News

Registration is now open for the highly anticipated The PPAI Expo 2022 in Las Vegas. The industry is ready to fully get back to business, and the The PPAI Expo will be ready to make it happen. The promotional products industry’s largest and longest-running trade show is returning to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on January 10-13, 2022, and it’s bringing opportunities for attendees to reconnect with suppliers, grow their business, take advantage of extensive education options, and expand their professional communities through social and networking events.

The PPAI Expo 2022 begins on Monday, January 10 with The PPAI Expo Conference. The one-day education event will feature a curated line-up of impressive and knowledgeable speakers who will expand attendees’ minds and professional toolkits. The trade-show floor, including its popular product pavilions, opens Tuesday morning and runs through Thursday afternoon and will feature nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies from across the promotional products landscape.

“Registration is open!” says PPAI Director of Business Development and Expositions Ellen Tucker, CAE. “Those three words mean a little more this year, and they are bringing a greater level of excitement with them. They mean the countdown has started, the show is a go, that we are committed to bringing the industry together, in person, to kick-off 2022 with The PPAI Expo. With our Healthpitality plan in place, we are eager to safely bring the community together to engage in impactful networking, best-in-industry professional development and a place to do business.”

Healthpitality is the Association’s commitment to ensure the health and safety of show attendees and is an important part of the planning processes for every in-person PPAI event. The show rules are based upon local and federal laws, as well as any Mandalay Bay rules and regulations, and they will remain fluid. Find the most up-to-date event status regarding Healthpitality safeguards here.

Register early for discounts on select hotel accommodations. For more information on Expo 2022, visit expo.ppai.org. And to register, click here.

PPAI announces the recipients of its most prestigious awards for 2022, including PPAI Hall of Fame, PPAI Distinguished Service Award and PPAI H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award, and the Promotional Product Pioneers.

The PPAI Hall of Fame gives permanent recognition to those whose selfless efforts and devotion to the industry are monumental. The 2022 inductees are Sherri C. Lennarson, MAS (left), the retired senior vice president of business development at Bankers Advertising Company, and Cliff Quicksell, Jr., MAS+ (second from left), president of Cliff Quicksell Associates.

The PPAI Distinguished Service Award celebrates members who consistently contribute their skills and expertise toward the betterment of the Association, through volunteer service or by offering their leadership skills to PPAI. In 2022, the recipients are Brandon Mackay, MAS (center), president and CEO of Snugz USA, and David Regan, MAS (second from right), vice president of sales and marketing at The Vernon Company.

Named after the late H. Ted Olson, MAS, PPAI president emeritus, the PPAI H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award represents what Olson stood for—volunteerism inside and outside of the promotional products industry. The award is presented to PPAI members who have shown longstanding empathy, devotion and commitment to improving quality of life and facilitating change for the betterment of a community. In 2022, PPAI honors Peter Hirsch, MAS, president of Hirsch Gift, with this award.

Logomark (PPAI 110898, S12) has partnered with Ascentials Pro, bringing the retail brand of lifestyle and travel bags to the promotional products industry. Founded in Boulder, Colorado, in 2018, Ascentials Pro manufactures bags built using high‐performance outdoor materials designed with a modern, urban aesthetic.

“What first struck me with the Ascentials Pro brand is the keen attention to detail in every bag they produce,” says Trevor Gnesin, CEO of Tustin, California-based Logomark. “The high‐quality materials and the intricately designed parts that are both beautiful and functional create an overall effect that is rarely found in retail brands available today. I really love the look and feel of this brand.”

Webb Company (PPAI 143213, S8), based in Eagan, Minnesota, has rebranded as Mixie. The supplier, founded in 1993 and offering lip balms, lotions, sanitizers, breath mints and more, was acquired by HPG in 2020.

With the new company name comes a new logo, website, font, marketing collateral, product photography and entire visual identity system. Simultaneously, with the new rebrand comes a newly completed upgraded state-of-the-art production facility for Mixie in Eagan with a streamlined assortment of USA-made health and beauty products that can be mixed more quickly.

This marquee rebranding is the fourth completed by HPG’s in-house creative marketing team, based in Danville, California, and led by Jason Lucash, chief development officer.

