It Just Works – Promotional Products Work Week

You may think "Swag" or "Stuff" or "Tchotchke" instead of "Promotional Products," but all those terms reflect the same advertising industry which we are so proudly a member.

We often think of ourselves as the "silent" advertising profession. Everyone hears about radio, tv, print and newspaper advertising, but it's not often that "Promotional Product Advertising" gets mentioned as part of the advertising industry. Even in marketing and advertising classrooms, it remains an almost forgotten branch of the advertising world.

However, our industry is a $20+ billion one with more than 33,000 businesses – 97 percent of which are small businesses – and includes almost 500,000 professionals. In dollars spent, it's a very vibrant and growing industry, outpacing radio and magazine advertising.

The week of May 18, 2015, has been designated "Promotional Products Work Week" by our industry non-profit organization, Promotional Product Association International (PPAI).

As members of PPAI, we all work to create awareness for the value promotional products deliver to advertisers and marketers; as well as the positive impact promotional products businesses have on the U.S. economy, job creation and community enrichment.

Consumers love promotional products! PPAI research clearly demonstrates the power of the advertising medium as the most cost-effective way to reach a targeted audience in a tangible, long-lasting and memorable manner.


The info graphic below outlines some relevant statistics about the power of promotional products as an advertising medium. With 88% of recipients able to recall the advertiser, the influence of promotional products is convincing. 

The Creative J is happy to be part of such a great industry as well as a member of PPAI. We are lucky to be in an industry that has such a strong trade organization and advocate for our business success. We also thank all our customers who have been such an important part of our success.

Taking the L.E.A.D. - The Creative J Goes to Washington

Rachel Valdez
Certified Advertising Specialist
The Creative J

Next week, May 20-21, 2015, Rachel Valdez of The Creative J will join the Promotional Products Association International in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress and federal agencies for the sixth annual PPAI L.E.A.D. (Legislative Education  and Action Day). Rachel was selected as one of only three members from the Midwest region to represent the industry!

The PPAI L.E.A.D. is a gathering of PPAI leadership, members and industry professionals from around the country who come together in Washington, D.C. (in-person and virtually) to educate Congress on industry-critical issues as well as the power, impact and job-generating value of promotional products. PPAI is the world’s largest and oldest not-for-profit association serving more than 11,000 corporate members of the $19.8 billion promotional products industry which is comprised of more than 33,741 businesses and a workforce of nearly 500,000 professionals.

During PPAI L.E.A.D., nearly 78 advocates from 30 states will conduct more than 250 meetings with senators, congressional representatives and their legislative staffs on Capitol Hill.

One issue this delegation will be addressing is the proposal by congress to treat advertising expenses as only 50% deductible during the year they are spent, with the remaining 50% spread out over five or ten years. Not being able to claim items such as print and media advertising, business cards, website development, promotional products and other marketing and advertising items will greatly affect how businesses operate. In addition, it would make a major impact on all areas of the advertising community. 

For more on how promotional products and advertising are a vital part of the economy, and how current and proposed legislation can impact not only this specific industry, but the businesses which rely on it as a vehicle for their own success, you can download and read the PPAI Legislative Agenda for 2015.

Five Years and Counting

If you know me, you know I'm not a person that really pays much attention to "important" dates. I don't get all excited over birthdays and holidays, milestones, or count downs. My life is pretty much lived on a day-to-day basis. Which is probably mostly due to the fact that with all the information my brain has to hold – work, home, kids, husband, school, activities, etc. – it just can't handle trying to track future happenings.

Even so, I did just realize (really, just now), that The Creative J has reached its 5th year of business this week. In October 2004, Jen and I officially opened our doors and started a new phase in our lives, chosing The Creative J as our name to reflect our own names. There's been a few bumps over the years, but for the majority of the time, it's been pretty smooth sailing – which is really awesome considering a lot of new businesses fail within the first few years. I'm proud to say that The Creative J is going strong and getting better each year. We started out just the two of us in Jen's basement, and now we've got 2 sales reps, a marketing & sales assistant and a real office to hold us all.

From the beginning, we've always made our focus our customers, and I think that has shown in everything we do. It's always been our mission to make sure our customers are kept updated and in the loop on every order. We do our best to help make the process as smooth as possible. There are times it might get a little thorny, but sometimes those pesky details just make it have to be that way. For most orders though, it's a pretty simple process which ensures you end up receiving exactly what you were hoping to get.

The Creative J has worked so well because all of us who work here recognize in each other our strengths and our weaknesses, and we try to run the business based on those traits. Jen is an incredible sales rep who can come up with the perfect creative brand-building items a business needs to promote themselves. Ask her to give you a detailed breakdown of every line item of an order and how your artwork will need to be formated, she'll turn the task over to me to make sure no detail is missed. That's where I excel - making sure everything is accounted for and all the details are studied. Ask me to go out and make sales calls, and you might as well ask me to fly to the moon – it just ain't goin' to happen! I love helping our customers and enjoy talking to you all on the phone, but you're not going to find me seeking out new people to meet. I'm just more comfortable here in the office, making the business hum.

And through the past year as we've added new people – Jeff & Val in sales, Angela in marketing and assisting me – we've been able to capitalize on their strengths, which has made The Creative J stronger. They all have unique abilities they add to our business to make it a place we all enjoy working. We hope that enjoyment shows through to all of you. We're really glad to have such great people working for us. It's hard to imagine now how we did it without them.

And that's what The Creative J is – it's no longer just Jen and Jill – it's a unique bundle of personalities and abilities that all work together to make each customer feel they are getting the best possible experience when making their promotional buying decisions. And we hope that along the way, during that experience, we're injecting a little fun, a little lightheartedness, to make your day just a little better. If we've done that, then we've done our job.

Thanks to all of you who have made The Creative J what it is today. You are the reason we have been able to thrive. And we thank you for it!