A leading industry distributor has made us aware that a Chinese company are calling themselves PromoAlliance (www.promoalliance.org).
They are approaching companies in the industry by e-mail, asking people to advertise on their website for a ‘membership fee’ of $88. They also claim to be ‘A worldwide alliance for Promotional Products’, however their website appears to have just one space ‘sold’. (So not much of an alliance going on there then.) The e-mail they sent was grammatically incorrect, with misspellings, so we doubt any one will part with any cash. The web domain in registered in China in 2013, and their website contains no logo, and has no postal address.
Please be aware that this company has no connection whatsoever with PromoAlliance (www.promoalliance.com), the alliance founded in 2012 by ASI, PSI and Sourcing City. and a genuine international worldwide alliance for the promotional products industry,
We have also spotted that they are following our Twitter account (@PromoAlliance), and also the Twitter accounts of Tim Andrews and Michele Bell at ASI. They are using two Twitter addresses ((PromoAlliance.org/ @Promo_Alliance and PromoAlliance/ @iPromoAlliance). They also appear to be following Sourcing City and over 300 companies from the industry, including a number from the UK.
We are currently investigating with our international partners our position in relation to this organisation ‘passing off’.
About Us
PromoAlliance
PromoAlliance is an international alliance for the promotional products industry founded in 2012 by ASI, PSI and Sourcing City. The core purposes of PromoAlliance are to work together on a global level to; Introduce best practices, Develop market concepts, Connect with industry peers and to Foster education. www.promoalliance.com
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) is the largest media, marketing and education organization serving the promotional products industry, with a network of over 27,000 distributors and suppliers throughout North America. www.asicentral.com
The Promotional Product Service Institute (PSI) is Europe’s largest business network for the promotional products industry. More than 6.000 companies are current members of PSI which was established in 1960. PSI hosts the biggest international show for promotional items in D?sseldorf, Germany, which is also the home of their HQ. www.psi-network.de
Sourcing City is the market leader in the provision of specialist online digital & mobile trade services and networking trade events to the promotional merchandise industry. Founded in November 2002, Sourcing City has continually created and launched unique online and mobile services and trade events which had never been seen before in the UK promotional merchandise industry. The company now has a portfolio of market-leading and established brands to support distributors and to promote supplier products.www.sourcingcity.co.uk
Published on: April 16th, 2013
