In 1903 representatives of 12 promotional products manufacturers (manufacturers of advertising goods) agreed to form an industry trade association. The charter members addressed issues such as pricing, new ideas, business losses and managing salesmen, and adopted bylaws and operating procedures for the trade association. Benjamin S. Whitehead, owner of a promotional products manufacturing company in Newark, N.J., became the first president. The organization's first name was the National Association of Advertising Novelty Manufacturers.

By 1906 the Association had 56 members and one honorary member, Henry S. Bunting, who published the Association's official publication. Mr. Bunting's publication, along with his book about promotional products and their impact on business growth, contributed greatly to the recognition of the industry. In 1912 the Advertising Federation of America designated ad specialties as a legitimate advertising medium.

Tradeshows became part of the Association's conventions in 1914, with 32 exhibitors at the first show. The PPAI Expo®—the industry's premier tradeshow—is held each January in Las Vegas. It has become the place to be for promotional products professionals and companies to grow their business, build their network and increase their sales!

In 1928 the Association celebrated its 25th anniversary with more than 132 members. Now an influential trade association, the Association had accomplished many things in its first 25 years, including uniformity in terms and trade practices and establishing advertising specialties as an advertising medium.

The industry was hit hard during the depression, but in the late 1940s business was again booming, with industry sales figures of $124 million recorded in 1947. In 1961 the Association began offering Executive Development seminars. In response to their popularity, the Association has continued to offer educational seminars to assist members with new ways to make their businesses more profitable and effective.

In 1966 membership was 1,211, and the number of exhibitors that year was more than 300. Today, as our multi-billion dollar industry grows, we're proud to boast 14,000+ member companies!

By the way …

Have you ever wondered how the pocket protector got its start? It was a promotional product designed to sell slip-on vinyl covers that protected loose-leaf binders.

While a majority of the Association's 14,000+ member firms (based on 2020 figures) are located in the United States, membership includes firms in Canada and throughout the world. Most member companies are suppliers and distributors of promotional products and services, including specialty advertising, business gifts, premiums, incentives, awards, prizes and commemoratives.

PPAI® membership break down:
Distributor members: 89%
Supplier members: 9%
International members: 1%
Other: 1%

Vision: Promotional Products are universally valued and essential to every brand.

Mission: Be the voice and force to advance the Promotional Marketplace for the benefit of our community.

PPAI strives to provide leadership by example to advance sustainability efforts in the promotional products industry. We will engage in carbon monitoring activities and waste diversion techniques and seek other methods of reducing or offsetting our emissions and waste. This policy relates to our events, staff travel, and office operations. We will improve as we learn, measure our progress, and share the lessons we learned with the industry.

As part of PPAI’s commitment to share our progress in this area, we are posting our sustainability score with the Green Business Bureau: 523 points = gold certification.