MARCH 2014 ISSUE 48

register nowwww.tradeonly.co.uk/

spring-shows

2nd AprilSlough3rd April

Stansted9th April

Glasgow10th April

Manchester

www.ppda.co.uk

Please turn to page 10 to find out more about our awards!

And the Supplier of the Year award goes to . . . . PRESELI!!

Love this song!! Gotta Dance!!

Wheres the award gone?

I was already tired and

emotional . . . and now this!?

Im sorry, guys, I vaporised the

award.

By the albedo of pluto! What have i done?

Dont worry Promoman! Our friends made us a

replacement!!

PITCHES for Trade Onlys popular Spring Road Shows are selling out fast, the exhibitions organiser has an-nounced.

Visitor pre-registration for the show series, which opened recently, is also going well.

This years shows will be held at four venues across the UK. All offer free parking, easy access and are designed to cover the whole of the country.

Some of the regular exhibitors back again this year include Listawood, PF Concept, SPS, Bizz Badge, Pen Ware-house, Carole Group, If Solutions, United Brands and Laltex.

They are joined by a number of new-comers, including Rain Gear, Goldstar, Kinnerton, Replay and Abbeygate.

Nigel Bailey, Event Director for Trade Only, said: We have added a new Slough venue The Centre as our new feature venue this year.

The Spring Shows are still the first trade shows of the year for many dis-tributors. As with all our events, the Spring Shows are about people and products and putting the two together.

The format is good; nothing beats the power of face to face contact and getting product in peoples hands.

Exhibitions work so well and are still the most powerful way of generat-ing business apart from own company websites.

See the PPD diary on p4 for the full Spring Show line-up, and for more details and registration, visit www. tradeonly.co.uk/shows/spring

SPS HAS completed a 7.25m management buy-out from the 4imprint Group, following the successful turnaround of the company.

The buy-out is led by the SPS Senior Management Team of CEO Phil Morgan, Finance Director Sha-ron Brownley, Sales and Marketing Director Diane Anderton and Op-erations Director Richard Wild-smith.

The team has received financial backing from Maven Capital Part-ners, one of the UKs leading inves-tors in small businesses.

SPSs operating history stretches over more than 20 years, and the company has experienced excel-lent growth in both turnover and

profit over recent years. SPS says the growth stems largely from its focus on new UK product develop-ment, innovative product sourcing, investment in new branding tech-nology and a commitment to oper-ational and service excellence.

Phil Morgan told PPD: The buy-out is excellent news.

SPS has shown outstanding per-formance over recent years, trans-forming the profile of the business.

We have a professional, dedi-cated and innovative team who are passionate about the success of the company.

With an exciting five-year busi-ness plan in place, we are delighted to have the strong financial support of Maven Capital Partners.

We are confident that SPS is in

a fantastic position for continued growth, with ongoing innovation and development across the whole business.

Ryan Bevington, Investment Di-rector at Maven, said: The team at SPS have delivered strong growth in a fairly benign market over recent years, and they have continued to invest in new product development and manufacturing ability over that period.

We were very impressed with the management team and their growth strategy for the business, and we are confident that they will continue to drive the business for-ward successfully.

Phil Morgan talks in depth about the buyout p8

SPS team seals 7.25m buy-out

Show pitches selling out fast

Exciting future some of the SPS team on the companys stand at this years Trade Only National Show.

www.tradeonly.co.uk/spring-shows

The UKs most popular touring events, the Trade Only Spring Shows visit locations

around the country bringing suppliers to the doorsteps of key distributors.

For further information and to register visit:

The UK and Irelands most popular spring shows

2014 catalogues and brochures launched

Collect hundreds of free samples

Refreshments provided throughout the day

Meet all the top suppliers

Catch up at convenient locations

See thousands of new products

Friendly and informal

Free parking and admission

Open to all resellers of business gifts and promotional products

Dates for the 2014 Shows:

2nd AprilSlough

3rd AprilStansted

9th AprilGlasgow

2nd

NEW VENUE10th April

Manchester

TO_SpringShowAdvert_PPD46.indd 1 03/12/2013 10:58

NEWS

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Index

Promotional Product Distributor, Unit 4 Rhodes Business Park, Silburn Way, Manchester Old Road,Middleton, Manchester M24 4NETel: 0844 880 2751Fax: 0870 145 3861Email: editor@ppda.co.ukWeb: www.ppda.co.uk

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints ex-pressed in this publication do not nec-essarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the editor or the publisher. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage, nor can respon-sibility be accepted for any claims by ad-vertisers, contributors, other persons and organisations. Strictly no reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.

FEATURES242628384260

The UK todayMake it a dateGetting awayTONS highlightsGoldstar in EuropeTee Time Again

REGULARSIain Clasper-Cotte Tamsin Fox-DaviesPaul RoseEvan LewisFrom the bpmaTracy RichardsGill ThorpeFrom The Show FloorTech TalkCliff QuicksellAlan Stride

1820223536414345475263

PCD535456

Landmark for EvolveShirts get starring rolesGolfwear

OTHERSPPBTittle Tattle

1766

NEWSManor Group celebratesPPD Golf Masters 2014Password disastersPhil Morgan on SPS buy-outFerrari leads brand packShow debuts with new titleWorld NewsDowlis hails suppliersEuropean News

4568

1015164649

PEOPLEBTC Group boosts team13

PRODUCTS19 A lotta bottle

Bags charging bid a complete mess

The vast amount of plastic bags consumed and thrown away each year has led to the charging proposals.

THE GOVERNMENTS plans for a 5p charge on plastic carrier bags in England have been labelled a complete mess by a cross-party com-mittee of MPs.

The Environmental Audit Com-mittee (EAC) says the current pro-posals are unnecessarily compli-cated.

Their report says that bans in Ireland and Wales were simpler and have significantly reduced the impact of plastic bags on the environment.

More than eight billion dispos-able carrier bags are used in Eng-land every year.

Last September, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced

BRANDED Products Services (BPS) pulled out all the stops dur-ing the Chinese New Year, deliver-ing a number of orders within just 48 hours from UK-held stocks.

Sales Manager Richard Jones told PPD: It has been a busy peri-od for our in-house USB produc-tion team.

A typical example was an or-der received on a Wednesday lunchtime (at the Trade Only Na-tional Show) for 1,000 USBs with a two-colour print and dataload which needed to be delivered on Friday morning. We ensured the order was delivered on time!

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/bps

plans for a single use plastic bag charge in England that would come into effect after the 2015 election.

Mr Clegg said: This is not a new problem. Weve waited too long for action. Thats why I am drawing a line under the issue now. The charge will be imple-mented sensibly small business-es will be exempt.

But it is that planned exemp-tion and other rules which have drawn the criticism of the EAC.

Under the proposals from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the 5p charge would apply only to supermarkets and larger stores. Most small shops and takeaway outlets would not have to pay the cost. Defra has defended the exemption by pointing out that the charge could be a burden to small businesses.

As well as this exemption, Defra believes the charge should not ap-ply to biodegradable bags. Paper bags and reusable bags for life will also avoid the levy.

But the EAC believes these rules are making the proposal too com-plex.

Wales introduced a 5p charge in 2011. There are limited reporting requirements for firms with fewer than 10 employees. The number of bags being used has been re-duced by 96% in some sectors.

In Northern Ireland, a 5p charge was introduced in 2013.

Scotland will introduce a 5p fee

for bags in October this yearIn the Irish Republic, similar

moves have seen plastic bag con-sumption drop by 90%.

Joan Walley MP, chair of the EAC, said: Ministers have man-aged to make a complete mess of their planned carrier bags charge by making it unnecessarily com-plicated.

However, a Defra spokesman defended the planned exemp-tions. He said: Paper bags make up only a small proportion of car-rier bags and break down natural-ly. Biodegradable bags will only be exempt if they are genuinely biodegradable currently such a bag does not exist.

Carrier bag bans in many dif-ferent degrees of severity and covering different types of bag are now operating in an increasing number countries, US states and cities worldwide.

The most likely outcome for such a ban for the UK promotion-al product industry is the creation of more sales opportunities for industry firms.

Bags supplied by the industry are not generally the cheap one-trip bags but high quality reusable plastic and, increasingly, other materials.

