FYVAR begun a new phase of development with a new president, a new governing body, a new Selection catalogue and having completed the first analysis of the sector in the Iberian Peninsula. And all of this without failing to celebrate the now classic Road Shows in various cities in Spain and Portugal, the training courses and seminars as well as multiple activities during last Expo Reclam and also without failing to offer to it’s members discounts and other advantages such as Crédito y Caucion (insurances), Transportes Ochoa (distribution) or PSI Assistance (Duesseldorf). The last edition of the Expo Reclam Exhibition was a meeting point for all of our associates. Following months of great activity, three important changes were about to be announced in FYVAR. The first was made public during the General Assembly held at the Hotel Tryp in Madrid. The outgoing president, Rafael García, concluded his mandate at the head of the association after four years and welcomed his successor Manel Sanchez (Director of Delta Import Diffusion for the Iberian Peninsula).

The Incentive Club - more than 240,000 partners worldwide - said 2013 was a very bad year for motivation activities, promotional campaign and incentive tours & premium travel. The research involved a global audience of more than 5,000 partners in 55 countries. Compared to previous years, 80% had a drastic reduction for all marketing and promotional activities including incentive trips, premium travels and promotional campaigns. Cost pressures, fewer delegates and smaller budgets changed the criteria of booking a venue or launching a promotional campaign. Looking forward to 2014 the most important factor influencing decision-makers is uncertainty about the global economic outlook, but 51 % of partners feel confident about the sector’s prospects and 26% expect to hold a better number of activities this year if venues and suppliers will be flexible enough and they will work more closely with agencies and meeting & incentive planners. ++++++++ www.theincentiveclub.com ++++++++

Promotional Products Association International (PPAI - www.ppai.org), the not-for-profit association for member companies of the $16.5 billion promotional products industry, announced at The PPAI Expo that the Association’s membership has reached a 10,000-member milestone. PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone spoke at the Expo general session where he shared the milestone news with members and show attendees. " The success of the industry depends upon the success of our members and we will continue to offer the industry’s best value in membership, superior benefits and the highest level of marketeducation and resources in order to remain the preferred service-provider and industry authority to members on a global basis" explained Bo b McLean, PPAI executive vice president. David Peterson, president of Polar Bear Marketing based in Riverside, California, was recognized as the 10,000 th PPAI member.

All associations and nonprofits are encouraged to tap into The Power of A campaign materials to help broadcast how your group builds a stronger nation and world. Just as you provide a community, network or home for your members, The Power of A is the identity for the more than 1.9 million associations and nonprofits in America, as well as those around the globe. Through The Power of A, ASAE provides several easy ways to be part of the industry’s Power of A campaign and help let legislators, members, partners and the public at large know how you are part of an industry that is essential to society, the economy and more. In addition to the ideas below, you are encouraged to find new ways to spread the word that best meet your organization’s needs. The Power of A is how we help enrich lives through setting industry standards of quality, ethics and safety. How we train our nation’s workforce; teaching skills, growing jobs. How we drive safety and sustainability standards, keeping the engine of Industry running smooth and safe. And how we draw on the wisdom and perspective of the collective so we can predict trends and seed progress. +++++ http://www.thepowerofa.org +++++

Eppa (European Promotional Products Association) was established in 1999 as an umbrella organisation for the European promotional product market. Its membership consists of associations representing suppliers (manufacturers, importers) and distributors (promotional product traders and consultants). The promotional product industry has been influenced by the increasing internationalisation of its business operations and, due to its extensive range of products, is heavily dependent on EU legislation. Therefore, Eppa’s primary concern is to shape the basic political, social and economic conditions of the European promotional product market. Its current member companies, from 12 European countries, amount to over 8,000 businesses from the promotional product sector. Eppa is a registered umbrella organisation in Germany, looking after the interests of its European membership from its Darmstadt branch.

