Today’s world runs on technology. From solutions that help companies manufacture, inventory and deliver goods and services to those that process and track orders and customer preferences, state-of-the-art technology is a powerful differentiator between market leaders and the rest of the pack.
In recognition of this effort, the annual PPAI Pyramid Awards in Technology shine a spotlight on industry company websites and web tools that deliver exceptional design and content and also are easy to use. These 12 entries were selected as this year’s best of the best in technology and awarded the coveted PPAI Gold Pyramid and Silver Pyramid trophies.
Web Content/Functionality
GOLD
commonsku
PPAI 552077, Standard-Base
Toronto, Ontario
commonsku.com
The commonsku website is primarily a lead generation website and, secondly, a hub for existing clients. It was redesigned to accommodate three stages of the buyer journey: building trust with visitors, educating visitors on the value-add of the platform through features and educational events, and providing a clear, easily accessible option to schedule a demo.
Each element on the site was curated to add value to one of these stages and to solve two main pain points: challenges navigating the website and a lack of consistency in style and messaging.
The commonsku team worked collaboratively to set out a clear buyer’s journey for its users and redesigned 13 pages to make significant improvements to the user experience through consistent messaging and branding. The company also worked to increase three key metrics: a 10% lift in engaged sessions, a 20% lift in total events and a 30% lift in conversion rates.
GOLD
Corporate Specialties
PPAI 200872, Standard-Plus
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
corporatespecialties.com
The Corporate Specialties blog is an extension of the distributor’s concierge service to help buyers make better informed and more strategic decisions about their branded merchandise purchases. The goal is to feature high-quality merch that represents clients’ brands well, educates them on how promotional products can be incorporated into strategic marketing campaigns and offers fresh ideas.
The blog features editorial-quality articles that focus on the merchandise clients want, as well as best sellers in categories such as eco-friendly, apparel, drinkware, bags and tech products. Additional posts focus on overcoming objectives and making corporate gifts more upscale, pro tips on using merchandise – such as incorporating it into employee onboarding programs – and supplier spotlights and factory tours.
With a significant earned media presence on Forbes.com, users will also find posts linking to original content, such as features on building themed interactive events and implementing health and wellness programs), plus links to Forbes Expert Panel Features quoting Corporate Specialties’ president. The result is a well-rounded content plan that keeps clients informed so they can make more educated purchasing decisions and save time and money.
GOLD
PCNA
PPAI 113079, Platinum
New Kensington, Pennsylvania
pcna.com
In 2022, PCNA launched an AI chat bot named “Scout” that allows users to find products, look up order details, ask questions and view policies. Over the past two years, Scout’s responses have continued to expand as it learns from interactions and as the team updates responses. In 2022, the company also launched a new “Product of the Week” page, along with a “What’s New at PCNA” page. These have quickly become regular destinations for customers to help them stay on top of product offerings.
Information about the company, its compliance and sustainability initiatives and FAQ pages are logically organized in sections that make it easy to quickly find information on the desired topic. The site also provides tools to help distributors market programs with easy access to a photo library, lookbook, flyers and other media. For visitors new to the industry or unfamiliar with the decoration options PCNA offers, a decoration details page with an overview of the methods offered and a link to view all products that can be decorated by each method.
With a goal that the site should be the first place distributors go to find solutions, PCNA reports that 72% of web sessions now include a visit to a product page and 60% of chat sessions are resolved without transferring to an agent. When the “What’s New at PCNA” page was launched, it garnered 144% more clicks from the home page than regular banners and now gets regular return visits.
SILVER
HPG
PPAI 110772, Platinum
Braintree, Massachusetts
hpgbrands.com
Video+ is a tool on the HPG website that allows distributors to quickly and easily create customized promotional product videos for clients. The videos show products supplied by HPG’s family of brands, along with the client’s logo and distributor content incorporated at different points. In 2023, Video+ had more than 1,000 video plays.
Distributors simply complete the form, upload their client’s logo and select the desired HPG brand. The customized video is then instantly generated with a unique link that can be shared with clients. Video+ is reportedly the first sales tool of its kind in the industry that allows distributors to create custom-branded videos.
SILVER
PromoCorner
PPAI 110698, Standard-Plus
Middleboro, Massachusetts
promocorner.com
PromoJournal is a reliable source for fresh, daily content in the promotional products industry. From blogs, podcasts and videos to live programming, topics range from sales, marketing, product safety and product spotlights to current trends and industry news. More than 30 industry thought leaders contribute to the content representing more than 500 years of combined industry experience.
PromoJournal’s design uses just three different pages to deliver thousands of pieces of content in a logical and intuitive format. The homepage is organized to show the most recent content first and is categorized by content type. Advertising areas are kept visible on screen but are designed to blend in with the overall look.
On both the homepage and search results page, additional content is shown only when the user mouses over it, resulting in a clean look and on-demand experience. Podcast and video players are embedded into the site for easy access, and the content page uses Facebook’s comments plug-in so visitors can seamlessly interact with the content.
Between January and May 2023, PromoJournal had 16,000 unique visitors who accounted for more than 93,000 page events ranging from searches to clicks on articles, videos and podcasts.
Mobile Apps/Mobile Websites
GOLD
Spector & Co.
PPAI 168328, Gold
Las Vegas, Nevada
spectorandco.com
The Spector Vision augmented reality sales tool offers a new and interactive way of engaging with samples and promoting branded products. This easy-to-use tool allows users to visualize products from any angle and within their own space. By opting to view realistic samples with AR, users can speed up the sampling process and reduce the environmental impact of creating and shipping physical product samples.
