Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), Irving, Texas, announced that it is launching its #GetInTouch campaign on Sept. 26 during the 2016 Advertising Week in New York City. The campaign’s goal is to urge advertising buyers to connect with customers in a tangible way by using promotional products. PPAI partnered with Oklahoma City-based marketing firm Saxum to develop the campaign.
The campaign is a five-year, multimillion-dollar initiative designed to increase awareness and boost the overall image of the promotional products industry and the importance of promotional products professionals. The end goal is for advertising budgets to include more space for promotional products, according to a press release.
“This PPAI initiative is extraordinarily important to the promotional products industry, because for far too long, we have been an afterthought for many advertisers—a medium not recognized for its value and strengths,” said Paul Bellantone, CAE, president and CEO of PPAI. “Within the industry, we may know the power of promotional products, but it’s high time the rest of the world recognize[s] the advertising power of promotional products and their place in successful advertising campaigns. As other advertising media struggle to remain relevant, promotional products are perfectly positioned to grow in an increasingly digital world.”
Using the tag line, “Advertising That Lives On,” and the theme of, “Touch Me!” the campaign focuses on the longevity of promotional products, their tangible nature, their impacts on buying decisions, their ability to excite, and the fact that they are an advertising medium that the consumer actively appreciates.
“For years, PPAI has worked on advocating the industry, but never with a multi-year strategic campaign at this level,” said Tom Goos, MAS, PPAI board chair and president of Kirkland, Washington-based Image Source. “Industry promotion has always been bootstrapped with little budget or resources to truly make an impact. With the launch of the #GetInTouch campaign, the board said we want this to be a primary focus, and we should put funding and a strategic plan behind it. The board recognizes that we are positioned to capitalize on the changes in marketing and growth of the digital world.”
The campaign originally came about at the 2014 PPAI Chairman’s Roundtable Work Group, and represents more than a year’s work by PPAI staff and industry volunteers. The campaign’s strategy will include media buys in publications, like Advertising Age; digital strategies; and possibly an industry spokesperson. The campaign also will include member kits available for download, which include print advertisements and various digital elements.
PPAI also redesigned its promotionalproductswork.org website, which targets advertising buyers and tells the story of the power of promotional products.
For more information on PPAI, visit www.ppai.org.
