THE PPAI EXPO 2027 · LAS VEGAS · JANUARY 12–14

A million square feet.
Follow up on everyone you actually met.

MeetDrop is a lead capture app for trade shows. After each conversation you speak one sentence into your phone, and the follow-up email is written and sent before they reach the next aisle.

The PPAI Expo is the promotional products industry's biggest week: roughly one million square feet at Mandalay Bay, more than 250,000 products from over 1,000 exhibiting companies, with PPAI Advance the day before. Here is how to leave Las Vegas with the follow-ups already sent.

January 12 – 14, 2027 Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas

Claim a Team spot Claim a Pro spot

Free for PPAI Expo — limited spots. Or see the plans and start free today, no card.

Curious how it feels? Try it on yourself

1 · You say it

Snap their card or badge, tap the mic, and say what you would have scribbled on the back. Seven seconds, in your own words.

Just met Jack from Northwind, wants the partner agreement, review Thursday.

2 · MeetDrop writes it

Name, company and what they asked for are pulled out. The email is written in your voice, with the right link already in it, and the lead is scored against the people you came for.

The partner agreement — as promised at the booth

3 · You press send

Read two lines, press Send, and it leaves from your own address. Nothing ever goes out that you did not press. Replies land in your inbox.

"So you’ll email me?" — "Already sent, Jack."

Seventy-three seconds, start to finish. The booth is a dramatization; every phone screen is the real app, recorded live. “Already sent, Jack. Take care.”

How the PPAI Expo week actually goes

Monday, January 11 — PPAI Advance

The education day before the hall opens. Non-exhibiting member suppliers can attend Advance even where exhibit-hall access is charged, so the room is full of people you will not see on the floor.

Tuesday, January 12 — the hall opens

A million square feet and 250,000 products. Every conversation is sharp and every card gets a note on the back. By lunch there are thirty cards and the notes have stopped.

Wednesday, January 13 — the long day, then the party

Distributors doing their real rounds, and in the evening the Expo Party at Grand Prix Plaza. The best conversations of the week happen at that party and not one of them gets written down.

Thursday, January 14 — it closes

Breakdown and a flight. The follow-up is now a task for the week you are back, competing with every other supplier that distributor met across a million square feet.

With MeetDrop, the follow-up left with the conversation

After each person walks away, whoever spoke to them taps the mic and says what they would have written on the card. You fly home with a lead list that already shows who opened and who replied.

MeetDrop is free for the PPAI Expo. Ten spots on each side of the aisle.

Ten Pro plans for people walking the floor, ten Team plans for booths. The price is one public post saying you are going.

A woman with a badge walks a wide convention centre aisle speaking a voice note into her phone

WALKING THE FLOOR

Pro, free through January 31 $99 / mo

10 of 10 left

For distributors, decorators and anyone attending on their own badge.

Unlimited AI follow-up emails for the show, not the 10 a month on Free
Follow-ups sent from your own email domain
Lead scoring, ideal-customer profiles and CRM sync
The show recap: who opened, who replied, who went quiet

Claim a Pro spot

Two men at a trade show booth; the exhibitor holds his phone over the visitor's business card

WORKING A BOOTH

Team, free through January 31 $199 / mo

10 of 10 left

For the whole crew on the stand at Mandalay Bay.

Everything in Pro, for everyone on the booth
One shared lead pool with dedupe — three seats included
Assignment, so the rep who had the conversation sends the email
Team recap by rep, by day, by hall

Claim a Team spot

How to claim it

Post that you are going

On LinkedIn or X, public. Use ours or write your own — it has to say PPAI Expo and mention MeetDrop.

We're at #ThePPAIExpo 2027, Las Vegas, January 12–14 — Mandalay Bay, booth number. Come find us. This year every conversation at the booth gets its follow-up the same day, thanks to @MeetDrop. meetdrop.ai/events/ppai-expo

I'll be at #ThePPAIExpo 2027, January 12–14 at Mandalay Bay. If we meet on the floor, expect an email from me before you're back at the hotel — I'm running my follow-ups with @MeetDrop this year. meetdrop.ai/events/ppai-expo

Paste the link to your post

In the form on the right, with the email you will sign in with.

We switch it on

A person checks the post and turns the plan on within one business day. You get one email saying it is live. Nothing else.