Many bag manufacturers have already seen the writing on the wall and have been diversifying for several years. Bans worldwide appear to be driving more reus-able bag sales for both suppliers and distributors.

NEWS

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JUST lately, Ive been think-ing a lot about landmarks.

It barely seems possible, but nearly six years ago, I took a phone call off a certain Martin Varley which would change my life forever (I know there are a few of you out there who have had the same experience!).

That call would introduce me to an industry I knew nothing about; that in truth, I hadnt even realised existed.

So it does seem incredi-ble that the magazine youre reading now is the 40th Ive helped deliver to your desks.

Being at the helm of PPD has given me insights into the industry (lets call it a crash course), scored me the odd freebie and most im-portantly, introduced me to some great people Im proud to call my friends.

Special thanks to Nigel Bailey for being my ever- reliable guide and of course, to Martin for that phone call.

But were not done with landmarks yet not by a long chalk.

Those of you keeping an eye on our numbering sys-tem cant help but have no-ticed that the 50th issue of this publication is almost upon us.

Needless to say, were planning a big celebration edition and we need your help. We want your memo-ries of the industry as it was back in 2007, when the mag-azine first appeared; just be-fore the first ever Trade Only National Show!

Wed also love to receive some throwback pictures, as well as nominations for your favourite bits of PPD over the years, from front covers to Tittle Tattle.

Please send your contri-butions to the email address below. Now, if youll excuse me, I have to get on with some work...

Aidan Goldstraw editor@ppda.co.uk

Golden chance to look back on best moments

FROM THE EDITORDates are correct at time of going to press. Got an event youd like to see mentioned in this column? Email editor@ppda.co.uk

March26: Haptica Live 14. The Palladium, Cologne, Germany. 10am-7pm.

April2: Trade Only Spring Show Slough The Centre, Slough SL1 4UT. 10am-4pm.

3: Trade Only Spring Show Stansted Radisson Blu, London Stansted Airport, Essex CM24 1PP. 10am-4pm.

8-10: PSI Promotion World, Hall 23, Hannover Messe, Germany..

9: Trade Only Spring Show Glasgow The Argyll Suite, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow G3 8QT. 9.30am-3.30pm.

10: Trade Only Spring Show Manchester International Suite, Manchester Utd FC, Manchester M16 0RA. 10am-4pm.

30: Promotional ShowCase, Holiday Inn, High Wycombe HP11 1TL.

May13: Promotional ShowCase, Aztec Hotel, Aztec West, Bristol BS32 4TS.

14: Promotional ShowCase, Botleigh Grange Hotel, Grange Road, Hedge End, Southampton SO30 2GA.

16: PPD Golf Masters Woburn Golf Club.

June3: Promotional ShowCase, Brighton and Hove FC, American Express Community Stadium, Village Way, Brighton BN1 9BL. 25-26: Marketing Week Live 2014. Grand Hall, Olympia, London.

September10: APG Expo 2014 South The Esher Hall, Sandown Park Exhibition Centre, Esher, Surrey.

11: APG Expo 2014 North The Manchester Suite, Manchester United Football Club.

15-19: Promotional Products Week 2014

17: APG Expo 2014 Ireland The Ballroom, Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin.

2015January20: bpma Education Day Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

21-22: Trade Only National Show 2014 Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

21: bpma Annual Awards Dinner E.On Lounge, Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

DIARY DATES

TOMLINSON Golf and Everything Environmental are the latest sup-pliers to sign up to the Promotion ShowCase initiative.

This group of suppliers takes the showcase to various venues throughout UK and Ireland to meet local distributors.

The suppliers who now num-ber 23, with the new arrivals not only showcase their best-selling and latest products but also take time with every visitor to explain the different branding methods employed to gain maximum ef-fect, the selling features and ben-efits.

Advice is also offered on the in-formation needed from the end user to ensure the order is effi-ciently delivered.

Quality time is spent on a one-to-one basis with everyone for

the visitor, it is the equivalent of 23 appointments in less than one day; an efficient use of valuable time.

Mark Tomlinson told PPD: We are delighted to be joining the Promotional ShowCase for 2014.

The shows will see us visiting all areas of the UK to meet with our valued existing customers and it will also afford us the op-portunity to meet with new po-tential customers and build work-ing relationships.

Evan Lewis, MD of Everything Environmental, added: We are delighted to have been invited into the group. As the principal green supplier in the industry its great we can add to the showcase offering.

See the PPD Diary Dates on this page for details.

MANOR Group has celebrat-ed its 40th anniversary with the help of its local MP.

The Eastbourne-based compa-ny was originally established in 1973 as Manor Park Press.

Over the years, the companys branding has developed to reflect an increasingly diverse range of print, office supplies and pro-motional gifts. Most recently, the company has changed its name from Manor Creative to Manor Group.

Eastbournes MP Stephen Lloyd dropped in on MD Paul Denne and his crew to get the birthday party started.

Paul told PPD: Its a really ex-citing time for everyone at Manor

Group. We are quite rightly proud of our 40 years in business and the journey weve been on, from a company that originally spe-cialised in just print for people and businesses in and around Eastbourne, to an operation that supplies print, office supplies and now promotional gifts to com-mercial customers up and down the UK and into the EU.

The business currently em-ploys 46 people who work across a broad spectrum of specialist areas.

Mr Lloyd added: Its genuinely rewarding to visit such a success-ful home-grown business like Manor Group, meet the staff and see first-hand what a terrific job they are doing.

Two more join ShowCase

Big celebration for Paul and co

NEWS

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ADPRODUCTS.COM is hailing the start of the new year as a great success for the company, after launching its full-colour digital range.

The service is available on many of the companys items, giv-ing distributors the opportunity to get their clients message out there even brighter and louder than ever. Adproducts is also of-fering 100 free copies of its Digital Catalogue to help get the ball roll-ing. More details at ppda.co.uk/adproducts

WE DRAW your readers atten-tion to the announcement made by Newell Rubbermaid, guard-ians of famous brands such as Parker, Waterman, Rotring, Quill and PaperMate, that from Janu-ary 1, 2014, the direct supply of its products (with the exception of Quill and PaperMate) to the UK promotional market would be restricted to just two competitor companies.

As a consequence, Carole Group/Your Promo Pen are no longer in a position to fulfil your requirements for any of the above ranges, with the exception of Parker Jotter Ball Pens and Vector Rollerballs, where we have stocks to clear at very special prices.

Similarly, Premier Impressions have significant stocks of Paper-Mate models and continuity of supply is assured for 2014 at least. So, please keep those orders com-ing!

You will readily appreciate that a decision taken in Geneva by a global company is something over which we have no control.

To this day, at no time has Car-ole received written confirmation of the termination of our arrange-ment and despite repeated at-tempts, no explanation has been forthcoming as to why such an arbitrary decision was imposed on the industry!

We trust our position is under-stood and we apologise for any in-convenience this may cause.

David GoldManaging DirectorCarole Group

PPD HAS joined forces with leading golf supplier YOB Golf to launch an indus-try-wide golf competition.

The PPD Masters 2014 will be held on the Dukes Course at Woburn Golf Club on Friday, May 16.

The contest will consist of teams of four, with a shotgun start. Teams should arrive at the club (near Milton Keynes, just off the M1) for 9.30am for an 11am tee time.

There will be prizes for the win-ning team and the runners-up, as well as special prizes for longest drive, best score, closest to pin and much more.

Once the action on the greens is over, there will be a three-course dinner and awards from 4.30pm.

The cost of playing on this

Driving ahead for a great day of golf

Woburns world-renowned Dukes course is the stunning setting for the PPD Masters 2014.

world-class course is 600 per team. The price includes a Sig-nature Hole Sponsorship Pack from YOB Golf, consisting of hole banner, tee markers, talking cup insert and pin flag | (all to keep, value 250+). The cost will reduce to 500 if all holes are sold.

The competition promises to be a fantastic networking oppor-tunity for suppliers and distribu-tors alike.

PPD Executive Editor Nigel Bailey said: This is going to be a fantastic event and a fitting golf day for an industry that has golf as such an integral part.

Suppliers this is a great op-portunity for you to network with your key customers. All are wel-come and we look forward to see-ing you at Woburn.

YOB Golf Managing Director Rob Woolhouse told PPD: We are very excited about the opportuni-ty presented to us by PPD to host

what we expect will be the ulti-mate golf day for the industry.

