In the News

PPAI Report Near-record Attendance for Expo

The PPAI Expo 2017 attracted a total of 12,267 distributor personnel, the show's largest attendance since 2008, from 4,065 companies for the five-day event in Las Vegas, Nevada. The PPAI Expo featured more than 140 education and networking events and 1,251 exhibiting supplier companies in 3,144 booths, including 157 first-time exhibitors, presenting hundreds of thousands of promotional products while occupying more than one million square feet of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. With more than 19,688* participants from the U.S. and 31 countries, the overall economic impact of direct visitor spending during The PPAI Expo 2017 is estimated at $18.4 million by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Next year’s show will return January 14-18, 2018 to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

“The PPAI Expo 2017 was a resounding success and exceeded expectations,” said Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI president and CEO. “The PPAI Expo marked near-record attendance, and now serves as the launch pad for the year where industry professionals connect, learn, discover and build lifelong partnerships. As Expo has grown, so too have the magnitude and focus of the show. It is the forum where Association executives, industry leaders and professionals meet to guide the industry forward on key initiatives, branding and strategic partnerships to promote, protect and grow this great industry.”

The PPAI Expo was host to the industry’s largest suppliers in addition to more than 157 first-time exhibitors. It showcased thousands of new and exciting products providing industry stakeholders a clear vision and direction for the year and what’s to come in product design, decoration and technology innovations and product knowledge. The Sneak Peek of the Product Pavilions, the rolling opening, the Expo Live stage, and the streamlined end-to-end 360-degree show merchandising floor design showcased exhibitor merchandise and encouraged attendees to experience the entire show. To further enhance distributor-supplier engagement, PPAI adopted EventBit^TM technology to allow it to customize show engagement and create unique and personalized attendee experiences as part of its plan to elevate Expo from great to extraordinary. In addition, through SAGE Mobile, attendees were able to view complete event schedules, create walk lists, navigate the show floor using an interactive floor plan and take notes, pictures, videos and voice memos, all from their handheld mobile devices."

“The 2017 Expo had a great buzz to it,” said outgoing PPAI Board Chair Tom Goos, MAS, president of distributor Image Source, Inc. “There were crowded halls and engaged suppliers and distributors. I know when I have a hard time working through the crowds that it is going to be a successful show. I stopped by dozens of booths to check in on how Expo was going for them and I heard nothing but positive reactions. The PPAI Expo is the event all industry professionals attend, and the conversations that are shared are invaluable.

“Best show ever,” said incoming PPAI Board Chair Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS, founder of distributor Competitive Edge, LLC. “I was proud to walk the show floor and hear ‘great show’ from literally everyone I spoke to. Exhibitors were thrilled at the level of engagement they had with distributors, and distributors were pleased with both the quality of the show and the networking. On the final show day, Paul and I met a woman who had back surgery three weeks prior and she exclaimed, ‘This is my show!’ She said that nothing could keep her from attending Expo.”

Royal Industries Acquires DLX

Ari Ruden, VP of Royal Industries announced the acquisition of DLX Industries and The Pamcolite Line. Ruden said the acquisition is the perfect complement to Royal’s line of U.S.A. and union-made line of vinyl heat-sealed products and expands the scope of products Royal can now offer to distributors. Mark Stewart CEO of DLX stated Royal and DLX have been friendly competitors for many years, and feels Royal will continue offering top quality products and service that has been a standard of DLX.

All files, equipment and dies are now being moved to Royal’s Brooklyn, NY facility and Ruden assures DLX customers the move will be seamless. Royal asks that distributors direct all DLX and Pamcolite inquiries and orders to Royal Industries, 225 25th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232; 718-369-3046; fax 718-369- 3067; sales@royalindustires.com or cs@royalindustries.com.

Regional Associations Join Redesigned SAGE Affiliate Program

SAGE announced that several regional promotional products associations have joined the redesigned SAGE Affiliate Program, including the Houston Promotional Products Association (HPPA), the Promotional Products Association Southwest (PPAS), and the Gold Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA).

The SAGE Affiliate Program is a unique, customized program designed to give regional associations in the promotional products industry and their members special benefits from SAGE through access to business management products and services for members and the association.

Jarod Thorndike, director of strategic relations at SAGE, said, “We are continually evaluating our affiliate program and searching for the best opportunities to support regional associations, which play such a vital role in our industry. We are pleased to find new ways to offer even more benefits and services to our affiliate associations and their members.”

SAGE offers members a choice of Business Suite Packages, special product bundles providing product research solutions on all major platforms, online product searching for clients, a custom website, virtual showrooms, and SAGE Total Access subscriptions. The Total Access subscription consists of SAGE Online, the promotional product industry’s most popular product research and business management solution; SAGE Web, the browser-based platform to access SAGE products from any device with web access; and SAGE Mobile, the full-featured mobile application for iOS and Android devices. Members can select a Business Suite Package of 2, 10, or 25 user licenses depending on the number of users they need. As SAGE Affiliates, members of HPPA, PPAS and GCPPA are eligible to receive special pricing on the Business Suite Packages as well as savings on their first SAGE Total Access subscription license.

Consumer Conference Drops

U.S. consumer confidence took a bigger-than-expected fall in January. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence level skidded to 111.8 in January, from 113.3 the previous month. Wall Street had expected a shallower slide to 112.8.

January’s figure represented a fall from a 15-year high that was struck in the previous month amid expectations that the Trump administration would unleash policies that are good for economic growth and the labor market.