Did U Know PPAI Can Expand Your Reach Each Month?

New business leads are big — as in crucial. So, what if we told ya’ there was a way to reach new contacts on a monthly basis …

For members only, PPAI posts the contact info of new distributor and supplier members who joined the Association during the previous month. Available as an Excel spreadsheet or a Word file, these contact lists are updated (for you! for free!) monthly.

Use the info to promote your business, garner potential sales, swap ideas, establish goodwill, welcome the newbies to the industry’s only not-for-profit trade association. Whatever you do, remember this: a new month means new leads, which means new opportunities! Click New Members for the current contact list. Want more? Click List Rentals.

Did U Know You Can Set Yourself Apart From The Pack?

No.1 business objective: differentiate yourself. If you want to stand out, you gotta’ step up …

Launched in 2005, PPAI’s ADvocate program has been training promotional products professionals to successfully educate, inform and make end buyers aware of the power of promotional products — a huge benefit to all involved. By getting in front of the masses, not only do you snag greater face/name recognition with those who pay the bills, you’re able to position yourself as an expert in the industry, while fostering a heightened interest in promotional products, which ultimately enhances your bottom line.

Training is easy, PPAI offers a three-part, on-demand webinar. Getting out there is even easier with PPAI’s suite of support services, including a downloadable self-mailer, speaker guide, PowerPoint presentation and more.

Let the competition play follow the leader, while you lead the way toward bigger, better business.

Did U Know The Kitchen’s A Popular Place For Promotional Products?

In our continuing effort to provide industry research you can use to shape your business, PPAI recently asked 1,005 average American consumers how many promotional products they had in their kitchen. The response? Overwhelming …

More than three-quarters of the group (828 people) had at least one promotional product in their kitchen, while the bulk reported having anywhere between two and 11 or more. But, here’s the part you can really sink your teeth into: The product/advertiser recall was through the roof! A whopping 86% could name not one, but two promotional products in their kitchen, while 50% of those could name the corresponding advertisers.

So, what’s the takeaway? To cook up great sales, think “kitchen.” Create campaigns for your clients that center around cooking, encourage them to purchase items that can be used in the kitchen and think outside the box when pitching products… anything from a memo pad to a hot pad are great tools, as long as the message is on point, making the overall effect one that’s totally memorable.

This complete study, “Effectiveness Of Promotional Products As An Advertising Medium,” will be released next month. Until then, visit PPAI Research for stats from other studies.

Did U Know You Can Search For Members From Your Desktop?

Google ’em. Yahoo! ’em. Bing ’em if you have to. Search engines are key business tools, but there’s a super-simple, super-fast way to skip the online rigmarole of scanning the entire world wide web when you’re looking for industry-specific info …

The PPAI Desktop Navigator is a downloadable tool that parks itself on your desktop so you always have easy, instant access to the PPAI member directory. You can look through listings by zip/area codes, sales volume and keywords, print search results, send e-mails/artwork and bookmark your favorite searches, like women-run companies in Texas or coffee mug suppliers in California. And, even if you’re working wireless and the wi-fi signal is slim, the Desktop Navigator is still up and running, returning great results each and every time.

To download this time-saving tool, click Desktop.

Did U Know We’ve Got (More) Stats From Vertical Markets?

A few weeks ago we first blogged that the Human Resources sector is a huge supporter/user of promotional products (click HR for back story). And now, continuing our commitment to helping you capitalize on the big business opportunities found within vertical markets, we’ve got great news from another industry …

PPAI representatives recently attended the MPI (Meeting Professionals International) show in Salt Lake City, where a poll of attendees revealed that 83% of meeting planners cite promotional products as effective ways to increase brand recognition, generate goodwill and increase booth traffic. Top three most used items in their industry? Pens, bags and water bottles.

Ready to boost that bottom line? It’s time to meet up with meeting planners! Complete MPI poll results will be available soon, until then, check out other useful tidbits at PPAI Research. Oh, and want to see info on a specific market? Join our Facebook conversation here, we're shaping up our show list for 2010 now.

Did U Know You Can Make A Date With PPAI Expo Exhibitors?

Thousands of people attend The PPAI Expo. But, that doesn’t mean you’ll get lost in the crowd when it comes to checking out your “Top 10” (or 20 or 200) exhibitors …


Expo PlanIt, a handy dandy online show-planning tool, lets you see who’s exhibiting at Expo AND gives you the chance to schedule some cozy one-on-one time during the show.

Click Expo PlanIt to make a date with destiny (or Sony, Starbuck’s … whomever tickles your financial fancy). No muss, no fuss, no wasted time.

Did U Know Address Books Are Great Promotional Products?

In an age of digital everything, when it comes to contact info, it turns out that an oldie, but goody, still reigns supreme …

According to brand new research (“Effectiveness Of Promotional Products As An Advertising Medium”) conducted by PPAI, when American consumers need to call their most important service providers — their family physicians and insurance agents — the No. 1 place they turn to is not the Internet or yellow pages, it’s their personal address book.

Want to make sure they get your message? Leave it in the one place you now know they’ll look!

Complete study results to be released next month; until then, visit PPAI Research for facts and figures from additional industry studies.

Did U Know We’ve Got A Great Tax Deduction Opportunity?

According to recent reports, Americans donated more than $300 billion to charitable causes last year, which means about $1,000 per person was gifted to the greater good — an amazing feat, both from a philanthropic standpoint and a budgetary one, as well …

If you’ve been putting off donations this year due to tight budgets, PPAI has the perfect solution: Kids In Need. Providing school supplies to impoverished children and under-funded teachers, this unique foundation, which PPAI has proudly supported since 2007, collects more than cash, it collects your surplus promotional products!

Who knew that extra case of T-shirts could make for such a great tax deduction? Three months left to donate in ’09, get going now by clicking Kids In Need.