Going to the PPAI Expo with MeetDrop

Updated as spots are claimed · each name links to their post

ATTENDING · 0 OF 10 CLAIMED

First name
goes here

Open

BOOTHS · 0 OF 10 CLAIMED

First booth
goes here

Open

Listed with permission, from the box on the claim form. Ask us and you come off the same day. After the twenty free spots are gone the wall stays open — post that you are going and you are listed, whether or not a plan came with it.

One app, both sides of the aisle

However you work the show, the follow-up is sent before the conversation cools.

A million square feet of competition

250,000 products from a thousand suppliers. The distributor who liked your line walked past hundreds more before dinner — the first specific email is the one they remember.

The party is where the work happens

Wednesday night at Grand Prix Plaza. A ten-second voice note on the way out captures what a badge scanner was never near.

Your own list, not a bought one

PPAI warns publicly that anyone selling the Expo attendee list is running a scam. The names you capture on the floor are the only real ones you will have.

What we checked with the organizer

8 facts about PPAI Expo, each with where it came from.

The 2027 exhibits run January 12–14, 2027, with PPAI Advance held January 11, 2027 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas. source
The 2027 show floor spans approximately one million square feet with more than 250,000 products from over 1,000 exhibiting companies. source
PPAI publicly warns that any e-mail offering to sell The PPAI Expo attendee list or the PPAI member list is a scam. source
Qualified non-member distributors pay $250/person through December 3, 2026 and $350/person from December 4, 2026 to January 14, 2027; member distributor fees are waived by membership tier with $50/person for additional registrants. source
PPAI member suppliers and business services firms that are not exhibiting are charged $750/person for exhibit hall access but may attend PPAI Advance on January 11 at no additional cost. source
Booth rates for 2027 run $3,045 (returning-2026-exhibitor rate) to $3,845 for members and $4,045 to $4,845 for qualified non-members depending on payment date, with a 2.75% credit card surcharge from March 1, 2026. source
The PPAI Expo Party on January 13, 2027 is held at Grand Prix Plaza, home of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, 6:30–10:00 PM, tickets $75 through December 3 rising to $125 onsite. source
Registration at the 2027 edition uses Maritz and may deploy eventBit beacon chips in attendee badge holders to track movement on the show floor; exhibitors see only non-identifying data unless they scan a badge. source

What you are actually setting up

Your links, your tone of voice, who you are trying to meet. Then the app writes each follow-up in your words and you press Send. Scoring, your own sending domain, CRM sync and the shared team pool come with Pro and Team — the whole walkthrough is on one page, with what each plan includes.

The capture screen: add a photo or a business card, then tap the microphone — Snap the card, tap the mic

A drafted follow-up email opening with the document the lead asked for at the booth — The email, in your words

Who is worth chasing

The events screen with a trade show set as the current event — One show, one lead list

The Today screen: counts for sent, opened and replied, and a lead who wrote back — Sent, opened, replied

The per-event recap: leads captured, follow-ups sent and who replied — The recap you fly home with

What it costs after the PPAI Expo

You can start free today with no card. If The PPAI Expo is the only show you work this year, the Event Pass covers it. The twenty free spots above are Pro and Team at no charge through January 31.

Free

Every lead you meet, kept

Unlimited leads, forever

10 AI follow-up emails a month written and sent for you
Unlimited captures: voice note, card scan, AI extract
Every lead saved, searchable, exportable to CSV
Basic counts
Emails carry a “Sent with MeetDrop” footer

Get started

Unlimited leads. No credit card.

Event Pass

One show, everything captured and followed up

$49/ show

Unlimited leads, forever

200 AI follow-up emails written and sent for you for one show. 30 days from the first one.
No “Sent with MeetDrop” footer
Replies come back to your address
CSV export
Event recap analytics
Email support

Buy an event pass

One payment, no subscription

Pro

FREE FOR PPAI EXPO

For people who work events all year

$99/ month

or $79 a month billed annually

Unlimited AI follow-up emails written and sent for you
Send from your own domain
CRM sync
Always-on adaptive follow-up
Drop a list
Lead scoring
Advanced analytics, priority support

Claim it free

Ten spots, one public post.

