Carlson Marketing Acquisition Completed
Quebec-based Groupe Aeroplan Inc. completed its acquisition of Plymouth, Minnesota-based distributor Carlson Marketing (UPIC: CARL0003) in early December. News of the acquisition was first reported in the November 3 edition of PPB Newslink.

Groupe Aeroplan's existing businesses and Carlson Marketing will continue to operate separately and independently. Jeff Balagna, president and CEO of Carlson Marketing, has been named executive vice president for Groupe Aeroplan. Balagna and his executive team will continue to manage Carlson Marketing

"Carlson Marketing's solid U.S. presence secures an important footprint in one of the largest consumer markets in the world," says Rupert Duchesne, president and CEO

Bullet Line Launches 30th Year With New Look, Name
Miami, Florida-based supplier Bullet Line, LLC (UPIC: BULLET) celebrates its 30-year anniversary with a new corporate identity, complete with a new logo, tagline and even a new name. Beginning this year, the supplier will adopt the name Bullet. Bullet's new tagline is "Right On Target."

Founded as Sun Manufacturing Corporation in 1980, the company later renamed itself after its rush service, originally called "Bullet Line."

"We're excited about the new look for Bullet, which verbally and visually reflects the essence of the brand so clearly," says Leanne Finney, marketing director for Bullet's parent company, Polyconcept North America.

J.M. Field Marketing To Expand Operations
Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based distributor J.M. Field Marketing (UPIC: JMFIP001) recently announced plans to expand its operations. J.M. Field plans to increase office space and warehouse storage capacity for the fulfillment center by more than 20,000 square feet, among other changes.

"This expansion is yet another initiative we are implementing to meet our customers' marketing and fulfillment needs," says Jack Field, president.

Promotional Products Bring Recognition To Potato Commission
Produce Business, a trade magazine, thought the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) was no small potato for relying on promotional products to support its comic-book series advertising campaign. IPC worked with Boise-based sales professionals from Los Angeles, California-based distributor PromoShop, Inc. (UPIC: pro) on the promotional items.

Kris Robinson, executive vice president of PromoShop, says the IPC is the type of company he loves working with because "you can bring ideas to the table and they want to see them come to fruition. That's where we have this great partnership."

The magazine awarded the IPC with its 2009 Marketing Excellence Award for using products such as coasters, cups and bobblehead dolls to reinforce the commission's message delivered in print ads. The recognition was reported in Monday's edition of the Idaho Business Review.

"We always want to come up with a creative campaign that's recognized. We worked hand-in-hand with the commission in creating ideas," says Robinson.

In 2010, he and his team will work with the commission again to help it reach even further with the famous Idaho Potato brand.

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Calibre Names Leigh New President
Michael Leigh has been named the new president for Irwindale, California-based supplier Calibre International, LLC (UPIC: calibre). Leigh joined Calibre in February 2009 as head of operations.

"I felt we needed a real superstar at running the day-to-day operations," says Daniel Oas, founder and CEO of Calibre. "Mike has been instrumental in guiding us through these difficult times."

Oas will remain CEO and Leigh will head up operations throughout the organization.

Gordon Sinclair Names Rodriguez To New VP Post
New Hyde Park, New York-based supplier Gordon Sinclair (UPIC: GORDON66) has appointed industry veteran Ray Rodriguez to vice president of sales and marketing. This is a newly created position based out of Gordon Sinclair's New York corporate offices.

In this new role, Rodriguez develops, implements and oversees all sales and marketing initiatives in the U.S. market. Prior to joining Gordon Sinclair, Rodriguez managed site development for Sarasota Development Corporation. He also founded Multiline Marketing Group in 1988 and later sold it to his company partner, Jeff Stepp.

HALO/Lee Wayne Adds To Sales Team
Sterling, Illinois-based distributor HALO/Lee Wayne Corp. (UPIC: LEEWAYNE) has added several new account executives to its team. Joining the midwest region are Heather Johnson, Leigh Roberson and Mary Wickstrom. New to the western region is Gus McConnell. New to the southern region is Tim Johnson. Northeastern region additions include Jane Heimbecker, Barry Kahan and Mo Lajterman.

Spector Hires In Stepp Team For Southeast Region
Champlain, New York-based supplier Spector and Co. (UPIC: SPEC0038) has hired Shelly Bednarski, Joy Jacobs, Nancy Jolly and Jeff Stepp of In Stepp Marketing to cover the southeast region.

Darel Cook, PPAI director of expositions, makes an appearance on The Industry Show this week to talk about brand.

A distributor asks: "I'm looking for ways to increase the professionalism of my distributor company and am thinking about looking into the Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS) certification. Does certification make any difference to my clients? Is it reasonable to expect that I might land more projects because of it? And, is it worth it?"

What's your answer? E-mail answers along with your name, title and company name to Question@ppai.org by January 22 for possible inclusion in the March issue of PPB magazine.

Answers to this month's question are in. Click here to read advice on how to deal with a competitor who is calling on your clients.

Together We're Making An Impact On Washington
"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." A year has passed and it is still appropriate to quote Charles Dickens. It would be unfair to say we have come full circle, but we are experiencing positive signs of economic improvement. We still face tighter budgets, increased government regulation and legislative scrutiny, but we are far more familiar with these waters than we were 12 months ago.

A Reason For Optimism
The U.S. economy is finally showing improvement as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and U.S. Industrial Production. The news is both encouraging and consistent with a forecast made last summer at PPAI's North American Leadership Conference.

Have Products, Will Travel
Though it may seem that fewer travelers are boarding planes and hitting the highways, the $770 billion travel industry is booming--and is projected to grow even larger in 2010, according to the U.S. Travel Association.