We have managed to secure a world-class venue in Woburn and on its most famous Dukes course.

The venue is world-renowned not just for fantastic golf, but is also the home of one of Britains most famous players, and a YOB Golf partner, Ian Poulter.

With 2014 being a Ryder Cup year and with Ian being so well known for his heroic performanc-es at this event, especially last time out at Medina, and the day falling just before the PGAs num-ber one event (BMW PGA Cham-pionship), we thought that this was the perfect time and place.

We are aiming high with this event we want to open the eyes of the people attending, to show what is possible on a golf day; how a day like this can be a key networking event, and to bring together industry people regard-less of sex, age or ability, but most importantly, to leave the visitors with the memory of a fantastic day.

Event sponsors include Crystal Galleries, Nike Golf, Titleist, SRIX-ON, Wilson Staff, TaylorMade, Ashworth, Adidas, IPDesign.com, Footjoy and Callaway.

Entry forms and more details online at www.ppda.co.uk or contact Rob Woolhouse or Aidan Brown on 0845 962 4653, or email aidan.brown@yobgolf.com

LETTERS

Communiqu re: Newell Rubbermaid

RADIANT Orchid has been re-vealed as Pantones Colour of the Year for 2014. The colour stand-ards expert describes the shade (catalogue 18-3224) as a captivat-ing, magical, enigmatic purple.

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color In-stitute, said: While the 2013 col-our of the year, 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the col-our wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination.

Crystal Galleries LimitedEdwards House, 2 Westerby Road, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS3 8TD

www.crystalgalleries.co.uk

Tel: 00 44 1642 225799e-mail: sales@crystalgalleries.co.uk

OVER 850 PRODUCTS IN THE RANGE | OVER 750K STOCKHOLDINGFREE PERSONALISED E-FLIP CATALOGUES

FREE PERSONALISED WEBSITES | FREE PLAIN COVER CATALOGUES

The UKs leading trade supplier of top quality glass and crystal gifts and awards

To view our full range of quality, promotional merchandise

visit www.oldeani.com email sales@oldeani.com or telephone 01245 262 611

for more information.

QualityPromotional Merchandise

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SECURITY application pro-vider SplashData has an-nounced its annual list of the 25 most common passwords found on the internet.

For the first time since Splash-Data began compiling its annual list, password has lost its title as the most common and therefore worst password, being overtak-en by twice runner-up 123456 which took the dubious honour. According to SplashData, this years list was influenced by the large number of passwords from Adobe users posted online by security consulting firm Stric-ture Consulting Group following Adobes well-publicised security breach.

Seeing passwords like ado-be123 and photoshop on this list offers a good reminder not to base your password on the name of the website or application you are accessing, says Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData.

SplashDatas list of frequently used passwords shows that many people continue to put them-selves at risk by using weak, easily guessable passwords. Some other passwords in the Top Ten include qwerty, abc123, 111111, and iloveyou.

Slain added: Another interest-ing aspect of this years list is that more short numerical passwords showed up, even though websites are starting to enforce stronger password policies.

For example, new to this years list are simple and easily guess-able passwords like 1234 at number 16, 12345 at 20, and 000000 at 25.

SplashData releases its annual list in an effort to encourage the adoption of stronger passwords.

Slain said: As always, we hope that with more publicity about

NEWS

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Please pass it on thats not a good choice!

# PASSWORD +/-

1 123456 + 1

2 password -1

3 12345678 -

4 qwerty +1

5 abc123 -1

6 123456789 new

7 111111 +2

8 1234567 +5

9 iloveyou +2

10 adobe123 new

11 123123 +5

12 admin new

13 1234567890 new

14 letmein -7

15 photoshop new

16 1234 new

17 monkey -11

18 shadow -

19 sunshine -5

20 12345 new

21 password1 +4

22 princess new

23 azerty new

24 trustno1 -12

25 000000 new

how risky it is to use weak pass-words, more people will start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different websites.

SplashDatas top 25 list was compiled from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online during the previous year.

WITH ceramics playing such a prominent role in the promotion-al products market, its heartening to hear of a new initiative to bring young people into the UK ceram-ics market.

The youngsters are to be given experience in the industry as part of a major project to attract the next generation of skilled workers.

More than 500,000 is being invested in Stoke-on-Trents Ce-ramic Skills Academy, which will offer education activities, work placements, apprenticeships and graduate opportunities.

There will also be more help for entrepreneurs setting up their own artistic ventures, alongside training and mentoring for staff already working in the industry.

The academy will act as a first port of call for anyone interest-ed in a career in ceramics, with job vacancies and other essential information available through a website being launched next month.

Big name employers like Dud-son, Portmeirion and Emma Bridgewater have also thrown their support behind its work.

Teamwork the key as SPS looks to a brighter future

The buy-out team from left, Richard Wildsmith, Sharon Brownley, Diane Anderton and Phil Morgan.

CHEERS rang out around the SPS canteen when Phil Mor-gan announced to the work-force that he and three other directors had secured a man-agement buy-out deal.

Phil said: Theyd had to cope with uncertainty they knew something might happen. As wed had this team which had turned things around, I think they feared the company being the subject of another takeover, or anoth-er merger, and what that might mean.

The reaction from the com-panys customers has been just as positive. Weve had over 100 emails of congratulations.

Those cheers in the canteen signalled the successful conclu-sion of what Phil admits has been a long process.

He recalls: The first job we had was to turn around the company, which had started even before I joined the company three years ago. The first point where we really had an opportunity to say wed like to buy the company was just over a year ago.

Then began the lengthy process of sorting out the buy-out, finally completed in February this year.

These things take a long time! Phil added ruefully.

Basically, [Finance Director] Sharon Brownley and myself led the process, and it really started to get going in the spring of last year.

It was a tightly-managed pro-cess, during which we met with various private equity houses and banks.

There were logistical as well as financial challenges, Phil notes.

We had to do all this without people being suspicious of what we were doing that was always a bit of a challenge!

Basically, we had to keep the process confidential, since it was a public company, and we also wanted to ensure against con-cerns amongst the workforce.

After doing the rounds, as it were, the buy-out team closed a deal with venture capital trust Maven Capital Partners.

They were our preferred part-ner. We liked the people, we liked what they talked about and how they would manage and support us.

Maven, in turn, must have liked what they saw because, as Phil points out: In the North West, they probably only do a couple of deals a year and theyd maybe look at 200-300 different companies, so its a pretty robust process. But

if its been a long and sometimes challenging road to the buy-out, the turning around of SPS as a company has been an even longer saga. As Phil readily concedes, its taken a while to re-establish the business to its position as one of the industrys big guns.

The first thing was, the busi-ness had to get back to basics. We lost our way a bit in the sense of what the business was trying to do. I think wed become too oper-ationally-led.

We werent particularly close to our customers, either, and thats one aspect of the business weve worked very hard on over the last few years; getting closer to the customer base and engaging more with them.

Normal basic stuff but we werent doing it very well.

Being more competitive in the marketplace also became a priori-ty. We wanted to be more flexible, more competitive on price and

generally make it easier for our customers to work with us.

That focus on back to basics allowed and indeed necessitated reductions in costs.

Phil recalls: Thered been cost-cutting at SPS for about three years prior to my arrival and when I arrived, I still had to cut costs, but it was often the cost of doing things we were doing that I kind of felt we shouldnt be; more periph-eral stuff.

One of the key areas of develop-ment for SPS has been the growth in its UK-manufactured lines.

We wanted to get involved with innovating again, and that side of the business was a big push for us, because that was what I felt was our unique selling point.

We had loads of capacity. So it was about trying to find the right products to develop. The busi-ness needed to make considera-ble investment in tooling, which was supported by the 4imprint board.

One of SPSs biggest and most recent success stories is the Amer-icano cup, which exemplifies the new direction the company took.

That was a product which we were importing initially and then I said: Look, we can make this why are we importing it?

After that, rather than import a load of white Americanos, we could then make it in any col-our right here. The flexibility and choice became much bigger, be-cause we were making it in Black-pool. Of course, its not just about

the technology. Phil stresses that its very much the people who are busy once more writing the SPS success story.

