Last week, our team packed our bags and headed to Las Vegas for the 2024 PPAI Expo Conference! We were so excited to connect with fellow distributors, touch base with our awesome suppliers, and learn about the industry’s hottest trends and products! We spent days walking the tradeshow floor as we selected new products for our websites. Plus, it was a great opportunity for our team to get together in person! As we reflect on this awesome conference and all the value we took from it, we gave each member of our team the floor to share their favorite parts of the trip. Let’s see what everyone had to say!
Suzette:
“The PPAI Expo is a massive trade show and this was my 17th year in attendance. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed, so my goal when I go to the show is to walk away with 2-3 ’nuggets’ that can spark a big idea for the year. Sometimes the lightbulb goes off at the show, and sometimes it percolates when we debrief with our notes. My favorite part of the show was ’The Pitch’ which is a shark tank-like competition where our suppliers pitch new products to a panel of judges. I absolutely LOVE the energy that comes from these entrepreneurs and I am excited to add the winning product (Sweeter Cards) to our website. This company is woman owned, employees adults with disabilities, the product is delicious and the owner is truly inspirational! Stay tuned for our release of Sweeter Cards….”
Jennifer:
“My favorite part of the conference is getting to spend several days with the team, meet up with our trusted vendor partners, and see what new products we may offer to our clients. Since our team works remote across the region, I value the rare times we are collaborating face to face, and not through a screen. I love thinking of an idea and just saying it, rather than having to remember to send an email or start a task. It’s also great to get to know my teammates outside of the confines of work.
Our industry has more than 1,000 suppliers, but Bulletin Brands chooses to work with roughly 30. This means we get to create trusting, meaningful relationships with the suppliers we—and our clients—rely on. At PPAI Expo, we get to meet with these suppliers and discuss ways to bring better products and service to our clients. Plus, it’s nice to hear how appreciated we are!
Finally, it’s always exciting to see, touch, and discuss the year’s new products. We come back to work with a great list of everything we saw that made the initial cut (usually around 50-100 items), and we get to work determining what we think are the best of the best. Those are the new products you see on our sites in February and March! ”
Ben:
“My favorite part about the conference is the face-to-face time with our vendors. This is an incredibly valuable exchange because strong relationships can go very far in this industry. We also learn about new products through them, and get their ‘in-house’ take’s on the quality and popularity of items. I love having this information because it helps better understand the products and the print methods that we offer.”
Ashley:
“It was an absolute pleasure to attends this year’s PPAI Expo! As someone who is relatively new to the promotional products industry, it’s very cool to see just how expansive its reach is! There were almost 1,000 vendor booths participating in the tradeshow, and it was so valuable to connect with vendors in person and talk about their newest products. I also love getting to collaborate with the Bulletin Brands team in person instead of over Zoom or Slack! Overall it was a fun and valuable experience and I walked away with a lot of motivation and creativity heading into the year!”
Jayme:
“It’s a great opportunity to network and spend face time with all of the people we work with throughout the year and all of the exciting new products hands on.”
