Thoughtfully made merchandise is the bread and butter of the industry. These cherished products bring campaigns to life and inspire loyal customers. Either they’re lovingly used or they’re cherished – placed on a shelf with the other keepsakes. For promo pros, finding that sweet spot is a combination of skilled craftwork, attention to detail and client dedication.
This year, 17 suppliers and distributors, often working in collaboration, are being recognized with PPAI’s 2023 Pyramid Awards in Supplier Decorating for their creativity and expertise, delivering innovative “sweet spot” solutions. Working with clients to brainstorm imaginative products, these suppliers turn ideas and goals into profitable realities with proven results.
Since 1958, one of the industry’s most-coveted company distinctions has been the PPAI Pyramid Awards, sponsored by Pacesetter Awards. This year, 24 awards were given across 12 decoration categories. Some suppliers will take home several awards this year, such as Terry Town and Visions, which both received two. Opti Print and Fulfillment will take home four awards, and Indiana Metal Craft is a triple honoree, but all the winners displayed excellence in product design and technique.
Please help us congratulate the recipients of the 2023 PPAI Pyramid Awards in Supplier Decorating:
A+ Wine Designs
Alpi International
Artistic Toys & Promotions
BAG MAKERS
Counterpoint
Foxy Originals
Gill Studios
Indiana Metal Craft
Opti Print and Fulfillment
Orbus Visual Communications
PowerStick.com
The IceBox
The Promo Girl
Terry Town
Vantage Apparel
Visions
Cast/Molding
GOLD WINNER
Indiana Metal Craft
PPAI 112175, S5
Bloomington, Indiana
To commemorate the renovated Union Station in Denver, a major retail tenant of the building commissioned the first in a series of collectible ornaments depicting the historic landmark. Fine pewter was the chosen metal, and the artisans of Indiana Metal Craft captured the perspective and depth of the building with clean, detailed lines and architectural elements and embellishments. Each piece was then put through a process of oxidizing, individual hand buffing and lacquering to fully accentuate the dramatic relief and detail. A silver cord was added, and the ornaments were packed into red envelopes for retail sale by the buyer.
SILVER WINNER
Visions
PPAI 110751, S8
Celina, Ohio
It was Visions’ third consecutive year working with distributor The Promo Girl for National Auto Care’s award program, which required designing within a particular theme. The award, presented to the agency of the year, was a compelling cast resin pharaoh bust. The hand-carved mold was hand-painted with radiating colors to match the brand and theme of the National Auto Care event. The pharaoh was then fastened to a rectangular black wood base that measured nearly 13 inches wide, with the company’s logo showcased in full color on a black aluminum plate.
Combination of Processes
GOLD WINNER
Opti Print and Fulfillment
PPAI 113581, S1
Dallas, Texas
Grammy-winning performer and rising country music star C.J. Garton wanted his first album to be packaged in a way that had never been done before. Designed in house with the help of Garton himself, this groundbreaking cover shows how far you can take an album and the record itself. Using the lenticular process for the cover, the team at Opti Print and Fulfillment also made lenticular stickers to place on the inside. The big surprise was on the record itself, with gold foil record labels that had to be hand-applied to each record at the time of pressing.
SILVER WINNER
Opti Print and Fulfillment
PPAI 113581, S1
Dallas, Texas
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny is the most downloaded musician in the world. His debut album in 2018 is the largest selling Latin album in the world. Bad Bunny called on Opti Print and Fulfillment to create a special lenticular cover that would be given to VIPs and meet-and-greet guests – who paid upwards of $3,500 for the opportunity – at 10 of his largest concerts in 2021. The client wanted to create a memorable experience and get albums on the secondary market to drive up the frenzy for his new release. Opti Print reports 100% satisfaction and albums with unopened lenticular covers reselling for $350 to $450 to collectors.
Customized Non-Catalog Product
GOLD WINNER
BAG MAKERS
PPAI 111408, S10
Union, Illinois
BAG MAKERS partnered with At Work Sales to create custom tote bags for Vacasa, a vacation rental management company. Vacasa needed 30,000 tote bags to give customers renting vacation properties on the Gulf Coast. The resulting smooth-laminated Therm-O Super Tote featured 80 GSM material with navy blue handles and sewn piping, plus aluminum lining for insulation, foam filler and a clear plastic bottom insert for structural support. The tote’s four-color process imprint design was created by a 6-year-old boy who composed the art from litter and plastic he combed from local beaches. The artist and his father created an organization to clean beaches and waterways, and the tote was designed to help inspire others and to connect vacation renters to the foundation’s website.
SILVER WINNER
Alpi International
PPAI 111221, S6
Richmond, California
The team at Alpi International were able to create a fully functional hedgehog-shaped cookie jar that satisfied the customer’s need for a jar that could survive transportation and look absolutely adorable. Each item is painted by hand via spray mask and direct painting on the product. Little details like Herbie’s mouth are done by hand by the factory’s top workers to ensure uniformity. The whole scope of the process started with a ceramic cookie jar that arrived cracked. Alpi International pushed the factory’s limits with this project but never compromised on quality standards along the way.
