It’s often difficult to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Advertisers who are successful push past the ordinary to find exceptional solutions, and that makes all the difference.
Since 1958, the PPAI Pyramid Awards have honored the industry’s best, marking the pinnacle of achievement where imagination, inspiration and intention intersect with dazzling results.
This year, 18 companies won top honors in the marketing category for their campaigns and promotions in six categories: branding, digital self-promotion, cause advocacy marketing, content marketing, self-promotion and supplier sales support materials. These 27 winning programs demonstrate the undeniable power of marketing in building brands, driving sales and fostering community engagement.
Branding
GOLD
commonsku
Objective: skucamp is an annual commonsku-hosted, three-day, boot-camp-style event. It’s held in a different city each year, and the goal was to create a unique color scheme and theme to complement the host city.
Strategy & Execution: This year’s event was held in Austin, Texas, a tech hub known for its creative hippie culture and eclectic live music scene. To reinforce this vibe, a color combo of bold orange and electric blue was selected for the branding, along with a rounded, bold font and swirly, fun visual elements inspired by the city’s street murals. The look was carried through all marketing assets, including email banners, social media graphics for attendees and a comprehensive webpage.
Results: The eye-catching branding helped attract many new attendees, along with returning attendees, and led to a sold-out event with 160 people in attendance.
GOLD
HPG
Objective: Debco sought to strengthen its position in the marketplace as the leading Canadian promotional product supplier under the HPG umbrella and refresh its visual brand identity.
Strategy & Execution: The project started with a bold vision: Create an unforgettable, immersive branding experience for Canadian customers. From vibrant photography to a sleek new website, sales kit and product sampling, every detail was crafted to leave a lasting impact and highlight Debco as a trustworthy, home-grown Canadian supplier. A twist on the iconic maple leaf was used throughout the brand, and a new color palette drew inspiration from the Canadian landscape. New products echoing the “We Are Canadian” theme were key visuals in announcing the rebrand.
Results: In the first seven months after the reveal, Debco traffic increased more than 70% on the new hpgbrands.ca website and 32% on the hpgbrands.com website. Likewise, social media followers have grown by 17% with a significant rise in distributor engagement, especially on Instagram where the new product photos and end-user friendly flyer content were widely shared.
GOLD
Thumbprint
Objective: Thumbprint wanted to engage and educate its top customers and thank select suppliers by bringing the two groups together for an exclusive and unique buying experience modeled around the TV show Shark Tank.
Strategy & Execution: During the three-day event, suppliers pitched their companies and products or services to the “sharks,” the distributor’s top customers. On the last day, the event opened as a product expo, drawing crowds of local customers.
Results: Distributors wrote checks for more than $1.5 million to suppliers, and deals were done on the spot, including a $45,000 power bank order that wouldn’t have happened without the event.
SILVER
Andrews Quality Creative Merchandise
Objective: The distributor wanted to elevate its image from a product seller to a creative, consultative partner and build a boutique brand aimed at internal and external audiences.
Strategy & Execution: From interviews with key clients and its own team members, the company identified and added several needed services and introduced a full rebrand, along with new internal training and processes and a more comprehensive website. Its quaint brand character, “Andy,” was also replaced with an image of an origami bird and the tagline “Creating the unexpected out of the ordinary.”
Results: Website traffic increased 40% year over year and delivered a 30% increase in website conversions. Social campaigns drove 43% more traffic in the same period, resulting in a 24% year-over-year sales increase.
SILVER
commonsku
Objective: commonsku hosts skucon, an annual, two-day event in Las Vegas designed to educate and connect the industry’s most forward-thinking distributors and suppliers. The marketing strategy is aimed at drawing the targeted audience to register and setting the event apart from previous programs.
Strategy & Execution: To mark skucon’s 10th anniversary in 2024, the event’s name and logo were updated to “skuconX” to reflect the milestone, as well as intersection of technology and creativity. Marketing channels included LinkedIn and Instagram, plus an email campaign that segmented prospects into groups based on their prior attendance. At the event, each attendee received a kit containing 13 carefully selected products, and the tablecloths and banners were later upcycled into pouches that were shipped to attendees.
Results: The event’s marketing effort was a huge success, and skuconX sold out with a total of 333 attendees registered.
SILVER
PCNA
Objective: Givee Select is a platform that enables distributors to create custom online stores from a curated selection of high-quality gifts and personalization options. The goal was to create a cohesive and recognizable identity for the platform with key branding elements such as color palette, logo, fonts, tone of voice and, most importantly, clear and consistent messaging.