“The transformation to Mixie was nothing short of a collaboration of creative minds,” says Lucash. “Working with the Webb team to develop a modern, bright and playful brand has been incredible. It was important that we chose a name and brand identity that embody the product line context and company expertise perfectly. In addition, we wanted to choose a concept and color scheme that was visually different from the rest of the HPG family to truly give Mixie its own identity.”

The Webb acquisition in 2020 allowed for HPG to gain market share in the rapidly growing personal care sector of the promotional products industry.

“Since HPG’s acquisition of Webb last year, our experience working with the team has been a fantastic journey,” says HPG CEO Chris Anderson. “It’s with great enthusiasm that we welcome the fresh new look, brand and product experience that Mixie will bring to the industry. Combined with our recently completed state-of-the-art Minneapolis facility, Mixie is sure to set the standard for personal care.”

To support schools serving low-income and diverse student populations, St. Paul, Minnesota-headquartered 3M is providing backpacks full of school supplies to 17,000 public school students in its hometown, through a partnership with the St. Paul Public School District and the Kids in Need Foundation. More than 700 teachers will distribute the products, which range from Scotch Glue Sticks and Post-it Notes to notebooks and pencils. 3M operates in the promotional products market through its 3M Promotional Markets Dept. (PPAI 113638, S11).

3M plant communities are also teaming up to provide locally needed supplies this year. 3M’s sites in Monrovia, California, recently collected six barrels of requested back-to-school items, working together with partner Foothill Unity Center. This month, the 3M Austin, Texas, site is collecting required polo shirts for a public school.

In 2020, 3Mgives and the 3M Foundation facilitated more than $28 million in 3M product donations, which went to disaster-relief efforts, schools and community nonprofits. Through its Supplies for Schools program, 3M donates products such as office supplies, hand sanitizer, tapes, glues, adhesives, highlighters, masks and sponges. To help make sure supplies reach students and teachers who need them the most, including underrepresented communities, 3M partners with leading nonprofit organizations such as Kids in Need, Teach for America and DonorsChoose.

Through DonorsChoose, public school teachers can create classroom project requests. 3M is providing $500,000 in annual support to DonorsChoose, which has supported 7,794 teacher projects since 2014. 3M has also launched a fresh round of Science at Home online educational resources that can be done at home or in the classroom. Teach for America partnered with 3M to promote awareness of Science at Home resources this year and is dedicated to Title 1 schools serving low-income students. In addition, 3Mgives donates more than $1 million in products each year which are distributed to more than 3,900 FIRST Robotics Competition teams in their Kit of Parts.

Peerless Umbrella, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, has signed an exclusive deal with Weatherman to be the sole provider of Weatherman umbrellas to the promotional products industry. Initially Peerless will offer two styles in the line’s most popular colors, and more styles and colors will be added as the partnership evolves.

Weatherman was created by meteorologist Rick Reichmuth. After years in the field covering severe weather events, Reichmuth was looking for an umbrella that met his standards. When he couldn’t find one that had all the features he wanted, he decided to design it himself. The Weatherman is built to stand up to extreme weather conditions and offers a lifetime warranty. Weatherman has previously partnered strategically with companies in the golf space, including Arnold Palmer Enterprises, Folds of Honor, the PGA of America and PGA TOUR, and its custom designs have been seen from the Ryder Cup to the recent Olympic games in Tokyo.

“Peerless has been in business for nearly 100 years and has set the standard for what a quality umbrella should look like,” says Peerless Umbrella National Sales Manager Dan Edge. “It is an honor to now bring such a well-known, high-quality retail brand umbrella into our line, and to work with a company that shares our love for impeccable craftsmanship.”

Tyler Kupper, partner and chief revenue officer of Weatherman, adds, “We’ve been able to witness firsthand the attention to detail and workmanship that Peerless puts into the production and design of their products. Since Weatherman’s inception, we’ve seen a large number of requests for co-branded and custom umbrellas but found ourselves limited by bandwidth to meet demand. We’re optimistic about our partnership with Peerless and are excited about the partnership as it allows us to meet demand at scale and continue to grow.”

Koozie Group (PPAI 114187, S13) headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, has formed a new, exclusive supplier partnership in the U.S. and Canada with SCX Design. Founded in 2017, SCX Design is a French company that creates innovative, useful tech accessories.

