The industry’s best promotional products will be recognised with the Promotional Product Awards at the next Merchandise World at Stoneleigh (Wednesday 30th Jan & Thursday 31st Jan 2019).
New for 2019, BPMA members can enter their 1st product entry into an award category FREE OF CHARGE.
Please click here for more information and the Entry Form
Please click here to download the Product Template Form
On Thursday November 15th three members of the Scanglo team will be sleeping rough for the night outside Norwich City FC to raise awareness of youth homelessness in support of local charity The Benjamin Foundation.
ARC Textiles, formerly ARC Apparel are excited to announce the rebrand of the company. ARC textiles now offer a wider range of branded textiles, under the new company name.
Our versatile collection of products includes new additions to our range of digitally printed towels, fleece blankets, printed tea towels and picnic blankets.
With Christmas fast approaching, now is the time for your customers to be thinking about the perfect promotional gift.
At senator®, we’ve selected our bestselling executive pen sets, and paired them with our luxurious leather pen pouch, to create 3 easy gifting options. Made from Genuine Leather, this pen pouch will last as long as our senator® metal pen refills, which you already know last up to 16x longer than most Far East pens!
Hot-footing it back from the Far East, Matt Pluckrose brings news of the latest in tech.
So, the annual technology fairs have now hit Hong Kong and after around 60k steps on my activity tracker we have finally finished and are ready to start work on launching the latest gadgets for 2019, but what is trending? Totally new concepts were thin on the ground, but it did highlight some popular trends in technology. Probably the single most popular technology concept is ‘true wireless stereo’ (TWS) or the ability to pair two Bluetooth audio devices to each other to create wireless stereo.
It’s November. The nights are drawing in, the mornings are becoming frosty and it becomes a time for reflecting on our summer hols and those days in the sun that now begin to feel like a very long time ago. Then suddenly the ‘cash flow itch’ reminds us that it’s only one more month until the dreaded ‘C’ word “What’s Christmas really got to do with cash flow?” we hear you ask.
Diversity training can be viewed with suspicion, but there is a business case for it.
The term ‘reverse discrimination’ essentially means a majority group is discriminated against in favour of a minority group. If a programme assigns blame or makes any group feel guilty, then the training is bad. The purpose of diversity training is to encourage inclusivity and equality among all groups. Encouraging communication, learning to listen and speak with one another, regardless of difference, is more helpful that dividing employees and highlighting their differences.
Putting a customer on hold needn’t mean putting them off. Mark Williamson explains the importance of call handling for the promotional products sector.
The promotional products industry knows the value of a good first impression. After all, the sector helps businesses capture attention through branded items. However, savvy businesses owners in the sector also recognise that it’s not just about how your company looks but also how your company sounds. The telephone is often the first point of contact for inbound sales leads, with research finding that almost half of consumers still prefer to get information over the phone rather than online. Yet businesses still aren’t recognising the link between caller satisfaction and its impact on the bottom line. A study by PHMG has found 73% of Brits won’t do repeat business with a company if their initial call wasn’t handled to satisfaction.
The BPMA industry awards are fast approaching. Find out how to enter and vote using the online voting system
Briman Group companies are taking the responsibility for responsible production seriously, says Mark Alderson.
With more than £243 million of goods being imported into the UK by sea and air, the large carbon footprint caused by international sourcing is clear to see. The UK manufactured products not only have a reduced carbon footprint but with many Briman members investing in environmentally friendly schemes, their benefits to the environment are far-reaching.
Arena. “These really are the industry awards that mean something because your fellow industry peers have voted for you or external judges in the marketing community rate you and your work. Winning an award this way is one you and your staff can be proud of.” There are two types of award categories, awards that members are automatically entered into by the BPMA with members voting, and entry-based awards with an external panel of judges voting. “Repeat winners see the value in winning an industry award and enter each year, they put a lot of thought and planning into their entries and the standard of entries grows each year. We would love more members to enter the awards this year,” comments Daniela.
The BPMA held its Member Orientation seminar on 27 September, where 19 individuals from member companies attended. It was the first seminar to be presented by BPMA’s membership manager, George Turnbull (pictured right) who delivered an engaging afternoon that informed and educated members. He said: “The seminar gives our members an insight of what to expect from the industry while gaining tips on how to make the most out of their business and what pitfalls to watch out for.
Q. What have been the milestones in your career?
A. My early management career was in the blue-chip corporate arena latterly with Thorn EMI. In 1987 I joined the now defunct, but legendary, Bourne Publicity. At the time it was the largest distributor in the UK and an exciting innovator that everyone looked up to. In 1990 I joined Dowlis Group as managing director and with a great team, we grew the company from£1.9 million to £13m turnover in 12 years, firmly establishing it as the largest independent promotional merchandise distributor in the UK. In 2002 I decided I wanted my own business and Dynamic Image was founded.
As we enter the last quarter of the calendar year, and for some the financial year, we should take time to review the last 12 months and identify those who have made a significant difference to our business. Who are our stand out, loyal and valuable customers? Which members of our team, across the business, have made outstanding contributions?
The past few years have seen a growth in interest around the issues relating to plastic. The ‘Blue Planet’ effect has seen a growing awareness of the implications of using plastic, particularly single-use plastics. In the merchandise industry, this has manifest itself in clients asking questions about the sustainability of many products and their packaging as they seek to minimise their use of plastic and increase recycling.
If it’s September, then this must be Farnborough. The site of the first ever powered aircraft flight in Britain played host to the latest edition of the UK’s main promotional media show on 12 September. Merchandise World came to the new multi-million pound Farnborough International Exhibition Centre for the first time, providing 131 promotional companies with the platform to engage with the country’s main distributors.
Ignite group returned to Warwick Racecourse for its tenth year last month when around 100 supplier and distributor members attended the morning exhibition.
To mark its 20th anniversary and to thank valued suppliers and partners for their continued support, hard work and commitment, Allwag Promotions hosted a party inspired by the blockbuster movie, The Greatest Showman. Held at the picturesque Lion Inn in Chelmsford, Essex, more than 100 guests were greeted on arrival to an array of circus-themed acts, including fire dancers and a snake charmer, before being treated to a three-course meal.
Suzie Kean from Geiger BTC was the first winner of a new weekly prize draw for Promo Trade customers. Kean won an experience day, dinner and an overnight stay for two after being selected randomly. Every week Promo Trade has a prize draw to win a different experience, such as a supercar driving day, a spa day, tickets to Oktoberfest, or a Michelin star meal for two.
The BPMA is pleased to announce that it will be overseeing all entries to the Merchandise World Promotional Product Awards 2019. The Merchandise World Promotional Product Awards provide exhibitors with and promotional opportunities for the latest and most exciting products. New for 2019, all BPMA members can enter their first product into an award category free of charge. Additional products will be charged at £50+vat. For non-BPMA members to enter, the first entry will be £150+vat with additional product entries at £50+vat.
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