Advocating for the Promo Industry on Capitol Hill

Josh Ellis

Josh Ellis

Publisher & Editor in Chief - PPAI

Dana Porter, MAS

Dana Porter, MAS

VP of Information Services

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GABE GOTAY

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Promo Perspectives Live, a podcast presented by SAGE, dedicated to giving promotional products suppliers and distributors tips, tricks, and insights to help grow their businesses.

Today, we’re very excited for an episode about Government Relations and Action Committee. See what we do with PPAI, GRAC, and SAGE to help represent your interests in both local and federal governments.

I’m joined by two very special guests: Josh Ellis, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief from PPAI, and Dana Reporter, Vice President of Information Services here at SAGE.

Thanks for coming on the podcast, guys!

JOSH ELLIS

Nice to be here. I’m back!

GABE GOTAY

Yes, Josh, our returning guest. And Dana, welcome for the first time on the show!

DANA PORTER

Yes, I’m very excited to be here, thanks for having me.

GABE GOTAY

Those of you that are with us live on the Zoom right now, thanks so much for joining. We post these episodes everywhere you listen to your podcasts. We’ll put this one out next week on Spotify, Apple Music, iHeartRadio, wherever you listen. Please go ahead and subscribe because we have really great bonus content that we can’t fit into the live session. You can only get it there. 

In  a couple of weeks we’re going to put out a bonus episode where we’ll interview a lobbyist who helps represent your interests and get an insight there. If you’re listening to the podcast version now, head to SAGEworld.com to register for the next live show so you can join us and interact with other viewers in the chat.

Alright, to kick us off, why don’t we just get to know our guests a little bit more? We’ll start with you, Dana. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself, your role at SAGE, and your history in the industry?

DANA PORTER

Alright, I’ll start with how long I’ve been with SAGE. It was right out of college, very green, 21 years old, and had no idea about anything in the industry. David Natinsky took a chance on me, and here I am 23 years later. I fell in love with, like I said, fell in love with SAGE and the industry, and couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.

As far as Information Services and what we do, it’s all about data. Think about any data related to SAGE that comes from our team, and the biggest part of that is the product data, obviously. SAGE wouldn’t exist without our product data. It started out as a very manual process, and over the years, we’ve used technology to our advantage to improve that integration. SAGE Connect PDX – you know, more and more suppliers are integrating, so that’s awesome.

But internally, we still do a lot, you know, to help improve the supplier’s data – call it SAGE’s secret sauce. So that’s a big part of the team. We also have, you know, our data research team. Think about all of our customers and all of our prospective leads. We have a team that manages that to make sure that we have the information we need to be able to find good, you know, new distributors and suppliers in the industry.

And then we also have a part of the team that focuses on helping suppliers – it’s supplier support – and making sure that they get the best out of SAGE and making sure that their products are listed and so that they’re visible. Then another important part would be our research team. Distributors are always looking for products, and we have a whole team that helps them find those hard-to-reach products that they aren’t able to find. There are a lot of other things we do, but just think anything data – that kind of falls with Information Services. They’re very behind the scenes, but I feel like without Information Services and without what all the team does, I don’t think SAGE would be where it is today.

GABE GOTAY

You’re an important part of the backbone. A lot of our users might be familiar with the services they actually use in SAGE, but they don’t get a lot of insight into what you and your team have to do behind the scenes to make all of that work and make all the information they get accurate.

Um, just like working behind the scenes, kind of the same thing you’re doing with GRAC, where you’re working in ways people might not see to help the industry move in directions that are good for them. So can you tell me a little bit about your work with GRAC and what made you interested in joining that in the first place?

DANA PORTER

Yeah, so I’ve been part of the GRAC committee for about 10 years, and I can say it all started with my first Women’s Leadership Conference that I went to. Immediately after the conference, I joined the work group, ended up chairing that work group for a while, and I was hooked on giving back to the industry.

And so, as that was coming to an end, I was looking at like, “What is my next adventure? Where can I make an impact in the industry?” And I distinctly remember seeing articles that PPAI had written and lots of people posting on social media about being in DC, being on Capitol Hill, advocating for the industry, talking about all of the issues that affect all of us.

Um, and I thought, “You know, like it really resonated with me, like what could be more important than being on Capitol Hill, talking to the representatives, and you know, showing them and talking to them about the vital role that our industry plays, about all of um, you know, any issues or concerns that we have.” And so that is what made me want to join GRAC. Um, and you know, since then, it’s been an incredibly rewarding journey.

