This is the final week to enter PPAI’s 2022 Pyramid Awards. Submissions close May 7. The annual awards honor creative excellence in the promotional products industry and recognize dependable suppliers, outstanding promotions, creative campaigns and exceptional craftsmanship by its members. To highlight and learn from 2021 Pyramid Award winners, PPB Newslink is speaking with them to learn more about what it means to secure a PPAI Pyramid win. This installment features Spring, Texas, distributor NW Digital Works and its gold award in the Not For Profit Programs category for its submission “Lanier Theological Library Partnership Project,” and San Antonio, Texas-based distributor Brandscene and its gold award in the Employee Incentives & Recognition Program category for its submission “Uber Eats Team Member Gift.”

NW Digital Works’ submission spotlights its work in creating a welcome kit for Lanier Theological Library’s new Partnership Program to continue to support the library, its programs and its expansion. The distributor notes that the promotional products chosen for this partnership opportunity were carefully thought out and researched before any recommendations were made. Products were selected and branded for their relevance in studying at the library, such as zippered totes containing powerbank journals, refillable notebooks, pens, desk lamps and more. Each selected product featured the Lanier logo as a continual reminder of the library and its resources.

“This was the first time NW Digital Works submitted our work to the Pyramid competition,” says Cheryl Roberts, MAS, NW Digital Works’ owner. “With over 20 years in the industry and being involved with the PPAI and HPPA organizations throughout the years, we wanted to highlight one of our recent projects that we felt particularly proud of. It was also the perfect time for us to carefully select the supplier partners for this project, that we knew we could count on, and we were very happy with our choices. NW Digital Works, LLC is honored to have received this prestigious award.”

Roberts adds, “There was no question in determining which of our many programs and projects to choose from. Our company is very familiar with the nonprofit Lanier Theological Library. We believe very strongly in the vision and mission of this organization and how they continue to make a difference in our world for Jesus. The library hosts lectures from internationally known Bible scholars, pastors and theologians that are free and open to the public as well as available online. We worked with our client to choose the products for their welcome kit to be given to new partners with items they would need for a day of study in the library.”

NW Digital Works’ campaign for the Lanier Theological Library came in 18 percent under budget, and the kits were presented to welcome and thank new partners, and showcased new partnership opportunities and benefits.

“Winning the Gold Pyramid has already helped us promote our company by being recognized by such a well thought of organization as PPAI,” says Roberts. “By receiving this prestigious award, we were able to promote our organization with press releases, social media and displaying the award and welcome kit in a prominent location in our showroom. With this project, we are able to highlight many useful products with our clients branding that will be used and valued for years to come. NW Digital Works, LLC has always enjoyed working with our clients to find the most relevant products to enhance their events and promotions.”

For the campaign Brandscene submitted to the Pyramid competition, Uber required a recognition program to encourage and thank team members while providing a desirable gift and increase brand exposure. Food and fun often happen at the beach in Australia. The fun, food, smiley-face emoji and flamingo-adorned beach towels were trending in retail stores. The distributor found these themes to be the perfect match for the Uber brand and the staff demographic. Beach towels were designed using a full sublimation as doughnuts and burgers featuring the Uber Eats logo.

“2021 was the first year Brandscene submitted to the Pyramid competition,” says Jacquelyn Jones, president of Brandscene. “We were keen to enter since joining PPAI two years prior. With competing business development priorities, we felt we should wait until 2021, but I would definitely recommend submitting! We submitted multiple entries and I would suggest preparation to make the whole process as smooth as possible. We started by allocating time in advance to work out what the best category was for each submission, and the process of filling out the entry for each application also takes time and consideration. We found the questions and the layout of the Pyramid Award application very helpful for developing the content required for the entry. Scheduling for product photos and references to be created and delivered in time to submit the application was crucial in our planning. Last but not least in the scheduling process was to send samples to PPAI’s headquarters for judging.

Speaking on how the distributor chose what campaigns to submit to the awards program, Jones adds, “Throughout the year there were certain jobs that stood out to us for the execution and impact. The team had been told to come to a meeting with the jobs they felt were award-worthy and why. Our team printed off the categories and the questions. We then collaboratively went through the list and cross-referenced with what we wished to submit.”

The distributor reports that the gift in the recognition program was so desirable and created such a buzz, that Uber’s staff talked about it for a long while, which in turn also gave fun brand exposure when used by staff, resulting in a win-win promotion.

“We are very excited with winning four awards this year,” says Jones. “Our focus with the awards was to gain credibility at first glance on a website, mail blast, pitch, etc. We are hoping to secure new business with this through social media and pitch campaigns—utilizing the award image and the case study that earned the award, as we believe awards such as this bring a sense of trust to a potential client. Our other agenda was to showcase and highlight our capabilities and services. This is a tangible way of demonstrating how we can enhance our existing clients and new clients business. Brandscene also wanted to honor our awesome clients and the partnership that created the great campaign or product.”

For more information and to submit entries to the 2022 PPAI Pyramid Awards, go to www.ppai.org/pyramid. For assistance or additional questions, email awards@ppai.org.