UK distinction for local sales promotion expert

Lawrence Woollam from Achievement Awards Group was capped top student at the Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP) graduation ceremony in London this week. The institute is a UK organisation that represents brand owners, agencies and service partners engaged in promotional marketing.

Woollam, with the highest marks of the 2007 class, received a distinction at the graduation ceremony at the House of Commons on Tuesday, 20 November 2007.

Speaking from London on the significance of his academic distinction, Woollam said, "Achievement Awards Group entered the promotions market with the intention of providing core delivery leadership, and to do this we needed to draw from a respected international body like the ISP and go back to strategic (educational) basics".

Commenting on the state of the industry, Woollam believes that fulfillment is currently "the Cinderella of the promotional marketing service sector – consumer activation is falling way short when it comes to actually delivering promotional promises.

"Consumer demand will eventually drag the industry into the fulfillment house space as it grows in volume and technical sophistication".

Achievement Awards Group (AAGroup) was established in Cape Town in 1980 and since then has produced more than 800 incentive programs for dozens of South Africa's top 100 companies. AAGroup's expertise is enriched by international partnerships and affiliations to the like of Maritz Inc, one of the top 500 unlisted companies in the US and the world's biggest resource of integrated performance improvement, travel and marketing research services.

Formed in 1933, the Institute of Sales Promotion was established as the ISP in 1979 and provides professional diplomas and certificates, best-practice guidelines and representation for the sales promotion industry.