The cool thing about this section is that it encompasses all the others: cutting-edge solutions, popular industry events, innovative products and packaging and the visionaries behind it all.
Promo is fueled by fresh ideas. Distributors, suppliers, business service providers and all other entities related to branded merch are constantly thinking about new creations, marketing campaigns and ways to connect with their customers. Everyone is striving for that eureka moment when they can make their dreams – or those of their client’s – come to fruition.
The honorees in this category are recognized for pushing boundaries and breaking from convention to make not only the industry but also the world a better place.
Coolest Sponsorship Without Being Drenched In Gatorade
One way that promo is working on holistically embracing corporate social responsibility is by offering carbon-neutral event sponsorship at industry events. The sponsorships help fund the third-party data collection, calculation and verification of the carbon footprint of a particular event, so the host organization can purchase offsets in the same amount of C02 equivalence. For example, PPAI has partnered with 4imprint in recent years to help make NALC, WLC and Responsibility Summit certified carbon-neutral events.
Coolest Contest Since ‘McDonald’s Monopoly’
Logomark is a Red Star Sponsor of “Shelter to Soldier,” a nonprofit organization that adopts dogs from local shelters and trains them to become psychiatric service dogs or emotional support animals for active-duty military and veterans. At The PPAI Expo 2025, the California-based supplier held a naming contest to announce the arrival of its newest rescue dog. Nearly 300 distributors participated, with the winning suggestion coming from Leez Osterstock of BAMKO, who named the spunky 10-month-old shepherd-lab mix, Bodie.
Coolest Supergroup Since The Traveling Wilburys
Drew Holmgreen’s mission as president and CEO of PPAI is to elevate the role of promotional products – overhauling the industry-wide approach to end buyer and consumer outreach and messaging. He’s hit the ground running by creating and leveraging partnerships with other associations and trade groups. For example, PPAI joined more than 260 trade associations in signing a coalition letter to the USTR, opposing the proposed Section 301 China shipbuilding remedies.
Coolest Elixir For Tariff Troubles
One of the largest importers in promo, Greater Pacific is directly impacted by the additional tariffs recently imposed on Chinese imports. To diversify sourcing, the Seattle-headquartered supplier has turned to SourceReady, an AI-powered tool that integrates supply chain data from U.S. customs, directories and other sources to identify manufacturers from around the world. “We’re excited about the options this technology provides and the potential benefits it brings to us and our distributor clients,” says Ben Zhang, president and CEO of Greater Pacific.
Coolest Birthday Party Without A Ball Pit
Celebrating 50 years of its most iconic product – the Beefy T – Hanes kicked off the festivities at The PPAI Expo 2025, where the North Carolina-based company built a giant booth adorned with vintage T-shirts, upcoming designs and a movie reel of various images displayed on a 22XL Beefy-T. Booth visitors could receive a free Beefy-T in their desired size, watching Hanes workers heat press the shirt right in front of them. “It’s the only T-shirt that people ask for by name,” says Chris Guard, director of product management at Hanesbrands.
Coolest Eco-Friendly Collab
Ahead of skuconX, commonsku partnered with New Jersey-based supplier Visual Textile Resource to create 48 tablecloths for its annual conference ahead of The PPAI Expo. After the event, the tablecloths were shipped to Texas-based supplier Numo to be upcycled. The company’s team then cut and sewed each tablecloth into pouches, which were redistributed to every skucon attendee. “Our team is proud to continue to work with such innovative supplier partners who not only create amazing merch for at-event experiences, but who also think beyond the event and toward future impact,” says Mark Graham, president and chief brand officer of commonsku.
Coolest Tuition Assistance Program
In the summer of 2024, Steven Meyer, MAS, national sales manager at Arch Promo Group, embarked on a wild adventure to raise funds for the Promotional Products Education Foundation. The 25-plus-year industry veteran set out on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which stretches 2,700 miles long and is considered the grandest unpaved cycling route in North America. Although Meyer had to stop around 650 miles in, he did raise $4,000 for PPEF. Stretching approximately 2,700 miles long, it’s considered the grandest unpaved cycling route in North America. “The challenges and difficulties of the ride don’t really compare to the challenges so many families have in getting financing together for higher education,” Meyer says.
Coolest Anger Management Therapy
When L’Oréal was preparing to unveil its Extraordinary Clay line of products, the cosmetics giant asked Harper+Scott to create an influencer mailer for the launch. Wanting to create an experience with an emphasis on “impact,” the New York City-based distributor conceived a basketball-sized ceramic sphere filled with the products and an all-custom, color-matched hammer for smashing. Beauty influencers like Alexis Jayda posted the destruction and surprise inside, igniting millions of impressions on social media.
Coolest Reuse Of Your Dad’s Steely Dan Albums
Capitalizing on vinyl’s resurgence, Philadelphia-based supplier Record Remix recycles and reuses approximately 250,000 vinyl records each year, transforming them into custom imprinted coasters, journals, clocks, luggage tags, bottle openers, notepad holders and more. The company receives new records from record pressing plants that have overruns, misprints and test pressings. “The vinyl industry is booming right now – every plant in the country is running triple shifts,” says owner Jeff Davis. “With that amount of volume, they end up with a lot of waste.”
Corrigan is deputy editor at PPAI.