Weve become a lot more effi-cient. Richard Wildsmith, our Op-erations Director, has done a fan-tastic job of improving efficiency in the business.

Meanwhile, Diane Anderton, who has been in the industry a long time, really came into her own when she was given the Sales and Marketing Directors job, be-cause she had credibility within the industry and she knew her stuff. We also put in place a mid-dle management team. Again, it was another investment. I was convinced that if the business was going to succeed, we needed to put in a proper management team.

Phil sums up the buy-out in a single, short sentence: Its really been a team effort.

And that team is brimming with confidence and enthusiasm.

Its very business as usual for us and our customers. We have a fantastic plan in place for the fu-ture of the business, with contin-ued new product development, investment and innovation.

We will also continue to in-vest in our people. In many areas where the factory operates 24/5, we are moving this to 24/7 to meet demand.

Sounds like Phil Morgan and the rest of the SPS team will have plenty to keep themselves busy with for a long time to come.

The management team at SPS is in buoyant mood after buying out the company. Aidan Goldstraw talks to CEO Phil Morgan about the big news.

NEWS

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:01

Wed just like to say thanks!

For more information on these or any other products in our range, contact us now on 01352 730 006 by phone; sales@preseli.biz by email or find us on the web at www.preseli.biz.

Wed just like to say thanks!

We at Preseli would like to extend a very heartfelt thanks to all of our customers who voted for us in the recent BPMA Annual Awards.

We were nominated last year and we felt that was a fantastic achievement!

So, we were naturally very excited and also very humbled to win the award for BPMA Supplier of the Year 2014 (up to 2 million). It means so much to us and is deeply appreciated.

The award did actually go missing! It was nowhere to be found at the end of the Awards Dinner. Maybe PromoMan did accidentally vaporise it. But, luckily, we know who supply the awards, so we were able to get a replacement made. Thank you, Crystal Galleries!

And again, to all who voted for us, thank you very much for your support.

NEWS

10

ITALIAN car maker Ferrari has been labelled the worlds most powerful brand, due to its mix of de-sirability, loyalty and consumer sentiment, accord-ing to a brand strength index released in February.

Ferrari topped a list of 500 global companies despite being much smaller, and being worth much less, than tech giants Apple and Samsung, who came second and third re-spectively.

Apple ($87 billion) pips Samsung ($58 billion) as the worlds most valuable brand but Ferrari is the more pow-erful, according to brand valuation and marketing experts Brand Finance. Brand Finances metric involves more than just revenue. Analysts also considered net margins, aver-

age revenue per customer, marketing, and brand loyalty.Brand Finance CEO David Haigh told PPD: Ferraris

prancing horse logo is instantly recognisable the world over, even where paved roads have yet to reach.

The Ferrari brand is one of just 11 in a global elite that have ratings of AAA+ along with the likes of Google, Hermes, Coca-Cola and Red Bull.

Haigh added: Ferrari inspires more than just brand loy-alty more of a cultish, even quasi-religious devotion. Its brand power is indisputable.

But despite being powerful, the niche nature of such a luxury product means Ferrari is far from one of the worlds most valuable brands, ranked number 350 in the world with a value of four billion US dollars.

PRO-AD helped Robbie Williams to entertain his adoring public at a special private gig for competi-tion winners.

The event, held just before Christ-mas at LSO St Lukes, saw Robbie backed by a full orchestra.

The evening of high class entertainment was given a touch of Christmas fun as guests were presented with bespoke branded Christmas baubles on departure, sup-plied by Pro-Ad.

The guests were excited to receive their Christmas gift, with one re-cipient remarking: This evening just gets better and better!

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/pro-ad

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PEOPLE

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BTC Group boosts teamBUILDING on the successes of last year and an increase in business stemming from its LIVE exhibition at Wembley Stadium, BTC Group has wel-comed a clutch of new staff to help bolster the companys customer service offering.

Justin Cook and Demi Sakel-liou have joined the sales team as Account Co-ordinators, bringing with them a great deal of knowl-edge and expertise from their pre-vious roles within the promotion-al merchandise industry.

Justin said: This is a very excit-ing time for me and the new team at BTC Group I cannot wait to get stuck in!

Katie Marshall has replaced Lynda Hollins to take over the key role of Supervisor of Corporate Schemes.

Lynda has retired after more than 15 years at BTC Group.

A spokesman for the company told PPD: As one of BTC Groups real characters, Lynda will be tru-ly missed and we wish her all the very best for the future.

Meanwhile, the companys de-sign studio has been boosted with the addition of another graphic

FLUID Branding has welcomed Kyle Scott as Sales Partner, as the distributor launches a unique business opportunity.

Kyle joins Fluid Branding with a wealth of experience in the pro-motional products sector, having established himself in key roles at The Umbrella Company and YOB Golf.

Fluids Sales Partner Pro-gramme suits Kyles entrepre-neurial approach. Working from his home office in Leeds, Kyle is developing his own sales division within Fluid Branding whilst mak-ing full use of Fluids established sourcing, production, marketing, studio and financial teams.

I was interested in running my own distributor company, but I didnt want to get bogged down with all the logistics said Kyle. Fluids partner programme offers me the perfect solution.

designer, Nabihah Mir Iftikhar, who will provide support to the very busy design and creative team.

Jon Lee is BTC Groups Business Development Manager, focusing on converting key prospects and identifying new opportunities using the skills and experience he gained in his highly targeted and sales-focused background.

In addition to the five new permanent additions, Frankie Manton has also been recruit-ed from a graduate employment

programme to work in Lindsey Bonds team.

Paul Beirne of BTC Group com-mented: We have taken time to select the right people to lead us into the opportunities and challenges of 2014, as we look to strengthen a very experienced and talented customer service team.

We are delighted to have re-cruited some great new people to help BTC Group develop its strong client base even further and it is a very exciting time.

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NEWS

15

# Name Team Pts

1 Trevor Howard Trevs Diamonds MK2 1631

2 Gail Kilcoyne Gails Heroes 1621

3 Glyn Harry Harry Hotspurs 1613

4 Graham Leach Impress Ippers 1478

5 Jason Mitchell Jason EE 1461

6 David Lines Smack My Pitch Up 1454

7 Mark Lever Game On! 1435

8 Graham Leach Real Madkid 1423

9 Adele Heywood Fluffy Ball 1411

10 Michael Hearn Richo to Sixfields 1404

11 Damian Pegutter Kiss of Death 1395

12 Gill Giles PEN 1 1386

13 Mark Lever Exmouth Beachboys 1380

14 Josh Crook The Naughty Boys 1373

15 Trevor Howard Just Bring It 1368

16 Kate Gibson Bakerface 1366

17 Keith Knight Xindao Keith 1333

17 Keith Lewis Premier Primadonnas 1333

19 Sonia Hine Hineys Heroes 1322

20 Nick Jarrett Jarretts Gems 1317

FAMILIAR faces lead the way in the Everything Environmental Promo-tional Products Fantasy League, with last years winner Trevor Howard closely pursued by Trade Onlys Gail Kilcoyne, runner-up last year.

Old hands lead the way again in footie

PROMOTIONAL product specialists will be showing off their expertise at PSI Promo-tion World.

The dealers will have their own platform in the Service and Idea Park at this trade fair for tactile and multi-sensory advertising.

PSI Promotion World takes place between April 8 and 10 at the same time as Hannover Messe, and for the first time under its new name.

The Service and Idea Park is centrally located in Hall 23, di-rectly adjacent to Marketing Fo-rum Hannover and exclusively dedicated to advice in choosing the best promotional items.

A few select distributors will use the enhanced visual showcase of the Service and Idea Park to in-form existing and especially new customers about their services.

On offer is advice and ideas around all that the world of pro-motional articles can make pos-sible, with a focus on providing

comprehensive and independent consultation. The area is particu-larly suited to trade professionals from the advertising and market-ing world. Users from industry and smaller businesses are also part of the target audience.

Some 13,000 visitors attended last years show, then called sim-ply Promotion World, to learn about the impact of advertising.

The new PSI Promotion World format is a conceptual expansion of its predecessor.

It is held parallel to Hannover Messe in even-numbered years, and to CeBIT in odd-numbered years. PSI Promotion World is being jointly staged by Deutsche Messe, the former organiser of Promotion World, and Reed Exhi-bitions Deutschland.