GABE GOTAY

Well, and Josh, like we said, you’re the first non-SAGE employee to make a return to the podcast, so hopefully we haven’t scared you off yet. We won’t do it again today, but for those of our listeners that didn’t catch your last episode with us, first of all, go find it anywhere you listen to your podcast. We talked about PPAI’s Greatest Companies to Work For article and got some really great insights into company culture in the industry. But for those that miss that, can you just share a little bit about your background with PPAI, the industry?

JOSH ELLIS

Sure. So I started with PPAI December 1st of 2021, and my very first day there was an all-staff meeting where they rolled out the new mission and vision statement for PPAI, and the mission. So I, it was like my first impression, right? So it actually stuck with me, and the mission is to be the voice and force to advance the promotional products industry for the benefit of our community.

And where my role really comes in is the voice part of it. So PPAI Media is all of our editorial efforts, getting information to our members that they need to know about to run their businesses as effectively as possible. And it’s grown from PPAI Magazine formerly PPB, and the NewsLink newsletters and things like that. We’ve started doing our own research, as Dana and her team do. We’ve added digital media, social media, and most recently public affairs; the industry advocacy, and public relations, on behalf of the industry.

And it’s a really big focus for us right now is making sure, being the voice for the industry, to tell policy makers and our representatives in DC and at the state level, what an important part of the advertising mix that promotional products are and how effective they are and the tens of thousands of people that the industry employs. And so it all works together. We’re very proud, the team has grown, proud of the work that they all do. And at the end of the day, it’s all about communicating, whether it’s to our members or to policy makers. 

GABE GOTAY

And so with the move of public relations under the media purview, that got you more involved with GRAC, right?

JOSH ELLIS

It did. We started this summer working with GRAC, and it has been a learning experience for me and my team. The people that work closest on it are Alok Bhat and Rachel Zoch. They are internal public affairs staff. But yeah, we’re very fortunate to have people like Dana who has been a committed volunteer on GRAC and has experienced working with legislators for a long time. I’ve been to L.E.A.D. – our flying event in DC – one time, but it’s still relatively new for all of us. So, looking forward to a full calendar in 2025 and great help from all of our volunteers to walk us through it.

GABE GOTAY

Well, and you kind of talked about it already a little bit with PPAI’s mission and what your goal is with the public affairs to help the industry. So, what is the primary purpose of GRAC specifically? How does it promote and how does it help the industry?

JOSH ELLIS

Well, it’s very important for PPAI to be in communication with our members and hear about their concerns, the issues they’re facing, the developments on a legislative level, government level, that are going to affect them. Because for us, we’ve – the majority of PPAI staff – have never worked in the industry, and so we don’t, our perspective is just by its very nature, like, would not be the same as a distributor, supplier, or staff has. And so we need feedback from members, and they really guide our actions with the lobbying staff that you mentioned and the campaigns that our public affairs team works on. It’s a really crucial role.

GABE GOTAY

And Dana, can you tell me a little bit about how GRAC has evolved over the years?

DANA PORTER

Yeah, so when I first joined, I will say that it was predominantly male. But you know, over the years, and I would say that that kind of tracks with the industry as well, but you have seen more females get involved, which I think is great. But also, when it comes to issues, over the last few years, and you know, PPAI also has committees that focus on product responsibility as well as sustainability, well, GRAC is also looking at those issues. It’s kind of a big umbrella, whereas, you know, 10 years ago, we probably weren’t looking at sustainability and product safety, and now we are because that’s increasingly more important. So I’d say that is definitely something that has changed and evolved over the years.

And then when it comes to L.E.A.D., our flying event in DC, you know, when I first volunteered the first couple of years, we were given, all of the volunteers were given a list of representatives for state or states that they were representing, and we were set those meetings, and there wasn’t really a specific direction. It’s like, “Hey, let’s book as many meetings as we can get.” And then fast forward a few years, PPAI hired a third party to help book those meetings, and we had fewer meetings, but they were more focused on specific committees that we needed to meet with. But as a volunteer, you didn’t feel as involved, and maybe we weren’t following up as much as we should. So that’s one thing that I’m really excited for in 2025 is I think we have a whole new found focus, and there’s going to be very distinct people that we’re reaching out to and committees by the help of PPAI and the new lobbyists that they have hired. And so I’m just really excited to see, you know, I feel like 2025 is going to be full of changes, and I’m excited to see what’s to come.

GABE GOTAY

Well, and you just kind of touched on a little bit some of the things that have changed and the issues that you are approaching. What are some specific topics that GRAC is focused on right now?