Embroidery
GOLD WINNER
Vantage Apparel
PPAI 113235, S10
Avenel, New Jersey
Lunkenheimer Craft Brewery prides itself on being the best “doggone” brew in town. When it came time to create branded apparel, Vantage Apparel collaborated with their distributor and the client to match their craftmanship with a detailed, dimensional embroidery design featuring a lifelike rendition of the owners’ dog, Trooper. The digitizer manually added a color-on-color motif fill on top of the red appliqué to give it a distressed appearance on par with the brewery’s branding. Trooper’s realistic appearance comes from the use of liquid and Florentine effects added with fill stitches in the same color of the base applique. This captured the personality of the logo by adding dimension while keeping the stitch count down.
SILVER WINNER
Terry Town
PPAI 230911, S10
San Diego, California
Coming in at 37,000 stitches, Terry Town’s highly skilled and seasoned embroidery team was able to help capture the spirit of Mexico with a spectacular range of colors and ornate patterns on this custom beach towel. With 49 total thread sequences, the amount of thread used helps to create a field of view that gives depth and dimension to the artwork. The tonal contrast on the leaves and the feathers on the peacock highlight how embroidery can bring to life colorful works of art and proves that embroidery is still a desired art technique for bold, big and colorful artwork. Using Barudan embroidery machines, Terry Town’s high-definition embroidery capabilities provided an extremely beautiful towel and an amazing piece of branded merchandise.
Etching/Engraving/Laser
GOLD WINNER
PowerStick.com
PPAI 383252, S10
Ottawa, Ontario
The client wanted a product with a nice presentation, a notecard and a simple tech item. PowerStick was chosen to do the job because they could do everything in house as opposed to going to multiple vendors. PowerStick.com took an ordinary piece of foam and turned it into an exciting branding opportunity with laser foam that engraving adds a wow factor and elevates the customized gift experience. The foam design featured not only illustrations but precise text for the logo, all cut with the Precision CO2 Laser Cutter & Engraver.
SILVER WINNER
A+ Wine Designs
PPAI 173549, S4
National City, California
The design began with a wrapped and dotted etch pattern framing the logo design, which provided a textured background on the bottle. The Titanium Wireless logo was then etched within the framed textured background, providing the perfect canvas for this intricate design. To achieve the etch, a mask was applied to protect certain parts of the surface while allowing abrasive material to come through on the areas to be carved, then recessed etching in the center of the design gave the lettering an additional tactile dimension. The bottle was then spray painted with a metallic silver PMS to achieve the desired look. After the paint dried, the bottle was cleaned of the mask material and the resulting work of art revealed.
Large Format Printing
GOLD WINNER
Opti Print and Fulfillment
PPAI 113581, S1
Dallas, Texas
Taylor Swift has sold more records than any other female artist in history, and the Red (Taylor’s Version) lenticular poster has been one of the hottest selling items online. Created with her provided art, Opti Print and Fulfillment was able to make the poster come alive with its lenticular process that the artist absolutely loves. The goal in the program was to create a memorable view of her and get sell-through of the initial order of 2,500 posters in three months. The posters were completely sold out online in 36 hours, and they have been reordered four times. The posters are also selling on eBay for five times their list price.
SILVER WINNER
Opti Print and Fulfillment
PPAI 113581, S1
Dallas, Texas
Taylor Swift told Opti Print and Fulfillment that if you can capture a live performance of her touring show, you will have a winner. The goal she set was simple – capture a live performance of her on a poster – and Opti Print and Fulfillment came to the rescue. Working with the artist’s team, the supplier selected three of the most memorable shots of her live performances and rendered them in a memorable lenticular poster that has sold out online a record seven times and was the featured item in the touring show merchandise for her Fall 2022 world tour. These posters are now sold on eBay for 10 times the original asking price.
Metal Striking
GOLD WINNER
Indiana Metal Craft
PPAI 112175, S5
Bloomington, Indiana
For Visible Applause’s “Why We Work” program, a 1 3/4-inch brass coin was commissioned to be minted by Indiana Metal Craft. The themed design was digitally sculpted with impressive relief and perspective, and crisp details from the gangway pattern to the folds of the worker’s pant legs and the tread of the bottom of the boot. Each coin was struck twice at press settings of up to 800 tons in order to achieve complete fill of the higher-relief detail. The coin was chemically treated and satin-finished by hand with protective clear coat for added shine.
Mascot/Character Product
GOLD WINNER
Artistic Toys & Promotions
PPAI 110753, S5
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
The Demogorgon is the nickname of the otherwise unnamed monster and one of the main antagonists in the first season of the Netflix series Stranger Things. The plush Demogorgon was constructed of Velboa faux fur and brushed terry fabric. Each piece was hand-sewn and stuffed with polyester fiber and plastic pellets. The unique design of the face required intricately printing the details directly onto the fabric, and the ink had to be flash cured to both ensure no bleed-through and allow the print to be bright and vibrant. Artistic Toys & Promotions affixed a woven label bearing the embroidered Stranger Things and Netflix logos on the bottom of each Demogorgon’s foot. The plush toy was safety tested and met all ASTM, Prop 65 and CPSIA standards for children of all ages.
