President's Letter

What's Your Plan?
by Mike Valentini
At a recent industry seminar the audience, comprised primarily of distributors, was asked the question, “How many of you do self-promotions?”  Almost every hand shot up.  Next question (while the hands were still in the air), “How many of you have an established budget for marketing and promotion?”  Almost every hand went down.  Amazing.  The lifeblood of our very existence is the budgets that most of our client base establish to purchase our products, yet the very practitioners of our profession are remiss in not ‘practicing’ their own art.  Imagine a professional athlete electing not to practice?  Just show up on game day without making an effort to fine tune their skills.  Imagine that outcome (Allen Iverson notwithstanding).
At the recent PPAI show in Vegas I heard many people, distributors and suppliers alike, comment that they were glad to see 2009 mercifully end and were certainly hopeful that 2010 would be better.  Reference any book on the subject of Marketing and I doubt very much that you’ll see “Hope” as the recommended cornerstone of any marketing plan.  I’m sure marketing executives throughout corporate America are sending out interoffice memos, “Every employee will pray that someone buys something from us today”.  While I’ve spoken to many people who seemed to have adopted hope and prayer as the linchpins to a good 2010, I’ve also seen a few very savvy folks take an aggressive, take no prisoners, get out of my way,  ‘we’re getting more than our share’ approach to attracting business.
 Contests for their sales force – sometimes having a little competition is just the thing to light a fire under some salespeople.
 Incentives for referrals – I know many companies that have such a program as part of their ongoing marketing plan..  The best place to find new customers can be through your existing ones – that is a field that should be mined!
Direct Mail - I spoke with one distributor that is taking her four favorite products of 2010 and doing a quarterly self promo direct mail program to her client base.  Self promotion, folks, it really does work.  There are so many creative and effective applications of promotional products and so few of us are capitalizing.  Practice what you preach!  Self-promote!

SACDV SuperMarket
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The best part of a recession:  AMAZING DEALS!  And now your association is ripe with them.  Check out the huge savings available at The SACDV SuperMarket. Simply log in and then click on the View Current Promotional Coupons link.

PROMOTIONS EAST
The Industry's Premier East Coast Event!
You Can't Afford To Miss This Show!  Watch your mail and email for details of the show and various events.
Dates:  June 6 - 9, 2010 at Atlantic City Convention Center.
Education Day:  June 8
Exhibits Open:  June 8 (9:30AM - 5:00PM) and June 9 (9:30AM - 4:00PM)
Go to www.promotionseast.org to register for show, review schedule and secure hotel reservations.

Wine Tasting at the Renault Winery
As the annual SAAGNY Golf Outing takes place on the course just outside, enjoy the award winning wine and champagne of the Renault Winery while you network with peers and clients.

When: Monday, June 7, 2010, 4:00 PM
Where:Renault Winery Resort & Golf, Egg Harbor City, NJ
Cost: $18.00 per person

Tropical Fantasy Reception at the Rainforest Cafe
Sponsored by SAGE
The Rainforest Cafe is an adventure itself - the most realistic indoor rain forest ever created! Enjoy the lush surroundings, cascading waterfalls and fantastic refreshments with your colleagues and friends. This event sells out every year, so be sure to sign up when you register for the show!

When: Monday, June 7, 2010, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Where: Rainforest Café – On the Boardwalk at Trump Plaza
Cost: $20.00 in advance, members of co-sponsoring associations / $35.00 on-site and advance, non-members of co-sponsoring associations (Subject to Availability).
*Cost includes dinner and two drink tickets.

Peer2Peer Roundtable Luncheon
We're bringing back a favorite program from past years. This luncheon is an opportunity to network with colleagues and learn from the experience of others. Just take a seat at any of the 8-9 tables and enjoy a delicious lunch while getting the latest on best practices and exchanging ideas with your luncheon companions. Bring your thoughts - those burning questions you're unable to answer - and some of your really smart solutions! Come early, pick your table and be prepared to share ideas and take plenty of notes.

When: Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Where: Atlantic City Convention Center, Room TBD
Cost: $30.00 members/ $50.00 non-members (advanced registration required).

The Pool After Dark at Harrah's!
New Promotions East Networking Event
Everyone knows that networking is more important than ever. This new event, The Pool After Dark at Harrah's, Tuesday, June 8, 2010 7:00 - 10:00 PM offers that opportunity in a fun filled atmosphere.  Harrah's Pool is a tropical oasis under a glass dome - tropical gardens, flowers and palm trees surrounding the pool and soothing tropical air at 82 degrees. Only $20 per person in advance for SACDV and other regional association members and $35 on site for non members. The price includes a selection of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, two drinks - the #1 Calypso Band AND the super Wii contests.  What a deal!  Food, Fun, Drinks and Friends all for just $20.  Save your money from the slot machines and invest it here!   