Strategy & Execution: Givee Select’s overarching theme of simplicity and ease-of-use was a core message carried through all branding, collateral and communications from the website and marketing emails to flyers and catalogs. Its color palette, logo, fonts, tone of voice and key messaging were selected to convey a consistent identity, and animated GIFs and demo videos provided additional support.
Results: Within the first month after the platform was launched in January 2024, 154 stores were approved, 383 self-service stores were in the approval queue, and web and social media metrics were soaring. By the time Givee Select was entered into this competition, it was nearing 2,000 store set-ups, highlighting the growing demand in the industry for the platform.
Digital Self Promotion
GOLD
BEL Promo
Objective: BEL Promo sought to share the depth and breadth of its capabilities – from deep inventory and low minimums to five-star, A+ service and precise decoration – and to reinforce the promise that it has a solution for every market and every budget.
Strategy & Execution: Using social media posts and podcast sponsorships, BEL Promo peppered the industry with eye-catching images and short questions where the reply was always, “Yeah, you can BEL Promo that!” The simple questions focused on products, services, decoration and other capabilities unique to BEL Promo. The promotion got even more traction when used to sponsor the “Promo UPFront Podcast” hosted by Kirby Hasseman and Bill Petrie.
Results: More than $100,000 in revenue has been directly tied to inquiries from this campaign. In addition, the questions posed in these posts helped change the conversation about BEL Promo, redefining how distributors view it.
GOLD
HALO
Objective: The aim was to curate and showcase the most innovative and trending products for the upcoming year based on the HALO marketing team’s visits to more than 2,000 supplier booths during The PPAI Expo 2024.
Strategy & Execution: From the images and products gathered, top products were selected for inclusion based on uniqueness, functionality, market trends and their potential impact on clients. Next, a compelling merch deck was created and distributed to account executives to share with their clients. Corresponding email marketing campaigns, social media posts and blog content were also developed to maximize outreach and highlight trends the team discovered.
Results: The merch deck garnered more than 24,000 views when it was first launched, along with 63% engagement for the blog post and strong open rates of 20% and 17% respectively for the two-part email campaign that followed.
SILVER
HPG
Objective: To raise distributor awareness of HPG, its subsidiary brands and new products, HPG joined in with the industry buzz surrounding The PPAI Expo 2024 to develop and distribute original content.
Strategy & Execution: HPG’s YouTube channel hosted a livestream featuring new product presentations, interviews with the HPG sales team and sessions with special guests and industry influencers. Sustainability, social media, industry trends and more were covered during the two-day broadcast. Preshow emails were sent to 60,000 distributors to promote the content. Snippets of the videos were posted to HPG’s social accounts during the event and daily emails linked to each day’s recordings. After the show, the videos were edited and posted to the channel, and another series of emails further promoted the original content.
Results: The livestream videos drew more than 3,000 views during the Expo, and the video promoting the livestream got more than 2,100 views on Instagram and Facebook and 2,000 views on LinkedIn. The email series had 98,000 opens. Industry influencers taking part in the livestream sessions also posted to their social media accounts, helping the efforts reach a broader audience.
SILVER
Sonic Promos
Objective: Sonic created a comprehensive marketing campaign aimed at leveraging social media and engaging its audience to promote its brand and inspire interest in the distributor’s unique marketing solutions.
Strategy & Execution: The Grill’a Marketing Video Series, a play on words for guerilla marketing, featured custom packs of barbecue spices and pellet smokers in a 13-episode video series that taught clients marketing principles and strategies through clever references to grilling and barbecue tips. It was first broadcast in a weekly release on social media and then rereleased as a binge watch on YouTube called the “Second Helpings Blog” series. The post accompanying the episodes pointed viewers to a Google form to order their own barbecue spice pack and a PDF BBQ Marketing Guide.
Results: Each episode on Instagram received an average of 69 views for a total of 898 views, and the YouTube series was viewed 207 times. By the end of the series, 47 clients had requested and received a spice pack and marketing guide. In total, the campaign led to orders for branded spices and related requests of more than $250,000.
Cause Advocacy Marketing
GOLD
ePromos Promotional Products
Objective: The distributor supports an ongoing program benefiting area nonprofits through product and monetary donations, along with marketing support and outreach. Every other month, ePromos selects a new nonprofit to receive $500 in free promotional products to use for fundraising, thanking volunteers and other programs. The company also supports causes important to its employees, such as Backpacks For Life, an organization serving homeless and at-risk veterans.
