
Product Responsibility
CPSC Issues Hooded Sweatshirt, Jacket Recall
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a recall for Trail Crest hooded sweatshirts and jackets. The hoodies and jackets have drawstrings through the hood or neck, which pose a strangulation hazard to young children. While none of the affected products have been reportedly sold by promotional products companies, it’s an example of the CPSC’s vigilance on the issue.
Read More CPSC
CPSC Chair Tenenbaum Announces Exit
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum has announced that she will leave the position on December 1 to take a new position with the law firm Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough. In her new role, she’ll operate out of the firm’s offices in Columbia, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C., focusing on product safety and education issues. Replacements for her position on the CPSC board, as well as departing fellow commissioner Nancy Nord, have not yet been announced. The CPSC's existing Democratic majority will not be affected by their departures.
People News
Innovative Marketing & Design (UPIC: IMDL) in Smyrna, Georgia, has hired Felicia Lyn as production manager. Lyn has a marketing degree from Kennesaw State University and several years of experience in internet communication and sales. She will play a large role in bringing new services and products to market globally as the distributor gets further expansion plans under way leading into 2014.
Supplier Fey Promotional Products Group (UPIC: FEY) has hired Elizabeth Bennett as director of product development and Candy Cummings as territory sales manager. Bennett is returning to the promotional products industry after time with General Electric. With her background in strategic planning and product development, she will work to grow the company’s family of brands with new, differentiated and exclusive product assortments in addition to its existing products. As territory sales manager for Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, Cummings will focus her efforts on growing revenues and broadening the supplier’s reach. She has 18 years of industry experience, 15 of which were in outside sales.
Regional News
PPAI Hosts RAC Board Strategic Planning Meeting
Last week, PPAI hosted the Regional Association Council (RAC) Board’s strategic planning session at the Association’s headquarters in Irving, Texas.
Read More RAC
PPAChicago Hosts Suppliers, Distributors And End Buyers At Its Fall Forum
On October 17, PPAChicago held its Fall Forum at Rosemont, Illinois, where regional association members, non-members and their clients met with exhibitors and networked.
Read More PPAChicago
Accolades
Towel Specialties Sweeps SGIA Golden Image Awards’ Textiles Category
Towel Specialties (UPIC: TOWLSPEC) of Baltimore, Maryland, won Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for excellence in screenprinting on textiles in the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association’s (SGIA) Golden Image Awards.
Read More Towel Specialties
Proforma Staffer Wins Social Media Award
Tony Zayas, interactive media manager for Cleveland, Ohio-based distributor Proforma (UPIC: PROFORMA), was recently named a winner of the 2013 SoMe Impact Awards by Smart Business and SBN Interactive for his work in developing social media programs and online strategies for Proforma owners and the Proforma Support Center.
Read More Proforma
Dyenomite Apparel Receives Inc. Magazine Hire Power Award
Supplier Dyenomite Apparel (UPIC: DyeNo439) has been recognized for its job creation efforts by Inc. magazine. It has received Inc.’s Hire Power award for increasing its workforce by roughly 50 percent.
Read More Dyenomite
SAGE FACT OF THE WEEK
End Of The Year Gifts
The end of the year is filled with holiday parties, employee appreciation days and customer appreciation days. With all of the celebrations, Q4 is the biggest time of the year for food and gift baskets. To help prepare for the busy season ahead, here are some of the most popular food and gift baskets from the SAGE database.
Read More Fact Of The Week
This Month’s PPB
Bag Blitz
Suppliers scramble to bring NFL-approved totes to market for use in the country’s 32 pro football stadiums.
Read More Bags
Five Minutes With Bob Bentz, End Buyer And President Of Advanced Telecom Services
It doesn’t take too many promotional products purchases to see their value. As president of Advanced Telecom Services, a full-service provider of mobile marketing services to advertisers, advertising agencies and media, Bob Bentz doesn’t make a lot of promotional products purchases—about six per year—but when he does he likes to work with distributors who help him to find unique products.
Read More Bentz
Volunteer Spotlight: Rod Brown, CAS
This month, PPB’s series on getting to know the volunteers who have helped the Association expand and succeed in its mission of supporting its members spotlights Rod Brown, CAS, member of the PPAI Board of Directors and chief financial officer for distributor MadeToOrder.
Read More Brown
Contribute To PPAI Publications
Club Corp
It's time to start planning for spring golf outings. Suppliers: Make sure players are sporting your golf apparel by submitting your sport shirts, windshirts, jackets, vests, caps and other golf apparel to be featured in PPB editorial. Distributors: Share with us your favorite golf apparel items, case studies and ask your toughest golf promo questions. High-resolution images and other materials are due to Tama Underwood by October 31.
Keep Your Cleats On
Editor’s Picks in January will showcase golf products. Distributors should send case studies of programs that featured golf products, and suppliers should send 1 MB images and product descriptions of golf products to Jen Alexander McCall by Wednesday, November 6.
Green Scene
January’s Market To Market examines the environmental sector and how it can use promotional products to deliver messages, promote advocacy and raise money for eco-friendly causes. Distributors should share case studies from clients in this field and suppliers should send 1 MB images and product descriptions for eco-friendly products to Jen Alexander McCall by Wednesday, November 6.
What Would You Do?
A Supplier Asks: We're thinking of allowing our distributors to create their own virtual samples on our website. Do distributors like being able to make samples themselves, or is it more convenient to have suppliers create them? Do end buyers respond the same to both types of sample?
What's Your Answer? Email answers along with your name, title and company name to Question@ppai.org by October 31 for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue of PPB magazine.
Need peer advice on a sticky situation? Send your question to Question@ppai.org.
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