When promotional products professionals return to The PPAI Expo 2022 on January 10-13, they will find the extensive line-up of large and innovative exhibitors that they’ve come to expect from the industry’s largest and longest-running trade show. The first in-person Expo since the pandemic, The PPAI Expo 2022 will host more than 90 percent of the industry’s largest supplier and distributor companies, with more than 900 exhibitors on the show floor.
“I’ll be at Expo and HPG will be at Expo, and I’m not sure who’s more excited, HPG collectively or me individually. But we will all be there and in force,” says Chris Anderson, president and CEO of supplier HPG. “We’ve certainly seen a pent-up demand, both within our organization and within those that we touch to get back together. So, I am most excited, first and foremost, seeing friends that I haven’t seen in a few years, and I know that sentiment is shared far and wide across HPG.”
Anderson adds, “In addition to that, Expo is a great opportunity for us to kick off our year and indeed, that’s what we’ll be doing. We’ve been busy over the last year. We’ve bought another company, birthed a couple of brands and we have a lot to share. And Expo is where that sharing is going to occur.”
OrderMyGear, an industry provider of ecommerce stores, is planning a 1,400 square-foot space on the show (booths #4061 and #4161). Mitch Hammer, vice president of marketing at the Dallas, Texas-based company, says, “The PPAI Expo is the trade show in our industry. We plan our year around Expo and every single January we send as many OMG’ers to Vegas as possible because this event is where the conversations happen that set us up for success for the remainder of the year. It’s the one spot where all of the suppliers, vendors, distributors, brands and thought leaders in our space come together to build relationships and create the foundation for the future of our industry.”
HPG has mapped out a 3,500-square-foot island on the trade-show floor (booth #2119) to represent its brands. The company is also taking steps to ensure its booth is a destination for attendees. Anderson says, “We’ve created the show’s, if not the world’s, largest vending machine. It is going to be a free-standing monolith in our booth that goes up multiple stories, and you’ll be able to insert tokens and receive samples from the various brands within the HPG portfolio. So, come to the booth to experience not only the products and the people, but a novel take on the vending machine concept.”
He adds, “And in a sign of the times, we’re going to have a mix-and-match hand sanitizer dispenser with gourmet ‘flavors.’ So, if you’ve ever had a hankering for a strawberry lemonade hand sanitizer, get a little squeeze of strawberry and a little squeeze of lemonade and you’ve got a party on your hands. Plus, you’re sanitized!”
Anderson sees the vending machine and mix-and-match hand sanitizer as fitting with the character of Expo. “We’re trying to mix the necessary with the fun, which is a big part of what Expo is. A lot of commerce happens while we’re there, but we all know there’s a social component and a little fun to be had as well, and that is exactly the ethos of our booth for 2022.”
The PPAI Expo 2022 takes place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, with The Expo Education Conference on January 10 and exhibits open January 11-13. For more information, including the trade show, education and networking opportunities, visit expo.ppai.org. To register for The PPAI Expo 2022, click here.
