When the smallest thing says alot.

Lightupyour imagination

Being thenumber1worldwide in brandedpocket lighters,means always being open to ourcustomers’ needs. Becauseweknowthatdespitetheir small size,our lighters arepowerful in termsofbrand communication.Yes, everything is possiblewithour printtechniques, and your brand message will stand outand become part of people’s lives. As everybody has aBIC®athome,everybodywill have your brand at home.That’sgivinglight to yourbrand’s life,inaniconic, safe and high-qualityway.

Ready?

Theindustryhad anotherimportant face to face gathering inJunewhenit assembled forthe first

BPMA Sustainability Conference

As thelastissue, which focusedon sustainability, demonstrated, oursector hasmuchtobeproud of when it comes to adopting change, embracing innovation, andthinking creatively about howtodealwiththe biggestchallenge that theworld is facing.

TheBPMASustainability Conference wasanopportunity to gettogether, shareideas andlearn from each other, as well as some amazingexperts in thefield. It’s fair to satthatalot of interestingconversations started that day, which we look forward to hearingabout andreporting on developmentsin Product Media.

As an industry,the StepForward Pledge,whichwas outlined at theevent, represents an achievable waythatwecan allmoveforward on ourjourneystobe better businesses andleave alegacythat showsusatour best

Read thereportofthe eventinsideon page 10 anddon’t worryifyou missed this one. Thereisanother in theplanning which will be even bigger, better and moreinformative

Elsewhereinthisissue,catch up on thelatest developments in theworld of stationery andpens. It is actually really interestingtosee howthisproduct segmenthas gone on itsown journey to deliverproductsthatare moreinline with theneeds of clients.Asone of the biggest areasofpromotional spend, this is important, anddemonstrateshow changing ourproductsdoesn’t have to be at thecostoftheir desirability or commercial success.

With so much positive stuff happening in oursector, it wasalsogreat to be able to sharesomeofitwithinternational guests from otherglobal trade associations(seepage33).Thisisa global business so maintaining links with colleaguesfromaroundthe worldis always valuable.Long maythatcontinue.

CareyTrevill

BPMA

CEO

Wild Thang reveals its new base and approach

Liverpool-based Wild Thang welcomed customerstoits new £2mdevelopmentduring its recent 2023 Expo

Morethan200 customers from over80different companies attended theevent from acrossthe UK andIreland.

The company’snew HQ and manufacturinghub wasconceived in 2019 butfaceddelaysand challenges duetothe pandemic, so theExpo wasevenmorespecial.

Customers were treatedto breakfast andlunch in thecool kitchenrestareabeforeembarking on atour of thebuilding andits production facilities.

Visitors sawWild Thang’s branding capabilities in action, including screen printing andembroiderymachines,laser engravers, and digital printers

Fourteen tradesuppliertablesdisplayed thelatestinnovative branded clothing andmerchandise

Managing director Andrew Dwerryhouse andcommercial sales director Sarah Howarthgavea detailed andeducational presentation updating guests on developments at thebusiness andlatesttrends in merchandise, including research on themostsearched forproducts,whichindicatedthe growing demand forsustainable products.

Goodiebags forvisitors contained manyofthese sustainableitems, providing an insight intoall the certifications Wild Thang hasput in place overthe last two decades

“It wasgreat to be able to showcase some of theamazingglobalbrandswe areworking with and then highlight 12 reasons whytotrust Wild Thang,” said Dwerryhouse. “This givesanin-depth understanding of what makes us world-class.”

Wild Thangalso shared itsnew in-depthsustainabilitypledge,including acommitment to becomeNet Zeroby 2030, which waslaunchedatthe Good Small Business Awards.

Upcoming plansinclude anew website in thecoming monthsaswell as anew warehouse overthe nextyear to help sustaingrowthplans in thecomingyear.

Mantis World provides businessfeedback forBoE

Mantis WorldCEO Prama Bhardwaj waspart of a group of 12 leaders of fast-growingcompanies invited to provideinsight on thecurrent business environment to theBank of England.

Co-hosted by London &Partners and theBoE, discussions explored howbusiness conditions areaffecting companies to help direct future monetaryand financial policy.

Feedbackisfed through to theMonetary PolicyCommittee (MPC)toset interest rates withbusinesses consulted forreal time input to avoid policyovershoot.

BoE interest ratesrose to 5% in June and

Merchandiseis back at Cannes

Everyyear,the Advertising Association takesatrade delegation off to the Cannes Lions festivalinthe southof France. After discovering last year they wanted to ensuretheir presence wasappropriately branded, the BPMA stepped in withthe help of suppliers to provide arange of brilliant merchandise to support the trade mission.

This year wasnoexception anddeciding to sticktoitems that would represent theBrits in Cannes, theAdvertising Association (AA) approached theBPMAagain for support. Working withmembers BioLaboratories, The Umbrella Company, WCM+A, Mantis World and midocean, theAAwas spotted on theCroisettesporting branded recycled umbrellas from The Umbrella Company, andkeeping coolwith50ml face spritzes from Bio Laboratories and bamboo fans from midocean. Delegates from theAA trade mission were all wearing their Cannes badges, courtesy of WCM+A.

An important representation at this globaladvertising event, branded merchandise is ahot topic amongst delegates to see what major brand owners arehanding out –TikTokhats and Google sunscreen arehighly sought after manyMPC advisors believe further rises areneeded.

Part of advertising’s commitment to theclimatecrisis is theAdNet Zero initiative,with5actions to help tackle emissions through marketing production –whichincludes the event industry.

Most other industries represented were in tech withmanystartups yettogenerate revenue. Almost all are experiencing acontraction in demand, reduction in costs, and easing of labour marketwith manymaking cuts, and implementing price cuts.