“We are excited to partner with SCX Design,” says Pierre Montaubin, senior vice president, product management and sourcing at Koozie Group. “From power banks, to speakers, to cables, their products have a retail feel that offers great options for high-end gift-giving.”

Stan Confavreux, owner of SCX Design, adds, “Koozie Group is the perfect partner to bring our cutting-edge tech accessories to U.S. and Canadian customers. We look forward to building on the relationship as customers come to know our products and our commitment to quality.”

With this partnership came the launch of 19 new products on September 7. These include speakers, charging cables, a sound bar, wireless headphones, a flashlight, a notebook, a mouse pad, wireless chargers and power banks. Every SCX Design product arrives ready for gifting in a box or pouch, and most feature a soft-touch finish for a premium feel and can be customized with an illuminated logo. In line with the company’s eco-friendly mission, all three-in-one cables are made with recycled content, and every SCX Design product comes with a three-year warranty, cable excluded

Distributor HALO (PPAI 106462, D15), headquartered in Sterling, Illinois, has acquired Captiv8 Promotions, a distributor located in New York City.

“Larry Shapiro has built an impressive business by focusing on creative product design and exceptional service to a list of blue-chip clients,” says Marc Simon, CEO of HALO. “The Captiv8 team’s core competencies align perfectly with the growing suite of client-centric offerings we provide at HALO. The addition of Captiv8 to our successful selling and operational teams in New York City—HALO Recognition and the (formerly) Axis Promotions group—will enhance our strategic market strength in this key market.”

Shapiro, president of Captiv8, who will continue as senior vice president of sales with HALO, adds, “Our business continues to grow, and the extensive support HALO provides clients will expand our offering to our current customers and allow us to attract new business, as well. The Captiv8 team is excited to present the breadth and depth of HALO capabilities to our clients.”

Captiv8 Promotions was launched in 1993 with a focus on selling custom baseball caps to local bars and restaurants, and has grown into a branded merchandise agency offering merchandise and event creation for clients in a variety of industries.

Captiv8’s sales, support and creative services team will maintain their Manhattan presence expanding HALO’s footprint in the New York City market.

The move marks the third New York City distributor acquisition for HALO. In January 2020, it acquired Axis Promotions, led by Larry Cohen, and in October 2017 it acquired Michael C. Fina Recognition, which was rebranded as HALO Recognition.

Jim Stutz, HALO’s executive vice president of sales and business development, says, “Captiv8 is a perfect example of the synergy that drives HALO’s growth strategy. The Captiv8 team will provide insightful client development expertise through product design, and HALO will expand the resources available to Captiv8 clients.”

SAGE, the promotional products industry's leading business services provider, just wrapped their second annual online presentation of SAGE Show, one of the industry’s largest online events. The successful three-day tradeshow included more than 2,500 industry professionals in attendance, featured over 150 online booths, live and on-demand education sessions, a robust product pavilion, a variety of networking lounges, and more.

Powered by SAGE’s virtual tradeshow platform, SAGE Show featured technology developed by SAGE to create an interactive experience tailored just for the promotional products industry. This revolutionary platform enabled distributors from across North America including Canada and Mexico, and internationally as far as New Zealand, to connect with top industry suppliers in real-time.

Distributors were able to visit exhibitors’ online booths, engage in video calls and live chats with suppliers, and access themed product pavilions to explore the latest in product trends. “I can’t tell you how appreciative we are for having you do this for vendors and distributors” said John Durajczyk of PromoLogo USA. Additionally, with over 20 networking lounges hosted by regional associations and distributor groups, attendees were able to interact with their peers and gain valuable industry insights.

“After so much positive feedback from last year’s show, we wanted to bring back our online platform for SAGE Show again this year,” said SAGE President David Natinsky, MAS. “The accessibility that this platform has brought to the industry is really incredible. So many more people can attend and enjoy the benefits of discovering new, trending products, network, learn, and more all from their home or office.”

For the second year in a row, the SAGE Show online offering was a resounding success with 42,862 booth visits, 23,897 live chats, 116 video calls, 53,618 product views, and 1,121 lounge visits throughout the three-day event.

