The PROMOTA team spent time speaking to exhibitors at the show to find out about their stands and what they were exhibiting.

Natalie Bye, promotional sales executive for Bite Promotions, said: "This is the first time we have exhibited at the International PROMOTA Show as we are new members. We wanted the stand to be really fun and creative and we have had lots of positive feedback so far."

Mandy Hastie, sales manager at Liquid Lens, said: "We have had our special Red Nose Day 2009 keyrings on display during the show. I would like to say a huge thank you to all of those who donated and helped to raise money for the Red Nose Appeal." Andy Bearpark from Thinkprint said: "This is the first year that we have included an eco range in our catalogue and we are showcasing this range at the show today."

"All aboard" the PROMOTA stand!

This year's show was full of surprises, one of which was the very different looking PROMOTA stand. Stepping away from the more traditional stand space, the association's stand took the form of the blue PROMOTA bus which had featured in many of the pre-show promotions.

Annette Scott, PROMOTA secretary, said: "It made sense to make the bus part of the show as it had been such a prominent part of our marketing. We thought it would be something a bit different and something people would remember for years to come."

The PROMOTA stand provided members, both visiting and exhibiting, with the opportunity to find out more about their membership and speak to the PROMOTA service providers.

This year, exhibitors' stands were more exciting than ever and everyone had something new to showcase. Rod Duncan, PROMOTA chairman said: "It was great to see the effort that all of the exhibitors had put into their stands. Choosing the best stand award winners was really difficult as the standard this year was so high!"

Mikkimugs won the coveted award for best shell-scheme stand. Sam Wood, managing director of Mikkimugs, said: "I am very happy to win the award and to be recognised for the effort I put into the stand making it look eye-catching and appealing."

Bagco went on to win the award for best spacescheme stand. Nigel Pearce, managing director of Bagco, said: "It was great to win the award; it is a real compliment to the work that went into creating our stand!"

Eco Area

The new Eco Area showed the industry's commitment to producing environmentally friendly products and showcased some of the very latest eco-friendly merchandise on the market. The last few years have seen a major push in Eco Friendly products and the Eco Area at this year's show helped to show off some of the best.

Visitors were able to look through the plasma screens to find details of new products along with eco-friendly ideas that suppliers were showcasing over the two days. The screens allowed visitors to find where products were located and find more information from the exhibitor. The Eco Area also provided visitors and exhibitors with an area in which to have small meetings or simply sit down for a moment of calm. With the free Wi-Fi set up, the Eco Area became a popular meeting point over the two days. Members who featured products in the area included: Chilli Source, Sourcing City, Everything Environmental, Crystal Impressions and BSB Sports.

The winner takes it all!

The annual PROMOTA awards evening returned to the National Motorcycle Museum and it was certainly a night to remember.

Guests arrived at 7.30 pm for a drink at the bar, to unwind after a busy day at the show. A delicious three course meal was then enjoyed by all ahead of the eagerly anticipated awards presentations. After dinner, Rod Duncan, PROMOTA chairman, took to the stage to introduce the awards which were donated by sponsors Purple Zebra.

There were 11 award winners this year: the supplier awards were presented to platinum, gold, silver and bronze winners, while distributor members were awarded by region. There was also the popular Roger Saunders award, awarded for outstanding service to the industry. Edward Douglas Miller from Remarkable Pencils was this year's winner in recognition of his commitment to recycling which began with his idea of creating pencils from recycled vending cups. Bizz Badge won the Supplier of the Year Platinum Award for the second year running. Roy Deakin, director of Bizz Badge, said: "We are so pleased to win the award. I definitely received the award on behalf of the whole Bizz Badge team who have all been working very hard in the last year." Rod Duncan, chairman, said: "It was a pleasure to present awards to members to celebrate their achievements throughout the past year. The whole evening was very enjoyable."

Dancing Queens!

The highlight of the evening was the highly anticipated performance by the number one ABBA tribute band, Björn Again.

The band opened their set with the ABBA classic ‘Waterloo' which immediately got the guests up and dancing. The band went on to entertain the guests with other ABBA favourites and wowed the crowed with their fantastic costumes and dance moves.

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