PPAI Expo 2015: A Whirlwind Recap

Last month, the entire Jag team — Sara, Jeff & T-Jag — flew down to Las Vegas for the 2015 PPAI Expo, the single largest trade show for the promotional products industry. During the week we were there, we took part in educational seminars, met with key vendors, and explored thousands of vendor booths covering two floors of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. (Yes, we were exhausted & our feet hurt – but it was SO worth it!)

Here are some brief highlights of how we spent our week:

1) Educational Seminars

We learned ways to maximize our time at the trade show, and how to get the most out of vendor relationships to benefit YOU, our clients. We also joined in on discussions about women in our industry, how to bill for your time, and marketing.

2) New Product Showcase

Aside from regular spotlights at individual booths, this showcase highlighted the best in new products across all of the vendors exhibiting at the expo. We snapped lots of photos of our favorites, and look for upcoming blog posts highlighting our picks from the showcase.

3) Meeting with Vendors

If you’ve worked with us before, you know that we have some regular manufacturers & vendors that we prefer working with. There’s a reason for that: not only do we know and trust their products, but we know and trust their team. They are a true partner for us, and allow us to provide the top level customer service to YOU that we always strive for. We talk to and meet with these vendors whenever we have an opportunity, but the PPAI Expo gave us an extra chance for face-to-face time with these key vendors that we don’t always get.

4) Discovering New Vendors

Besides meeting with our favorite, trusted vendors, the expo gave us a chance to discover some great new vendors that we hadn’t heard of before, or hadn’t been able to connect with previously. Getting to know new vendors allows us to offer the best and latest in promotional product ideas to you, whenever you come to us with your needs, or looking for new ideas.

5) Photo-Ops with T-Jag

And yeah, we took lots of time to snap fun photos of T-Jag throughout the expo. Look for the dinosaur’s own highlights in a separate blog post.