DANA PORTER

Okay, and so I will preface this with these are 2024 issues that we have looked at. You know, with the new Administration coming in next year, we are revisiting this, and there’s definitely going to be some changes. But this year, and I will say, you know, first and foremost, what we always talk about is promotional products work. That is something that every single meeting that I’ve ever been in, we’re going to focus on the power of promotional products, and you know, promotional products are the only form of advertising that people say thank you for. And if you think about that, like that’s a really powerful statement and very true.

Like, I don’t know of anyone that has said, “You know what, thank you for interrupting my show with this commercial,” but you know, promotional products are also the most cost-effective, memorable, and long-lasting form of marketing, which we are always very proud to champion.

Another thing that we look at, and it’s something that we’ve talked about since I’ve been on GRAC, is any, like, the surrounding independent contractors. You know, in our industry, there’s many salespeople who choose to work as independent contractors so that they can be their own boss, they can run their own company, and a perfect example of that is multi-line reps. In the Department of Labor, there’s a new classification rule that could have unintended consequences that threaten the livelihood of tens of thousands of American entrepreneurs in our sector. So that is something that we kind of stay on top of because there are tons of multi-line reps in our industry, and that could have a negative effect on them.

Another thing that we are deeply involved in is tariffs. And this is something that we will definitely be revisiting in 2025. But you know, tariffs are essentially taxes paid by American companies and consumers, and specifically, the Section 301 tariff on Chinese goods has not had the intended, they have not achieved the intended goals, which were to address unfair trade practices like intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers. So our goal this year was to urge Congress to renew the Generalized System of Preferences or GSP, which promoted economic growth in developing countries by waving tariffs on a list of specific products from designated countries. And it was successful for over 40 years and expired a couple of years ago. So again, this is one that we’re already looking at and revisiting of what that’s going to look like for 25. But tariffs are something that we’re constantly talking about.

And then just a couple of other things that we’ve had our eye on, just kind of watching this year, anything regarding PFAS, forever chemicals, which is found in nearly everything, even our blood, which if you think about that, it’s a little scary. And then also Reese’s Law, which is safety concerns around button batteries, and especially with technology-related products in our industry, there’s tons of products that have button batteries in them. So the safety concerns around that are very important. And then the last one I’ll mention is the Safer Banking Act, which is a push for cannabis banking reform. And over the last few years, we’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of products in our industry that kind of overlap with the cannabis industry. So again, these are our 2024 issues. We’re already looking at what, how that’s going to change for ‘25.

But Josh, is there anything you want to add or did I forget any?

JOSH ELLIS

Yeah, you know, for 2025, I think that the issue that we’re going to be talking to the industry most about is tariffs. With a new Administration coming in that has made quite a bit of campaign promises around tariffs, it potentially is a real challenge to the industry, and a lot of the executives that I speak to that are our member companies are concerned about it. At the end of the day, tariffs are basically, as you called it, a tax. They will ultimately raise prices on products, and that price will have to be passed on to the consumer, right? So that, and that potentially could affect demand. So not something that we believe is good for the industry.

PPAI historically and GRAC historically have opposed tariffs, but we’ll see what happens. We’ll be communicating through our lobbyists, through volunteers, and PPAI itself with representatives in the administration and Congress to see what exceptions potentially or carve-outs we can have installed. The majority of the value of promotional products is created here in the United States once the product arrives. And so that’s the work that we do. That’s, as I said at the beginning, that’s the mission. 

GABE GOTAY

Really drives home the importance of having a committee like this because, you know, Dana, you’ve been in the industry for over 20 years, and lots of the business owners of some of these, you know, businesses of all different sizes of the industry have also been running their businesses for long periods of time, and they’ve seen administrations come and go. So it can be hard enough when you’re running a business to try to keep up with the issues that are changing and impacting you, let alone what you can do to influence those things, especially when, you know, every 4 to 8 years, it could be flipping on a dime. So really drives on the importance of what you guys are doing with this committee.

JOSH ELLIS

Yeah, and it really is a lot of what our thought was when public affairs moved under the PPAI media umbrella is we have the most direct line of communication to the members. They’re in the habit of reading our newsletters every Tuesday and Thursday morning, and we went and counted this week. We’ve written 120 public affairs, policy stories this year, policy and compliance. So if you think two newsletters a week, 52 weeks, we’re over two stories in each newsletter – I’m sorry, each week – about the issues that our members need to know about. It really is the best way to stay informed. You can’t expect somebody who’s trying to make sales, you know, to put food on the table, to follow, to be able to, you know, be an expert on these things. That’s why what’s our purpose is, and media is to inform them about the issues that they do need to be aware of, so they can make necessary changes.

GABE GOTAY

I think sometimes people forget that that is the function of the media, not just in our industry, but in general. It’s supposed to be there to inform, to help people make the best decisions and live their lives without having to dedicate so much time to the kind of nitty-gritty things you guys are handling. 

