Before the trade floor at The PPAI Expo 2024 truly opens for exhibitors and distributors, the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas will be buzzing with industry professionals looking to soak up some of the year’s best educational sessions at The PPAI Expo Conference.

Meant to elevate promotional product businesses with actionable advice from leading professional speakers and industry experts, The PPAI Expo Conference is a day full of promo education in conference format. Most of its schedule will be held on Monday, January 15, with one final keynote session Tuesday morning, just before the doors open to The PPAI Expo trade floor.

This year’s PPAI Expo Conference is designed to feature speakers and sessions covering topics that are relevant to what the industry is facing now and in the future, subjects such as sustainability, AI and marketing through uncertain times, not to mention an American Ninja Warrior.

  • Included will be a panel hosted by Josh Ellis, PPAI Media’s publisher and editor-in-chief and the primary architect behind the PPAI 100. Joining Ellis will be a panel of business leaders from companies who placed in the inaugural PPAI 100 list.
  • Professional development – or industry education – is one of the metrics PPAI 100 used to evaluate companies, and certain PPAI 100 companies earned high marks in the category.
  • Also taking place on Monday, January 15, will be The Pitch, promo’s version of The Voice, which debuted in 2023 and is set to become a staple of The PPAI Expo.

“The PPAI Expo 2024 is so much more than just a trade show, and in fact education is arguably just as core to the event’s offerings to the industry,” says Begun. “The educational content at The PPAI Expo Conference is something that we are deliberating over, planning for and curating pretty much all year.

“PPAI is very intentional about what attendees will take away from that first phase of the Expo experience.”

Engaging content on The Expo Conference schedule includes:

General Session: The Next Great Transformation/Leveraging AI in Tomorrow’s Business World
Speaker: Anat Baron, Founder & CEO, StashWall
8:45-9:45 a.m. & 11-11:50 a.m., Monday, January 1

As we’ve rushed to adjust to the way technology has changed our work landscape since the onset of the pandemic, are we ready for the exponential changes still heading our way?

The former head of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Baron has become a sought-after futurist and strategic advisor. Her two interactive presentations on Monday, January 15, will touch on topics like robotics, AI and biotech.

Here’s a sneak preview of Baron’s insights: She predicts in the next five to 10 years people will no longer use cellphones. What will replace them? Find out at The PPAI Expo 2024.

Breakout Session: Certain Marketing Tactics For Uncertain Times
Speaker: Kirby Hasseman, CEO, Hasseman Marketing & Communications
11-11:50 a.m., Monday, January 15

Stability has been mostly absent from current events and economic conditions the past three-plus years, but that doesn’t mean marketing is a guessing game. Hasseman will provide 10 tactics to help your marketing and your business.

Breakout Session: Educating Your New-To-The-Industry Employees
Speaker: Jessica Gibbons-Rausch, MBA, Manager, Professional Development Learning Programs, PPAI
1:40-2:25 p.m., Monday, January 15

Promo always needs new faces and fresh perspectives, but it’s an industry with a lot of details to learn, down to the terminology. With professional development being one of the metrics for which the PPAI 100 is evaluated, learn how the Association educates those new to the industry.

Breakout Session: A Conversation With PPAI 100 CEOs
Speaker: Moderation – Josh Ellis, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
2:35-3:20 p.m., Monday, January 15

The inaugural PPAI 100 research project showed that companies leading the industry in key investments – such as technology, sustainability and personnel – are also likely to be stronger financially. PPAI Media’s Ellis will lead a discussion with ranking executives to help firms of all sizes understand why being well-rounded and doing things the right way makes a business stronger.

General Session: The Unstoppable You
Speaker: Alex Weber, American Ninja Warrior, Award-Winning Leader & Entertainer
8-9 a.m., Tuesday, January 16

Looking for inspiration before taking on the The PPAI Expo 2024 trade floor? An American Ninja Warrior will teach you about what it means to achieve and how to focus on your own unique journey. Weber will provide real-life tools to cultivate confidence, defy your internal limits, create positive mental health and how to realize your highest goals.