In addition to the product-viewing and networking opportunities, live and on-demand education sessions were provided by SAGE, PPAI, and top industry suppliers, receiving a total of 5,552 views throughout the show. During these sessions, attendees learned about cutting edge-technology, how to improve their sales and marketing skills, and more ways to promote their business in an ever-changing world. Anita Montgomery with Specialty Advertising Works said “These were such good presentations, I feel great when I get one take-away, these gave me several!”

Distributors also heard from expert panelists and industry peers on a variety of topics. The show kicked off with a highly anticipated session discussing industry updates and insights presented by David Natinsky, SAGE President, Jonathan Strauss, Promotional Product Professional of Canada President and CEO, and Bob McLean, Promotional Products Association International Executive Vice President.

Additionally, Cliff Quicksell, MAS+, Owner of Cliff Quicksell Associates, spoke about packaging, creative distribution, and his Discovery Brief© methodology, and was met with overwhelming audience approval. Teresa Oliver with Logarrow Marketing Services said there was “lots of meat to this seminar.” FLEXpoint Managing Partners Jay Busselle and Jessica Gibbons-Rauch gave valuable tips to leverage LinkedIn for leads. Another hot topic discussion on corporate social responsibility was led by Danny Rosin, CAS, President of BrandFuel and Roger Burnett, Founder of Social Good Promotions.

And perhaps the most important information covered given today’s climate was a cybersecurity session led by Eric Natinsky, SAGE CEO, Brian Pritchard, SAGE Director of IT, Chris Alfano, AIA Senior Vice President of Business Technology, and Neal Maguire, Investigations Manager for the Verizon Threat Research Advisory Center. The expert panelists discussed ransomware attacks, how they happen and how a small business can protect against them.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the success of our second year of SAGE Show being completely online," added David Natinsky. "We couldn't do it without all of the distributors, suppliers, and our sponsors - so thank you for making this possible. The future looks bright for the industry, and we look forward to seeing what it holds."

alphabroder | Prime Line, leading supplier of branded apparel, accessories, and hard goods in North America, is pleased to announce the launch of its, “Green Team Initiative.” After 15 months of working closely with the supplier community and within its facilities, the initiative is taking root. The company journeys down a new path with the ultimate goal of creating an environmental, social and governance corporate platform that is both meaningful and measurable.

“Sustainable practices are as important today as product safety, fair labor & supply chain safety were ten years ago. Our industry invests considerable resources to maintain & verify product & supply chain safety and socially responsible supply chain practices. In 2020 alphabroder | Prime Line allocated additional resources to examine our sustainability protocols and establish a Corporate “Green Team” initiative. The “Green Team” is a dedicated cross-functional team passionate about all things sustainable.” Says Andrea Routzahn, Chief Merchant, alphabroder | Prime Line.

Education and awareness are key components of alphabroder | Prime Line’s sustainability efforts. With that in mind, they have created a 3-factor method for validating the products in their assortment with accurate & verifiable global sustainable components, sustainable manufacturing practices and a responsible mindset.

The initiative has kicked off and is now live on alphabroder.com and alphabroder.ca and where you’ll find search filters that allow you to explore by product category; by brand; or all products.

1. Styles with Sustainable Materials contain all or a portion of verified sustainable fibers or materials. View US Products Here View Canadian Products Here

2. Styles with Sustainable Manufacturing have been validated across a wide range of fabric and product manufacturing practices validated by globally recognized organization. View US Products Here View Canadian Products Here

3. Styles with Responsible Mindset are from brands with social and sustainable ‘give-back’ policies directly linked to the products sold in the industry. It also recognizes products designed specifically to reduce use of disposable products, products designed to be easily recycled and products designed to reduce packaging waste. View US Products Here View Canadian Products Here

Additionally, the launch includes enhanced product fabric and features information added to the appropriate product descriptions.

Customers can look forward to a robust ESG microsite that illustrates alphabroder | Prime Line’s ever-evolving commitment to being a corporate leader. Their Corporate Core Values serve as the guiding principles to approach Sustainability, as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The future microsite will feature the celebration and contributions of employees, along with an unwavering attention to sustainable products/practices, rising to exceed the expectations of today’s climate.