JOSH ELLIS

Hopefully, so hopefully. 

GABE GOTAY

Yeah, before we kind of move on to some other things, and I was curious of all these issues we’ve talked about, you know, with all your time with GR, are there any issues that you are proud to say that you have successfully addressed or that stick out to you in that regard?

DANA PORTER

You know, um, I would say, hm, you’ve got me stumped on that one. Um, I would say, you know, talking about like the promotional products work and um, and the work that we’ve done with that of just informing the people on Capitol Hill and the representatives of who we are, you know, a $26 billion industry, we are significant, but we could get kind of lost in like some of the larger sectors. And so there’s some things that, um, we kind of, some policies that will get put in place that will affect us, and they won’t even realize that we’re kind of added into that. So I think just us being there and creating those relationships, um, and being able to have someone that we know that we can call when things come up, um, I think has been the most beneficial for me.

JOSH ELLIS

Yeah, from my experience at L.E.A.D., that was the moment where you saw the legislators and their staffers kind of the wheels start to turn on them. Because for the most part, for any of us who weren’t born into this industry, right, didn’t, didn’t work in family businesses, these are things that you take for granted, right? Promotional products, you don’t think about the supply chain that goes into it or the work that that goes into it. And that’s really how, um, you know, the end-buyer clients want it. You know, the bakery down the street that has a, you know, a particular cup, right, with their logo on it, they want you to think that they made the cup, right? So you don’t even think about it. And when we sit in in these offices in DC and talk about, um, the, um, you know, couple hundred thousand people in the US that work in this industry and the 35,000 most of them small businesses and employers in the industry, um, they, you know, a light comes on that like, “Oh yeah, this is this is an actual, these are people, right? These are my constituents that, um, you know, is maybe I, I haven’t considered, but I’m going to have to now, um, because of the folks who are here in front of me.” And so when you tell them it’s a $26 billion industry in the United States and in their District that means X number of million dollars, they will tend to pay attention.

GABE GOTAY

Well, and on the flip side of things, it can be hard to forget that the legislators and the people working in DC are also people, and that there needs to be somebody there, like you were just saying, helping represent you in that capacity, which kind of brings me to another thing I was excited to talk about. I think this is a newer announcement for you guys, but there’s a new lobbyist that you’re going to be working with, right? Can you tell me a little bit about that and what that means?

JOSH ELLIS

Yeah, and I think you’ll get the chance to talk to him next week, right? Um, so we have hired the biggest investment that PPAI has ever made in advocacy. We have tripled, in fact, the investment in our lobbying efforts with the partnership with Thorn Run Partners, which Bloomberg rates as a top 10 K Street lobbying firm. They have an immense amount of experience working with trade associations and nonprofits to advocate for their members’ interests on Capitol Hill. So you’ll speak to Chris Lamond, who’s a founding partner at Thorn Run. Former staffer himself, they have within their firm, you know, several hundred years of combined experience working on campaigns and in legislative offices. So very excited, we’re already at work with them. There was, you know, just this past week, there was a comment made by Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, you know, speaking about the new administration’s interest in kind of rolling back some government spending. She spoke out against promotional products and the spending on promotional products. We’re already in contact with her office, and that’s thanks to some of the connections that Thorn Run has in place. And so it gives us access is really what that’s about, is being able to, we know the people that know the people, and so that’s what the investment is about. I think that GRAC has been really impressed with Thorn Run so far, and we’re just getting started. So imagine a year or two from now when they really understand the industry a bit better. And that’s kind of our role is to get them up to speed and get them introduced to conversations where they, you know, can anticipate some of our needs a bit. But it has been a really strong partnership so far. 

GABE GOTAY

Well, it is exciting. I am excited to get to sit down and talk with them. Like we kind of alluded to, we’re going to give you guys a little bit of a break for the holidays, so that episode’s going to come out, I believe, on January 8th, so keep an eye out for that. You know, today we’ve kind of been getting more of the promotional product side of things, but it will be interesting, I think, to get the perspective of somebody who spent so long up there in Capitol Hill.

Speaking of, why don’t you guys tell us, you talked about a little bit with the LEAD trips, what’s it actually like going up there to DC, like just from the more personal side of things?

DANA PORTER

So I’m not going to lie, like at first, I was a little terrified. It was a little intimidating to be on Capitol Hill. However, PPAI has great resources that help you prepare beforehand and then also support on the ground when you’re in DC. And once I got through the first couple of meetings, I can honestly say it has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career. You know, it just, there’s something, you know, I love the industry, and I feel like advocating for our industry in Washington, being there on Capitol Hill, walking through those historic hallways, meeting with the representatives who help shape the future of our country, there’s just something very powerful about that. I feel like it’s my way of being able to give back to the industry and to help ensure our future is to make sure that we are heard and that we are supported. So I would say, you know, it’s been a very rewarding experience for me.

