This year, PPAI awarded its Pyramid Award in Technology to nine industry companies in recognition of their achievement in e-commerce websites, mobile apps/mobile websites and web content/functionality.
To determine the winners, each entry was evaluated by a panel of judges based on effective use of images, content relevance to the intended audience, ease of use and creative delivery. One company, PCNA, won gold for achievements in two categories.
This list of winners marks the fourth and final category of PPAI Pyramid Awards presented this year. Recipients honored as the best in Marketing, Client Programs and Supplier Achievement categories were spotlighted in previous issues of PPAI Magazine.
e-Commerce Website
GOLD
PCNA
PCNA’s redesigned website helps distributors quickly and easily place and manage orders and find key product details and art requirements. The custom-built product search tool filters by keyword, quantity, brand and price range, and a new “trending searches” feature highlights the most-searched products for quick ideas.
As users move through the site, they can tap the top navigation bar to return to the main page. For ease of use, sections on decoration pricing, brand details, inventory, art templates and other specifics are listed together on the product details page.
The new design also includes an “order estimate” tool to streamline pricing. It’s so popular it gets more than a thousand uses per week. When distributors configure a decorated order, they also have the option to select previous artwork from their art library or upload new artwork. Once complete, a virtual of the design is rendered for viewing along with the configuration details.
Checkout requires just a few clicks, and distributors can place sample and decorated orders at the same time and even ship to different locations. Once an order is placed, new features allow the distributor to check the order status and track shipping.
SILVER
ePromos
The ePromos website’s goal is to help shoppers make informed decisions and quickly complete the buying process. The easy-to-navigate experience starts with clear navigation that showcases seasonal events, relevant trends and popular searches.
The company redirected or removed more than 350 pages, simplified categories and reduced the number of products to streamline site navigation for an enhanced customer experience. As a result, customers are now directed to relevant pages with a carefully curated selection of products shown with on-page details and answers to common questions. The lifestyle images shown also help customers imagine how the products will look in use.
For shoppers with disabilities, the website also delivers an improved experience with the addition of accessibility features, such as screen readers.
Mobile Apps/Mobile Websites
GOLD
iPROMOTEu
iPROMOTEu affiliates now have access to their own private app, iSUITE Mobile, developed to streamline order management and enhance productivity on the go. The app, created with the affiliates’ input, mirrors the iSUITE Order Management System, making it intuitive for affiliates to use.
The smart dashboard provides a real-time overview of essential tasks and key metrics to quickly manage orders, ensure client communications and pull reports without needing to navigate through multiple sections. Users can also filter and search for specific jobs; share order tracking information directly with customers; view and send purchase orders and job documents; and quickly find account information, pricing info, vendor notes and more.
The company reports that iSUITE Mobile is proving to be a powerful tool that is helping affiliates enhance their productivity and customer responsiveness while on the road.
SILVER
Fill It Forward
The Fill it Forward app is designed to promote sustainability by encouraging the reuse of bottles, cups and bags while tracking the positive environmental impact of each use. App users attach a Fill it Forward sticker to any reusable product and scan the QR code. Each scan not only tracks their environmental footprint but also unlocks a charitable donation.
The app engages individuals and groups with features such as leaderboards, badges, challenges and hydration tracking, making it ideal for events, corporate teams, universities and college campuses.
Both the mobile and web apps feature on-brand elements including color schemes, logos and design styles that reinforce Fill it Forward’s sustainability message and “Fillosophy.” This cohesive branding fosters recognition and trust, allowing users to easily connect the mission with the platform. Clients can showcase their logos on reusable products, QR codes and impact reports, as well as in the app, creating opportunities for personalized brand awareness while supporting environmental impact.
Web Content/Functionality
GOLD
OrderMyGear
The OMG Academy is an online resource for OrderMyGear distributor clients to explore self-guided training on how to build and manage their OMG online stores. The training platform houses easy-to-follow guides and tutorials to familiarize distributors with OMG stores, train new team members and learn how to maximize their store’s success. Resources include video training, informative articles, certification opportunities and more.
GOLD
PCNA
The first step in making a sale is answering the buyer’s questions, and PCNA’s improved site makes that process easier. Designed as a presale tool for distributors, PCNA.com focuses on helping them browse categories, find products, get quotes, download images and access other information and resources to make a better buying decision.
Much of the site’s redesign focuses on the product detail pages, where EQP and other key features are highlighted along with the addition of companion products and links to art templates, compliance information and product images. The decoration and blank pricing grid are also redesigned for easier understanding, and more details for each decoration method are added, including tabs explaining the lead time for each method.
Among the new landing pages is Key Occasions, which provides distributors with details on upcoming special observation days, along with flyers and relevant product recommendations.
GOLD
Red Tomato
Red Tomato’s AI Merch Generator lets customers brainstorm ideas and create personalized merchandise tailored to their needs in real time. The user-friendly landing page has a web tool equipped with interactive prompts to guide customers through a creative journey from idea inception to creating the ideal branded merchandise.
A quick guide on the homepage informs users about how the tool works and provides step-by-step instructions, as well as examples of products the program can generate. Customization
options let customers describe in detail the kind of event the product is intended for, the location of the event or promotion, and their budget per unit. Once the prompts are set, a list of merchandise ideas is generated in real time.
SILVER
Gemline
Gemline’s Kit Creator tool helps distributors build custom kits for their clients. The tool allows for customer-specific pricing, automatically defaults to the lowest minimum of all items in the kit and allows the user to submit the kit idea directly to Gemline for a formal quote or download it as a PDF to share with their clients.
The tool is easy to find on every product page of the website – distributors simply click on the gift box icon. Once inside the tool, they follow the step-by-step process that guides them through the kit’s development.
This tool is available for both logged-in and guest users, but those who log in have the added benefit of saving previous kits and seeing customer-specific pricing.
SILVER
Pinnacle Promotions
Pinnacle Promotions has launched a custom-built ecommerce platform designed to give their clients instant access to a wide range of promotional products and services. More than just a store, it’s a central destination for exploring custom branding and creative solutions that help businesses create memorable experiences through impactful brand promotion.
The website navigation allows users to explore products by services, category, use case, brand name, 24-hour rush and other categories. By clicking on the global search bar, users can also get instant feedback to find exactly what they are looking for without leaving the page. On the product detail page, they can easily obtain a quick pricing estimate, including shipping, and request free physical or virtual samples.
SILVER
PromoHunt
PromoHunt’s apparel price comparison tool helps distributors save time and money when sourcing blank commodity apparel items from brands such as Gildan, Bella+Canvas, Next Level, Hanes, Jerzees and others.
Because distributors can source these types of garments from a variety of industry suppliers, they want the most competitive pricing without spending the extra time searching for it. By signing up with PromoHunt and installing its browser extension, distributors can connect their apparel supplier account credentials, allowing PromoHunt to obtain the account-specific price data via PromoStandards on the distributor’s behalf. Then, whenever the distributor visits a commodity apparel product page on a supplier site, a price-comparison alert tells them if that price is the lowest or how much they can save by buying the item from a different supplier.
Filipski is a freelance writer and former director of publications at PPAI.