Reed Exhibitions is also the or-ganiser of PSI, the flagship Euro-pean trade fair for the promotion-al products industry.

For more details, go to www.psi- promotion-world.de/home

Show debuting with new title

Toppoint are looking for a ..

SALES REPRESENTATIVEAre you experienced in distributor sales? Have a passion for selling

promotional products? Enjoy meeting clients and building relationships?

Lensen Toppoint, one of the UKs leading suppliers for innovative

promotional products is looking for a regional sales representative to

join the expanding Toppoint team and play an integral part to the

Toppoint success. The successful candidate will be expected to:

Travel nationwide visiting all Toppoint accounts in UK and Ireland

Be enthusiastic, and have a hunger for selling

Work directly with the Toppoint back office and be part of a close team.

Work closely with distributors to grow their sales and manage

their accounts

The package will very much be dependent on projected figures and

targets but will be made up of a competitive basic, attractive commission

and a company car.and a company car.

If this describes you and you are interested in applying for this position,

then please email your CV and cover letter to:

amy.frewer@united-brands.co.uk.

Visit

www.ppda.co.uk Keep up to date with all the latest news Check out the industry events diary Read the latest issue online Look up back issues in the archive

Use the PPD live RSS feed to keep up to date with the industry news and gossip. Select www.ppda.co.uk/feed/rss/ and click Subscribe Now to add auto news updates to your browser.

www.ppda.co.uk

Keep up to date in an instant with PPD.Its your magazine, so use it!

UK-BASED promotional merchandise and licensing company Brandinc is moving into the US market.

It has set up Brandinc US in both Los Angeles and Oakland, California.

Brandinc brings more than 16 years of product development and sourcing experience to the North American promotional in-dustry.

As a result of its continued global expansion, Brandinc has recruited two industry veterans. Tad Webster becomes President and Managing Director of Brand-inc US, while Tonia Ho has been appointed as Vice-President.

Tad has more than 28 years ex-perience of managing many large corporate and non-profit clients in the southern California and Canadian markets.

Tonia is a second-generation industry veteran, managing a va-riety of sustainable branding ini-tiatives and online programs for clients.

Adrian Ferrand, CEO of Brand-inc, said: I have known Tad for the last year and look forward to our US expansion with Tad and Tonia.

Tad will lead our expansion in the US market, while his skill, ex-perience and passion for exceed-ing client satisfaction will help us continue to grow and diversify.

Tonias similar passion to meet the needs of clients and focus on the sustainable and product safe-ty initiatives of the promotional industry enables us to keep our pulse on the US market.

Together, their experience and commitment greatly contribute toward the greater Brandinc cul-ture.

Tad commented: Brandinc offers a comprehensive range of in-house services that provide a complete single-source brand-ing solution on a global basis for our clients, from planning the campaign and designing product through to sourcing, manufactur-ing and punctual worldwide de-livery. Im very excited to extend this level of single-source solu-tions to our domestic and Cana-dian clients.

Tonia added: Brandinc reflects the highest international stand-ards for quality, efficiency, and ethical and environmental per-formance, assuring the sustaina-ble and corporate social responsi-ble initiatives of our clients.

WORLD NEWS

16

Brandinc looks Stateside with a new venture

Bel USA snaps up BrandersBEL USA, the parent company of promotional products sup-plier Bel Promo and distribu-tor DiscountMugs.com, has acquired distributor Branders.com.

Bel USA vice-president Alan Tabasky said: The opportu-nity presented itself. Brand-ers was looking for a partner, and Bel wants to be one of the largest promotional product companies.

Branders.com, which is be-lieved to annually turn over around $130 million, will be-come a division of Bel USA, but each division will remain separate from the others.

Bel USAs CEO Amin Rah-man will take over the role of CEO of Branders.com, with former CEO Jerry McLaughlin stepping down.

The Bel USA group of com-panies is based in Medley, Florida, while Branders.com has bases in Los Altos in Cal-ifornia, the Philippines and China.

Branders was founded in 1999 by four friends in the San Francisco Bay area.

It has grown to become one of the top distributors in the US, trading mainly online.

Branders was one of the worlds first online promo-tional sellers and is now one of the largest, with hundreds of employees spread across four countries and more than 100,000 customers.

Got a great news story? Share it with the industry by emailing us on editor@ppda.co.uk

PPB

THE INFORMA print group is gearing up for Ipex 2014, to be held at ExCel London be-tween March 24 and 29.

Informa says the exhibition will provide the print industry with the tools, knowledge and inspi-ration to turn todays challenges into tomorrows opportunities.

Responding to independent research and extensive industry wide consultations, Informa has maintained the events print-cen-tricity but also developed it some-what to reflect the evolution of the global communications land-scape.

Informa MD Peter Hall told PPD that this years Ipex was poised to help print emphatically stake its place in the communica-tions mix.

Events are evolving, especially in B2B industries that are under-going widespread changes like the print industry.

It is critical for organisers to adapt their events to reflect these changes so that they deliver a wide range of benefits including the all-important ROI for exhib-itors and visitors alike.

We have worked collabora-tively with the international print industry and the markets that serve it to understand what Ipex needs to deliver.

The result is an informative and engaging event that address-es every level and component of a print company through hundreds of international exhibitors show-casing their latest products and technologies, a comprehensive

Confidence is returning to the sector, says BPIF CONFIDENCE is returning in the UK printing sector, accord-ing to the latest BPIF Printing Outlook survey.

When questioned regarding the general state of trade during the final quarter of 2013, more than half of the respondents (55%) believed that the market improved, with just 8% reckon-ing the situation had worsened.

BPIF says sentiment has con-tinued to improve from the re-cent nadir in Q1 2013.

A spokesman for the associa-tion said: While confidence is lower in respect of expectations for the current quarter, the fact that there is a positive balance between ups and downs is no-

table for a period that normally sees a less optimistic forecast.

In terms of trading prospects compared with a year earlier, 38% believe that the first quarter of 2014 will be better, compared with 12% fearful of a weakening.

For the second quarter run-ning, demand for print matched the forecast; this meant that the final quarter of 2013 was a busi-er time for many.

The level of new business in-creased for more than half of survey respondents (52%). This was the highest figure for three years and comfortably out-weighed the 9% who suffered a drop in orders.

World of print in store at Ipex

content programme, compelling features and the allure of London at the ExCeL centre.

Ipex will be the first interna-tional print-centric event that doesnt just look at the technol-ogies to create quality print and the strategies and practices to harness its power, but one that reflects, analyses and provides proven solutions to help printers be a success in the modern mar-keting communications world.

We have laid the groundwork to deliver a multi-faceted event that will support the industry now and in the coming years.

Ipex visitors will discover the latest global technologies and solutions to produce quality print applications.

These technologies cover the entire print production workflow, from concept right through to the finished product, with suppliers from the UK and across the globe.

Ipex has also put an emphasis on the importance of injecting young blood into the industry.

Designed specifically for stu-dents from secondary schools, colleges and universities, a Youth in Print programme will run on the last day.

More at www.ipex.org

REGULARS

18

Real reasons to be stickyWITH the new year well and truly under way, now is the time to make sure that you are still pulling clients to you, instead of pushing out marketing material that does exactly that pushes them away.

To make your company sticky and to get clients to stick with you, you need to get to know the people who are buying your prod-ucts. Try this...

Put yourself in your clients shoes and begin to understand what drives and motivates them, and how you can pull them to-wards you.

What is their role (not just their job title)? Where do they need help? What do they look like? Stressed, in control, content? What are their stresses and pain points? What support are they looking for to succeed in their role?

By building up a profile of your typical client, you begin to under-stand what makes them tick and you can identify their hot spots; those things that make a connec-tion with them and compel them

to want to find out more about your company, and what you can do for them.

Its important to remember that clients worry about working with you. They worry, if they choose to work with you, that they will incur costs that exceed the benefits.

Not just costs in terms of time, effort and money, but also in terms of their reputation within

the organisation. They need to connect to you and your company and feel that they have made the right decision in choosing you, as it benefits them in their role.

Getting them to stick

If you work on understanding your clients, focusing on their needs and pain points and identi-fying what your products and ser-vices really provide (i.e. not just technical benefits), then you will be further ahead than many other businesses.