Strategy & Execution: ePromos developed an online application for organizations interested in its free product program and promotes it through emails to its customer database and on social media. Organizations are chosen based on their commitment to doing good. In addition, ePromos has donated email marketing and social media expertise to Backpacks For Life for the past two years, along with on-site support at events and assistance with creating a custom backpack for veterans.
Results: Between April 2023 and March 2024, ePromos received more than 400 applicants for its ePromos for Good grant.
GOLD
Facilisgroup
Objective: Facilis Cares, the company’s ongoing give-back initiative held in cities around the U.S., engages the Facilisgroup community in meaningful philanthropic efforts, supports local and global charitable causes, and fosters a culture of giving back.
Strategy & Execution: Initiatives include fundraising, volunteer opportunities and support for organizations like Ronald McDonald House Charities. Facilis Cares creates a cohesive strategy to support various charitable initiatives with themes centering around community support, giving back and creating a positive impact. Campaigns are timed to coincide with major company events and holidays to maximize engagement and are distributed through a combination of digital communications, branded materials and coordinated events.
Results: During the competition period, Facilis Cares completed five projects for charitable organizations, including Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, Wish for Wheels, St. Louis Area Foodbank and others. Projects included packing and donating 200 gear packs, donating and building 30 bikes, packing 1,189 pounds of food for local families and organizing a toy drive.
GOLD
SRG
Objective: The St Regis Community Care Kit event had two goals: to provide underprivileged youth with backpacks containing essential school supplies and to raise awareness about the lack of access to backpacks, reusable items and daily meals for many community members.
Strategy & Execution: SRG runs this program annually, and this year Youth Without Shelter, Toronto District School Board and Eva’s Initiatives were selected as recipients. Products for the backpacks included a reusable water bottle, lunch bag, notebook, pens, pencils and markers. The company purchased any products it could not donate. Also, tucked inside each backpack was a handwritten note to add a layer of warmth and encouragement, reminding each recipient that they are valued and supported.
Results: SRG employees assembled and packed 400 backpacks for delivery to the organizations.
SILVER
Brand Fuel
Objective: The goal of the project was to raise funds, provide education and create brand awareness for American Cancer Society through a branded merch cause-marketing campaign.
Strategy & Execution: In this ultimate supplier-distributor collaboration, SanMar created a Charity Tech Pack crafted of recycled polyester with an inside label QR code that takes recipients to www.cancer.org. Through the product, ACS hopes to build a donor/volunteer relationship with the packs’ recipients. Brand Fuel, which did not take any money from the deal, promoted the bag through its sales team and to like-minded distributors to inspire others to join in the fight against cancer. In addition, ACS gets $5 from each pack sold.
Results: The Charity Tech Pack was promoted to nearly 100,000 industry salespeople in early 2024 with a goal to earn $75,000 in sales last year and $250,000 this year.
SILVER
Vantage Apparel
Objective: The “Wear the Change” campaign was designed to raise awareness of sustainable fashion as a global movement while promoting the supplier’s commitment to environmental responsibility.
Strategy & Execution: Vantage selected a range of new and top-performing eco-friendly styles decorated with a custom logo and distributed as samples to the sales team and key customers. The samples were also used to create high-quality digital marketing assets, including a campaign brochure, PowerPoint slides and a series of videos, along with end-user-friendly pieces for distributors to share with their customers. Working with long-time partner Clean Ocean Action, more than 75 employees and friends helped remove trash along 5.4 miles of the New Jersey shoreline as well.
Results: Open rates averaged about 40% for the three-part email campaign, along with thousands of impressions and strong engagement on social media, suggesting increased visibility and a positive impact on brand awareness.
Content Marketing
GOLD
Corporate Specialties
Objective: The white T-shirt worn by actor Jeremy Allen White’s character on the popular TV show, The Bear was the focus for a blog post exploring luxury T-shirts and the dupes available in the promo industry.
Strategy & Execution: In the post, Corporate Specialties did a deep dive into vintage loopwheel T-shirts and how they differ from modern tubular tees. The team sampled six best sellers to determine which options are most comparable to the shirt worn in the show, showcased their favorites and shared tips to help readers determine which technique was best for their needs.
Results: The sales team referenced the blog content during apparel-related sales calls and shared the link with existing customers and prospects. It received extremely positive feedback for helping to educate, inspire and develop stronger relationships with customers.
