PSI Academy Awards: It’s worth being there

Under the PSI Academy label, a new PSI industry get-together will be launched in autumn, bringing the promotional products industry together a second time a year to complement the PSI. The highlight of the event will be the PSI Academy Awards, which will be presented for the first time on 11 September 2025 in Cologne. It’s worth being there.

As an international industry platform with a top-class supporting programme, the PSI demonstrates every year that networking, the exchange of ideas and knowledge transfer are indispensable for corporate success. And nothing beats personal contacts and friendly, collegial meetings that motivate and put people in a good mood. With this in mind, PSI has developed the PSI Academy, an additional format with various components that will help the promotional products industry move forward into the future. The exciting combination of a training and networking event and the industry highlight PSI Academy Awards will start on 11 September 2025 in Cologne. Submissions are possible until 30 June. In an interview with the PSI Journal, PSI Director Petra Lassahn explains what’s so special about it and why it’s worth taking part.

Ms. Lassahn, the PSI Academy kick-off event will take place on 11 September in Cologne’s famous Gürzenich festival hall. What can participants expect?

To offer participants an exclusive setting for our new PSI industry get-together, we have deliberately chosen a unique historical location, the Gürzenich festival hall. The PSI Academy Conference will already begin in the morning and offer cutting-edge presentations, discussions and workshops on the topic of ecological sustainability and issues affecting the industry. The programme has already been designed and is currently being “fine-tuned”. We will publish it soon. The PSI Academy Night will not only be festive, but above all exciting. The winners of the new industry award PSI Academy Awards will be announced and award winners, nominees and guests will spend a gala evening together that is sure to be memorable. Personally, I am really looking forward to it, especially to the discussions with our members, partners and everyone who will be there. I hope that many more companies will decide to participate.

What is the core idea behind the PSI Academy Awards?

The new industry award will recognise particularly sustainable products, companies and newcomers in the promotional products industry. In terms of content and standards, the PSI Academy Awards will go beyond the previous PSI Sustainability Awards, for example by documenting and honouring developments and progress. In this respect, the new format is designed as an incentive and inspiration for the entire promotional products industry. Our partner Green Product Award contributes many years of expertise in the field of sustainability awards, from which the PSI Academy Awards benefit. The entire process will therefore be transparent, comprehensible and extremely professional.

Who can participate in the PSI Academy?

The PSI Academy views itself as a platform that not only provides a stage for suppliers and distributors, but also involves associations, industrial and commercial customers and policy-makers. It addresses all groups that are active in the promotional products business or are relevant to the industry. Suppliers, distributors and agencies as well as their customers can submit products and campaigns for the PSI Academy Awards. Every day we see in practice how closely and amicably the market participants work together and jointly carry out successful projects. Each level of distributors has its own view of the business and this should also be reflected in the submissions. This enables new experiences and inspiration.

How does PSI support companies in preparing their submissions?

It is important to us to support interested parties in the application process and show them how to plan their submission most effectively. After an independent initial assessment based on defined evaluation criteria, participants receive professional feedback and specific advice on where they need to make improvements. Our competent partner Green Products Award has been organising awards for many years and knows what is important. It therefore can clarify many questions in advance. The transparent feedback from the expert jury is an added value for nominees and winners, providing guidance and promoting further development.

You mentioned the word added value. What are the advantages of participating in the PSI Academy Awards?

The benefits of participating vary depending on the target group, but there are such diverse benefits that I have to summarise them here. Everyone can present their nominated products and campaigns exclusively. This raises their profile, boosts their image and facilitates contacts. For distributors and agencies, participation in the top-class industry awards attests to their professionalism, creativity and problem-solving expertise. A valuable certificate or award, presented by a renowned, independent jury, will impress customers at every level of the business. The involvement of industrial and commercial customers is in the interest of the entire industry, because a customer with promotional products knowledge is a customer who recognises the value of haptic advertising in the marketing mix and is aware of the trends and possible uses of sustainable promotional products. And those who are convinced of the effectiveness of promotional products will also use them. Distributors and suppliers alike also benefit from the opportunity for exclusive talks with policy-makers.

Strategic communication can put the sustainability commitments of nominees and winners in a positive light. What does PSI offer in this area?

We offer a whole range of services, such as communication via the social media channels of PSI and its partners, publications in PSI media and with selected media partners. We additionally prepare a press kit that nominees and winners can use flexibly. I would also like to mention the PSI Academy Expo. The exhibition of the winners and nominated products as well as campaigns will be on display at the following PSI. The expo sees itself as a means of presenting practice cases for insiders and at the same time as a tool for generic marketing that can raise awareness of the impact of haptic advertising among policy-makers, associations and sponsors.

One final word?  

We cordially invite all members and interested parties who would like to actively shape change to submit their application for the PSI Academy Awards by 30 June 2025! You can find a form, information on the categories, the process and the conference programme soon as well at www.psi-academy.com. Of course, we will also keep you up to date in the PSI Journal, online and in the PSI Business News newsletter.

PSI Academy Awards – Register now at: https://www.psi-academy.com/en/auth/register