Top of the class for our Business Development Manager!

Deciding to join the British Promotional Merchandise Association’s Education Programme was an easy one. Having passed by BPMA Academy course with distinction, I knew I wanted to take the opportunity to go straight into the Master accreditation. I have worked in the Promotional Merchandise industry for 20 years and I was keen to continue expanding my knowledge - it was an obvious choice. I had been working towards my MPM for over two years. It takes a lot of effort and time to work up to the amount of points needed and the research required for the written element can be time consuming.  I tried to make sure I did at least an hour each week. I enjoyed the marketing and the technology aspects of the course, as I was learning lots of new things and I knew they would be useful in future. I made a point of including the Compliance area as, although it can be ‘information overload’, I know this is going to be so valuable to be moving forward in this industry.

By the time I came to work on my written assessment, my role at Allwag Promotions was purely focused on the Education Sector and I have always been interested in sustainable products, practices and operations. However, sustainability is such a wide topic, I needed to bring one area into focus and decided upon UK made merchandise, as I hadn’t been hearing much about this area in industry publications or from the wider media. So, I combined the two to form the topic of my written assessment to try and understand what the perception was of UK made products within UK Universities.

My written assessment focused on UK made merchandise, primarily if and how it’s used and viewed in the UK Education sector, with a spotlight on UK Universities. I surveyed UK manufacturers, product importers, distributors, universities and their students to identify opinions, trends and knowledge across this area. It showed, at that time, how little purchasers considered the country of origin of products they buy, but also how this would evolve alongside sustainable themes to become considered factor in the future.

The BPMA was very supportive when deciding on and writing my written assessment. They were available to discuss ideas; help you look at the pros and cons and also proof read drafts with helpful feedback. The Association values industry knowledge and really contributes to make your study effective and relevant to your daily work.

It’s so important in my role as Business Development Manager to keep learning and understanding the very latest technology, product and branding advancements, legislation and trends in our marketplace and this course helped me to do this. I would absolutely recommend the course to my colleagues in the industry. It’s a great experience, a personal challenge and you get to meet some really interesting and creative people.

When I got the call to say that I had passed I was over the moon! I had experienced a lot of issues, delays and setbacks during my study period and so to achieve success has been wonderful, a great relief and something I am very proud of.

Regards

Beth Coleman

Business Development Manager

Allwag Promotions

And a footnote from her boss:

"We are so proud of Beth's achievement, the second person to have achieved BPMA Master in Promotional Merchandise (MPM) in the UK. Beth had already given up a lot of personal time to study, so it was only right that when she joined us we supported her study with the time and resources she needed, not only to complete the assignment but also to do her presentation the CEO and exam. Amazing results, well done Beth!" says Angela Wagstaff, Director Allwag Promotions