GOLD
PCNA
Objective: The Plugged In webinar series aimed to actively engage customers by providing valuable sales tools, product knowledge and new techniques to help grow their businesses.
Strategy & Execution: The spring/summer 2024 webinar highlighted new products and retail brands plus several key initiatives, including the Drinkware Decoration Simplification Project, expanded decoration capabilities at Bullet, a new website resource to help customers plan their sales year and the new catalog lookbook. The webinar also included a giveaway of a tentree zip hoodie for the first 100 attendees to RSVP.
Results: The webinar surpassed the previous year’s webinar with a Net Promoter Score of 8.8 and 97% of attendees rating the content as either excellent or good. When asked if the webinar would help secure new business, 71% of attendees said “yes” and 28% said “maybe.”
GOLD
Facilisgroup
Objective: “A Taste of the Holiday Season” is a video featured in The Folio, the company’s email newsletter that shares news and trends from Facilisgroup’s unique perspective and positions it as an industry disruptor.
Strategy & Execution: In this episode, inspired by classic Buzzfeed videos, employees taste-tested trending holiday treats provided by preferred suppliers. Video clips were shared across social media platforms to drive traffic to the full video on The Folio landing page hosted on Facilisgroup.com.
Results: The video received 3,000 views, creating a buzz within the supplier community to participate in future projects in The Folio.
SILVER
commonsku
Objective: A podcast episode titled “The Song of Significance” was developed to inspire and engage listeners by discussing how businesses and individuals can strive for more meaningful work, lead with purpose and make a positive impact.
Strategy & Execution: Author Seth Godin was chosen as the guest speaker based on his expertise in leadership and marketing and his message of creating significant, meaningful work environments. The episode centered around transforming workplaces into environments where employees can do purposeful, important work, and the podcast was timed with the release of his latest book, The Song of Significance, from which themes in the podcast were taken. A book giveaway was also tied to the episode. The podcast was distributed through commonsku’s skucast podcast platform, email newsletters, social media and on its website.
Results: The podcast resulted in 719 plays and 4,000 YouTube views within the eligibility period, making it one of commonsku’s top-performing podcast episodes in 2023.
SILVER
Red Tomato
Objective: Distributor Red Tomato produces an ongoing blog series designed to ignite a creative spark within marketers and serve as a launchpad to help them think outside the box and dream big in the marketing world. It’s one way the company is positioning itself to be Australia’s leading promotional marketing and strategic brand solution partner.
Strategy & Execution: The blog posts are written with the user experience in mind to connect marketers to other resources and tools. Each one includes a clear call to action and features engaging visuals to make the content memorable. The posts are also optimized for mobile access on any device.
Results: Web traffic and engagement have increased by 32% year over year thanks to the blog series.
Self-Promotion
GOLD
Facilisgroup
Objective: The primary objective of the 2024 Supplier Showcase in Atlanta was to unite 1,000 Facilisgroup distributor partners and preferred suppliers to celebrate, connect and learn.
Strategy & Execution: Facilisgroup’s Supplier Showcase is a well-loved event, but to elevate it further, a travel theme was selected and woven throughout the multi-day experience. One example was the “Achiever’s Lounge” for top-selling sales reps that was modeled after a first-class luxury airline cabin, complete with window seat backdrops and a minibar. Placards and other branded materials throughout the venue were designed to resemble postcards, maps and signage in airport terminals.
Results: Distributor partners reported a solid satisfaction level of 8.34 out of 10, while owners and key managers expressed even higher satisfaction at 8.62. Both groups indicated a high intent to return.
GOLD
PCNA
Objective: The supplier launched its PCNA+ loyalty and rewards program in March 2024 to foster business growth for independent distributors by offering exclusive advantages and incentives that help secure additional deals. Much like an airline loyalty program, PCNA+ features four tiers, with each level unlocking progressively greater rewards.
Strategy & Execution: The launch featured a customized welcome email sent to all eligible customers providing PCNA+ status and outlining the specific benefits they could access at their current level. Additionally, a tailored web experience allowed them to log in to their PCNA accounts to view their benefits and progress toward the next tier of the program. Throughout the program, members were offered special promotions aligned with their status. A custom webinar series, “PCNA+ Knowledge Series,” offered exclusive educational content.
Results: Since the launch, customers at Level 1 have increased their sales with PCNA by 53% year-to-date. Additionally, more than 800 customers have progressed to a higher level within the program. Additionally, email communications have achieved an impressive average open rate of 45% and the webinar earned an average rating of 4.67 out of 5.
