Case Study - Society of Political Psychology 40th Annual Conference (ISSP)

Their key criteria was to supply ethically manufactured items where possible and also manage every aspect of sourcing, branding, budget, timing through to end delivery.

HappysmileÂ’s solution:

The branded products required ranged from a program booklet, A6 notebooks, pens, certificates, a directional map, roller banners, name badges through to lanyards and conference bags.

ISSP also looked for a supplier who could mange their specific brief and ensure all the materials could be logistically managed and delivered to a set location on a set date, so that when they arrived all the materials were waiting for them to facilitate the conference.

We therefore looked at printing the documents on standard recycled paper and chose wiro binding to reduce the need for glues or adhesives. The A6 notebook had a 460gsm Kraft paper cover and 70gsm text paper, which were both made from recycled materials and, the branded Pen, was also made from recycled materials and had a matching Kraft barrel and pen loop.

The lanyards we supplied were made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is basically recycled plastic bottles and were printed one colour and supplied with a dog clip and safety break.

Ensuring branded items have a shelf life!


For the conference bag we selected a Durable Canvas Tote/Shopper, made from a natural environmentally friendly cotton canvas. We proposed this material and spec for durability and a practical 30mm gusset provided a functional bag for lots of items. Most bags that you see at the majority of conferences lack a gusset and therefore become rather useless unless you only want to carry a few sheets of paper! In a recent survey by an industry supplier a vast majority of conference totes are found left in Hotel rooms after the conference is finished due to lack of functionality!

Prior to the event all the delegate names and support staff were supplied on an excel file and from that the individual name badges we prepared in advance along with some blanks that could easily be hand written and issued for last minute arrivals. This process made conference check-in much smoother as cards could be issued quickly and validated against the master delegate list.

End result

The whole process was a seamless exercise and apart from a few phone calls to clarify some key points all communications where handled via email. All proofs, layouts and content amendments were managed digitally and within the required timelines. All key decisions were made within a month so that that a timeline could be put in place to ensure all goods where received well in advance of the event. All items were held by Happysmile and dispatched to suit.

“Simon and the team at Happysmile made getting our conference materials printed from across the ocean easier than I could have hoped for. The quality of everything was excellent, and many of our attendees commented on the nice bags (and took extras home!)."