As part of an exciting sweepstakes event at this year’s PPAI Expo, Chicago-based R.S. Owens awarded a pair of tickets and an expenses-paid package to Brooke Ness of S&S Promotional Group, Fargo, N.D. Ness was the winner of a drawing that was held at the end of the Expo’s second day. She received a pair of tickets to the 2008 Primetime Emmy’s, round-trip airfare, two-night hotel accommodations, dinner for two and a limousine ride to the awards ceremony, which will take place in September at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Ness’s card was drawn from more than 500 registrants, and she will
Read MoreDri Duck Partners With Realtree in Nationwide Racing Series
DRI DUCK Traders, Overland Park, Kan., secured a partnership with Realtree Camo of Columbus, Ga., and Richard Childress Racing (RCR) of Welcome, N.C., that allowed the DRI DUCK brand to appear in three locations on Car #21 driven by Bobby Labonte at last weekend’s Nationwide Series, Camping World 300 presented by Chevrolet race in Daytona Beach, Fla. The event is the first of the Nationwide Series (formerly Busch Series) races of the 2008 NASCAR season. It is said to be the most prestigious event on the Nationwide Series calendar. “We are so pleased to be part of Realtree’s family and have the opportunity
Read MoreRaynor Promoted, Serwer Joins Journalbooks
Journalbooks/Timeplanner Calendars, Charlotte, N.C., has announced the promotion of Jamie Raynor to national sales manager, effective immediately. Raynor has worked at Journalbooks for more than eight years and most recently served as creative sales director. She will continue to lead the creative team, and in her new role, will work directly with Tim O’Boyle, vice president of sales, to develop the company’s inside and outside sales teams, in addition to managing national accounts. “Jamie brings 20 years of advertising, printing and promotional product experience to our clients,” said O’Boyle. “Her ability to create marketing solutions with our products is unparalleled in the industry,
Read MoreVantage Apparel Takes Home Triple Crown
Vantage Apparel, Avenel, N.J., a leading manufacturer and decorator of logoed apparel, was honored with two Gold Awards at the 52nd annual Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) Suppliers Achievement Awards competition. The company also received a first-place finish in the 2008 Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) Distributor Choice Awards for decorated apparel. The Gold Embroidery award was won with a 140,000-stitch, multi-media logo, the Shell Game. The logo conveyed the picturesque scenery of the event location through a variety of embroidery techniques. Appliqué, 3-D puff, metallic threads, creative color choices and impeccable registration all contributed to the award-winning design. The Gold Web award was
Read MoreCamelBak Offers First BPA-Free, Re-usable Water Bottles
CamelBak Products, Petaluma, Calif., recently announced it has begun converting its entire line of polycarbonate, re-usable water bottles to a new material that is 100 percent free of bisphenol-A (BPA)—Eastman Tritan copolyester. With the growth in bottled-water consumption in the United States, more than 50 billion plastic bottles are thrown away each year, raising a number of environmental concerns. Last August, The New York Times reported it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the bottles for the bottled water Americans use each year, enough to fuel 100,000 cars. In addition, the Times noted, only about 23 percent of those bottles are
Read MorePromoCard Services Launches Hotel Card Promotion
Miami-based PromoCard Services, a leader in PIN-based promotions, has announced the newest addition to its portfolio of PIN-based incentives—the Hotel Card. Powered by a leading global travel services provider, the Hotel Card gives recipients the gift of cash for use on hotel bookings, worldwide. Available in $25 and $50 denominations, recipients can choose from more than 30,000 hotels, applying the value of the Hotel Card toward full or partial payment of the reservation. Applications for the Hotel Card include sales incentives, employee rewards, client thank-you gifts, loyalty programs, vacation-booking incentives, performance rewards and customer retention. “The Hotel Card is
Read MoreBag Makers Promotes Hitzeman, Witt
Bag Makers, Union, Ill., announced the promotions of Crystal Hitzeman and Stephen Witt to newly created leadership positions. Hitzeman has been appointed the manager of the company’s recently formed ColorVista Service Team. ColorVista is Bag Makers’ newest imprint process that offers close registration multi-color and four-color process imprinting on non-woven polypropylene totes. Hitzeman’s team will be responsible for all aspects of delivering the new process to distributors. Witt, a graphic artist at the company, has been promoted to assistant supervisor of order processing. In his new role, he will be responsible for assisting in the day-to-day supervision of nearly 30 order processors and
Read MoreCustom HBC Hits Milestone In Pocket Sprayer Production
Custom HBC, Waconia, Minn., recently celebrated the 10 million mark in the production of its Pocket Sprayer. According to president, Larry Wilhelm, since the product’s introduction in 2005, the company has expanded the line to include 13 cap/sprayer colors, 28 product fills, three attachments and two sizes, “ensuring there is a Pocket Sprayer suitable for any promotional application,” he said. Wilhelm added, “We continue to be pleased with the acceptance of our Pocket Sprayers by distributors. It has truly become a universal promotional product appropriate for virtually all end-users.” For more information on Custom HBC, visit www.customhbc.com or call (877) 442-9881.
Read MoreCrystal D Wins Gold and Silver at 2008 PPAI Awards Ceremony
Crystal D, St. Paul, Minn., was selected as a gold winner in two categories and a silver winner in one category at the 2008 Promotional Products Association International Awards ceremony during January’s PPAI Expo, held in Las Vegas. Crystal D won gold in the “Etching-Engraving” and “Two or More Distinct Processes to Produce a Specific Visual Effect” categories. Crystal D submitted the crystal Columbus Award, which was both front- and reverse-etched to create a unique visual effect, for the “Etching-Engraving” category. For the category, “Two or More Distinct Processes to Produce a Specific Visual Effect,” the crystal NASCAR Car was submitted.
Read MoreAwards With Character
I just had a nice conversation with Leo Kennedy from Awards With Character. I’m doing a product showcase for the magazine on sports teams and was looking for products a little more off-the-beaten-path than cups, seat cushions and caps (not that there is anything wrong with any of those items).
Leo’s company provides trophies and other products as incentives to schools for both sports teams and academic programs. The difference is, his trophies aren’t brassy figures or silver cups, they are small (adorable, some would say) bear figurines talking part in various sports. Girl soccer bear. Boy baseball bear. Hockey bear (there is a