On Wednesday, the industry turned out for Promotional Products Work! Day (PPW! Day). October 20 was an opportunity to celebrate and publicize the value of promotional products to companies, customers and communities.

PPW! Day has, in the past, filled a week with celebrations, but this year it returned for a single day to concentrate the industry’s efforts and reinforce its impact. The annual event serves as a cornerstone for recognizing the importance of working with promotional products professionals, while creating awareness for promotional products as a powerful and effective marketing and communications tool.

Throughout the day, industry companies and professionals took to social media under the hashtag #PPWDay to share their work with clients and their community, highlight facts and statistics about promotional products’ use and effectiveness as an advertising medium, and share some of their favorite products and ideas.

Reflecting the community spirit of PPW! Day, members of Promotional Professionals Association of Chicago (PPAChicago) took two carloads of donations to DuPage Pads in Wheaton, Illinois, and Hesed House in Aurora, both charities that provide support and services to end homelessness.

PPW! Day was also the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada’s (PPPC) return to in-person events with its Holiday Showcase Toronto, a trade show held at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. The day-long event brought 215 distributors to visit with the 39 exhibitors on site.

PPPC also hosted a visit from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Toronto City Councilor Michael Ford, Ontario Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Nina Tangri, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing Mississauga-Malton, Deepak Anand. The guests, invited by PPPC, spent 90 minutes touring the show and stopping to meet with many of the distributors and suppliers in attendance.

“We were thrilled to bring the industry together, in person, for the first time in too long,” says Jonathan N. Strauss, president and CEO of PPPC. “It is truly our mission to be the group that brings the Canadian industry together. The feedback from all participants was very strong.”