Nine industry companies have earned PPAI Pyramid Awards this year for marketing programs designed to position and reinforce brands, strengthen relationships, demonstrate sustainability, reduce waste, increase clicks, inspire teams and clients and, to put it simply, to blow the socks off previous sales numbers.

Each success story starts with an idea designed to solve a problem and accomplish an objective. From there the idea takes off. It shines brighter than all the rest, gaining momentum from the excitement it generates. Sometimes when you have a winner, you just know it.

Branding

Gold
MadeToOrder

Objective: Ahead of announcing its merger with RED Promotions, MadeToOrder’s one-person marketing team was given 48 hours to rebrand the company’s identity to modernize and align communications, merchandise and social media.

Strategy & Execution: Stephanie Hinkle met the challenge and then some by producing logo concepts, final files, merger merch and communications in just two days. Next, she overhauled social media platforms and handled all logo design, visual identity, communications, copywriting and content creation. With no formal web building experience, she also built a new website and digital ecosystem in under four months.

Results: The full-scale rebrand and digital transformation was completed on time and for under $8,000, less than one-tenth the cost of a typical six-figure, agency-led rebrand.

Silver
HALO

Objective: The 2025 HALO Brand Shows, held consecutively in three cities, sought to strengthen client relationships, showcase HALO’s merchandising and creative expertise and reinforce its position as a full-service brand partner.

Strategy & Execution: Thebranding campaign used four coordinated touchpoints chosen for their impact and memorability. Custom show bags reinforced brand visibility, curated trend-forward giveaways were conversation starters and take-home gifts, staff uniforms lent a polished appearance, and illuminated signage doubled as social-worthy photo backdrops, boosting the number of online impressions.

Results: The campaign was responsible for a 20% year-over-year increase in attendance and 4,449 qualified leads captured across all shows. Overall, social engagement on event content increased by approximately 61% year-over-year across key indicators, and post-show surveys cited the branded elements (bags, gifts, signage and uniforms) as key contributors to the overall show experience.

Cause Advocacy

Gold
Whitestone

Objective: RISE (Renewable Impact & Sustainable Excellence) is Whitestone’s holistic sustainability platform designed to embed responsible practices across its supply chain, culture and client programs. The objective was to create a branded, credible framework that activated employees, clients and vendors while delivering measurable results.

Strategy & Execution: Through RISE, the company embedded sustainability into every facet of its business, from sourcing to shipping. Projects included building a tiered supplier framework that channeled more money toward environmentally and socially responsible partners, educating clients about sustainable options, emissions tracking and supplier code of conduct adoption, empowering clients to choose solutions with reduced environmental impact and setting up transformational change across operations, policies and partnerships.

Results: Whitestone invested more than $300,000 to support consulting, certifications, charitable giving and promotional products, resulting in more than $208,000 in cash and in-kind donations, 345 ocean bottles funding the collection of 345,000 plastic bottles, outfitting 60-plus employees with sustainable apparel, 345 client kits launched alongside a webinar attended by more than 60 people, and supporting 24 employees who built an AquaTower that provides clean water to 1,800 people daily.

Silver
HPG Brands

Objective: Each August, as school gets back in session, HPG’sHub donates its misprinted pens and pencils, collected throughout the year, to underserved school classrooms across the U.S.

Strategy & Execution: To determine recipients, Hub emails its distributor network of 17,527 contacts asking for school nominations. The company uses recycled shipping boxes to package the donations, and distributors cover the cost of shipping. Supporting assets include a colorful flyer for the sales team to use in one-on-one outreach and a printed card included with each donation box.

Results: Now in its fourth year, the company’s Back-To-School Pen Giveaway program has donated more than 87,000 pens and pencils to students. It’s a win for everyone involved: Students get needed supplies, distributors have a collaborative way to give back and support their communities, and Hub reduces waste, repurposes its resources and makes a difference where it matters most – in the classroom.