When navigating the website, products with available AR functionality show an AR icon on the product page. Clicking the icon will prompt a pop-up showing a unique QR code with brief instructions on how to scan it with any smartphone camera. The user’s phone will automatically load the product sample and explain how to engage with it, no app required. When viewing the pop-up through a mobile device, a link can be tapped to trigger the process directly on the user’s device. The image can then be rotated, moved and rescaled.
This technology allows for unique content creation opportunities, novel sales pitches and stunning visualization tools. Spector supports all of its best-selling products with Spector Vision and has a corporate mandate to include this original feature for all future product releases.
GOLD
Gemline
PPAI 113948, Platinum
Lawrence, Massachusetts
gemline.com
Gemline’s mobile site showcases a clean, retail-inspired and customer-friendly layout that provides the customer with an enjoyable shopping experience and self-service sales tools for browsing and sharing content. The site features easy-to-use navigation, site search and filtering capabilities, plus advanced inventory look up, product images, lifestyle images and videos to help distributors select the perfect product.
The product pages are optimized for mobile viewing, with large images and fonts for better product visibility, and they provide full product descriptions, detailed decoration information and alternate product images. The site’s navigation is separated into new, current and sale products to further assist users. In early 2023, all product search pages were updated with a “sticky footer” that allows users to easily access the tools and support in the footer without endlessly scrolling.
E-Commerce Website
GOLD
ArtworkservicesUSA
PPAI 231735, Standard-Base
Columbia, Maryland
artworkservicesusa.com
ArtworkservicesUSA’s winning entry is a site designed for Cap America that provides an intuitive, one-stop resource to facilitate successful sales transactions. With its focus on one-click navigation, users can readily access all the information needed to place orders with virtually no need to call or email for more.
The site solved the problem of significant inbound call volumes to check pricing, product availability and shipping costs, which caused inconvenience, delays, frustration and missed sales opportunities. The new Cap America site lets distributors and inside sales reps check on live inventory and get freight estimates without having to log in.
Once logged in, users can check order status, create virtual samples, create a customized flyer, email flyers directly from the website and more. Other features include a search tool with filter and comparison functions and multiple one-click tools including print, save, compare, order samples and more. The website also allows administrators the option of exporting pricing data in real time to popular industry data platforms so that pricing is harmonized across all channels.
Since the site made its debut, Cap America has confirmed a significant decrease of inbound calls, with users commenting favorably about their online experience.
GOLD
Koozie Group
PPAI 114187, Platinum
Tampa, Florida
kooziegroup.com
The enhanced Koozie Group Tracker now delivers a mobile-friendly, straightforward, one-stop order experience where distributors can view the most up-to-date status on their orders and all the details related to it.
Order updates are sent with a secure link so distributors don’t need to log in to view or update their orders. If input is needed, a large, red “On Hold” alert shows up. A summary of the action(s) needed for each line item appears and lets them know the order will not proceed until the question is answered. If proof approval is needed, the distributor can approve it right there.
A history of questions and answers is always available, both while the order is in process and for reference after the order ships. If there are additional follow-ups or changes to the order, the distributor can add their instructions, upload any new files and let Koozie Group know if the order needs modification.
This increased visibility has resulted in a faster and simpler process that delivers orders on time with fewer errors. Within just a few weeks of launching the new features, over 75% of clarifications were being answered directly in the Koozie Group Tracker, orders were getting into production faster, distributors have less need to call or email the supplier, and order accuracy has increased.
GOLD
The MRL Group
PPAI 359200, Standard-Plus
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
mrlpromotions.com
This winning entry is a point-of-sale store hub for client Betty Buzz, a premium line of sparkling sodas founded by actress Blake Lively. The hub, created for brand managers and sales team members, ensures a seamless experience for ordering marketing materials and managing accounts.
Products range from point-of-sale displays to editable menus, and orders are produced on demand. Users log in to see their current order status, check tracking, view past orders and quickly reorder through their dashboard.
Orders are purchased with individual account balances set by the client, which ensures that brand managers and sales team members can easily track their spending and manage their budgets. The use of variable data also allows for customization, which adds to the personalized branding experience.
SILVER
ePromos Promotional Products
PPAI 212648, Platinum
St. Cloud, Minnesota
epromos.com
ePromos has improved its online customer experience through a comprehensive makeover of its website, featuring a new, modern design that’s easy to navigate and offers faster page load times and more automated processes. Categories and subcategories have also been realigned to provide a clearer visual direction to specific shopping avenues, including seasonal events, relevant trends and popular searches.
With intuitive filtering and search preview, customers can easily narrow down their product selection. More lifestyle images and larger images have been added to help customers more easily see how promo products can be used. For shoppers with disabilities, the site also offers alternative text and images and accommodates accessibility features such as screen readers.
The improvements have resulted in better customer experiences, increased sales and reduced employee workload.
SILVER
PCNA
PPAI 113079, Platinum
New Kensington, Pennsylvania
pcna.com
PCNA strives to make its website the preferred destination for distributors to find products and solutions, place orders, manage their account and enhance sales with a variety of sales tools.
On the homepage, a weekly rotating banner promotes the supplier’s most recent offering and highlights new products, brands and services, along with links to popular product categories. From there, product navigation links in the header allow users to browse by product category, brand or other popular categories such as new, clearance and deep inventory, along with links to website tools and access to the My Account section.
Customers can access order history, status and tracking, as well as update their email preferences, in the My Account Details section. Users can also view their art library, projects, custom catalog and flyers, plus create and manage a custom-branded website. In 2023, the number of virtuals created on the site increased by 88% from the previous year, in part because more than 5,000 new virtual locations were added.