The key to becoming really sticky is taking some time to think and act on the following:

What are you selling? Not just the functionality of the products, but what value do you actually provide the client with (i.e. peace of mind, or supplying innovative products that make them look good within their organisation)?

Why would a client want to buy from you? What makes you any different from the competi-tion? Although price is important, think about the emotional rea-sons clients buy and some of the hidden reasons that will mean cli-

ents will come back time and time again.

Make sure that you are com-municating the benefits. Make a list of the compelling reasons why a client should want to buy from you, and use them in your all of your marketing.

Ensure that the sales force is identifying needs at an early stage and are not just pushing the product onto the client. The client needs to feel that they have made the choice to work with you, and that they are benefiting from it.

So, take some time to think about your marketing and wheth-er it really does make your clients sticky, and want to come back to you time and time again.

Then, when you start to write your next marketing e-shot or brochure, make sure that it an-swers the following questions:

Why should the client want to read what you have written?

Why should they believe what you have to say?

Why should they do anything about what you are offering?

Why should they act now? What can you do for them?

iain@ppda.co.ukIain Clasper-Cotte

FANS of the iconic M&Ms sweets have had their prayers answered you can now order branded packs of this favourite confectionery from Replay Pro-motions.

Two products are available a 10g flow pack bag and a 20g white or black metal tin, both filled with the colourful chocolate beans.

You can choose from 16 bean

colours, and each bean can be printed with a picture, message or logo if you really want to take things to extremes.

And of course, full colour print to bags and tins is also offered.

Tins go from an MOQ of 300pcs and bags from 5,000pcs, both with a lead time of four weeks.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/replay

SPS HAS launched its first- ever range of UK manufac-tured sports bottles, the H2O Active range.

After identifying a gap in the market, SPS specifically designed three modern and stylish new bottles perfect for the promotion-al industry.

The bottles have been devel-oped to offer customers a bottle that can be perfectly customised to suit their brand. There are three styles to choose from.

The Tempo offers a sleek and slimline design and is available in a choice of jewel-like translucent colours, or solid white.

The Pulse Bottle has an eye-catching, chunky shape and comes in four glossy translucent colours, plus solid white. Finally, the Base has an ergonomic design and is available in four popular translucent colours.

Customers can choose from either a pull-up domed lid or a flip-top to suit their require-ments.

PRODUCTS

19

Newcomer has a lotta bottle!

The lids come in a choice of 11 solid colour options ideal for mixing or matching to suit the customers brand. All offer a gen-erous branding area. More details are available at ppda.co.uk/sps

REGULARS

20

Merging messages can save time and money BUSINESSES like yours have a lot of choices when it comes to marketing tools for engag-ing with their customers and prospects, especially with the growth of online marketing.

For many, email marketing has become a central part of the marketing mix because it is a low cost, efficient and effective way to directly reach the audiences they care about.

Email also allows you to under-stand how your recipients are re-sponding to your efforts. You can track who has opened your email, who has forwarded it and who no longer wants to receive messages from you.

As social media networks like Facebook and Twitter have grown in popularity, and many new so-cial networks continue to pop up, theres a lot of new technology to keep up with, and there are only so many hours in each day.

The number of possibilities can feel overwhelming, especial-ly for smaller businesses who of-ten struggle trying to choose one form of marketing over another because of lack of resources or time constraints.

In reality, however, marketing is not an either/ or proposition; real success comes from an inte-grated approach.

Combining email marketing with social media can be particu-larly effective... and it doesnt have to be difficult or time-consum-

ing to do both. The following are some tips to help your business easily leverage email and social media marketing efforts into an integrated marketing communi-cations strategy...

Dont separate email and social media efforts.

There are two simple ways to bring these marketing vehicles together. First, you can easily add share buttons to your emails so readers can forward your message to various social media forums like Facebook, Twitter and Linke-dIn with a simple click.

Second, as you plan out the content for your next email news-letter, think about how you can re-purpose that content into a Facebook status message or sur-vey, as well as a 140 character

tweet that leads followers back to you.

You can and should re-pur-pose email newsletter content for Twitter and Facebook.

If you archive emails or post newsletter content to your web-site, you can use your subject line or headline as the text for your tweet or Facebook post, with a link to the original piece.

If your newsletter contains multiple articles, break each issue into chunks and share one piece daily (or weekly) through your social media accounts. Almost effortlessly, you will have multi-ple days worth of content to feed your social media channels.

Use social media to generate email content and attract new subscribers. If customers ask you

questions on social media (or you see a question whose answer would benefit your audience), use those questions and your answers as the basis for newsletter articles. Watch for industry-related trends on your social media channels and comment on them in your newsletter.

Also, ask your social media fans and followers for help with ideas for content. When ideas are run-ning short, ask what they want to hear about. If you have too many ideas, ask which of the items youre considering would be most interesting to them.

Amplify your message. Since you want to reach as many people as possible whilst your campaign is still fresh, cover all your bases by sharing your message where the majority of your key audience is hanging out online.

You can automate your mes-sages so they simultaneously appear in Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook without having to go to each forum.

By implementing even just a few of the simple tactics outlined above, youll reap the rewards of having an integrated marketing strategy.

Tamsin Fox-Davies is a small business marketing mentor with Constant Contact. She recently appeared as a guest speaker at the Trade Only National Show 2014.

tamsin@ppda.co.ukTamsin Fox-Davies

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CERAMICS specialist Kera-mikos has kicked off the new year with an expansion of its product lines, including the Premium Porcelain Villeroy & Boch range.

Managing Director Mark Lee told PPD: We are delighted to be working with such a well estab-lished brand as Villeroy & Boch.

Our ambition has always been to offer the very best products and service to our customers.

The knowledge and expertise that both Keramikos and Villeroy & Boch bring in their respected

fields will ensure that we offer the highest quality promotional ta-bleware to the Promotional Prod-ucts Industry.

Keramikos has also unveiled its new and exclusive Pantone Per-fect System (PPS). The system al-lows Keramikos to achieve bright-er and more vibrant colours than ever before.

The PPS system allows logos to be printed in any Pantone shade. The print remains pin sharp, ro-bust and long lasting and can be used on ceramics and glassware.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/keramikos

A premium partnership

REGULARS

22

Pop the question and it might just win that order

paul.rose@ppda.co.ukPaul Rose

WELL, were settling nicely into 2014, and its set to be a year of growth, excitement and positivity all round.

OK fine, nobodys has actually made that official, but surely its better than another year of star-ing at our shoes and wondering which one of our customers is going to win the coveted title of Muppet of the Year.

Now, theres an award I would vote on, wouldnt you? So many of you tell me how much you enjoy what youve lovingly called The Moron Stories that I reckon the bpma could open up a new cat-egory. We all submit our stories throughout the year and then we all get to vote on the best one. Are you listening, Gordon?

Seriously, if I charged for these ideas, I could be a millionaire. Well, maybe not a millionaire, but certainly enough to get myself a new blender.

Let me offer my own potted re-

view of the Trade Only National Show, with as it holds a special place in my heart a particular focus on the triumph that was the gala dinner.

So lets start with Diversity they were great. Granted, its a short review but then, if you

paced yourself whilst reading it, it may have lasted slightly longer than their actual set.

As for the show itself, I found there to be an interesting depar-ture from what I was expecting.

What became instantly obvious to me was that there really was not that much new product to look at. At first, I thought of that as a bad thing, but then I realised what was going on.

Once you remove the focus from new product, the conversa-tions start turning to how we can educate our customers on the true potential of whats already available.

Suppliers started asking about how we up-sell and cross-sell; how we steer conversations to explore what else could be of in-terest to our customers, and all of a sudden, its easy to see how a holistic approach to merchandise really could be the way forward.

In the months to follow, Im going to be taking a closer look at this, focusing on just how we can relate to our customers on a level that could prove beneficial to us all.

But before you start reaching for the magazine equivalent of the remote control, how about I kick the year off with a good old-fash-ioned, mickey taking rant?

Lets be honest if I started get-ting all serious and nice, youd all think that Id stopped taking my meds, and we cant have any of that, can we?

So, have you ever been asked this question? We need some stuff by the end of the month whats the latest date that we can realistically order from you?

And how did that question make you feel? No, put the sta-pler down itll never do as much damage as youd hoped.