Content Marketing

Gold
Facilisgroup

Objective: “The Folio Presents: Cookies, Cocoa, and Charcuterie Spreads – Tasting Holiday Treats from Top Suppliers,” was a seasonal holiday video designed for the 5,000 recipients of the Folio, a Facilisgroup email and others in the promo industry. Employees taste-tested and shared their opinions on holiday treats provided by preferred suppliers, such as sour gummies, iced cookies, hot chocolate and a popcorn gift box. Since this was the second year that Facilisgroup was producing a holiday tasting video, the goal was to emphasize more products, personality and creativity.

Strategy & Execution: Modeled after similar videos on Buzzfeed, pairs of Facilisgroup employees evaluated the packaging and presentation of the treats, then tasted them and shared feedback on camera. Each segment was compiled into a video that was published on YouTube and in the Folio, and in a LinkedIn newsletter. Shorter clips were posted across social media, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The feature was shot in The Folio Studio at Facilisgroup headquarters.

Results: With more than 4,000 views, the video was the highest-clicked story in the newsletter and on the website, as well as on the company’s YouTube channel, creating a buzz within the supplier community to participate in future Folio projects.

Silver
iPROMOTEu

Objective: iPROMOTEu wanted to build a turnkey digital self-promotion campaign for its 650 affiliates to help them position themselves as professionals, educate their buyers on the power of promotional products and support new-business wins. Ultimately, the goal was to position these affiliates as trusted marketing partners who can deliver strategic, results-driven merchandise solutions.

Strategy & Execution: The Capabilities Deck was created as an editable presentation combining credible industry stats, trend insights and full-service solutions. Distributors can personalize the ready-made deck with their branding and case studies, instantly transforming it into a polished self-promotion asset. All products featured in the deck were sourced from iPROMOTEu’s network of preferred vendors ensuring they were high-quality, trend-forward and readily available to affiliates. The deck itself was delivered in PowerPoint and PDF formats and will be updated biannually.

Results: While quantifiable outcomes were not available because iPROMOTEu does not require affiliates to report campaign-specific sales results, consistent affiliate feedback confirmed the Capabilities Deck was a valuable tool to educate buyers and support new business.

Digital Self Promotion

Gold
HALO

Objective: Based on products and trends seen at The PPAI Expo 2025, HALO created a digital merchandise deck – HALO Favorites – designed to empower HALO account executives and inspire their clients.

Strategy & Execution: The deck, featuring carefully selected, retail-ready products grouped into six trend-forward categories, was distributed to account executives and clients about a month after the show. Designed to replicate a luxury lookbook, the design emphasized a retail-inspired aesthetic with clean layouts, bold typography and lifestyle photography. Its content was researched and compiled by HALO marketing team members who explored the more than 2,300 booths at the show and documented standout products, lifestyle imagery and emerging trends.

Results: With support from email campaigns and social media posts, HALO Favorites garnered strong engagement including 13,400 merch deck views, 24,591 email impressions and 9,964 social media impressions.

Silver
Vantage Apparel

Objective: With Halloween just around the corner, Vantage Apparel introduced its new “intern,” a skeleton named Jax, to help grow social media presence and engagement during a key promotional season, educate customers and prospects on behind-the-scenes activity at the company and reinforce Vantage’s brand image as innovative, approachable and fun.

Strategy & Execution: Each day in October, Jax “worked” in a different department across the company – marketing, graphics, merchandising, IT, shipping, sales and factory production. Daily updates about Jax were posted on Instagram and Facebook, and highlight reels were posted weekly. Everyone in the company was involved in the promotion, making it not only a fun team-building activity but also a great way for co-workers to connect.

Results: The month-long campaign significantly boosted story performance across Instagram and Facebook, with a 47.7% increase compared to September, along with a 300% increase month over month in replies, reactions and taps. Video retention also increased with one-minute views rising by 63%, showing viewers stayed engaged with the content longer than before.