GOLD
Whitestone
Objective: Whitestone leveraged the universal love of pizza to open doors with prospective clients, establish valuable connections and land meetings.
Strategy & Execution: The centerpiece of the Pizza Prospecting campaign was delivering hot 14-inch pizzas in custom-branded pizza boxes to 50 high-profile experiential marketing agencies in New York City. To ensure the pizzas arrived piping hot, the company purchased pizza delivery bags from Amazon and coordinated with local pizza shops in advance to have the pies ready for pickup. Each delivery was made to three to five people within the agency to ensure someone was available to receive it.
Results: For a relatively small investment, the campaign led to more than $4.5 million in lifetime, invoiced business from the targeted prospects. This demonstrates the power of creative outreach and how a simple, thoughtful gesture can translate into significant long-term value.
SILVER
HALO
Objective: The HALO Inbox program aimed to drive brand awareness, engage prospects and reactivate dormant accounts through curated promotional products. Each quarterly box delivered to clients and prospects emphasized creativity and practical solutions in branded merchandise. Modeled after subscription boxes, it delivered a memorable experience at no cost to recipients.
Strategy & Execution: Each quarter, a theme was selected to align with current market trends, with the Q2 box focusing on outdoor events. The curated products included a collapsible water bottle, trendy hip pack, solar-powered charger, sunburn alert stickers and retro sunglasses. The execution of this project relied on the expertise of members across the team, including those who developed the box and its product, those who provided mailings lists of clients and prospects and those who assembled and distributed the boxes. Upon delivery, recipients were notified by their account executive who could discuss the contents and provide further assistance.
Results: The program generated $84,000 in sales, demonstrating a positive return on investment against the program cost.
SILVER
HPG
Objective: To promote its SugarSpot product line’s new Oh So Sweet Gift Set and encourage industry influencer engagement via social media to boost awareness and sales, HPG launched a playful campaign based on an old favorite.
Strategy & Execution: Playing off the beloved children’s game Candy Land, HPG designed a custom board game called “Brandy Land” using SugarSpot candies as game pieces. Since previous HPG engagement campaigns had sparked customer inquiries about purchasing the featured products, the supplier was confident that incorporating the gift set into a playful and highly creative campaign would increase interest and visibility among distributors.
Results: From the 50 distributor partners who received the promotion, 10 filmed and posted social media reels showcasing the board game. In total, more than 3,000 impressions were generated on social media as a result of user generated content and internal content shared by HPG. Since the campaign launch, traffic to the SugarSpot landing page has increased by 68.8% and SugarSpot sales have increased by 55.3% year over year.
Supplier Sales Support Materials
GOLD
Storm Creek
Objective: Storm Creek wanted its 2025 catalog to engage and inspire distributors with a visually appealing and information-rich resource that reinforced its brand.
Strategy & Execution: Products were selected that showcased a diverse range of styles and colors reflecting current retail trends, and the catalog incorporated the tagline “Sustainability in Every Stitch” to reinforce the company’s eco-friendly products and ethical production practices. The catalog also used icons and product callouts showing the number of bottles upcycled in the creation of garments. To further educate distributors, the catalog was paired with webinar education focused on style and sustainability, along with updated showroom signage and a zipper pull sample ring showcasing all 16 available colors.
Results: The promotion resulted in 1,300 catalog preorders, 2,100 online catalog views, 183 webinar attendees and on-demand views, and an average of 146 more website sessions on each day following the catalog’s launch and distribution. The cherry on top was a 21% boost in online sales.
SILVER
The Chest
Objective: For attendees at a HALO sales team meeting in Put-In-Bay, Ohio, The Chest demonstrated how a well-thought-out kit can tell a story about an event, location and brand while highlighting top products.
Strategy & Execution: The theme for the kit centered around the Battle of Lake Erie, a key event in the War of 1812. The battle took place at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, under the command of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who is immortalized with a monument there. The products selected tied in with that theme and gave recipients idea starters to help them persevere and “sail to success.” Included were a puzzle, ornament, wine glass, water bottle, key chain, calendar, luggage tag, trivia card deck and a trunk filled with candy. Each kit was shrink-wrapped and shipped directly to recipients before the meeting.
Results: During the event, the kit was mentioned frequently, and the trivia cards were used on site by several attendees. The Chest received many compliments for the creativity and cohesiveness of the kit.
Filipski is a freelance writer and former director of publications at PPAI.