Well, much like you, Im sure that it would come as no great surprise that when it gets asked of me, I get just a little annoyed too.

Not that I would let the custom-er know it, because even though I may mouth the words oh, go away! (this version has been ed-ited for children, well-mannered ladies and people who watch the Antiques Roadshow, but not in an ironic way), Im smart enough to know theyll never hear it.

None the less, perhaps we should take a look at whats going on here.

First things first I am a sales-person. I am employed by my company to bring in as much rev-

enue as possible. Granted, there are lots of other things that I am expected to do, and its my fault for making such a good cup of tea, but to stay on point, I am here to sell.

With that knowledge in mind, why, in the name of all that is decent and holy, would I tell you how to defer on the very reason I am here? Do you do this in any other areas of your life? Hello, emergency services if I need an ambulance in about 45 minutes, when would be a good time to call?

Listen, it may well be that you can order in three weeks time, but why would I want to let you? I would like your business now, please.

Dont get me wrong I take a long-term view with every client coming in but if you want to know the latest that you can order, my answer is always going to be along similar lines do it now, what are you waiting for?

Aha! Thats the thing, isnt it? What exactly are they waiting for? Because anyone that asks about delays has a reason that they can-not order right away.

A less experienced sales person will simply tell them the answer to their question and then cross their fingers that the order comes in. However, the smart person need do only one thing, and that is to ask them why theyre asking you that in the first place.

Granted, theres a myriad of reasons that they could be asking (thats a good word, isnt it myr-iad youll be using that later on today, Im sure). Perhaps theyre not the decision-maker, and the person who signs the cheques is on holiday. Perhaps theyre ready to order but their artwork team wont have the graphics for an-other week. Maybe, just maybe, theyre not sure if they want to order 500 or 1,000 so theyre call-ing around all their other depart-ments just to make sure.

Do you see a pattern forming? These are all great reasons, and more importantly, they demon-strate that the question we first thought of as annoying is actually a pretty good buying signal.

So ask them the root of their question, because when youre armed with that knowledge, you could be so much closer to bring-ing in that order than you orig-inally thought. We shouldnt be afraid to answer questions with questions its how a true dia-logue gets started.

T: +44(0)1279 630 700 E: sales@senatorpens.co.uk @SenatorPens www.senatorpens.co.uk/stats

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THE UK TODAY

24

LAST year, WCM&A widely known as The Badge People launched a range of completely British-manufactured, bespoke promotional merchandise.

The range all presented under the banner of Wildcat Merchan-dise was in response to increas-ing requests from distributors for quick turnaround, high quality items. A WCM&A spokesman told PPD: We found that our distrib-utors were looking for something different from the usual import it and stick a decal on it stock items, and wanted bespoke shapes and full colour print across a wide range of options.

So successful was Wildcat Merchandise in its first year that for 2014, WCM&A expanded the range of keyrings and brought in new items like zip pulls, book-marks and a wider choice of fridge magnet styles.

The spokesman added: The response to these items at this years Trade Only National Show was really positive and weve al-ready taken orders.

Every week, we hear of so many end users of all sizes specif-ically asking distributors for Brit-ish-made merchandise.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/wcma

SPS HAS always been proud of its status as a leading UK manufacturer of promotion-al merchandise.

From its origins as a manufac-turer of plastic keyrings, mugs, coasters and mouse mats, the company has continually looked to invest in technology to of-fer innovative and high-quality UK-manufactured promotional gifts.

This commitment to manu-facturing home-grown products has led to the success of SPSs drinkware range, including the best-selling Americano thermal mug, as well as the increasing-ly-popular Stadium and Arena cups.

Never one to stand still, 2014 will see the launch of the compa-nys new H2O Active Sports Bottle range.

SPS have designed three bottles that are perfect for the promo-tional market; each offers great durability, generous branding ar-eas and a huge range of colours.

The bottles can be perfectly customised to suit your custom-ers brands with a choice of a pull-up domed lid or a flip-top lid.

The ultra-glossy bottle colours will give your customers promo-

THE DAYS of Cool Britannia in the 90s may be behind us, but Replay Promotions reckons the spirit of that optimistic decade is making a comeback.

A spokesman for the company said: Britain has seen economic growth, a new royal prince has been born and our businesses are starting to realise once again that buying British is sometimes best!

When it comes to confection-ery, taste is a very important fac-tor, which is where British-made goods can have a distinct advan-tage in the domestic market.

The spokesman added: Brit-ish made sweets, chocolates and mints are of the highest quality, have quick delivery times, low or-der quantity and are a lot cheaper than you probably think.

Replay offers a dedicated Brit-ish-made range of products in-cluding sweets, chocolates, lol-lipops and mints, all available within a lead time of two weeks or even less. The company also of-fers sugar sachets and sticks, and much more.

More at ppda.co.uk/replay

WITH the increasing demand from corporate clients for com-pliance, product regulation and a return to the core values of manu-facturing, it has become more im-portant to have the facilities and controls in a UK based operation, reckons High Profile boss Richard Wood.

Richard told PPD: Investing heavily in our site over the last five years has given us the range of facilities that enable us to control all processes in house from design development, tool manufacture, moulding, print and assembly all the way through to despatch.

The vast majority of products we provide have been created, designed, tooled and assembled within our 20,000 sq ft UK site.

We specialise in custom-made plastic moulded items but also offer a vast range of standard cost-effective products.

As a UK-based company, we can control our own production processes.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/highprofile

Variant of favourite set to hit home run

tions a high quality look and feel, and can be mixed or matched with a choice of solid coloured lids.

Over recent years, SPS has also continued to expand its Brite range of products to include the handy Brite-Dock, the innovative Brite-Pad, plus the practical Brite-Clock wall and desk clocks.

Every item in the Brite boasts strong colour reproduction, large

branding areas and exceptional durability. The newest addition to the range is the Brite-Americano thermal mug.

It offers all the benefits of the original Americano Thermal Mug with the colour reproduction and branding area typical of products in the Brite range. The newcomer will be available from April.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/sps

High priority for total control

Demand is there, says badge giant

Cool factor comeback

THE UK TODAY

25

SCREENWORKS recently sup-plied one of Britains leading re-tailers with British-made clothing garments for their company uni-form.

By sourcing garments from British-manufacturing suppli-ers and decorating with their own award-winning embroidery, Screenworks delivered an entirely British made order to the clients requested locations.

The retailer proposed a trial of the new uniform for their entire work force and tasked Screen-works with providing a selection

of British-made, embroidered garments including aprons, trou-sers, t-shirts, fleeces and formal shirts.

Matt Daines, Sales Director of Screenworks, has personally managed supply chains in the workwear sector for two decades.

Matt told PPD: At Screen-works, we are proud to be a suc-cessful British based company, so when a leading UK retailer re-quested their workwear order to be British-made, we were eager to oblige. More details are available at ppda.co.uk/screenworks

BRITISH promotional product manufacturers are fighting back against their Far Eastern counter-parts and winning the battle, says CHX Products MD Andy Knight.

Andy told PPD: There has been a real and positive trend in manufacturing jobs coming back into the UK market.

There is definitely a new found confidence that British manufac-turers can provide promotion-al products that offer value for money with a quick and seamless turnaround alongside a far supe-rior and better quality product than those being exported from the Far East.

Furthermore, with brands keen to reduce their carbon foot-print, buying British helps signif-icantly reduce the impact on the environment.

Andy added that CHX is proud of the fact that its entire promo-tional product range is designed, developed and made in its factory in Cornwall.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/chx

GLASS-MAKING has deep roots in the North East the industry in Sunderland dates back to the 1690s and records of stained glass pro-duction go back even further to 674AD and the building of Monkwearmouth monastery.

Dunelm Glass has carried on that tradition, operating as a company itself for more than 30 years. The skills and expertise of the team was originally drawn from the factories on the banks of the River Wear, essentially Jobling Glass and Corning Ltd, who had a huge presence in the North East of England.

As manufacturing declined in the UK, Dunelm diversified into the crystal and glass decorating marketplace, whilst still keep-ing the glassmaking skills alive producing borosilicate industri-al glassware and creating glass sculptures for the gift market. The manufacturing side of the busi-

ness is still very much in demand today, from golfing figures to rep-licas of the London Eye.