Team

FREE FOR PPAI EXPO

For booths worked by more than one person

$199/ month

3 seats included, then $49 each

Everything in Pro for the whole team
Shared lead pool with dedupe
Drop a list for the whole team
Assignment and routing
User management
Team and per-rep analytics
Priority support and onboarding

Claim it free

Ten spots, one public post.

Enterprise

Ten seats and up, with the pieces a larger organisation needs.

API + webhooks
10+ seats
Everything in Team
Named success manager

Talk to us

Prices in US dollars. Cancel any time; your leads stay exportable.

Questions people ask before the PPAI Expo

What exactly is MeetDrop, and why use it at the PPAI Expo?

A lead capture app for people who meet prospects in person. You photograph a distributor's card and say one sentence about what they asked for; MeetDrop writes the follow-up in your voice and sends it when you press Send. Across roughly a million square feet and 250,000 products, the distributor who liked your line saw several hundred others the same day — the email that names what you actually discussed is the one that gets opened.

When and where is the PPAI Expo 2027?

The exhibits run January 12 to 14, 2027 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, with PPAI Advance held the day before on January 11.

How big is the PPAI Expo?

The 2027 show floor spans approximately one million square feet, with more than 250,000 products from over 1,000 exhibiting companies.

What does it cost to attend or exhibit?

Qualified non-member distributors pay $250 per person through December 3, 2026, rising to $350 from December 4 to January 14; member distributor rates are lower. PPAI member suppliers and business services firms that are not exhibiting pay $750 per person for exhibit hall access, though they may attend PPAI Advance on the 11th. Booth rates for 2027 run from $3,045 for returning 2026 exhibitors up to $4,845 for qualified non-members, depending on when you pay.

Can I buy the PPAI Expo attendee list?

No. PPAI warns publicly that any email offering to sell The PPAI Expo attendee list or the PPAI member list is a scam. Those emails go round before every big show. The practical consequence for an exhibitor is that the only real list you will have is the one you build on the floor.

Does the PPAI Expo track attendees on the show floor?

At the 2027 edition registration runs through Maritz and may deploy eventBit beacon chips in attendee badge holders, which track movement on the floor and give exhibitors traffic data. That tells you a badge passed your stand. It does not tell you that the person asked about 10-day turnaround on 2,000 units — which is the part your follow-up has to name, and the part only a note taken at the time will hold.

What does MeetDrop cost?

Free to start: unlimited leads, with 10 AI follow-up emails a month written and sent for you. An Event Pass is $49 for one show: 200 AI follow-up emails, for 30 days from the first one, with replies coming back to your own address. Pro is $99 a month, or $79 billed annually, for unlimited AI follow-ups, sending from your own domain, lead scoring and CRM sync. Team is $199 with three seats, which is the one to look at if you are running a stand with a crew. Ten Pro and ten Team plans are free for the PPAI Expo through January 31.

Is this the same as ASI Show Orlando?

No — they are two different shows in the same industry, a week apart. ASI Show Orlando runs January 5 to 7, 2027 with its exhibit hall open just two of those days; The PPAI Expo runs January 12 to 14 at Mandalay Bay. Plenty of distributors and suppliers work both. If that is you, we have a <a href="/events/asi-show-orlando">playbook for ASI Show Orlando</a> as well, and one account covers both shows.

What does free for the PPAI Expo include and how do I claim it?

Ten attendees get Pro and ten stands get Team, free from the day they claim through January 31, 2027. Post publicly on LinkedIn or X that you are going to the PPAI Expo and mention MeetDrop, then paste the link in the form on this page. A person checks it and switches the plan on within one business day. No card. On February 1 the account returns to Free with every lead still in it.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in your phone's browser, which is what you want when your crew is spread across a stand in a hall that size. Sign in with Google or an emailed code, set PPAI Expo as your event, and the capture screen is ready. There is an iOS app if you prefer one.

Answers to the questions behind this page

Each one is a page that answers a single question properly, without asking for an email first.

Before the show

Using MeetDrop

Weighing it up

All of them on the answers index, or see every comparison.

Not going to this one?

The same thing happens at every show.

See all event playbooks

Free for the PPAI Expo — ten Pro, ten Team, one post.

Start free

A million square feet.Follow up on everyone you actually met.