Nashville’s rich history and unrivaled reputation as the heart of country music were the perfect backdrop for this year’s PPAI North American Leadership Conference (NALC) which wrapped up Tuesday night after a two-and-a-half-day run. From all accounts, the event was in perfect pitch in terms of venue, education, speakers, networking opportunities and overall value for attendees.
“North American Leadership Conference continues to be the most important and impressive, high-level, content-driven, professional development event in the promotional products industry,” says Paul Bellantone, CAE, president and CEO of PPAI. “This year’s program was specifically designed to address our industry’s short- and longer-term challenges and opportunities and from the feedback I received from attendees, NALC delivered.”
More than 120 industry professionals attended, including 35 first-time attendees, from across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, to take part in more than a dozen educational sessions on high-demand topics including emotional intelligence, digital marketing, disruptive innovation, 3D printing, mindfulness and employee engagement, plus an overview on market trends from Jim Chappelow, ITR Economics’ managing economist.
There were also a number of opportunities for participants to network and learn from each other, including roundtable discussions on business challenges, as well as networking breakfasts, lunches, a mix and mingle dinner, and the closing evening with networking, sumptuous southern food and an acoustic set by American country music singer and songwriter Glen Templeton.
Among this year’s attendees was Drew Davis, MAS, principal at Specialty Incentives. “NALC again provided unrivaled relevant content that forces the individual to step back and think about ‘what’s coming next’ within our industry and one’s particular business,” he says. “The topics presented on employee engagement and innovation provided significant takeaways.”
Carl Gerlach, MAS, marketing vice president at Gill Studios, Inc., says, “NALC was held in Nashville, an innovative town that is remaking itself, as the music industry is remaking itself after disruption in the industry reduced it to half the size. We learned how many people used to fight change but now the industry has embraced change and has found new revenue sources. My favorite quote was from [innovation and technology speaker] Kurt Uhlir, who said, “Innovation will cause the death of average.” The entire conference was educational, exciting and stimulating, and helped members look into the future and learn facts to make long-term decisions for their companies.”
Jessica Hiner, vice president of key accounts at The Magnet Group, was also excited about her experience. “The conference was a great event. It is always a pleasure to get together with the industry’s power minds, discussing current events and opportunities to utilize our strengths together for the greater good. We are facing significant changes within our current marketplace, especially in the area of technology, and it will be interesting to see what happens next.”
This year’s NALC was the second for distributor Jay Nathanson, managing partner at Target Marketing. “What an incredible couple of days!” he says. “What I hope for from an event like this is to get out of my “day to day” head and learn new and different perspectives from experts. This year’s NALC did not disappoint. My biggest takeaway is that no industry is immune from disruption, whether it’s digital, or demographic, or a profound shift in what our customers value in how they buy and use our products and services.
“As leaders, we have a choice: We can sit around reminiscing about the ‘good old days’, or look at the future as the best days to come, full of possibilities and opportunities. I’m happy to say that I’ll return to my company Target Marketing, in Richmond, Virginia, full of great ideas and a strong desire to get to work on the business. Thanks to the PPAI team for another great event,” he adds.
“NALC has afforded me the opportunity to meet and collaborate with some of the industries brightest individuals,” says Perry Wehrle, president at PAW Marketing, Inc. “It has opened my eyes to the substantial changes we all need to embrace to make the promotional products industry viable for longevity and sustainable growth.”
Registration will open later this year for next year’s NALC in San Francisco, August 14-16, 2016.