Chris Wood, Sales Manager at Dunelm, told PPD: Typically, we make the sculpture and mount it on a crystal base. We then deco-rate the base to suit the require-ments, meaning we have creat-ed a completely bespoke option handmade right here in the North East of England.

Thus it makes an item which is new and innovative, but one that also still has the traditional herit-age consumers are always looking for.

At the Trade Only National Show this year, we showcased our heritage and glass-blowing skills to show our customers a side to our business they may not have been aware of.

We dont just decorate off the shelf products but we can make special pieces by request.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/dunelm

SNAP Products are flying the flag with this ice scraper.

Designed in-house and man-ufactured and printed in the UK, the scraper is a truly British prod-uct.

Its perfectly sized to fit inside a wallet and with a tyre tread gauge on the reverse, the scraper is ideal for automotive-based campaigns and giveaways.

The scraper is made from recy-cled materials and is available in five colours. A handy key ring loop also allows it to be attached to a set of car keys.

The 70mm x 36mm print area can be printed in full colour digi-tal print, or with a spot colour.

Snap Products MD James Cleere told PPD: Our credit card

ice scraper is a best seller because it works to promote brands on many levels, including those who wish to position themselves as supporters of British industry and companies who are seeking an environmentally-friendly prod-uct.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/snap

Heritage is a good fit in todays world

Its a truly British order!

Fightback has started, says Andy

THE ROOTS of Abbeygates mod-ern, thriving business hark back to an ancient tradition.

Time was when Walsall was the capital of a thriving British leath-er industry. Its workers mainly made equestrian items at a time when the horse played a vital role in agriculture and industry.

At the turn of the 20th centu-ry, Walsall was home to nearly a third of Britains saddlers and har-ness makers, yet from 1900 these trades began a long decline due to the internal combustion engine in its many forms. The great age of the horse had ended.

Walsall firms had to adapt to this changing world or disap-pear. The towns surviving leather goods firms, including Abbeygate, have increasingly concentrated on the luxury end of the market.

The Abbeygate business was formed in 1990 as Nevada Leath-ergoods. The company was start-ed by Tony Wadley, who began in the leather goods industry in the early 1960s, first with John Hatherall Stevenson, who made leather purses, and then start-ing Nevada Leathergoods with his son Neil, who came into the leather goods trade straight from school at 16.

Nevada Leathergoods had supplied Abbeygate Diaries with leather diary wallets from the start and soon became their main trade distributor.

In 2006, Abbeygate Diaries, Kenex and K-Line were brought into the business when John Jordan, the current managing director, acquired the majority shareholding on Tony Wadleys retirement.

The company has grown and prospered by adapting to the changing marketplace and today offers an extensive range of dia-ries, notebooks, journals, folios and small leather goods all un-der the name Abbeygate.

To complement the leather products, Abbeygate has invested in its own digital print machines. More at ppda.co.uk/abbeygate

WITH a special place in customers hearts, calendars bring pleasure at first sight and are loved all year-round.

A quick, visual reminder of key dates makes planning and keeping the next date easy.

A spokesman for calendar giant Brunel Trade Services (BTS) said: Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder but these striking products brighten up any workplace, day after day.

For advertisers, their seasonal gift appeal has the added benefit of delivering year-round ad-vertising opportunities and visibility, making advertising calendars a great value promotion-al gift.

BTS has an unbranded end user site display-ing the diverse range of styles, themes and for-mats available.

The slogan love paper, love print once again featured prominently on the BTS stand at this years Trade Only National Show.

Visitors to the stand showed particular inter-est in Nero, a new pocket and desk diary range.

The range boasts bright, attractive colours and black foil blocking for a sophisticated two-tone look.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/bts

THE CASTELLI brand of di-aries and notebooks is con-sistently synonymous with high-quality Italian design, and the company reckons that its new collection is no exception.

This year looks set to be an ex-citing one for the company, with new elements and expansions in the Ivory Collection, plus further innovations in the popular Lany-book designs.

Castelli reckons distributors will be delighted with its new range.

A spokesman for the company told PPD: These sophisticated and luxurious products become an ideal platform for communi-cating your message, and pro-moting your customers brand in the most effective way possible.

Among the newcomers for 2014 is the Texas design, featuring a stylish textured grain material with a contemporary twist on a classic two-tone diary design.

The date style incorporates a quirky, metallic label that accom-panies the high quality stitching and complements the back cover material as it continues around the spine. The Texas is availa-ble in the faithful pocket, A5 and quarto sizes in sophisticated combinations of red and blue or red and grey.

The acclaimed Colombia de-sign, with its smooth and under-stated look, has also been trans-formed.

Castelli will now hold a selec-tion of black and blue diaries

MAKE IT A DATE

26

Work in progress at the Abbeygate factory in the 1950s

Traditional roots going back years

A product loved all year round

Quality and choice

across pocket, A5 and quarto formats that give customers the option to include a standard year date or opt to insert their own style of year date foil blocked, from a selection of top branding colours to match their brand.

Meanwhile, in the Ivory Diary Collection, this year sees the ex-pansion of the range to include some beautiful new colours and some new user-friendly layouts.

Meanwhile, five new colours have been added to the wide spectrum of colours the Tucson and Matra ranges already offer.

Available from stock for as little as 100 pieces, Tucson and Matra Lanybooks are now accessible in medium-sized, week-to-view di-ary formats with in-house brand-ing benefits. Customers will be able to apply their brand not just to the cover, but on the band and

the button as well, if they desire. Castelli showcased its extensive array of branding expertise and techniques available at this years Trade Only National Show.

In addition to traditional gold, silver or blind embossing finish-es, Castelli now offer many other branding techniques.

Customers can choose from a variety of stock colour foils, or even combine two colours for a really striking design.

Not only can you add vibrant colours to advertise your brand, but now, using the latest digital technology, your brand can be sealed in a crystal clear polyure-thane, producing a high quality and innovative domed 3D design, such as the one pictured above.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/castelli

GETTING AWAY

28

IF ITS a bag you need, BTC activewear can help you trav-el in style with what it claims is the biggest bag range in the industry.

With a large range of travel ac-cessories, 2014 sees many new additions from firm favourites Bagbase, Quadra, Westford Mill, Nike and Shugon, from the UKs leading multi-brand clothing dis-tributor.

New for 2014 is the SH6306 Shugon Boston Hard Shell Air-porter Trolley, made from a du-rable ABS hard shell exterior and polyester lining.

This item features a large inter-nal compartment, zipped internal pocket and a push button trolley handle system, and is ideal for use as cabin luggage.

A great feature of this trolley is its four wheels which have 360-degree rotational capability. There is also a detached metal plate on the front, which enables logo decoration by engraving.

Bagbase has introduced a range

AFTER a wet and gloomy winter, were all undoubtedly ready to start thinking of warmer times ahead.

Adproducts.com stock many products to help make those jour-neys a far more enjoyable experi-ence.

Included in the range are some real must-haves, whether you are traveling near or far, for work or pleasure, and some great gift ide-as too.

The extensive Apdroducts range features many handy items, including toothbrushes, sew-ing kits, water bottles and mugs, first aid kits, travel plugs and ear-phones.

All these items are available in an impressive five working days turnaround. Prices also include a one-colour print in one position.

More details are available at ppda.co.uk/adproducts

Warmer days are coming!

Bags of ideas for those journeys near or far

of stylish travel bags including the BG430 Softside Double Decker Long Haul Bag.

Featuring a convenient dual compartment design for easy packing, retractable twin tube locking tow handle and com-pressions zips, this bag is ideal for longer journeys with plenty of space, and with a locking main zip also ensures that your belongings

are secure. For the hi-tech travel-lers out there, the QD264 Quadra Executive iPad Case has multiple pockets, an easy access front flap for decoration and an adjustable shoulder strap.

The SH4090 Majorca Leisure Seasonal Waterproof Handbag from Shugon is ideal for use on holidays and has a large main compartment, an inside pocket, two carrying handles and is made from semi transparent PVC.

Alongside its extensive bag range, BTC activewear also has a large range of jackets, fleece, soft-shell, headwear and accessories.

A new addition for 2014 is Beechfields range of retail-ready headgear. The range includes the B630 Beechfield Fedora which is ideal for everyone thanks to its unisex styling.

If youre trav