Promo Marketing Media Group, the leading media source for the promotional products industry, and Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), the promotional product industry’s only independent, not-for-profit accreditation organization, today announced a new partnership focused on increasing awareness about product safety and social compliance.
Promo Marketing will produce several educational products in conjunction with the QCA in 2014 for both print and online distribution. A quarterly supplement, QCAConnect, will be the first joint venture between the two parties, and will be complemented by online education sessions each month.
“This multiplatform educational initiative launched in conjunction with Promo Marketing will be an asset for teaching the branded merchandise industry about the QCA charter,” said Jay Deutsch, CEO and co-founder of BDA and board chair of QCA. “Suppliers, distributors and end-users will now have access to a catalog of resources and engaging, up-to-date content that reinforces the significance of QCA accreditation.”
Nichole Stella, group president of Promo Marketing Media Group, said, “We are very excited to be working with QCA on such a worthwhile endeavor. For years we have supported their message and focused on the importance of providing safe, compliant products, so it is a natural step for us to partner with them to continue educating our audience.”
“Logomark and Sweda Company have have put in enormous amounts of time and effort to create this partnership,” Stella added. “The guidance from both companies have greatly helped to shape the project and make it a reality.”
The QCAConnect supplement focuses on educating distributors about the broad spectrum of product safety and compliance. Topics include defining what it means to be compliant, the potential pitfalls of overseas sourcing, and commonly asked safety questions from end-buyers. The first issue of QCAConnect will ship with the April edition of Promo Marketing magazine.
“The mission of the QCA, to educate about the significance of compliance, is one of the most important issues facing the industry today and one we take very seriously,” said Trevor Gnesin, CEO of Logomark. “There are some very good companies now that have been certified, and a distributor not taking advantage of one of those companies is not only putting themselves at risk, but they’re putting their client at risk as well.”
Educational online programs are scheduled throughout 2014, with the QCA’s first Fast15 launching in May. A documentary-style video produced by Promo Marketing’s video services team is planned for the summer.
“QCA is positioned to play a major role in its continuing effort to educate the marketplace on the need for industry-wide awareness as it relates to the importance of product and safety compliance, supply chain management and social accountability,” said Scott Pearson, vice president of merchandising at Sweda Company LLC. “Through QCAConnect, video content, webinars, white papers and more, the information will be user-friendly and easy to digest.”