Promotions East 5K Run
When: Wednesday June 9, 2010 6:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Where: On the Atlantic City Boardwalk at Bally’s
Cost: Free
Celebrate dawn on the most famous Boardwalk with the annual 5K Run. There’s no cost for you to come out and join your fellow runners in this exhilarating event. They are promising a beautiful, sunny morning so get ready you’re your last day in Atlantic City by participating in this fun event.

PPAI’s Successful Lobbying Is Evident In New Healthcare Law; Recap of Capitol Hill Visits
PPAI and member efforts—more than 8,500 letters and countless calls, visits and other points of outreach during the past year—were ultimately successful in softening the impact on the promotional products industry in the final version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday.
The new law, which includes elements of what was originally known as the “Physician Payments Sunshine Act,” requires the manufacturers of the covered drugs and products to report items given to covered recipients beginning in 2012.
The good news for promotional products professionals is that a de minimis of $10 is included and only items given to physicians and teaching hospitals must be reported.  
PPAI members and staff carried their success forward yesterday as they met with senators, congressional representatives and their legislative staffs on Capitol Hill. Thirty-five PPAI members and staff conducted 67 meetings with House and Senate offices as part of the first PPAI Legislative Education & Action Day (LEAD). Issues discussed included the outcome of the PPACA plus other bills of interest to the industry including S. 803, the Healthy Workforce Act of 2009, which could affect incentive sales, and H.R. 3408 (S. 2882), which would limit the use of independent contractors.
“We had some great meetings in Washington, D.C., to talk about wellness programs, safety incentive programs, independent contractor issues and we talked about the value of promotional products as effective advertising,” says Steve Slagle, CAE, PPAI president and CEO, “but more importantly that promotional products are not gifts that unduly influence behavior, as in pharmaceutical companies giving products to doctors. We made our points and had a very good reception.”

Feed us some news to share with others!
Since our newsletter is a bi-monthly publication, perhaps you have noticed our new SACDV Briefings that is sent out every 2 weeks.  This is our way of reaching out to you, more often, in a compact and succinct format.  But we need your help!  Please share with us, via Janet McMaster, SACDV Secretary (jmcmaster@geiger.com) any news you have to share about your company or your family.  Think of this as a grass roots campaign to bring us back together, getting to know one another again, in this age of online technology.  Maybe you received an award or some type of business recognition - tell us about it.  Perhaps you had a child graduate from college - let's celebrate it!  This is YOUR organization and YOUR publication.    

SAVE THE DATE

Sun June 6th - Wed June 9th
Promotions East
Atlantic City Convention Center
Atlantic City, NJ

Tuesday June 8th
The Pool After Dark at Harrah's
The Pool at Harrah's Casino
Atlantic City, NJ

Member Congratulations
Mike Valentini, SACDV President MVP Promos, and Micheal Fields of KC Fields & Associates for winning TRASA’s Multiline Rep of the Year Award.

Frank Rauch (Distributor/Apex Advertising Inc) and his wife Janise became grandparents on March 18th with the birth of their grandson. Frank Rauch, V. This is the first child for parents Natalie and Frank Rauch, IV, who live in North Carolina.

Congratulations to Trish Missimer (Nice Lines) on the birth of her second granddaughter, Savannah Elizabeth, who was born on March 13th.

Kudos Korner
Our SACDV President, Mike Valentini of MVP Promotions, was honored this week at the TRASA mixer, held before their Spring Show this week.  Mike received TRASA's Multi-Line Rep of the Year Award.  Congratulations, Mike.  Well deserved! 

Thank you to the following SACDV Members for being diligent in your efforts of representing the Promotional Products Industry in Washington:

• Michelle Jennrich, Howard Miller
• Mike Schenker, Custom InterSource, LLC
• Dale Denham, ASI
• Goerge Jackson, TRASA President and George Jackson Promotions
• Art and Barbara Bustard, Cedars Advertising

Last Riddle Answer: It is a Hole. Last Issues Riddle Winners Mary Ellen Nichols - Bodek and RhodesJoe O'Fria Jr - Pennsylvania Promotions

This Issues Riddle: How can you physically stand behind your friend as he physically stands behind you?