Nielsen Business Media has reached an agreement with Promotional Products Association Intl. (PPAI) to co-locate several annual trade shows in order to deliver education, products and services to promotional products distributors at five of Nielsen's Imprinted Sportswear Shows (ISS)

ASI is the largest marketing and media organization serving the promotional products industry, and ASI membership includes 22,000 distributor firms and 3,500 supplier firms of advertising specialties: The Advertising Specialty Institute, or ASI, has been providing award-winning products and services to the advertising specialty and promotional products industry for over 50 years. Advertising specialties are useful or interesting items or merchandise, usually carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message, given with no obligation, also known as giveaways or promotional products. ASI's mission, then, is to bring together suppliers and distributors by providing catalogs, information directories, newsletters, magazines, web sites and databases, and offering interactive e-commerce, marketing and selling tools. If you enjoy seeing all the new product ideas and selling tips in Advantages magazine every month, then you'll love the Advantages Roadshow. As the industry's most popular traveling show, the Advantages Roadshow brings together active ad specialty distributors with leading suppliers in convenient, quality locations. Find the answers to your questions and learn how to satisfy your clients' needs with a wide range of support, research and marketing services from ASI in 2011 (16 convenient show locations).

FESPA is a federation of trade associations and an organiser of exhibitions and conferences for the screen and digital printing industry. FESPA has 28 member associations in Europe and 7 associate members in Australia, China, India, Japan, Philippines, South Korea and Thailand. FESPA’s objective is to promote imaging and to encourage positive business growth through the sharing of knowledge, know-how and expertise. FESPA is a democratic, progressive and inclusive organisation who welcomes anyone who would like to become part of the FESPA network by joining one of the member associations. ++++++++++ In order to discover more about FESPA, please go to +++++++ www.fespa.com ++++++++++

The Incentive Federation Inc. was founded in 1984 as an umbrella organization for the incentive field representing national trade associations, trade publications, and the national trade shows. In this role, it is responsible for all aspects of incentive marketing, including merchandise, travel, and services, encompassing incentives, rewards, recognition, promotional products, and other related promotional tools. Building on its success, the Federation has expanded its mission into three related areas: (a) corporate outreach, as a co-founder of the Incentive Performance Center (IPC), the incentive field’s major outreach group, (b) research, and (c) education, through its administration of bi-annual studies of the incentive field and through its support of the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement which is affiliated with the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. The goal of the IPC is to bring the successful story of incentive marketing to American business to reinforce the message that merchandise, travel, and service incentives can motivate a sales force, employees, retailers and consumers. ++++++ www.incentivecentral.org +++++

FESPA has once more, in partnership with InfoTrends, completed a research project into the challenges, opportunities, threats and trends of the wide format digital marketplace. The report begins with a staggering statistic – our global graphics market has a value of €58 Billion! The report which looks at the development of wide format digital print technologies and features over 50 questions with over 400 respondents from over 50 countries and examines the latest applications, newest innovations and compares developed and emerging markets, adding a truly world wide perspective to the research. To enquire about receiving a copy of the report and/or joining one of FESPA’s national associations, please contact +++++ mandy.goldfinch@fespa.com ++++++

It is an exciting time to be in the market research industry and Esomar is the organisation for encouraging and elevating market research worldwide. Opportunities, of course, do not come without challenges…we live in a continually evolving society, struggling to maintain a balance of power in a fast-changing world with dynamic markets. These are stimulating times, where we must explore what's at the heart of clients' needs and how to meet their demands for increased speed, enhanced quality and value-enriched products and services. Next ongress marks Esomar's 65th anniverasy and will confirm the impact and inspiration that research has in helping business and society transform and evolve to take on the exciting decade ahead of us.

The first known promotional products in the United States are commemorative buttons dating back to the election of George Washington a.d. 1789. In 1904, 12 manufacturers of promotional items got together to found the first promotional articles association known as PPAI - Promotional Products Association International (now more than 10,000 companies are global members).

One of the valuable benefits of a CEMA membership is the ability to exchange and share top of mind challenges between your peers. CEMA provides members with the opportunities and resources to thrive as leaders in their organizations. Members receive access to an elite senior-level marketing and event marketing community. Through CEMA (a member of the Events Industry Council), members’ voices become the voice of the industry, driving industry standards and advocating the value of event marketing. Membership provides an introduction to peers, partners, clients, and experts who can provide advice, offer insight and create solutions to business issues.