PMA, Jackson, Mich., and The SMART Group, Carlsbad, Calif., are launching a multi-city tour in the United States and Canada to assist retailers interested in growing scrapbooking, framing, and photo categories as well as to raise consumer awareness of those industries in their respective markets.

PMA Cooperative Marketing Teams (PCMTs) will visit 25 U.S. and Canadian markets in the coming months for regional meetings during which committees will be created and a chairperson selected.

Dennis Conforto, chairman and CEO of The SMART Group and A-Z Media, says these regional groups should work with local media outlets to create consumer sections in publications that would attract advertisers.

"Newspapers are interested in local news and human interest stories," he says. "And news and advertising are two separate worlds."

Conforto gave a presentation Sept. 9 to more than 60 suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, educators, and publishers at a "Vision for the Future" meeting in Atlanta, Ga., hosted by the Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA), a PMA member association.

PMA and The SMART Group also envision a TV show with a similar format to the ABC TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," where each episode shows a powerful and compelling story. The format would show consumers on vacation with new cameras, meeting industry experts, getting products, and working on "Memory Room" projects.

"We need more category awareness for everything photo-related," Conforto says.