Last week, industry companies, associations and professionals stepped up in support of Promotional Products Work! Week (PPW! Week). Running May 14-18 and in its sixth year, PPW! Week is an annual industrywide event dedicated to celebrating the power of promotional products and the value they create.

Throughout PPW! Week, industry companies and organizations held facility tours and events, reached out to their communities and highlighted promotional products’ effectiveness as an advertising channel.

Supplier Raining Rose in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was one of several companies to put together a full schedule of events for PPW! Week, including hosting an educational webinar for those new to the industry, producing several videos in support of the event, and sending Mason Linn, its central region account executive, to take part in the PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) in Washington, D.C.

Raining Rose National Sales Rep Lindsey Davis, MAS, says, “For Raining Rose, participating in Promotional Products Work! Week was important because it is a chance to join the promotional products community to support a simple idea that we believe in strongly. This year, we also used it as an opportunity to let our customers and industry peers get to know us a little better, which I think was something that we had a lot of fun with.”

Distributor Quality Logo Products in Aurora, Illinois, also produced a video highlighting the many merits of promotional products and shared more in-depth details of their effectiveness online. Kelsey Brown, a communications specialist at Quality Logo Products, says, “It was important for Quality Logo Products to take part in Promotional Products Work! Week because we truly believe in the power of promotional products. Not only are they an affordable way to advertise your business, but they’re a lot of fun. Our goal was to put a face behind the industry while having a good time, and I think we accomplished that.”

The industry’s regional associations have always played an outsized role in PPW! Week. The Specialty Advertising Association of California (SAAC) took PPW! Week’s message to the younger generation, with SAAC President Angela Taylor and Executive Director Donte Shannon speaking to students at Los Angeles High School on the industry and its role in advertising.

The Promotional Products Association of the Midwest (PPAMS) joined with Lenexa, Kansas-based distributor Grapevine Designs for a promotional product “drive” collecting discontinued and overstocked merchandise for donation in support of Kansas City’s Operation Breakthrough and Amethyst Place. The regional association also partnered with New Century, Kansas-based supplier Stouse on a factory tour, and four staff members represented the regional association at L.E.A.D.

The Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York’s (SAAGNY) also hosted a factory tour during PPW! Week, in partnership with Chocolate Inn/Taylor & Grant/Lanco at the Hicksville, New York-based supplier’s facility.

While L.E.A.D. drew nearly 80 industry professionals and PPAI staff to Washington, D.C., legislative outreach took place throughout the country during PPW! Week. David Hawes, MAS+, brand architect with Geiger, met with Minnesota Sen. Melisa Franzen. During their meeting, Hawes presented her with a pen that was used to promote Career Day at Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul earlier this year.

Hawes says, “Promotional Products Work! Week gave me a chance to show Sen. Franzen our industry in action. When I explained that the Illuminator pen she was holding was used to inspire kids to ‘Do What You Love’ when choosing their career, she responded emotionally. We're the only advertising medium that appeals to all six senses including the heart. Promotional Products Work! Week is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our industry with pride and passion.”

PPAI’s staff took part in PPW! Week as well making personal visits to industry companies in North Texas throughout the week to get to know them, their employees and to learn how they operate in the promotional products industry. The Association documented these visits in Facebook Live videos throughout PPW! Week. Visit PPAI’s Facebook page to learn more about what Association employees discovered during their visits.

Did your company or regional association’s PPW! Week miss our coverage in PPB Newslink? Share your story and photos with News Editor James Khattak at jamesk@ppai.org for possible inclusion in PPB magazine.