Print On Hard Surfaces
GOLD WINNER
Indiana Metal Craft
PPAI 112175, S5
Bloomington, Indiana
This specially crafted ornament was digitally post-printed, bringing an antique engine to life though detailed depth and relief. A UV-cure flat-bed digital printer with 3D capability was used to produce the effect. Recipients can see how fine details at varying levels – including the bolts, the belt, the oil reservoir and the gear behind the flywheel – come together through a combination of artisanal die making, high-relief casting and skillful print registration and color matching.
SILVER WINNER
CounterPoint
PPAI 227346, S6
Las Vegas, Nevada
Martell, the oldest of the great French cognac houses, prides itself on being a pioneer of audacious and exceptional cognac. This promotional counter mat captures the iconic nature of the Martell brand while also catching potential customers’ attention through its image quality and high-gloss Krystex finish. An example of digital offset lithography, this counter mat is realistic, visually effective and provides customers stimulation at the point of purchase.
Print On Textiles
GOLD WINNER
Orbus Visual Communications
PPAI 428128, S7
Woodridge, Illinois
Far & Dotter needed a trade show booth that could showcase different environments of a franchise experience. Adler Display partnered with Orbus Visual Communications to create a custom booth that could be reconfigured into a 20×20 exhibit or a 10×30 exhibit. With Orbus’ ability to print on sheer fabric, the client could create the privacy of a conference room without needing to add bulky or expensive walls, while also adding branding throughout the booth. Orbus was able to print clear, vibrant images on the soft knit and eclipse blackout fabrics to help the booth tell the franchise experience story. As a G7 Master IDEAlliance certified printer, Orbus was able to accurately color match brand colors, skin tones, photographs and more.
GOLD WINNER
Terry Town
PPAI 230911, S10
San Diego, California
When your ticket to paradise gets cancelled, you do the next best thing and bring it home. Celebrated artist Jeff Granito’s tiki-inspired stylization of the Hawaiian islands was printed on Terry Town’s Subli-Plush beach towel. What was to be sold exclusively at the then-cancelled Tiki in Waikiki festival in 2021, the full-color towels still made an impact to tiki enthusiasts, as online preorders sold out in days. Every inch of the artwork has a story to tell, and Terry Town achieved a flawless print that captured the spirit of Hawaii with crystal-clear precision.
Special Applications/Processes
GOLD WINNER
Gill Studios
PPAI 114157, S7
Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Gill Studios created a removable, double-faced vinyl window decal to signify Invisalign sales status. The entire order comprised 55,015 pieces across different categories, including 4,500 with unique diamond copy and a 5,500-piece companion portraying platinum status. The brand name is prominently displayed, and the layered decal background features topographical lines and precisely printed striations visible on the clear aligner product image. Each decal is two-sided, with each side displaying the same imprint so that it can easily be read on both the inside and the outside of a clear window, and the Gill-exclusive, ultra-removable adhesive ensures that the decal can be removed easily without residue.
Supplier/Distributor Collaboration
GOLD WINNER
Foxy Originals
PPAI 642034, S1
Toronto, Ontario
The IceBox
PPAI 230172, D10
Atlanta, Georgia
The client wanted a “Sonic Mood Ring” designed to look like a real 3D cup used at the fast-food chain, with the top of the ring both resembling the slush inside a cup and changing colors based on the mood of the person wearing it. The idea for the ring, part of the “My Slush, My Mood” campaign, was that the various colors should be matched to a corresponding slush flavor launching at Sonic. The challenge was creating a ring that looked like a cup but kept the top lip low enough that the mood ring stone maintained contact with the wearer’s skin so their body heat would change its color.
The IceBox approached Foxy Originals’ custom division for the project. After multiple 3D renderings and slight tweaks, 3D samples were made. Once approved, the sample was cast in metal and decorated with a color-changing stone, enamel fill and an overall white spray enamel on the shank of the ring. An order was placed for 5,000 units, and the project was launched with much success.
SILVER WINNER
Visions
PPAI 110751, S8
Celina, Ohio
The Promo Girl
PPAI 588722, D3
Westerville, Ohio
To recognize agencies that went above and beyond in sales, National Auto Care wanted unique awards. The Promo Girl partnered with Visions for the third consecutive year to assemble a talented team of artists, who designed awards crafted in resin to fit the theme. The top award, a hand-painted resin bust of a pharaoh’s head, cast from a hand-carved mold, symbolized those who led the way in success. From concept to renderings to the finished product, The Promo Girl and Visions worked together to create a successful program that met its creative demands while staying within financial and time constraints.