“Our input on helping to control inflation included aproper free trade deal withthe EU (12% dutycurrently on clothing), decoupling theprice of renewable energy from theprice of gas, incentivesfor business to ‘domoregood’,and providing affordable housing,” said Bhardwaj.

Decked out in T-shirts from Mantis World, theAdNet Zeroteam hosted a special event space to talk about the5 actions thewhole marketing community and its supply chain cantakeonthe road to net zero

Stormtech brings eco credentials to B2B market

The Outdoors Companyhas added Canadian performance apparel brand, Stormtechtoits portfolio of brands available to theB2B marketinthe UK andEurope.

Awide range of styles including insulated, softshell and recycled fleece jackets, vests and gilets, rucksacks and duffel bags, areall available forcustomisation.

Paul Morley-Smith, companydirector at The Outdoors Companysaid: “Theyare a brand withgreat heritage in thecorporate promotional marketand through our UK

AD recruits ahead of ambitious growth plans

Manchester-based distributor AD Branded Solutions has recruited Matt Norton as an account manager

The company is undertaking a recruitment drive in response to increased levels of customer enquiries and is currently looking forapurchasing/ operations role to help furtherits sustainabilityand ESG plans, with theaim of becoming aNet Zero companyby2035.

“Weare delighted to welcome Matt intothe AD fold at avery exciting time as we push on withour ambitious growth plans for2023and beyond,” said Amo Singh, managing director.“Withover25years in the promotional products industry, Matt brings awealthofknowledge and experience to theADteam at atime when we aredriving forwardour sustainabilityinitiatives”

Norton added: “The cultureatADis great. The collaborative environment withteam members, customers and suppliers makes theroleespecially rewarding.” and Dutchwarehouses we areexcited to be able to lookafter bothour UK and EU clients withthe brand. With their very strong eco credentials and manyrecycled products to offer,they arenot only agreat fit forusand our commitment to supplying sustainable products, but also our customers.”

The Outdoors Companyhavesimilar partnerships withColumbia, Finisterre Patagonia, Rab,The NorthFace and other premium outdoor brands.

Return of ProAdexpo wraps up 40th anniversary

Promotional marketingcompanyPro Ad timed thereturn of its merchandising expotocoincide withthe endofits 40th anniversarycelebrations.

The event wasattended by marketing experts from theNorthEast who were able to meetwith30exhibitors showcasing hundredsofproducts. There were 450productenquiriesonthe day, and20direct orders placedwithina week of theshow.

Visitors were also abletolistento speakers,MelissaChevin,managing director of GlobefishConsulting,and AntoniaBrindle of GetBrindled, a marketing agency specialisinginbrand, PR,social media andcrisismanagement.

CarloNardini, founderofPro Ad welcomedthe return of theevent,which hadtotakeabreak duringthe pandemic.

“The PromotionalMerchandise Expo turned outtobeafabulous dayfor our visitors whobuy anduse promotional products or corporateclothing,” he said.

ProAdhosted more than 40 new and existing suppliers to adinner thenight before theevent

Visitors received agoodie-bag full of innovativeideas, from wellbeing kits and socks,toLegodisplay vans, allbranded withthe ProAdlogo

LorenNardini, commercialdirector saidsuppliers had demonstrated lots of brandingtechniques to help marketers explorethe differentwaysofpersonalising brands.

He added:“Ourteamalso focused on thebenefits ofBritishand sustainable products. Ourspeakersfocusedon sustainablepromotionsand promoting andprotecting abrand during its activation andthe feedback to both has been immense. This eventwas atrue landmarkfor ourcompany and we really wrapped up our40thyear in business celebrationsinstyle.”

Kingly shows the benefits of no waste approach

Promotional textiles supplier Kingly was shortlisted foraGreen Companyofthe Year award, celebrating theachievements, values and contributions of businesses across the

UK,Europe, theMiddle East and Africa. The business wasshortlisted at the BizX awards forits efforts to minimise thenegativeimpactofthe textile and

Newrole forFloyd at midocean

Jardaine Floyd has joined European wholesaler midocean as account manager forUKand Ireland, bringing previous sales experience and industry knowledge from Senator Pens. midocean’s regional director Haydn Willetts said: “Wesee theaddition of Jardaine to our UK team as akey part of our plan forour continued sales growth forthe UK and Irish market. Her knowledge, reputation and experience will enable us to contact and visit many morecustomers helping to raise our profile, improve visibilityfor our ever growingrange of products and services.”

Willetts praised Floyd’s strong fit with midocean in termsofbackground and personality.

“She has joined us at akey stage in thedevelopment of thecompany. The recently launched new print facility in Poland in 2022 along withthe new ownership givesusconsiderable operational and financial stability. This allows us to continue to offer one of thestrongest product collections in the industryfrombothour European stock holding and FarEast made to order apparel industry.

Kingly has also recently teamed up with hygiene technology companyPolygieneto supply aMunich-based sports club witha branded, moresustainable towel service and witha second to none print service in Europe.”

The towels featureaPolygiene product that helpskeep them fresh and cuts down on theamountofwashing they require, reducing theamountofwater energy,and time consumed cleaning textiles, whichbenefits bothcustomers and theenvironment.

In afurther communityoutreach initiative,Kingly celebrated International Children’s Daywithaspecial event at a kindergarten in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Children were taught about Kingly’s upcycling philosophy through themedium of sockpuppets whichtheymade and decorated from material supplied from Kingly’s production process, demonstrating that nothing goes to waste.

Floyd said said the companyhad alot to shout about to its UK and Irish customers.

“The print facilityin Poland is extremely impressive and the stockholding and range is vast. Iamlooking forwardtoworking withcustomers oldand new in my new role at midocean.” stock holding and range is