JOSH ELLIS

It was a little bit surreal the first time, you know, you walk in, you, I don’t know that I ever expected that I would be doing this in my life, you know, walking through the halls of Congress and the office buildings there on Capitol Hill. But it was also really fulfilling and gave me a real sense of patriotism, in a way, as I’m, you know, walking into my representative’s office to to to be heard, which is, you know, they are our representatives, they work for us, and they actually are very welcoming of of of you, and will remind you that. So I walked into my representative’s office, and they offered a Dr. Pepper, and it was, it was it just made me feel, you know, very proud and very American to be able to have that connection with my congressman. And I think all the volunteers that have done it would tell you the same that, and for PPAI, it really is the essential function as a trade association is to, you know, speak on our members’ behalf. And so it was fun, and I’m looking forward to going back in April 7th and 8th, with a reception on the 7th and advocacy on the 8th.

GABE GOTAY

Well, that makes me excited, and I want to do another episode like this next year, like you kind of suggested, where we can see what’s changed over the course of the year. Because it is exciting to see that it’s really making you guys feel, feel more connected and more patriotic. I think, unfortunately, the media landscape these days can make a lot of people think that this country is just, you know, two teams bickering as loudly as possible, but that’s not what it is. This country is the people, it’s people in this industry, it’s the businesses in this industry, and it’s great to have people like you out there representing them on such a personal level.

JOSH ELLIS

Yeah, I think that, you know, our the issues that we’re there to discuss are not partisan, right? And we can we can talk about the, you know, no matter what you may think of this party or that party or this Administration or that Administration, we’re talking about people’s jobs and their livelihoods. And so it really doesn’t need to be partisan. And and that’s, you know, just it’s a duty that that, uh, I think GRAC and from a volunteer standpoint, where they’re, um, you know, really noble in what they do. And so for PPAI, it’s it’s it’s the job.

GABE GOTAY

Well, I know we appreciate it. Do you guys have any advice on for our listeners and our audience on if people want to be more involved in advocacy? 

DANA PORTER

You know, I think we’re always looking for more volunteers. There’s no such thing as too many. And PPAI allows not just ways to be there in person, but also we call them fly-ins, to where you, you know, they’ll basically, it’s like a form letter that’s already written, of course, you can tweak it. But the more that people hear about us, and you know, that our congressmen and our Representatives hear about us, the bigger impact that that’s going to make. So no, there’s not, no one is too small, no one is too big. You know, so I think the, the more we can get involved, the better. I think PPAI is always looking for volunteers, and I know there are some states that we don’t have representatives in in DC. So if you’re interested, reach out. I know Josh, myself, we can definitely get you in contact with, you know, the right people. But if we don’t speak up, then unintended consequences could happen. So I would say, you know, today’s a great day to start.

JOSH ELLIS

The other thing I would say is that, of course, we, we want as many volunteers to come to DC in April as we can. However, your representatives have offices in your in their in your District. And we also need advocacy at the state levels too. A lot of times, one of the, the most successful examples of an association in this industry came from Virginia with with the regional Virginia VAPA, the Virginia Association of Promotional Products, that caught a bill that would have ended state spending on merch, and they spoke to their representatives, and they got the bill changed. So this can be effective, but it takes volunteers, it takes voices, and we all have them. And so the more the merrier.

GABE GOTAY

Well, thank you guys so much for coming on to share these perspectives. And really, I think it opened the eyes for me, and having our conversations prepared for the episode. So I hope for our audience, you guys have also kind of gotten a look at just how much the committee has done. Before we wrap up, there any final thoughts you want to share, or Josh, as our guest from outside of SAGE, anything you’d like to plug from PPAI?

JOSH ELLIS

Volunteer. Right? 

DANA PORTER

Absolutely. Volunteer today.

JOSH ELLIS

That, and we’ll see you at Expo.

GABE GOTAY

Yeah, we’ll see you at Expo. Thanks, everybody, for joining us. Like Josh said, Expo’s right around the corner. We just did an episode with Lindsey and Ashley, his colleagues from over at PPAI, talking all about how to get ready for the Expo, what goes into planning it, and it’s a ton of work, and it is so worth the experience. So hopefully, we’ll see you all there. Go ahead and subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already, and we’ll see you next time. Thanks, guys again.

JOSH ELLIS

Thanks for having us, Gabe.

GABE GOTAY

Alright, bye, everybody.