Promotional Products Work! Week (PPW!W) continues as industry professionals at companies and organizations across the country celebrate the power of promotional products and the importance of working with the industry. Running May 13-17, the seventh annual PPW!W is an opportunity for businesses, professionals and organizations in the $24.7 billion promotional products industry to raise awareness on the value and effectiveness of the media.

Several of the industry’s regional associations are taking PPW!W’s message to their members. Among them, the Promotional Products Association Southwest is sponsoring an end-user golf tournament today at Coyote Ridge Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas. The tournament has drawn industry professionals from across the region as players and sponsors. During the tournament’s lunch break, PPAI Vice President of Business Development Alan Peterson delivered remarks on PPW!W and the strength of the industry in Texas. Among his comments, Peterson said, “This strength is a testament to the fact that promotional products work. They help marketers and advertisers get in touch with their employees, their clients and their customers like no other advertising medium. Promotional products help build brands, raise awareness, increase loyalty, support causes and even help save lives.”

Also, as part of PPW!W, the Gold Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA) teamed up with Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, to engage with college-level marketing students to introduce them to the industry, so they are aware and knowledgeable of promotional products before entering the marketplace. Tanesha Anderson, the GCPPA board secretary and membership chair, presented to MBA marketing students in the Integrated Marketing Communications class and to undergraduate marketing students in the Marketing Research class. She says, “During both presentations the students were engaging and had a lot of questions about the industry and projects that were being worked on. There were a few students who had entrepreneurial ambitions and wanted advice on finding the right partners to work with and wanted to find out about working with domestic vendors versus buying direct overseas.”

GCPPA also shared gift bags with students filled with products from IMAGEN Brands and Goldstar Pens.

Industry companies are also stepping up for PPW!W. Among them is distributor HALO Branded Solutions, where employees are sporting custom sunglasses for the event to draw attention to its message and share it with their clients. Distributor AIA treated its staff to branded cookies at the start of the week, along with games of Promo Bingo. And industry businesses across the country are highlighting the week and its message in a wide variety of ways on social media.

Throughout PPW!W, PPAI is hosting local Association members at its Irving, Texas, headquarters. Complete with a red carpet, guests are joining PPAI for lunch and to learn more about the Association and the industry’s resouces. Several have also joined PPAI in a series of live videos for Facebook, sharing their experiences in the industry and their perspectives on the power of promotional products.

PPW!W is built on five pillars that exemplify ways PPAI member companies and others can speak up for the promotional products industry and take part in this year’s program, and the fourth pillar calls on the industry to share its impact with legislators, politicians and government officials. Industry professionals are doing that this week on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. as part of PPAI’s Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.)., but it can be done closer to home, too. This week, David Hawes, MAS+, with Geiger, met with Clara Severson, political director for Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), to discuss how the industry impacts Minnesota's economy with $1.7 billion in annual revenue, more than 20,000 jobs and 947 companies, 95 percent of which are small businesses.

Industry companies looking to create awareness for the industry can download a toolkit with ideas, graphics, videos, social media banners and other PPW!W-branded elements here. Follow all the activities throughout the week on PPAI's Facebook page and post events using #PPWWeek. Companies are also encouraged to send descriptions and photos from company activities and events to PPB@ppai.org for consideration in a future article.