Self Promotion

Gold
HPG Brands

Objective: Tointroduce 10 new flavors of its Pout & Pucker Lip Moisturizer and Mini Lip Moisturizer (previously available only in vanilla) and give distributors easy ways to promote them, HPG Brands created an engaging, flavor-first mailing campaign that integrated horoscopes, quizzes and flavor-personality pairings. Realizing that multiple flavor options can also cause decision paralysis and slow down orders, the campaign focused on helping brands find their flavor fave.

Strategy & Execution: The team personified each flavor with character descriptions tied to a brand personality and gamified the experience with a custom card to help recipients discover their brand’s signature flavor. Each of the 10 flavors was packaged inside a giant lip balm tube with a custom pop-art-style label and shipped to top clients and those with a strong social media presence. Support included an e-blast that linked to a blog post and a downloadable pitch deck. As recipients sampled, voted and connected over which flavor best fit their brand, the results were too much fun not to share on social media.

Results: The Flavor Finder campaign generated more than 5,000 impressions, with some recipients posting multiple reels on social media. This user-generated content boosted engagement, sparking conversations with other distributors. Product page traffic surged, and the pitch deck generated nearly 900 views, showing that distributors were actively using the asset in their sales outreach. Product sales also soared, with the Pout & Pucker increasing more than 198% and the Mini Lip Moisturizer hitting 126% growth.

Silver
C.C. Creations

Objective: At its annual sales conference, C.C. Creations wanted to show appreciation to its team. The result was a Level Up self-promo campaign designed for approximately 100 team members. Inspired by vintage games and neon aesthetics, the promotion symbolized the company’s commitment to continual growth.

Strategy & Execution: Each sales team member received a custom gift set, including a T-shirt screen printed with a custom design – the winning result of a design competition in the art department. Other items tucked inside were a polo shirt, photo mug, pen, beanie, embroidered caps, blue light glasses, Bluetooth speaker, vintage lunch box, fanny pack, cord accessory case and playing cards, all fully branded to the theme.

Results: These trendy, everyday pieces energized the sales team and became tools the team could use in customer conversations, showing how smart design can elevate everyday products.

Supplier Sales Support

Gold
HPG Brands

Objective: HPG Brands sought fresh ideas for its quarterly promotions and sales bag release, an ongoing sales program designed to keep the brand top-of-mind as the go-to source for distributor purchases.

Strategy & Execution: The winning program was designed around seven key product categories, each featuring five to six carefully selected items ranging from proven favorites to exciting new and seasonal items. This mix ensured that distributors saw relevant, timely products alongside top performers that drive consistent sales. All the products were offered at special prices, allowing distributors to maximize their value while passing along savings to their customers. Printed brochures highlighted the featured products along with pricing for quick reference. These were coupled with a bag of physical samples, making it easy to present the products in customer meetings.

Results: This fourth-quarter promotion drove sales of more than $477,000 with program costs of just over $2,800.

Silver
BEL Promo

Objective: With this quarterly promotion, BEL Promo wanted to accomplish four objectives: Showcase new and trending products, reinforce the brand, increase social media presence and make its top customers feel special. Even more important was that BEL Promo was seen as a creative, emotionally driven brand that doesn’t just sell products but crafts experiences.

Strategy & Execution: The result was the Epic Box designed around the theme “This Is Your Year.” Crafted as a powerful kickoff to the new year, every element – from the products to the packaging – worked in harmony to reflect a sense of positivity and possibility. A total of 50 boxes were shipped in February to industry influencers, service providers and the company’s top 35 customers.

Results: This kind of self-promo is new to the team at BEL, and they were thrilled with the results, saying the Epic Box generated strong engagement across social media. Results included multiple unboxing videos, more than 60 comments, 160 reactions, 25 reposts, six saves and more than 3,400 views. Overall, sales increased for almost all of the products in the box, but one item appeared to be a hands-down favorite: The Madison Mug, with its “This Is My Year” imprint, led to more than $90,000 in annual sales.

Filipski is a freelance writer and former director of publications at PPAI.